The Sero, the QLED 4K TV that works (also) in Portrait mode. - SAMSUNG

  • Unveiled at the Las Vegas electronics show in January 2019, the Samsung The Sero TV can be used in Portrait or Landscape mode.
  • Its vocation is thus to be able to play videos shot vertically, to serve as a giant screen for accessing social networks and, of course, as a classic 4K television.
  • Attractive and launched in April at 1500 euros, it may be far too expensive to attract the millennials for which it seems intended.

Samsung is not at its first attempt. After its televisions The Frame and The Serif with resolutely disruptive concepts, the manufacturer turns on The Sero today. Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas in January 2019, The Sero, which has just been presented to the European press, will be launched in France next April.

110 cm diagonal… vertically

The idea is not so preposterous. With The Sero, Samsung wants to be "in tune with the times" and respond to the avalanche of video content shot in Portrait mode, with a vertical image. According to figures circulating, 40% of video content is produced in this way by smartphone users. Difficult to use on a classic television which will apply very large colored bands on both sides of the images during their broadcast, these videos will find with The Sero a perfect setting.

QLED 4K television with a diagonal of 43 '' / 110 cm, The Sero rests on a special stand. This includes a motorization which can switch the television to Portrait or Landscape mode depending on the nature of the content viewed. Want to spend a moment on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook? The Sero reproduces the content of your smartphone vertically thanks to its miroring function. Is it time to swallow a few episodes of your current series on Netflix or Amazon Prime? The Sero switches to Landscape mode on demand.

A simple button on the back of the TV switches it to portrait or landscape mode. - CHRISTOPHE SEFRIN / 20 MINUTES

For this, a button on the back of the frame starts the rotation (fast and silent as we have seen). But better: synchronized with the smartphone of its user, The Sero can adopt one or the other mode of distribution by turning its smartphone in one direction or the other.

60 watts of built-in power

To go further, The Sero is equipped with a 4.2 sound system with a power of 60 watts hidden in its foot. This audio system is also Wifi, Bluetooth and compatible with AirPlay 2, Apple's wireless broadcasting standard. No more need for a sound bar. When listening, the audio reproduction is completely honest. In any case well suited to make a canvas, a video game or listen to music.

It is possible to take control of The Sero from your smartphone. - CHRISTOPHE SEFRIN / 20 MINUTES

Launched at 1,500 euros, The Sero remains too expensive to reach its declared target, the millennials, the generation "born with a smartphone in hand". But the idea of ​​this rotating screen TV also makes sense, especially for a small apartment or even a bedroom. Too bad also that Samsung has not thought of including a small camera as part of its TV. In Portrait mode, The Sero could thus have served as a mirror. No doubt the manufacturer, scalded by suspicion of spyware with its first connected televisions which incorporated a webcam almost 20 years ago, he preferred not to venture on this dangerous ground…

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