Back in April, Samsung announced a rotating TV called 'The Sero.' Like Microsoft's Surface Hub 2, the screen can swivel between a conventional landscape setup and portrait orientation that's optimized for smartphone-centric content like Snapchat, Instagram Stories and TikToks. Samsung launched the 4K display in Korea for 1.89 million won (roughly $1,630) last May. But what about the West? Well, the company announced today that the same attention-grabbing design is coming to "several global markets" this year.
According to Samsung, The Sero is designed "for the mobile generation." (Read: millennials.) The TV connects to your phone over NFC and will mirror almost anything -- videos, games, social networks and e-commerce sites -- that you would normally consume on a smaller screen. If you own a Galaxy smartphone, The Sero will swivel automatically to match the orientiation of the content. It's a neat party trick that should keep black bars to a minimum. I do wonder how the system will cope, though, if you start flicking through a photo album full of landscape and portrait shots.
The Sero can be used like a conventional TV, of course. It's a 43-inch panel -- no word on the resolution, but we assume it's 4K -- with 4.1 channel, 60-watt speakers and a microphone-enabled remote that supports Bixby (yes, Samsung is still pushing Bixby.) The set is being positioned as the third part of Samsung's design-centric Frame and Serif TV family. It's also part of a broader push to attract younger customers with eye-catching designs. Seven months ago, for instance, the company unveiled Project PRISM, a range of customizable appliances that include colorful refrigerators.