By Matt Niksa
BU News Service
Samsung unveiled a 98-inch, 8K-definition LED television and two new laptops at a news conference at CES on Monday.
The TV, shown with the rest of Samsung’s 2019 QLED TV lineup, can upgrade a TV’s content to 8K quality regardless of its current resolution, according to David Das, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics America. Although there’s no 8K-formatted video content available to consumers today, Das said the TV can support original 8K content through the HDMI 2.1 cable when it becomes available.
“This TV can deliver incredible color and enhanced contrast that other competing displays simply can’t,” Das said.
Samsung’s 2019 QLED TV lineup features models with 65-, 75-, 82-, and 85-inch screens. The South Korean technology company did not say how much its line of TVs would cost, but Das said that select models will be available for pre-order in the U.S. starting Monday.
Samsung also introduced a pair of new laptops on Monday, the Notebook 9 Pro and the Notebook Flash. The Notebook 9 Pro features a larger keyboard compared to the Notebook 9 Pen, which was released in December 2018. Samsung said the Notebook 9 Pro will be available for purchase in early 2019. The Notebook Flash starts at $350, considerably cheaper than the projected price of the Pro, and offers 4 GB of memory compared to the Pro’s 8 GB.
Samsung CEO Hyunsuk Kim announced Monday that Samsung will also introduce 5G smartphones to the market in the first half of 2019. Kim said mobile 5G services on Samsung devices is already available in South Korea. In the U.S., the company is helping major wireless carriers such as Verizon roll out 5G home and commercial services in Houston and Sacramento, California, Kim said.
Samsung is the first company to receive FCC approval for its 5G commercial products and was also first to receive any regulatory approval on its 5G technology, Kim said.
Please watch the featured video for more information about other products announced at the Samsung news conference Monday.
