Samsung Evolution Kit – upgrade 2012 models to 2013 Smart Hub

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Posted on 9 Jan 2013 at 01:35, by Seth Barton

The new Samsung Smart Hub 2013 interface on the new flagship Samsung F8000 LED TV was most impressive-looking. Better still, Samsung has kept its promise from last year’s CES and produced a Samsung Evolution Kit so that top-end 2012 models can be updated to the new interface.

Physically installing the Evolution Kit takes just a few seconds

It’s more than just an interface too; the upgrade cartridge clips onto the rear of your existing TV and you plug it in via a short cable to the dedicated Evolution Kit port – installation is as simple as that, you just power up the TV once its connected and it takes about 15 seconds to migrate to the new Smart Hub platform.

Inside is not only the new interface but also the 2013 model’s new faster quad-core processor – which Samsung claims will increase menu navigation speeds by up to 3x. It certainly felt very slick when we had a play today.

The new interface is a tempting offer, with its Android-style home pages providing easy browsing of all the available content. Plus you get the enhanced voice and miotion controls on the new model, the Evolution Kit comes bundled with the newly redesigned remote control to make all this possible.

Last year's 7500, 8000 and 9000 series LED TVs can also benefit from the upgrade, as can the 7000 and 8000 series Plasma sets. We’re still not certain if you’d benefit from any image processing updates, though we’ll be trying to find out over the next couple of days.

Another thing that’s unclear is the price, having an upgradeable TV is brilliant, but if the price is too high then customers will either wait till next year, hoping for more updates, or abandon the idea all together. It's such a good idea though, that we're hoping Samsung can bring it in at a reasonable price.

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