Samsung’s Lifestyle range proved TVs don’t need to spoil the look of a stylish living room. The Serif is a design statement, The Frame made to blend into its surroundings. We called The Frame “as good to watch at as it is fashionable to have around your home” in our review.
Samsung has taken the Lifestyle range to new territory with The Freestyle, a portable projector*. It lets you create a cinematic experience anywhere in your home from walls to ceilings, even if you would rather not have a traditional TV at all. It’s available to buy from John Lewis today for £999. Let’s take a closer look.
The style of The Freestyle
Samsung’s The Freestyle weighs just 830g and has a 10cm diameter footprint, compact enough to hold in your hand. Several key features make it a dream to use when you do want to watch a movie or TV show.
Its flexible stand adjusts the angle of the projector by up to 180 degrees in a few easy clicks, meaning you can even enjoy the action straight off the ceiling! Automatic keystone correction and focusing take all the effort out of projector set-up. So wherever you watch, you'll always get a clear and sharp picture.
It can even automatically adjust, should you not have a perfectly flat surface on which to put The Freestyle, straightening the screen so it appears perfectly levelled.
You simply need to decide how large a screen you want. The Freestyle’s brightness and focus are designed for projecting anything between 17 inches and 100 inches. But you don't have to move The Freestyle around to get the perfect screen size. Once you've found that sweet viewing spot, you can manually adjust the screen’s size and position to your liking.
Breezy home cinema
There’s no need for any other equipment either. Powered by Tizen, The Freestyle has its own Wi-Fi-connected Samsung Smart TV built-in platform, and supports all the streaming apps you’ll need, including Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Apple TV and catch-up TV services.
The Freestyle lets you mirror and watch your main TV anywhere in your home. With Wi-Fi direct connection, you can connect, control and project your Samsung Smart TV in any room - whether the TV is on or off.*
Alternatively you can easily mirror content straight from your smartphone using Apple AirPlay2, Samsung SmartThings or Tap View. A traditional projector can take real skill to setup, but Samsung’s The Freestyle is designed for those who simply want to be able to enjoy movies, TV and games on the go, at the touch of a button.
It also supports Bixby and Amazon Alexa voice assistants. While you can ask these countless questions, we like the prospect of being able to turn The Freestyle on and change its volume with a quick voice command.
You won’t need to connect a sound system either. A 360-degree speaker lives inside The Freestyle, which provides depth and impact from wherever you’re sitting.
Picture quality credibility
Samsung has not sacrificed image quality in order to make The Freestyle easy to use. It is a Full HD resolution projector with 550-lumen brightness and HDR support. Just close the curtains and almost any room is ready for a movie night.
There are options for the enthusiasts too. The Freestyle has Bluetooth for connection to a wireless speaker or a pair of headphones. A micro HDMI on the side lets you hook up other video sources.
Samsung’s The Freestyle doesn’t need to be constantly connected to the mains to operate either. With the help of an external battery pack you can take it outdoors for al fresco movie showings, or camping holidays.
You can buy Samsung’s Battery Base, which screws into the projector’s bottom, or use an external battery pack. Just make sure it supports the USB-PD standard and output of at least 50W/20V, as per Samsung’s published requirements.
It needs to be able to keep up with The Freestyle’s powerful light source, which — unlike a traditional projector — uses LEDs rather than less efficient metal halide lamp technology. This also gives the Freestyle a working lifespan comparable with that of a TV, rated for up to 27 years of use at two hours a day. Longevity is yet one more classic projector problem you just don’t have to worry about.
Samsung’s The Freestyle is available to buy from John Lewis now, at £999, and includes a five-year guarantee.
*Compatible external battery required for outdoor use and sold separately.
