Compare: LG NANO81A / NANO80A vs Samsung The Frame 2026 (LS03H)

LG NANO81A is essentially a continuation of the NanoCell series, which has hardly changed at all over the past few years. Apart from the new operating system, refreshed remote control, and a few marketing additions, we are dealing with practically the same design we have known for years. Thanks to the nanostructure filter, the television can display better, cleaner colours than standard budget televisions, and the IPS panel guarantees really decent viewing angles. Unfortunately, for these advantages, we pay for very poor blacks and low contrast, which is immediately noticeable during night screenings. Although webOS is still one of the best systems on the market, the biggest problem with the NANO81A is its price, which we simply do not understand. In 2025, this model faces enormous competition not just from brands like TCL or Hisense, but... from LG itself. The model we previously tested, QNED80A, is equipped with local dimming technology, has a brighter panel, and offers a wider colour gamut. Interestingly, at the time of writing this review, the technically superior QNED80A is often much cheaper than the NANO81A. In this situation, the existence of the NanoCell model makes no sense – unless your priority is solely wide viewing angles, but in our opinion, the price you have to pay for that (at the cost of tragic blacks and higher expenditure) is simply too high.

Samsung The Frame 2026 is still a TV aimed at a fairly specific type of buyer. If your main priority is having a screen that looks good in your interior, hangs almost flush against the wall, and doesn’t simply turn into a large black rectangle when switched off, there are very few TVs on the market that execute this idea quite as well. The matte screen, interchangeable bezels, external One Connect box, and extensive Art Mode allow The Frame to genuinely become part of the room rather than just another TV sitting in the living room. And that’s exactly where we see its biggest appeal.

Importantly, though, that doesn’t mean design is all you’re getting. The Frame performs really well in bright rooms. Its matte coating is very effective at reducing reflections, brightness reaching around 650 nits is enough for comfortable daytime viewing, and the wide colour gamut means colourful content, animation, and brighter HDR scenes can look very impressive. On top of that, there’s 144Hz support at 4K and, for the first time, up to 240Hz at Full HD. VRR, ALLM, FreeSync, G-Sync, HGiG, low input lag, and an extensive Game Bar make The Frame a much more capable gaming TV than its “artistic” character might suggest.

The biggest compromises become apparent when you look at it as a TV primarily intended for home cinema. The Frame has no local dimming, so blacks become noticeably raised in dark scenes, and this is where the difference compared with good Mini LED and OLED TVs is most obvious. HDR therefore looks best with bright and colourful content, while evening movie sessions in a dark room are definitely not its strongest suit. There is also noticeable motion blur and only one full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 port on the One Connect box, which may be frustrating for some users, especially gamers.

The Frame 2026, then, isn’t a TV for someone looking for the absolute best picture quality in its price range. There are models that offer deeper blacks or a more impactful HDR experience. But if the TV is meant to become part of a well-designed living room, is often used during the day, displays artwork, and at the same time needs to perform well with a wide variety of content, The Frame still makes a lot of sense. Samsung has barely changed its formula here, but it’s easy to see why — the “picture on the wall” concept is still executed extremely well. Owners of the previous model have little reason to upgrade, but for new buyers looking for this particular combination of design and TV functionality, it remains one of the most interesting options on the market.

The NanoCell series, including the model NANO81 we tested, is based on an IPS panel. For anyone who is somewhat familiar with screen technology, this means one thing: significant problems with black levels and contrast. Our measurements are merciless in this regard. A result of 800:1 is, to put it bluntly, a tragic outcome. In practice, this means that what should appear on the screen as deep black looks like a dark grey patch at night. Watching dark films or series in a completely dark room will be downright torturous – the image will lose all its depth and appear flat. If you do decide on this model, we have one key piece of advice for you: do not watch it in complete darkness. To salvage the situation somewhat, it is best to leave a gentle light on in the room, and the ideal solution would be to install LED strips behind the television. Such backlighting will trick your eye (this is known as simultaneous contrast) and make that grey on the screen seem a little darker. Nevertheless, the start of the test for cinematic experiences looks bleak.

