I understand that it does it’s primary mission quite well:
How about basic TV functionality and connectivity? I also heard that to show the fine art slideshows you need an expensive monthly subscription. Can you easily send your own photos to the TV?
As I read it, the art subscription is $5 a month or else the television comes with ten preloaded images. You can also use your own images, though you’ll need to make sure they’re in a large enough format to look good on a large screen (and not like a blown up 640x480 jpg)
We have one. We use it as a TV. It works great. When we’re not watching it has a really cool photo displayed (Mongolian Eagle Hunters on horseback). It has a motion sensor of some sort, so it goes dark after no activity in the room for a while. Visitors are surprised to learn it’s a TV and not just a work of art on the wall. I’m not sure if we paid for that photo or it came with the TV. I haven’t seen any Samsung monthly charges on my credit card bills.
I think it’s a clever idea as a way to get Samsung’s product to stand out from a crowded market (though LG has something similar). And if you only watch TV rarely, you might appreciate disguising it as a framed picture.
I have an LG OLED C2, not the Gallery, and one of its power-saving modes is Art Mode. There are various themes built-in, and you can download others for free, or use your own off of a USB drive.
The C2 can’t quite be flush mounted to the wall, since it has a inch-thick electronics case on the back. The Samsung Frame (and maybe the LG Gallery) solve that by having their electronics is a separate box, connected to the TV by a cable. Also, you can get various wood (looking) frames on some of these if you don’t like the thin bezel on most TVs.
I saw a hack where any TV can look like artwork by turning the the brightness low and choosing a warm color palette. Turn a regular TV into a Frame TV
My son does. His family and he love it.