Everything you need to know about Lifestyle TVs

What is a lifestyle TV and why should you consider one?

A lifestyle TV is quite simply a television that complements and enhances your lifestyle. It’s a new and emerging category in the television space that encapsulates more creative and versatile TVs than the market has seen in the past

Style and design TVs

The first rule in living room design has always been to avoid placing your television front-and-centre where it will become the focal point. Now, lifestyle TVs that transform into artwork when they are not in use allow you the freedom to do exactly that.

The Frame

Samsung has been leading the way in this space, first launching The Frame in 2017. The “Art Mode” feature allows the TV’s screen to display works of art ranging from paintings to images, from either a personal photo library, built-in options or from across the globe through the Art Store, a Samsung-owned art subscription service. The latest release of The Frame features QLED technology, 4k Ultra HD resolution and “One Clear Cable”, which connects your TV to the Samsung One Connect Box to manage all your devices including power, so you're not compromising on aesthetics.

To further enhance the cohesive design of your space, the physical frame of the television can be customised in your choice of colour and style options (sold separately). For renters, or when wall-mounting isn’t an option, there’s also an easel-inspired Studio Stand accessory that gives you greater flexibility with your room set-up and layout.

The Serif

A statement in itself, The Serif is another Samsung release that turns the TV into a showpiece. In fact, it was the result of a partnership with French design duo and brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, who are renowned for their lighting, furniture and homewares. It has many of the same technical specifications as its older sibling The Frame (QLED technology, 4k Ultra HD resolution and “One Clear Cable”), with the addition of ambient mode for when the TV isn’t in use. In ambient mode, the screen displays one of two exclusive patterns, specially created by the Bouroullec brothers, of a beautiful leaf and a textured fabric, with various colour options to match your mood.

Gallery design

LG’s take on an art TV, the Gallery Design OLED TV can also be transformed into an artwork display when not in use, complete with its own LG image library. The Gallery range sizes go to 83-inches and features OLED technology, which makes for deeper blacks and brighter colours, while also helping to remove glare from the TV-watching equation. Its slim profile sits neatly on the wall, and there’s a height-adjustable gallery stand (sold seperately), with in-built brackets to keep cables out of sight.

Resolution

Screen resolution determines how sharp the picture quality will be, so the higher it is, the better the picture clarity. As a relatively new television category, most lifestyle TVs are equipped with the very latest in technology and have at least 4K resolution. Here’s what it means:

8K

In consumer products, 8K resolution is the highest on the market, giving you extreme detail thanks to some 33 million pixels. There’s only a handful of models on the market so far, and it’s yet to make its way into the lifestyle category – watch this space.

4K

The most common resolution you’ll find in the lifestyle space. These TVs are also referred to as Ultra HD and have 3840 x 2160 pixels, so the detail is still fantastic. They usually have a refresh rate of 120Hz 9 (this is the number of times per second a TV refreshes its image), so they’re perfect for fans of fast-paced thrillers and live sports.

Full HD TV

These models have a 1080p Full HD resolution with more than two million screen pixels (1920 x 1080 pixels). It’s one of the most common resolutions in modern televisions, but given lifestyle products are high-end, they usually exceed Full HD.

Screen technology

Finding a new TV can often feel like you’re speaking a whole new language – here’s a breakdown of the top technology.

OLED

OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, which describes the panel within the TV that displays light and colour. To the average eye, the biggest difference in OLED-tech TVs is the perfect black – on LED TVs it can appear more like a charcoal grey because the technology uses a backlight. OLED TVs have no backlight, so blacks appear more saturated and colour is more vibrant.

LED LCD

There are two acronyms to break down here. The first is LED, which stands for light-emitting diodes. LEDs are used to backlight the liquid crystal display (LCD), which is where LCD comes in. LED LCD displays are the most common type of television on the market today.

QLED

QLED technology is much like LED LCD, with the addition of a quantum dot layer within the display, which allows a wider and more saturated range of colour, while reducing glare and reflection.

Smart features

While things like art mode and water resistance are the features that really set lifestyle TVs apart from the rest of the pack, there are some other features you should look for to get the most out of your television:

• Wi-Fi connectivity or smart features that allow you to stream your favourite shows and movies, as well as connecting to other smart devices in your home.

• Voice control is an underrated feature on TVs, especially when it means not having to type into a search bar ever again.

• Built-in apps such as Netflix and YouTube make it easy to start streaming.

Price range

Expect to pay a little extra for the benefits that a lifestyle TV has to offer. The Frame starts from $1395 for a 43-inch, The Terrace comes in at $3995 for a 55-inch, and the LG Gallery is priced at $3495 for a 55-inch.*