Samsung The Frame 2026 uses a VA panel but has no local dimming. That means the TV cannot dim selected parts of the screen. The backlight therefore works quite evenly across the whole panel. The VA panel itself gives an advantage over IPS or ADS screens. Blacks are noticeably better, and the picture doesn't look quite as washed out when watching in the evening. That said, in terms of contrast The Frame performs fairly averagely. This is most evident in dark scenes. If a bright object appears on a black background, the TV cannot dim the area around it. Blacks then take on a more navy cast and the image loses depth. The same applies to films with black bars. In a darkened room it's fairly easy to see that the bars are not truly black. In simpler, brighter scenes the issue is much less noticeable. So during regular TV, sport or daytime viewing, contrast is unlikely to be a major problem. It looks worse during evening viewing sessions, especially if you've previously used an OLED or a good Mini-LED. The difference in black levels to The Frame's disadvantage then becomes very obvious.

If you are counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I must disappoint you. This television is simply too dark to truly show what this format is all about. With a brightness of only 250 nits, HDR exists here mainly on paper. In practice, during viewing, it is very difficult to distinguish whether we are watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that ‘punch’ of light in the bright parts of the image. However, to give credit where it’s due, we do have a glimmer of hope here – and quite a clear one at that. It concerns the colour gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it is not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is a really solid result that places this model significantly higher than typical budget options based on standard white LEDs without any filters. Of course, it still falls short of the level of quantum dot (QLED) TVs or advanced panels with PFS filters, but for this price point, the colours are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness prevents them from fully ‘spreading their wings’ with the Nano filter.

The Frame 2026 is a genuinely bright TV. Its peak brightness reaches around 650 nits and, importantly, it maintains similar levels regardless of the type of scene being displayed. It doesn’t really matter whether we’re watching a very bright full-screen image or just a small highlight occupying part of the screen. The backlight remains powerful, allowing bright parts of the image to stand out clearly.

This gives The Frame a solid foundation for HDR. Bright highlights can look impactful, and the picture doesn’t appear flat or overly dim. Unfortunately, there is a compromise. Without local dimming, the TV cannot darken the black areas surrounding very bright objects.

This is clearly visible in scenes 2 and 4 of our test procedure. Bright elements look impressive, but at the same time, the blacks around them become noticeably raised. As a result, the image loses some of its depth, especially when watching in a dark room. This is why The Frame performs best with HDR in bright and moderately bright scenes, where its high brightness works to its advantage. In darker scenes, the situation is quite the opposite.

Colours

The Frame also performs well when it comes to colour reproduction. As a QLED TV, it can display a wide colour gamut and produce rich, saturated colours. DCI-P3 coverage reaches around 94%, while BT.2020 comes in at around 72%. These are good results, and you can see the difference in actual content.

Colours look vivid without appearing washed out, particularly in bright and colourful scenes. Animations and other content with plenty of saturated colours can look really good on The Frame. With this type of material, the TV shows one of its stronger sides.

For every film fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. Its aim is to display images as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements". Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be the white balance. Measurements showed a distinct deficiency of blue colour, which in practice meant that many scenes had a slightly yellowish, even "yellowed" tint. The white was not perfectly pure, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was also not ideal – the factory-set gamma was too low. The picture often appeared oversaturated, as if overly lifted from the shadows, which caused it to lose naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price category, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration possibilities of this model are enormous, which is a big plus for those who enjoy "digging" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could squeeze out of this panel with professional calibration.

For assessing the factory colour output we chose the Filmmaker Mode. If you’re encountering it for the first time, it’s a mode designed to reproduce a film or series as faithfully as possible. The TV then switches off most of the extra picture enhancement features, and the colours and luminance characteristics are intended to be as close as possible to what the creators of the material intended. And it must be admitted that The Frame 2026 performs really well in this respect straight out of the box. The biggest deviation is visible in the white balance. As brightness increases the blue starts to drop out and green increases slightly. As a result the picture shifts toward warmer tones. White is therefore not perfectly neutral, and in some scenes you can notice a slightly warmer cast.

The luminance response for both the gamma and EOTF curves looks good. Across most of the range they stay fairly close to the target, although in the darkest parts of the picture there is a larger deviation. In practice some details emerging from black may therefore be rendered a little more strongly. However, this is not an error that stands out during normal viewing. Overall Filmmaker Mode is a good starting point here. However the picture is a little too warm by default and not all hues land exactly where they should.

