Since flat screen televisions started appearing in homes from the early 2000s, their bezels have gotten smaller and screen sizes significantly larger. But from a design perspective, very little has changed. While TVs are often a focal point of the home, little has been done to make them attractive centrepieces to be proud of. That is until Samsung invited French design juggernauts the Bouroullec brothers to help conceptualise the Samsung Serif TV.
Now I’d admired this unique look from afar since its European release, but technology in press pictures often look different to the real deal. In the case of the Serif – it’s unlike any TV you’ve ever seen and far better looking in person than in pictures. Its distinctive ‘I’ shaped profile and mid-century modern design looks gorgeous from every angle and from my experience – in every room.
While not usually a big television watcher, isolation meant I had plenty of time to get to the know the Serif and explore everything it had to offer. Over the course of a one month isolation review, I moved the Serif all around the house just to see if there was anywhere it didn’t seamlessly fit in. To answer the question on everybody’s minds… yes, it even looks good in the bathroom (if a little impractical).
Most TVs require either a stand or a bracket (PSA: don’t buy the Serif if you want to hang it on the wall) to stay upright. By virtue of its ‘I’ shape, the Serif stands alone both literally and figuratively, in that it can support itself and stand on literally any flat surface. As far as I can ascertain, it’s the purest form of a plug and play TV in the world – simply take it out of the box, put it on a flat surface, plug it in, and turn it on.
Should you want the Serif to stand on the floor, it comes with four minimalist legs that screw into the base and put the TV at the perfect height for couch viewing. Legs on or legs off, it’s an incredibly versatile television and one that I don’t think will ever ‘get old’, or so to speak. Some suggest using the top of the Serif as a mantelpiece, however I feel as though it detracts from the clean lines – but each to their own.
The beauty of the timeless Bouroullec brothers design means that while the shape can remain the same forever, the internals can be specced up as technology progresses. The 2019 Australian version we tested – it comes in 43″ and 55″ variants – boasts Samsung’s highly-praised smart 4K QLED specs. Which I honestly could not fault. In fact, when rewatching Bodyguard, the 4K picture was so crisp you could see the bad makeup jobs on many characters.
The usual gamut of smart features like voice control, Airplay 2, and apps (Stan, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SBS On Demand, et al.) are included with the Serif; but one feature I’ve never seen before was Ambient Mode. The mode, which is unique to the Serif as far as I’m aware, scans the room for a colour theme and matches its standby palette to match. It’s basically a low power, beautiful standby mode that displays a range of patterns or information like the weather, time or your upcoming appointments (not that I had any appointments during isolation).
In a seemingly never-ending race for manufacturers to make the biggest or the brightest TV, the Samsung Serif is a chance for consumers to take back their living rooms. It’s a talking point and I think that’s what this TV is all about.
The Samsung Serif is available at samsung.com/au , as well as select Harvey Norman and Good Guys locations for the below RRPs.
- Samsung Serif 55-inches – $1,999
- Samsung Serif 43-inches – $1,399
The author was provided a Serif TV for the sake of review – this is not a paid advertisement.
