Samsung is Releasing the First ‘Vertical Television’ and We Don’t Know What to Think

TVs have certainly changed throughout the decades. They used to be like a piece of furniture, a wooden box that was usually in the family living room. Then they became even bigger and took up a good portion of the floor space in front of a wall. Smaller versions of these boxes were more likely to be found in multiple rooms of a family’s home. We had one in our bedroom when we were kids.

Then TVs got thin, really thin, and we started hanging them on the walls. They also changed shape. Instead of a square box, TVs are now closer to the shape of the screen in a movie theater.

Now, the most drastic change of all has happened, and it’s all because of how much we use our smartphones.

Samsung has created a TV that can be displayed like a normal television, you know, horizontal, but it can also be rotated so that it’s displayed in a vertical position.

If you’re thinking that a vertical TV is a weird idea since TV shows and movies wouldn’t really fit the screen, that’s completely true. So, why on earth would Samsung think millennials would want a vertical TV?

Look at it again. Does it remind you of something? Maybe something that you’re holding in your hand right this very second?

That’s right. It looks like a huge smartphone.

Since we use our smartphones so frequently to take pictures and videos, and since many of those pictures and videos are vertical, Samsung wants to encourage all of us to project those images and videos onto a larger screen. That’s where this TV comes in.

The new TV is called “The Sero,” and it’s a 43-inch screen. When you’re not using it as a TV, it can be used to play music with a music visualizer or it can be a frame for one of your favorite photos.

Samsung showed off the new TV in a pop-up store in Seoul along with two other TVs in their Serif and Frame lines. The Sero is part of Samsung’s lifestyle line.

The Sero is not currently on sale, but Samsung plans to start selling it in South Korea at the end of May for around $1600 U.S.

Will the Sero make it to the U.S. market? That depends largely on how it does in South Korea.

Would you want a vertical TV in your home? Would you use it to display content from your smartphone? Do you think this is a completely ridiculous idea?