After calibration, the NANO81A is a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools even in such an affordable model deserves a big plus. We managed to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colours natural, vibrant, and simply "true". In SDR content (that is, regular television, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks worlds better – it is clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It is clear that this panel has significant potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we do have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it concerns brightness management in HDR mode. LG's algorithm in this model is constructed very conservatively. The television intentionally dims the HDR picture to avoid overexposing the already weak blacks of the IPS panel. The programmers faced a choice: either to provide more light and accept that the blacks would become light grey or to reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

After calibration we mainly managed to remove that warmer tint and better even out the white balance. We also smoothed the brightness response a little, which made the picture more neutral and predictable. There are, however, things calibration won't fix here. It's mainly the black behaviour, which stems from the backlight design and the lack of local dimming. In some scenes blacks will therefore still be slightly lifted and you simply have to accept that. It's more a characteristic of this model than something that can be fixed with the settings. HDR is also a limitation. Samsung doesn't allow full freedom when working with the widest colour gamut, so not all colours can be reproduced perfectly. In normal viewing it's probably hard to notice, but it's worth being aware of.

The fluidity of tonal transitions is an element in which the NANO81A truly shines. LG proves here that it can refine image processing algorithms even in its cheaper models. During testing, we practically noted no occurrences of banding, that is, the annoying "steps" visible where one colour should transition smoothly into another. Everything appears incredibly natural and smooth. This is particularly evident in the bright scenes from the film Kingsman, where the backgrounds remain clean and free from digital artefacts. However, what is even more impressive is how the television handles the extremely difficult, dark, and misty shots in The Revenant. Where many budget panels falter and serve up ugly patches instead of smooth mist, the NANO81A holds its ground, offering very velvety transitions. The only downside is the fact that with darker shades, you will notice more of the weak blacks of this television rather than any issues with colour blending.

Gradation in The Frame 2026 comes across well, though not perfectly. In bright tonal transitions you can notice slight issues and occasional mild banding. These are not faults that seriously disturb normal viewing, but they can be picked up on our test images and in more demanding scenes. We would rate the bright tonal gradation at roughly 7.5 to 8 out of 10.

Interestingly, gradation in the darker parts of the image looks noticeably better. Here the transitions are very smooth and it's hard to find clear signs of posterization. This is the opposite of many LCD TVs, where the near-black region often causes bigger problems. In photos of dark scenes you can, however, see some unevenness in the image. These do not stem from the gradation itself but from panel uniformity and the operation of the backlight. Unfortunately, in that respect our sample of The Frame was not perfect, so in very dark shots you could spot brighter and darker patches of backlight.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring to light all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower-resolution content. However, with the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. This is truly a solid performer when it comes to handling content that is far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A significant advantage is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is extraordinarily effective in combating colour banding, which is a lifesaver when watching materials with a low bitrate, for instance, from some streaming services or older files from the web. However, it is worth maintaining a certain level of caution. Since we are dealing with a less powerful chip than in LG's top models, setting this option too aggressively may sometimes result in minor artefacts or slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimenting with this feature - in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

As with many of Samsung’s newer TVs, this one also uses the NQ4 AI processor, only the older, second-generation version. And you have to admit it handles digital image processing quite well. Lower-resolution material is sharpened effectively, and after upscaling to 4K it still looks natural. The TV can also somewhat "tidy up" weaker sources, like older recordings or lower-quality broadcasts. That doesn't, of course, mean it will suddenly turn poor footage into 4K, but at closer viewing distances the difference compared with simpler models with weaker processors is easy to spot. Edges are clearer, and fine details don't get lost as much to signal compression.

Samsung also offers a few additional image-enhancing features, but as usual it's best to use them sparingly. At stronger settings, noise reduction can very effectively reduce posterization, but it also noticeably interferes with the image. The picture then simply starts to look very artificial, for example by heavily smoothing characters' faces. So it makes the most sense with really poor sources when various types of noise are seriously distracting.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a hard time. The television is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you are looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast action games, you may feel a bit disappointed. With such a low native refresh rate, fast objects on the screen will always be a little blurred.

