Samsung Sero review (Image: SAMSUNG)
If you’re looking for a TV with a twist, Samsung’s Sero may have grabbed your attention. This television was announced earlier this year and offers a pretty unique viewing experience as it can spin from portrait to landscape orientations at the touch of a button. Now, the first question that likely came to your mind is “why?” and the answer is pretty simple, according to Samsung. As we shoot more and more photos and videos on our smartphone in a portrait orientation, it makes sense for our goggleboxes to adapt – saving us from watching everything filmed on our phones with humongous black borders on either side.
After all, why would you want to scroll through your Instagram feed on the small screen when you could beam it to something much bigger and better. The idea sounds pretty nifty, but what’s the Sero really like when placed in your living room?
Express.co.uk has been giving it a spin and here are our thoughts.
Let’s kick things off by saying the Sero is certainly unlike anything else we’ve used before. It’s a very unique television and actually looks more like a piece of furniture than a giant TV. When switched off it automatically spins into portrait mode which actually makes it appear much less domineering in your living room.
To help boost the aesthetics further, Samsung has included some fun animations so you can turn the telly into a warming fireplace or softly glowing candles – it’s a nice touch and makes the big screen useful even when you’re not bingeing on boxsets.
Switch things on and you can decide how you want to use this TV with some simple settings allowing it to mimic what’s on your smartphone.
The Sero can be used just like a giant smartphone (Image: SAMSUNG)
Set it to portrait mode and you get the full-screen experience of apps, like Instagram, appearing without the giant black bars you’d usually see on a standard TV. This makes it far easier to watch with friends or family members – rather than passing around a small phone screen. Of course, everything looks stunning on the pin-sharp 43-inch OLED display.
You can even get the TV to spin as you rotate the device in your hand which is a fun little gimmick.
This is certainly a nice way of viewing content from popular apps such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok or Instagram but you’d either have to pretty rich or a total addict to buy this TV just for this experience.
The Sero costs well over £1,200 which is around three times the price of a standard 4K 43-inch TV that doesn’t swivel. It’s a high a price to pay for getting your fix of social media on the big screen and only you can decide if want to fork out that kind of money. Of course, this is not just a telly for viewing social media on. When you fancy watching some Netflix you simply tap a button on the remote and the Sero gracefully spins into landscape mode.
Samsung Sero can also be used just like a standard TV (Image: SAMSUNG)
Once it automatically locks in place you’ll find all the usual features you’d expect from a Samsung television with instant access to smart features and apps such as Disney+, Prime Video, BT Sport and Netflix.
The QLED panel is also very watchable with colours looking bright and blacks appearing rich with plenty of punch. There’s also HDR10+ technology tucked inside which allows for incredible depth and detail in your favourite shows, picking out even the minutest of colours to give a true reflection of what was captured on film by the moviemakers.
It also boasts an impressive quantum processor, some real firepower behind the screen, which allows the Sero to use artificial intelligence to upscale older and fewer HD programs to bring the best out of them.
The results are always impressive and you’re bombarded with colourful, and crystal clear images. It’s a decent gaming TV too, as there’s a dedicated games mode for consoles.
A game of Call of Duty popped beautifully out of the screen in incredible Ultra HD depth which is good news if you’ve managed to get a new 4K-capable PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Another bonus of the Sero is that it comes pre-attached to a stand which has an in-built 60-watt speaker system inside. The audio isn’t as good as buying a dedicated surround sound system but it’s way better than most of the terrible speakers that come with the latest TVs.
Samsung’s Sero will spin to mimic your smartphone (Image: SAMSUNG )
In fact, we happily watched the action-packed Avengers movies without wanting to add any extras audio products. The Sero definitely feels like a premium product, but the same can’t be said for the fairly cheap-looking remote.
It’s a neat little channel changer but the plastic case and wobbly buttons aren’t what we’d expect from such an expensive TV.
Another criticism we have is that, due to the SERO coming with its own stand, there’s nowhere to place your set-top box or Blu-ray player. In fact, we ended up standing out Sky Q box on its end next to the telly which does spoil the overall look.
It’s also worth mentioning that the TV sits at an angle which faces slightly upwards on its stand, we got used to this pretty quickly but it does feel a little odd when you first switch it on.
Samsung Sero review (Image: SAMSUNG)
Samsung Sero TV review: Final Verdict
We’ve been using the Sero for a while and there’s plenty to like. This telly will certainly have your neighbours talking when they pop round for a cuppa and a chat.
We actually really like the way it looks so different from standard TVs and it somehow manages to appear less dominant in a room than some screens.
The QLED display is excellent and the speakers tucked inside the stand also offer a good level of sound and bass. If you are an Instagram addict then you’ll love the portrait mode as whizzing through your feed had never looked better on this big display.
The main issue with the Sero is simply its price. When it launched, this twirly telly cost over £1,500 and even with some recent deals you’re still looking at more than £1,200.
For a lot less money, you can get some serious screen technology which makes the Sero look like a pretty expensive gimmick. That said, if you want to stand out from the crowd and have money to burn the Sero is a lot of fun that will definitely turn a few heads.