It's clear from the popularity of Samsung's The Frame TVs that people really appreciate home cinema tech that doesn't take up masses of visual space in a room.
Those TVs are brilliant at looking like artwork when they're not in use, and Samsung has clearly learnt from their success, as one of its CES 2024 launches demonstrates.
Its new Music Frame speakers are effectively cribbing from the same notes, offering a compact and stealthy speaker that looks for all the world like a small piece of framed art.
That idea is heavily reminiscent of Ikea and Sonos' team-up on the Symfonisk frame speaker, although the Music Frame looks far less conspicuous and a bit classier, with an actual frame rather than a free-floating design.
As a square with each side measuring around 33cm, it's also a lot smaller than Sonos' own stealthy speaker, which is another potential point of attraction.
The speaker is essentially hidden behind an actual print; that band of black is an opening through which sound flows, and Samsung says there will be plenty of options for that print when it launches, so you can pick your style.
We're dreaming of a day when you can actually create your own designs and prints, of course, but there's no sign that's going to be there at launch (which should be sometime in 2024).
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Samsung says you can use the Music Frame either as a standalone wireless speaker or pair a few of them to a 2024 Samsung TV or soundbar to create a surround system for home cinema audio.
That's a pretty compelling option given that it basically eliminates the need to have obvious speakers to the left and right of your sofa of choice, and we've no doubt this will prove popular among the aesthetically minded.
The Music Frame also apparently has built-in woofers, which should mean that it has decent bass performance despite its unconventional size and shape, although we haven't been able to test this ourselves.
As with so many CES launches, we don't have a firm idea of pricing or a release date for Music Frame, but we'd expect it to launch in the near future, and certainly in 2024 given how polished it's looking.
Max is T3's Staff Writer for the Tech section – with years of experience reporting on tech and entertainment. He's also a gaming expert, both with the games themselves and in testing accessories and consoles, having previously flexed that expertise at Pocket-lint as a features editor.
-
Should you keep the heating on low all day? An expert reveals all
The age-long question has finally been answered
By Lizzie Wilmot Published
-
Coros Pace Pro review: A bright screen, big upgrades, and some trade-offs
Coros enters the AMOLED race with the Pace Pro, a feature-packed watch designed for athletes, but does it offer enough to challenge Garmin and Polar?
By Matt Kollat Published
-
Samsung accidentally posts its own Galaxy S25 spoilers
Revealing One UI 7 features gives us a glimpse at future phone powers
By Chris Hall Published
-
This monster 77-inch Samsung OLED TV is less than half price for Cyber Monday – that's crazy!
You can get $1,700 off the Samsung Class S84D OLED at Best Buy right now
By Rik Henderson Published
-
This Samsung Odyssey OLED monitor deal has to be seen to be believed
49-inch, curved, ultra-wide and OLED – it doesn't get any better than this
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Samsung plans to take on Steam Deck and Switch 2 with a unique gaming handheld
Patent suggests Samsung's skill in another area could transform handheld consoles
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Massive Samsung Galaxy upgrade could come from this new camera system
Samsung has developed a new smartphone zoom system that packs its periscope into a much smaller space
By Carrie Marshall Published
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 surprise launch date leaked – could be in your hands in weeks
Pencil the 5 January in your diary
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Why wait for Black Friday? This massive 75-inch Samsung 4K TV is under $550 right now
The monstrous Samsung DU6950 has more than 26% off in an early Black Friday deal
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Samsung's big free software upgrade could be here next week – with some inspiration from Apple!
Samsung Galaxy phone owners could have a big change coming
By Sam Cross Published