Samsung’s Music Frame is indeed as cool as it looks

From 'The Boss' to Olivia Rodrigo, the Music Frame impressed with its audio quality.

Mar 29, 2024 - 02:30

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Samsung’s Music Frame is indeed as cool as it looks

Fast Facts

Samsung's Music Frame is up for preorder now at $399.99 and begins shipping in mid-April.
TheStreet's Senior Tech Reporter Jacob Krol went hands-on with Samsung's $400 speaker that looks like a photo frame and walked away impressed.

It’s pretty easy to answer "What is a soon-to-be-available gadget from the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show has you the most excited?" That would be Samsung’s Music Frame, an offshoot of the always-popular Frame TV.

It is presented as a simple photo frame, albeit a little thick to accommodate a range of audio hardware that has it doubling as a proper smart speaker. I shared my early first look back in Jan. 2024, and now that Samsung (SSNLF) is officially taking orders and letting the $400 price be known, I can share a bit more.

I visited Samsung’s office and spent about an hour with not one but two Music Frames. It’s not enough for a full review, and I’ll be completing more testing and listening to dozens of tracks soon enough, but I have a better feel for Samsung’s latest speaker.

At $400, Samsung’s Music Frame competes in the higher-end smart speaker world with competitors like Apple’s $299 HomePod and the $449 Era 300 from Sonos. While both stick with traditional speaker designs, Samsung hides audio chops inside a photo frame.

The Music Frame still comes in one color with black bezels and a white matte with a centrally mounted photo on the front. It measures 12.9 inches x 12.9 inches and can be placed on the included stand or wall-mounted.

A look at the Music Frame with the front panel popped off.

Underneath the roughly 8-inch photo insert (and on the rear of the Music Frame), you’ll find six speakers: two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and two subwoofers. This all comes together for a truthfully fantastic mix that works for nearly any genre and gets surprisingly loud for its sheer size. Whether “Love Is Embarrassing” by Olivia Rodrigo or “Death to my Hometown” by Bruce Springsteen, the Music Frame presented two equally wide soundtrack tracks with a wide amount of clarity and a significant amount of oomph for the lower end.

The rear panel of the Music Frame is home to ports and two speakers.

Samsung’s audio expertise in the world of TVs, soundbars, and even earbuds shows here, and the Music Frame could easily rival that of a HomePod or Era 300 in terms of audio quality. It also matches those speakers with support for Dolby Atmos playback. On its own, the Music Frame easily filled the test room I saw it in, but you can also pair two of them together for a proper stereo experience that ups the sheer volume without losing clarity.

Regarding control and playback options, the Music Frame — like Samsung’s TV family — lives within the SmartThings app. From there, you can control things like volume and the overall mix. Still, you can also group it with other audio products, like a Samsung soundbar, or even link up a third-party assistant like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. Simply put, a wide range of purely music services are supported for playback, and it fully integrates with Samsung’s TVs.

You'll be able to swap in and out the main, about 8-inch photo, on the Music Frame.

You can pair just one of these with a Frame TV or Neo QLED to up the overall soundstage or purely boost the low end and have the Music Frame act as a subwoofer. You could also wall mount two of these in a room where you already have a Frame TV and a slim soundbar for a full home theater system.

The real factor here is the $400 price. Yes, it is costly, but you are getting an excellent speaker with many use cases and support for Dolby Atmos. The latter is not a common occurrence, and on competing speakers, it’s just as costly.

Will Samsung’s Music Frame turn into a masterpiece year over year like the Frame TV? That remains to be seen, but for now, Samsung’s first attempt is a pretty clean brushstroke that certainly hits the right nodes with sound quality and design. Plus, you get the bezel, stand, and mounts in the box.

I’ll be back soon once I’ve had a chance to fully test out the Music Frame at home.

@jakekrol
Samsung just announced a combination picture frame and smart speaker. The #MusicFrame looks like a square, mini #FrameTV and launches later in 2024. How much would you pay and do you want this on your wall? #music #smartspeaker #samsung #samsungaudio #sound #soundbar #playback #speakers #ces #ces2024 ♬ original sound - Jake Krol