At the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo (‘E3’) in LA this June, Samsung QLED TVs were exhibited as part of Microsoft’s Xbox booth. The 75-inch QLED TV screens caught the attention of keen gamers, with a long queue forming in order to enter the showroom. Players enjoyed an unparalleled 4K HDR gaming experience, featuring stunning graphics and quick response times, with the QLED.

Samsung’s 2018 QLED TVs have evolved to merit the title of the ‘monster’ of the gaming industry. They offer gamers a low input lag of no more than 15ms (0.015 seconds), a rich viewing experience achieved by 100% color volume and High Dynamic Range (HDR) 2000, and Radeon FreeSync for the seamless playing of even the most demanding games.

Fighting Input Lag in FPS Games

Input lag can be a critical issue for those players who want to enjoy fast-paced games like first-person shooters (FPS) or fighting games. Input lag, or input latency, is the delay between the TV or monitor receiving a signal and it being displayed on the screen, or the delay between pressing a controller button and seeing the game react. It is important in gaming because even a 0.01 second reaction difference can determine the difference between a winning and losing move in an FPS game.

Samsung’s QLED TVs have input lag reduced to 15ms (1ms = 0.001 seconds), faster than conventional TVs which have a 20-30ms lag on average. Gamers can fully immerse themselves in games on their QLED TVs with minimal lag. QLED TV’s Auto Game Mode also changes features including response speed for game optimization. When users start a game on a console such as Xbox, the TV automatically recognizes the game and sets the correct game-related settings.

Optimized Picture Quality for Immersive Gaming

Today’s games are characterized by feature film-quality storylines, cinematography and graphics. Game characters and avatars are becoming more and more lifelike, as are the landscapes around them, often offered in full 360-degree rotation to the player for the most immersive experience possible.

In order to deliver this virtual realism to gamers, game platforms feature the latest in color, contrast and imaging technology, as well as 144Hz refresh rates for high frame-rate gaming. Samsung’s 2018 QLED TVs are the first in the TV industry to use Radeon FreeSync in collaboration with global graphics card maker AMD. Radeon FreeSync puts an end to choppy gameplay and broken frames, bringing smooth gaming and the fluidity of gaming monitors to the big screen.

With the Samsung QLED TV, gamers can experience the cutting-edge display performance they are used to. The QLED TVs feature HDR10+ for crisp and detailed images, as well as 100% color volume for greater image depth in both the day and nighttime, at any brightness level. Samsung’s Anti-reflection technology is another bonus for reducing eye strain and optimizing gameplay.

Enjoy Over 15,000 PC games with Steam on TVs

As well as their favorite console games, users can also play Steam games on their QLED TV. Steam is an online game platform with over 120 million users globally.

In order for QLED users to enjoy the full offering of the Steam platform, all they need to do is head to the Samsung Smart Hub and download the free Steam Link app. No supplementary hardware is necessary for users to be able to access the 15,000+ games offered by Steam on the large-inch QLED screen.

In addition, gamers don’t need to bother with changing the settings on their QLED TV in order to access their favorite console games. Just turn on Auto Game Mode and start your console.

No Screen Burn-In, Guaranteed

TV screens suffer from performance decline over time, with static images and fixed interfaces leading to image retention and consequently the burn-in issue. With Samsung QLED TVs, however, you no longer need to worry about burn-in.

Rtings, an industry-trusted US TV Reviewer, ran a test for permanent image retention. Different kinds of TVs were kept on for 10 minutes, running a test pattern in a loop. The 2017 QLED TV scored 10/10 for image quality and lack of burn-in, while some screens achieved a mere 5/10.

The durability of the QLED TV screen is due to groundbreaking Quantum Dot technology. Quantum dots are made of inorganic materials, which translates to longer-lasting displays that do not develop the burn-in issue. Displaying the same image or scene for long periods of time will not leave unpleasant ghost images on your QLED TV, enhancing the gaming experience.

