Despite a stalling South African economy and falling disposable income from South African consumers, Samsung South Africa on Thursday evening held a small media launch in Kramerville for its new range of ultra-high definition (SUHD) TV sets.
Pre-orders for Samsung's new SUHD TV's that has gone bezel-less - and with quantum dot display that results in better high pixel density - start on Friday.
A few hundred people who buy a new 8-series SUHD TV before 26 June will get a Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone with it.
Samsung South Africa will now be selling and has a recommended retail price for the 65-inch KS9500 SUHD Curved TV (UA65KS9500) of R64,999, 65-inch KS8500 SUHD Curved TV (UA65KS8500) for R54,999 and the 55-inch KS8500 SUHD Curved TV (UA55KS8500) for R32,999.
The new range of SUHD TV's come with one remote that can be programmed to control anything from a DStv decoder to Microsoft XBox.
"Our new SUHD TV's represent our singular focus on innovation that matters most to consumers, by providing the very best picture quality for the home," says Matthew Thackrah, the deputy managing director and head of consumer electronics at Samsung South Africa.
Samsung South Africa that has already produced and distributed 3.2 million TV sets within the South African market, announced swimmer Cameron van der Burgh as its new TV brand ambassador who attended Samsung's local SUHD media launch.
The Samsung SUHD launch event comes on the same day that Bloomberg reported that Samsung has had discussions with entertainment companies about launching its own multi-channel over-the-top TV service.
Samsung asked companies how much they would charge Samsung to carry their TV channels in a bundle over the internet and straight to viewers through Samsung's internet-connected TV sets. In South Africa Samsung for instance already carries services like the ShowMax app from Naspers.
"Our approach is to continue to develop strategic collaborations with content partners rather than compete with them," Samsung said in a statement.