Samsung again used a panel with a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz. Refresh rates up to 120 Hz primarily offer greater possibilities with material that contains a lot of motion. The TV can use additional motion-smoothing systems that can improve fluidity in sports and other fast-moving content. However, a high refresh rate alone does not solve everything. The Frame still uses a VA panel, which has a fairly slow response time, and consequently fairly pronounced motion blur. With rapidly moving objects, especially on a dark background, trails are easy to notice. There is also a slight doubling of edges, which can be visible even when additional motion-enhancement systems are switched off. We saw similar behaviour in last year's The Frame 2025, and it's a shame Samsung hasn't addressed this issue. The 144 Hz itself provides a good foundation, but the panel's response time still limits this TV.

NANO81A is unfortunately not hardware designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model simply have to come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG's engineers have made an effort to maximise the potential of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Firstly, the television supports VRR technology (within the range of 48-60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, the image remains stable and does not "tear", and the device automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from a console. Managing these settings is extremely simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay, which allows for quick viewing of parameters without leaving the game. A very significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles because it enables the television to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown-out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which is unfortunately a common issue in budget LCD televisions.

In terms of gaming features, The Frame is practically on a par with Samsung’s top televisions. When a console is connected the TV automatically switches to Game Mode thanks to ALLM, so we do not have to change settings manually each time. There is also VRR, which matches the screen refresh rate to the number of frames produced by the console or PC. This helps avoid the characteristic screen tearing when frame rates drop. The Frame of course supports 4K at 120 Hz, so you can take advantage of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X in games that offer higher frame rates. HGiG also works correctly. With HDR properly configured on the console, the TV does not try to brighten the picture further on its own, so bright effects in games are displayed as they should be. Samsung also includes a Game Bar. It is a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. There you can check VRR operation and the current frame rate, and quickly change the most important gaming-related settings. With a PC the possibilities are even greater, because the aforementioned Full HD mode lets you increase the refresh rate up to 240 Hz. There is essentially one feature missing that Samsung has already got us used to, namely Dolby Vision Gaming. Xbox owners will notice this most, as that console can use Dolby Vision in games. There is one more thing worth mentioning specific to this model. Its One Connect module has only one HDMI 2.1 port, so you must plug the console or PC into that port if you want to use 4K at 120 Hz. Fortunately Samsung did not combine this port with eARC. The soundbar can therefore be connected separately (3) and you still have a full HDMI 2.1 available for the console.

In terms of response speed, the LG NANO81A performs exceptionally well. The input lag we measured is around 12 ms. This result is at a very low level, which for a gamer means one thing – the delay between moving the stick on the controller and the reaction on the screen is practically imperceptible. The television excels in fast-paced titles, where every millisecond counts, and in this regard, it does not lag behind significantly more expensive models.

People who feared that the additional One Connect module might cause greater delay between our action on the gamepad and what happens on the screen can sleep soundly. The input lag we measured is just as low as in other Samsung TVs.

At 60 Hz it is around 15 ms, and after switching to 120 Hz it falls to around 8 ms. These are very good results, so the delay is hard to notice in practice even in fast-paced games. The One Connect module itself does not introduce any noticeable issue.

Nano81A is truly a solid monitor for working with text. Thanks to the IPS panel and proper Chroma 4:4:4 implementation, fonts are very clear and sharp – practically everyone will be satisfied with how this screen performs as a monitor. We noticed just one minor detail that we picked up with our laboratory meticulousness: the vertical lines of dark text are slightly darker than the horizontal ones. However, this phenomenon is so minimal that we did not decide to deduct points for it. The scores only went down when it came to features typical for PC gamers – the lack of G-Sync support and high refresh rates above 60 Hz will be a significant downside for those looking for a screen for dynamic computer games.

In this category you could jokingly say that the new The Frame gives with one hand and takes away with the other. If you look solely at PC gaming, it performs really well. You have 144 Hz at 4K or even 240 Hz in Full HD, plus support for G-Sync and FreeSync and very low input lag. The Frame can easily serve as a large gaming monitor and it's hard to find major complaints.

On the other hand, we had the impression that font readability in the new model has worsened slightly. When you look at text from very close up, you can notice additional halos at the lower edges of characters caused by the action of individual sub-pixels. This gives a slight impression of blurred text. Of course this is mainly an issue for people who would actually want to use The Frame as a monitor on a desk, for example for working with text. At a typical viewing distance the problem is practically impossible to notice. And let's be honest, it's hard to imagine anyone putting a 55- or 65-inch The Frame on their desk.

This is the moment when the LG NANO81A can finally "breathe" and make up for the points lost in the categories of black levels and contrast. Thanks to the use of an IPS panel, the viewing angles here are simply very good. It is in this section that the tested model gains the most and clearly shows its advantage over competing televisions equipped with VA panels. In practice, this means that the image does not lose quality, even when viewed from a sharp angle. This makes the NANO81A a great option for those who have a wide furniture arrangement in their living room or often watch matches and films with larger groups.

Viewing angles are not a strong point of this model. Compared with LCD TVs with IPS panels, and even more so with OLEDs, the picture loses quality fairly quickly when viewed at an angle.

NANO81A is a relatively dark television, so it works best in rooms where you have control over the lighting. With a brightness of around 250 nits, it is difficult to recommend it wholeheartedly for very bright, strongly sunlit living rooms – in such conditions, the picture will simply lack punch. Nevertheless, LG deserves a small plus for the screen finish. The satin panel used here does a decent job of suppressing reflections. Thanks to this, even if there is a bit of light in the room, you won’t see every detail of your surroundings reflected on the screen. So if you can slightly close the blinds, a daytime viewing is certainly possible, but this model simply wasn’t designed to "fight" full sunlight.

The Frame is, by design, a television that will often be used in a bright living room, and its matt finish suits that very well. The screen effectively diffuses reflections, so a window or a lit lamp don't turn into a clear mirror. In that respect it's really good and it's one of this model's stronger points. The matt coating does, however, have its downside. Strong light falling directly on the screen scatters over a larger area and slightly raises the black level. So during the day blacks don't look as "deep" as at night, especially when the room is very bright. But we think that's a fair compromise. On the plus side, The Frame's high brightness helps. The TV has enough power that the picture doesn't wash out and remains clearly visible during the day. Overall, then, it's a good TV for a bright living room, particularly if reflections bother you more.

Smart Features: WebOS

One of the biggest advantages of the NANO81A model is its "brain", which is the operating system. LG has implemented a full-fledged WebOS version for 2025 here, which in terms of fluidity and user experience is on par with the more expensive models of this brand. Applications launch smoothly, and navigating through the menu is pure pleasure – there are no annoying stutters, which often occur with budget competitors. All of this is thanks to the unique remote with a pointer function (cursor), which has undergone a visual makeover this year. The manufacturer has opted for minimalism – the new Magic remote is significantly smaller and more ergonomic than its predecessors. It fits perfectly in the hand, but this change also has a downside. The physical numeric keypad has completely disappeared from the casing. For younger users, accustomed to streaming and selecting tiles, this will be no problem at all. However, older household members, attached to entering channel numbers by heart, will have to change their long-standing habits.

Everyday Use

In terms of functions that we would call "classic", the NANO81A sticks to a tried-and-true standard. It is not a multimedia powerhouse that will surprise you with exotic additions, but in everyday television tasks, it performs flawlessly. The handling of traditional terrestrial or cable television, including even the old faithful Teletext, is correct and intuitive. Wireless communication also deserves praise. The Bluetooth module works very reliably, allowing for quick and stable connection of a game controller or wireless headphones and speakers. It is simply a television that "works" – it is stable, predictable, and does not cause unnecessary complications during daily use.

Operating System: Tizen

Samsung The Frame 2026 runs on the familiar Tizen operating system, so when it comes to Smart TV features, you get pretty much everything you would expect from a modern TV. There is a wide selection of streaming apps, AirPlay, SmartThings, and the ability to cast content from a smartphone. The system itself is fast and responsive, while the menu layout is very similar to what you’ll find on other Samsung TVs.

When it comes to traditional TV features, things are a little more basic. The Frame doesn’t really stand out in this area, focusing primarily on its online features and lifestyle-oriented functionality.

