Layer vs Samsung Frame
The Frame is a television that shows still art when it is off. The Layer Canvas is a museum-grade square that renders generative art live, with the artists paid every second it is viewed.
The Samsung Frame is a QLED television from $949.99 that shows still art when it is off, through the $4.99 a month Art Store: over 4,000 images, 30 of them free each month. The Layer Canvas is a $6,999 43.3-inch square built only for art, running generative work live on its own GPU, with Layer Curation at $99 a month, sequenced to your room by Art Intelligence and paying the artists for every second their work is viewed.
What Samsung Art Store is
Samsung Art Store is the subscription behind Art Mode on The Frame. It costs $4.99 a month and gives access to over 4,000 pieces of artwork, mostly still images licensed from museums and galleries. Without paying, a Frame shows 30 refreshed pieces a month through Art Store Streams. The Frame itself is a television: a QLED 4K panel from 32 to 85 inches, and a Neo QLED Frame Pro from 55 to 98, with a tuner, apps and a slim-fit wall mount. Customizable bezels are sold separately.
What Layer Curation is
Layer Curation is a collection of over 250 works of digital fine art, hand-selected by Layer’s curators and developed with the artists. It costs $99 a month. Much of the collection is generative: the work is code, and the Layer Canvas runs that code live on a dedicated GPU, so no two moments are the same. Art Intelligence sequences the collection to the room and the time of day. In the Layer app you can adjust a work’s density, color and speed and save your own variant.
Artists on Layer, including Casey Reas, Zach Lieberman, Leander Herzog and JERES, earn ongoing royalties for every second their work is viewed. See the collection.
Is Samsung Art Store worth it?
Samsung Art Store is a picture library: $4.99 a month for 4,000 still images on a television. It rotates familiar paintings on a screen that is also your TV. It does not render anything live, it does not respond to the room, and the works do not change while you look at them.
Is Layer Curation worth it?
Layer Curation is a different thing. The subscription is the product: a curated, evolving collection of living work by named artists, shown on a museum-grade display that exists only to show it. The Canvas has no microphone, no camera and no speaker. Just art. This is what living with generative art, the way it was made to be seen, looks like.
Layer Canvas vs Samsung Frame, the hardware
The Layer Canvas is a 43.3-inch square with a 41.7-inch panel at 2160 x 2160, Quantum Dot Mini-LED, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 1000 nits peak, with an anti-reflection, anti-glare, anti-fingerprint finish and a 3.2 GHz CPU and GPU rendering art in real time. It is $6,999 plus tax with the frame and wall mount included, on a $99 refundable deposit, shipping Q4 2026 in the US.
The Frame is a 16:9 QLED 4K television from $949.99 at 65 inches, marketed with a matte display and Art Mode, with bezels sold separately. The Frame is a television. The Canvas is a canvas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Samsung Art Store cost?
Samsung Art Store is $4.99 a month for unlimited access to over 4,000 pieces of artwork on a Frame TV. Without a subscription, the Frame shows 30 refreshed pieces a month through Art Store Streams.
How much does Layer Curation cost?
Layer Curation is $99 a month with a Canvas pre-order. The Canvas itself is $6,999 plus tax, reserved with a $99 deposit that is fully refundable before shipping. Units ship Q4 2026 to US addresses.
Can I put Layer Curation on a Samsung Frame?
No. Layer Curation runs on the Layer Canvas, which renders generative works live on a dedicated GPU. A Frame TV displays still images and video and cannot execute the code the works are made of.
What is the difference between still art and generative art on a display?
A still image is a file that is shown. A generative work is code that is run: the Canvas computes each frame as you watch, so the piece evolves and never loops. That is why it needs a GPU and why a picture library cannot show it.
Do artists get paid on Layer?
Yes. Layer pays artists ongoing royalties based on ViewTime, the number of seconds their work is displayed. Fully exclusive works earn a higher return per view.
Which is better for a living room, a Frame or a Canvas?
The Frame is a television that shows art when it is off. The Canvas is a dedicated piece for living with art: a square, museum-grade display with no tuner, no apps, no microphone and no speaker, rendering generative work live.
Sources
- Samsung, The Frame TVs listing (prices, sizes, Art Store terms): https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/tvs/the-frame/
- Layer, Canvas pre-order (price, deposit, specs, ship date): https://layer.com/canvas-preorder
- Layer, Curation: https://layer.com/curation