“Today’s TVs are like all-round players. More and more, people are enjoying everything on TV such as games, the internet, or smart functions provided by IoT,” said Jongsuk Chu, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “The huge-screen QLED TV with best performance and durability will take the gaming experience to the next level.”

As a result, in addition to boasting AKG-tuned stereo speakers and an even more immersive Infinity Display, Samsung’s latest flagships feature a Game Launcher app that is more convenient and efficient than ever. Let’s examine exactly how users can utilize the upgraded app to streamline gaming sessions.

A One-Stop Gaming Hub

Before we discuss how Samsung has ‘leveled up’ Game Launcher, let’s take a moment to explore some of the app’s most convenient features.

Game Launcher is essentially a one-stop hub for all things mobile gaming, featuring tools designed to help users get the most out of their gaming experience. Included among these are the abilities to turn off notifications, lock navigation buttons, and mute games’ sound. The app also enables users to easily record videos and capture in-game screenshots, and features modes to boost performance and save power.

Users can enable Game Launcher by accessing Settings > Advanced Features > Games > Game Launcher and tapping the toggle switch, or via the guide page that appears during the start-up of a game. Downloaded games are automatically placed in an icon format in the Game Launcher app in a 4-by-4 arrangement, which also makes it easy to discover exciting new games to add to your collection. (More on that in just a moment.)

Putting Gamers in Control

Housed in the app as well as in the games themselves, Game Launcher’s customizable tools allow you to specify exactly how you’d like your phone to behave when you’re gaming. This makes it easier for users to immerse themselves in the on-screen action.

As soon as users open the app, they’re presented with a pair of icons near the bottom of the screen that enable them to mute games’ sound and toggle Game Launcher’s various performance modes. The latter function includes options to place the device in either ‘High performance’, ‘Normal performance’ or ‘Power saving’ mode, and has been enhanced for the Galaxy S9 with machine learning to foster more efficient gameplay.

Once users begin playing, they’re presented with a wide array of additional features and settings in the form of the Game Tools menu. Accessible via the circular gamepad icon that appears in the Navigation Bar when a game is launched, the menu conveniently places many of Game Launcher’s signature, immersion-enhancing features at users’ fingertips – including controls to hide alerts, lock buttons to prevent accidental touches, and manage several of the other functions outlined above. The Navigation buttons can also be locked to prevent any accidental taps when gaming.

Game Launcher’s latest update has added a few new functions to the Game Tools menu that make it even easier for users to focus on their game. Users may also opt to disable their phone’s auto brightness feature as well as block Bixby during gameplay.

Tailored Recommendations

To make it easier for users to find games they’re sure to love, Game Launcher also includes “Discover More Games”, an advanced game discovery feature, which offers recommendations based on the user’s gameplay history and personal preferences.

Accessible with a simple swipe up from the app’s main screen, the feature conveniently compiles popular and engrossing games that the user may be interested in, with 100-120 featured games highlighted each week for users. If users are unable to find the right game from the featured game selections, the Game Launcher discover page also allows users to search and discover the library of over thousands of games.

Each entry in the various lists from “Discover More Games” is accompanied by a short clip* of in-game action. Once users tap the game, they’ll be led to a comprehensive page that includes a gameplay video, as well as insight into the game’s popularity, related games, and a link to download the game from the Google Play Store.

Also featured in the rundowns are tags* classifying each game’s content and themes into various categories. Tapping a tag will instantly pull up a list of games that share that trait. To make it easy for users to find their next favorite game, Game Launcher’s advanced search function includes support for both keyword and tag-based searches, and even allows you to search for multiple tags at once.

Lastly, to offer users greater insight into their gaming habits, Game Launcher also features a My Games function, which is accessible with a tap of the avatar to the left of the search icon. This handy feature neatly displays your favorite tags and genres of games, compiles in-game video recordings, and makes it easy to keep track of exactly how much you’ve played in a given timeframe.

Open up the Galaxy S9’s enhanced Game Launcher now to take your mobile gaming experience to the next level.

*Availability may vary by region.