Art Mode

The key feature, of course, remains Art Mode. It allows The Frame to display artwork or your own photos when you’re not watching TV, effectively turning the screen into part of your interior. The matte screen coating plays an important role here, as it helps the displayed artwork look less like an image shown on a glowing TV screen.

Another interesting addition is the motion sensor, something you won’t normally find on other TVs. It’s worth pointing out that this is not the same thing as the ambient light sensor. The latter adjusts the screen brightness to match the conditions in the room, while the motion sensor detects whether someone is nearby. If the room is empty, the TV can automatically turn Art Mode off and then switch it back on when you return. This means the screen doesn’t have to stay on all the time.

Another feature that works particularly well with this model is One Connect. In our opinion, it makes a lot of sense on a TV like The Frame, which is designed to sit as close to the wall as possible. All the main cables are connected to a separate box, while only a single cable runs to the screen itself. It’s simply a very convenient solution.

It’s also worth mentioning that Samsung includes a dedicated wall mount in the box. That might sound obvious, but it really isn’t. With the flagship S99H, for example, which also puts a strong emphasis on flush wall mounting and blending into the interior, the appropriate wall mount has to be purchased separately. With The Frame, it’s included, so you can save yourself a bit of extra money right from the start.

*The Art Mode photo was taken on The Frame Pro 2026. It looks identical on the standard The Frame — we have to admit that we simply forgot to take a photo of it during testing. 😉

Many users still use their own USB drives to display movies or photos on a large screen. In this regard, the NANO81A performs quite decently – the built-in player supports a wide range of video and audio codecs, so most film libraries will work "straight out of the box". However, one must bear in mind the specifics of the WebOS system. Since it is a closed environment, we are limited to what the manufacturer has prepared for us. There is no possibility to install alternative players (like the popular VLC), so if the system player cannot handle something, not much can be done about it. During testing, we encountered a few specific limitations. Firstly, support for HEIC files is lacking. If you take photos with an iPhone and want to view them directly from a USB drive, the television simply won't see them – it's worth changing the file format to JPG on the phone immediately. We also noticed that the player has difficulties processing very large image files. Photos with a resolution of 20–28 Mpix may fail to load or cause system errors. Aside from these exceptions, everyday multimedia handling is smooth.

In terms of USB file playback, The Frame performs adequately. The TV easily handles the main video, photo and audio formats, so in everyday use you should not encounter many surprises. However, we again ran into problems with the HEIC format, which is common on Apple devices. Images saved in this format could not be opened correctly, which can be irritating if you often transfer photos directly from an iPhone. Apart from that, the player worked without major issues.

In terms of audio, the LG NANO81A pleasantly surprises compared to its higher-end sibling, the QNED80A model. Interestingly, NanoCell sounds a bit better, which is likely due to its slightly thicker casing. The greater volume allows for the extraction of any hints of low tones – the bass may not be powerful, but it is more clearly defined than in thinner constructions. However, one should not expect miracles. It is still a standard 2.0 speaker configuration with a total power of 20 W, so the overall sound characteristics remain similar to other models in this price range. The mid and high tones are adequate, making dialogues in films and news programmes clear. Although this slight improvement in the lower registers is pleasing, for true home cinema or listening to music, it is still worth considering purchasing at least a basic soundbar.

Despite using a 40 W speaker system in a 2.0.2 configuration — on paper somewhat better than in many conventional TVs — the sound is fairly average. What bothers us most is that it’s simply flat. As with most very slim TVs, there is a lack of bass and greater depth. Fortunately the midrange and treble are reproduced correctly. Dialogue is clear, and at normal listening levels there are no major distortions. For news or regular TV that setup is perfectly adequate. For films, music or games, however, you’ll quickly find it lacking.

That’s why we would definitely recommend adding a soundbar or external speakers to The Frame. Samsung, moreover, has an increasing number of models designed specifically for lifestyle TVs, such as the slim S800 series or speakers from the Studio or Music Frame lines, which in design match the TV itself.

LG NANO81A / NANO80A vs Samsung The Frame 2026 (LS03H)

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Colours

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Sound connection options

Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):

Senior accessibility

Smart Features: WebOS

Everyday Use

Operating System: Tizen

Art Mode

Apps

Playing files from USB

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements