I've used a Samsung The Frame TV for years, and here's why The Frame Pro is a huge upgrade

Samsung’s The Frame has long stood out from the list of the best TVs available for you to spend your hard-earned money on, basically since its inception. Not necessarily for its picture quality or the tech onboard, but more so due to the fact that it’s extremely aesthetically pleasing.

When it’s off, it’s not a big, black rectangle on your wall or propped up on a cabinet – instead, it displays artwork or photos, and rather than a thick bezel around the screen, it’s wrapped in a bezel that makes it look like a picture frame.

It’s been a winning combo, and with the screen gaining the same matte finish as the flagship Samsung S95D OLED TV in recent generations, works of art now look even more realistic as screen reflections are blocked.

And that’s what makes The Frame Pro such an interesting addition to Samsung’s lineup – it replaces the larger-screen sizes of the standard Frame with much of the same feature set, plus offers two key upgrades.

The standard QLED screen is replaced with NeoQLED, which features Mini-LED backlighting, and there's now a Wireless One Connect box for wirelessly connecting sources. It’s an especially appealing upgrade for folks who already have a standard Frame TV and are after a better quality picture or those who have always been interested, but were waiting for the image quality to be kicked into a higher gear.

It also keeps a premium price tag. Here’s how the Frame Pro breaks down by size:

• 65-inch The Frame Pro for $2,599.98 / £2,099 / AU$3,499
• 75-inch The Frame Pro for $3,599.98 / £2,999 / AU$4,499
• 85-inch The Frame Pro for $4,699.98 / £3,999 / AU$5,999

Even so, in typical Samsung fashion, it’s already discounted. The 65-inch is $2,199, the 75-inch is $3,199.99, and the 85-inch is $4,299.99.

I’ve been using a 55-inch The Frame with the matte finish and a Disney metallic silver frame bezel for a few years as my bedroom TV, and after spending some time with the Frame Pro, here’s why I think it’s a significant upgrade over the original.

Disconnecting the One Connect Box is a bigger deal than it sounds

Part of the appeal of the Frame TV was that one cable connected to the TV itself, and it came from the external One Connect Box, which serves as a central hub for the HDMI, optical, and other ports, allowing you to more effortlessly, and effectively, cable manage your home entertainment setup.

While the Frame Pro still requires a power cable, albeit a thinner one, that’s the only connection you’ll make anywhere near the TV. The One Connect Box is wireless, and a good bit slimmer, and can be placed up to 30 feet away from the TV itself. This infinitely frees up placement options for the Frame Pro – either on the included stand or mounted using the included bracket – and it doesn’t mean any shortcoming for picture quality. It can stream up to a 4K resolution picture at up to 120Hz refresh rate as long as it’s within 30 feet of the Frame Pro.

The new box itself takes up considerably less space than the previous One Connect Box, as well, meaning it should be easier to find a spot, and you get the freedom of placement. I have a feeling many folks with a current Frame TV will be jealous of the wireless box, though Samsung has made it clear that it is exclusive to the Pro.

The jump to NeoQLED should be a big one, and it looked sharp in early testing

Now, I only spent about an hour with the Frame Pro, and unfortunately, it wasn’t alongside the standard Frame but instead a competing model – likely Hisense’s Art TV. Even though I couldn’t do any side-by-side comparisons, the NeoQLED upgrade is noticeable on its own, just as it was when I saw it at CES 2025.

The Frame Pro delivered excellent picture quality with high brightness and popping colors in some tests. Future Labs also conducted some early benchmarking and found that it reached 1,000 nits of brightness at its peak, which is 400 nits over the standard Frame’s brightness.

Samsung’s testing room was pretty dim, and the Frame Pro got quite bright. It was great for some test content, ranging from YouTube videos of varying quality levels to Netflix shows.

It’s a much more solid TV overall, with better hardware to deliver stronger contrast and more vivid color. I really look forward to spending more time with the Frame Pro, which also provides a bit more value within the Frame lineup.

The Frame, now Frame Pro, has always cost more than Samsung’s core QLED TVs and was priced at the same level or more than some NeoQLED models, so having a much-improved display type is a delight here.

It’s still a great-looking TV that does the not-a-TV trick

The Frame has always been the most aesthetically pleasing TV, and the Frame Pro takes this up a notch. It still displays art very well with great detail and realism. Especially if you pay extra to wrap the Frame Pro in the frame bezel, which completes the look.

I ran through more than a dozen pieces of artwork, all available from Samsung’s Art Store, which is built into the TV and costs extra ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the United States). All looked particularly sharp and vivid… well, at least if that’s how the artist intended it.

And to keep the realistic approach, so you might do a double-take, Samsung switches off local dimming and 120Hz display so as not to up the brightness too much when in Art Mode. This can also help with energy consumption.

All in all, the Samsung Frame Pro is still one to watch. If you’ve been waiting for a substantial upgrade to the Frame, this is the tech giant’s answer. It’s more than the equivalent leapfrog of when Samsung added the matte, anti-reflection coating.

Plus, that Wireless One Connect Box will make finding a home for the Frame Pro a little less challenging. The only downside would be the limited sizing for the Frame Pro – anything smaller than a 65-inch, and to get the Frame effect, you'll need to be alright with the standard QLED picture and a hardwired One Connect Box, but at least you'll get a boosted refresh rate as well.

You might also like

• I'm very impressed with the Samsung S95F's anti-glare technology, but I'm far more excited for the other TVs of 2025 – here's why
• Samsung’s Ballie robot companion still comes in yellow, but has more AI and a promised 2025 launch
• Is the Galaxy S25 Edge ready for its debut? Samsung sets May 12 for virtual Galaxy Unpacked