Samsung TV’s New Interface Brings All Of Your Content Together, Regardless Of What Streaming Service It Lives On

I’m always watching several weekly shows across several streamers — currently Euphoria on HBO Max, 1883 on Paramount+, and The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+ — but I can’t corral them in a single row on my Samsung TV the way I can with my Apple TV and Google TV devices.

Samsung TV’s revamped user interface announced last week at CES 2022 and launching on new TV models in the spring will change that. The new design includes a Recent row that will blend streamers with live channels and a Continue Watching row that will let you know when new episodes are available.

The new interface will be a significant shift from the current smart hub of app and input tiles across the bottom of the screen. Film and TV titles will be organized around rows that brings content from across your services into a single screen and will include a hub for gaming consoles like Xbox Series X and web-based gaming like Google’s Stadia service.

Built-in Dolby Atmos, a no-batteries-required Eco Remote, and the revamped user interface are three of the bigger TV features that Samsung highlighted at its CES 2022 keynote presentation. Decider sat down with Samsung’s Lydia Cho, head of product marketing, and Dan Schinasi, director of product planning, to talk about the company’s upcoming Neo QLED TVs.

DECIDER: From all of Samsung’s CES announcements, the most interesting new hardware feature to me is that Dolby Atmos sound will ship on 2022 TVs. Will that only be on particular models?

LYDIA CHO: So Dolby Atmos will be on the Neo QLED 4k and 8k lineup, which is Samsung’s core lineup.

Do the onboard speakers have a big output, or will consumers who want a soundbar sound still need a soundbar?

DAN SCHINASI: You don’t necessarily have to use a soundbar; it sounds great by itself, and you can get up to 90 watts of sound by itself. If you want to use a soundbar, the channels that are built into the TV — the center channel, the side channels, and the up-firing channels — will work in harmony with a soundbar.

The new Eco Remote recharges from radio waves, which I confess I didn’t know was a thing.

CHO: That same Neo QLED 4k and 8k lineup with Dolby Atmos will include an Eco Remote that’s crafted from recycled material. It does not require a battery and is powered by both solar and RF-harvesting, and you can charge with USB-C. Even when it’s a cloudy day, you can still fully charge the remote from your router’s energy waves.

And the new remote will work with 2022 TVs but not 2021 and earlier TVs?

CHO: It’s just for 2022 units, correct.

Samsung is revamping the main interface with rows for current shows, recommendations across multiple streamers, cloud gaming, etc. What was the main idea behind the redesign?

CHO: We really focused on customizing the TVs. The 2022 models will have a new home screen with a media screen, gaming hub, and ambient mode. When you turn on the TV, the media screen will put all of your streaming services in one place. The gaming hub will allow you to access a range of consoles and cloud-based games in one place. The last new piece is the ambient mode, which will allow you to use your TV as a display for artwork and photos.

Some services — Netflix in particular — are more integrated on some platforms than others. Will you have full participation from streamers on the new interface at launch, or will more services opt into that over time?

SCHINASI: Our integration with partners is phenomenal. We’ve invested a tremendous amount of time and resources, and there’s probably not a manufacturer in the world with more instances of Netflix on their platform than Samsung. What’s new for 2022 is more a revamp of the user experience than the tech that underlies the platform.

We’ve bridged live viewing and on-demand viewing, which have historically been in separate areas of the interface. We’re integrating a hub for console gaming and cloud gaming and even PC gaming with super high frame rates.

Samsung added Peacock and Apple TV in 2021, and this will really be the first year you’ll be able to market Samsung TVs as a home for every major streamer, every major music service, a lot of gaming services, etc. Has that factored into your marketing for 2022?

CHO: Our focus this year is on personalization, so having all of the major services is a big advantage in showing consumers what they want.

If I’m watching episode after episode of a British comedy on Acorn TV, the recommendation engine will show me other British comedies on other streamers that I subscribe to.

CHO: Yes, exactly. You’ll see recommendations across all of your services based on what you’re watching.

You’re introducing a hub for NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are getting a lot of investor and media attention right now. Do you see that evolving from images into something like a limited edition of a movie that’s only available to 10,000 or 20,000 buyers?

SCHINASI: The current vision is static images and art, and we’ll have to wait and see where it evolves.

You’re updating SmartThings, which is Samsung’s smart-home hub.

SCHINASI: So SmartThings is our home automaton that in the past has required a separate hub device. That will now be built into the TV, and you’ll be able to manage smart-home devices from the TV.

The Watch Together feature will allow Samsung consumers to see each other and interact with each other while watching the same movie or TV show. Is that a Samsung feature or something that will only work with particular services?

SCHINASI: That’s a Samsung feature. For now, two people will be able to watch their TVs in different places and see each other on a split screen. That will work across two Samsung TV for now, and we’ll see how that evolves to other devices over time.

CHO: That’s a spinoff of our Multi View feature that allows you show two inputs on the screen at the same time.

Will that work across other Samsung devices like phones and tablets?

SCHINASI: That’s a planned enhancement to go to mobile devices in — probably — 2023, so we’re definitely thinking about how to expand it beyond just TVs.

Will those new interface changes launch first on the new 2022 models and then roll out over time to 2021 and earlier models?

SCHINASI: We’ll launch on 2022 models, and we’re still working on which features will work with the hardware for earlier models based on the memory, the processor, etc.

Scott Porch writes about the TV business for Decider. He is a contributing writer for The Daily Beast and produces the Must Watch streaming podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottPorch.