Home / Blog / 2026 Frame TVs and the One Connect box
Our take
Buy the regular 2026 Frame and there’s no One Connect box in the carton at all. Samsung moved every port onto the TV. Buy the Frame Pro and there’s still a box, but nothing connects it to the screen, so it can sit across the room. Either way nobody’s cutting a hole in your wall to hide a box anymore. Here’s the part the announcements skip: on the regular Frame, every HDMI cable you own now arrives at the screen. For a flush install that’s more in-wall cable work than the box ever was, not less.
“So what do I do with this box?” is, by a wide margin, the question we get asked most on Frame TV installs. Someone buys a television because it looks like a picture on the wall, opens the carton, and finds a black slab the size of a hardcover book that has to be plugged in, kept ventilated, and hidden somewhere within cable reach of the screen.
We’ve solved that a few hundred times, mostly by cutting an AV back box into the drywall and fitting a power outlet inside it so the box disappears behind the TV. Done right, you can run a hand along that wall and never know it’s there, as on this no-gap Frame install. It’s also an extra line on the invoice, which is why we’ll tell you when you don’t need it.
For 2026, Samsung changed the answer, though not in the way most of the coverage suggests.
What the One Connect box was actually for
The Frame looks like a framed picture because Samsung took every port off the back of the panel. No HDMI, no antenna, no power brick. All of it moved into a separate One Connect box, joined to the screen by one thin, nearly invisible cable. That’s why a Frame can sit flat against a wall while a normal TV sits proud of it on a nest of cables.
The box was always the awkward part. It has to live somewhere, it needs an outlet, and it needs air around it. Put it on a shelf and you’ve undone the look you paid for, which is why so much of the advice online is about how to hide the One Connect box rather than how to use it. That’s also why our Frame TV installation service carries a whole size chart for AV back boxes: a 9 × 14 inch box for smaller sets, a 17 × 14 for 55 inch and up.
What actually changed in 2026
The two 2026 models went in different directions, and most of the confusion comes from treating them as one product.
| Model | One Connect box | Cable from box to TV | Where the inputs live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 The Frame | Yes, traditional wired box | One Invisible Connection | On the box |
| 2025 Frame Pro | Yes, Wireless One Connect | None | On the box |
| 2026 The Frame (LS03HE) | None. No box at all. | n/a | On the TV |
| 2026 Frame Pro (LS03HW) | Yes, Wireless One Connect | None | On the box |
Worth knowing
The wireless box isn’t a 2026 invention. It arrived on the 2025 Frame Pro. What’s new this year is the regular Frame losing its box, and in 2025 that model still shipped a traditional wired One Connect. So if someone tells you the 2026 Frame Pro finally cut the cord, they’re a year late.
The Frame Pro: the box is still there, it just doesn’t touch your TV
Open a 2026 Frame Pro and you’ll find a Wireless One Connect box in the carton. All five HDMI inputs are on it, along with USB, Ethernet, optical out and the antenna connection. What you won’t find is a cable joining it to the screen.
That changes how a Frame gets installed. The box no longer has to be near the TV, which means it no longer has to be behind the TV, and the AV back box comes off the quote.
One detail worth knowing before install day: the box needs its own power. Samsung is explicit that the TV and the Wireless One Connect take separate power connections, and that the box uses the dedicated Type-C adapter and cable it came with. So a Frame Pro is a two-outlet job, not a one-outlet job.
Where the Wireless One Connect box can actually go
“Wireless” makes people picture the box in a basement rack or a hallway closet. Samsung’s own instructions are narrower than that, and this is the detail that generates callbacks when nobody reads it.
Samsung’s actual rules
Install the Wireless One Connect in the same space as the TV, within 10 m of the screen. Samsung warns it may not work if a wall is in the way, and that it may not work inside a closed metal cabinet.
In a GTA living room that still leaves plenty of options. A wooden media console under the TV is fine. A sideboard on the far wall is fine. The credenza in the next room through a wall is not, and neither is the steel AV rack with the doors shut. If your plan was to banish the box somewhere you never look, tell us before install day, because that plan may need a different room or a wired source instead.
Samsung’s own marketing on the Frame Pro page doesn’t help here. It still carries a recycled line about “one nearly invisible cable” connecting your devices, left over from the wired era, and the identical sentence appears on the model that has no box and no such cable. Ignore it on both.
The regular Frame: the box is genuinely gone
The 2026 Frame, model LS03HE, is the one that matches the headline. There’s no One Connect box of any kind. Samsung moved the ports into the television, four HDMI inputs plus USB, Ethernet, optical and the antenna, all on the panel, and added what it calls back stoppers so you can plug and unplug a cable without lifting the TV off the wall.
Samsung prints the carton contents on its own spec sheets. Side by side, the difference is the whole story.
Both lists include the Slim Fit Wall Mount, which is the other thing worth noticing. Samsung still puts the flush mount in the box on both models.
The catch: where your HDMI cables actually land
Whether you get away with one cable depends entirely on what you own, and this is where the marketing and the reality separate. It’s the bit we end up explaining on the doorstep.
The catch
On the regular 2026 Frame the ports moved onto the TV. If you own a cable box, an Apple TV, a PlayStation or a soundbar, those HDMI cables now terminate at the screen instead of at a box in your cabinet. For a flush, no-gap install that means hiding those cables inside the wall, which is more work than the old One Connect arrangement, not less.
Three situations, and yours is one of them:
- Frame Pro, any setup: power to the panel and that’s it. Every source plugs into the box wherever you’ve hidden it. This is the closest thing to the one-cable dream that’s ever shipped.
- Regular Frame, streaming only: power to the panel and that’s it. If everything you watch comes from the built-in apps, you’re done with one cable.
- Regular Frame, with a console or a cable box: power plus one HDMI per device, all arriving at the TV. Gamers feel this most, because both models run 144Hz with VRR and the whole point of that is a console or PC plugged in.
Not sure which of those three you are?
Send a photo of the wall and a list of what you actually plug in. We’ll tell you whether your Frame is a one-cable job or a four-cable job, before you buy the TV rather than after the bracket’s on the wall.
Get a straight answer on your setup or call us on (647) 839-5215.
What about a soundbar?
This is the question the box story tends to bury, and on the Frame Pro it has a twist. Samsung’s 2026 announcement says the Pro’s Micro HDMI port now supports eARC for better audio when you connect a soundbar. Micro HDMI, not full size. Samsung never says in its own materials where that port lives, but reviewers who have measured the set put it on the back of the panel, which means a soundbar can connect at the wall instead of at the box.
That’s useful and it’s also a qualification on the “power only” promise. A Frame Pro with a soundbar wired at the panel needs the right Micro HDMI cable or adapter, and that decision belongs before the bracket goes up rather than after. On the regular Frame it’s simpler and worse at the same time: an ordinary eARC HDMI at the panel, which is one more cable arriving at the wall.
Either way the soundbar wants its own bracket and its own height, ideally decided at the same time as the TV. We cover that in soundbar mounting.
If you game, read this before you buy the Pro
Both 2026 models run Motion Xcelerator 144Hz with VRR, so on paper either one suits a console. The Pro adds DLG 240Hz from a compatible PC, FreeSync Premium Pro and G-Sync compatibility.
The wireless box is slow for gaming
RTINGS, testing the 2026 Frame Pro, found the Wireless One Connect box adds considerable latency even in Game Mode and called it not responsive enough for fast-paced action. Running a console into the Micro HDMI port on the panel instead measured dramatically lower lag.
Read that alongside everything above and you get an awkward but honest conclusion. The Frame Pro is the model that lets you hang a screen with nothing but a power cable, unless you are a serious gamer, in which case the fix is to run a cable to the panel after all. If the PlayStation matters more than the wall does, say so early and we’ll plan the route for it.
The other 2026 change nobody mentions
Lost under the box story: both 2026 models get Samsung’s upgraded Glare Free coating. Not the Pro only. The regular Frame’s spec sheet reads “Glare Free with QLED” in as many words.
Worth being precise, because the marketing blurs it. The Frame has had a matte screen for years; the 2022 set was sold as an anti-reflection matte display and the 2025 one as virtually glare free. What 2026 brings is a better version of the same idea, on both models, not a feature that didn’t exist before.
It still matters for where the thing goes. The wall opposite a big window has always been the hardest place for an art TV, because a panel showing a dark painting turns into a mirror by mid-afternoon and the illusion dies. A better matte coating doesn’t make that wall perfect, though it does widen the range of walls worth considering. If daylight ruled out your first choice of wall on an older Frame, it’s worth a second look on a 2026 set. Bring us a photo of the room at the time of day you actually watch and we’ll tell you honestly.
Samsung is also promising up to seven years of Tizen OS updates, which is a fair ask for a television you intend to hang like furniture. Treat it as a commitment rather than a guarantee.
What this changes about mounting one
Three things change for whoever’s holding the drill.
- The back box is often unnecessary now. On a Frame Pro there’s nothing to recess behind the screen, so the box goes in your cabinet and the AV back box line comes off the quote. On the regular Frame there’s no box to recess either, though the next point complicates that.
- The outlet planning changed rather than disappeared. A recessed outlet behind the TV is still the difference between a clean wall and a cable running down to the baseboard. On the regular Frame you now want an outlet and a route for HDMI, because those cables come to the screen. A Frame Pro needs two outlets, one behind the panel and one wherever the wireless box ends up, and that second one is easy to forget until the day.
- The bracket didn’t change. Slim Fit Wall Mount is still included on both models. VESA runs 200 × 200 at 55 inch, 400 × 300 at 65, 400 × 400 at 75 and 600 × 400 at 85, and the 75 inch Frame sits 29.5 mm deep, just over an inch, so the flush look is intact.
The wall still decides most of the job. Wood studs take lag bolts straight into framing. Steel studs need toggles and a different cable route, because you can’t open a channel where the stud is. Poured concrete in a downtown condo means a hammer drill and masonry anchors, and nothing gets recessed into a structural wall at all, so the outlet plan changes with it. That assessment is the same one behind our precision TV wall mounting on any set, and it’s worth reading what’s actually behind your wall before you pick the spot.
If the Frame is going above a fireplace, the heat and viewing-height questions matter more than the cable ones. We covered that separately in should you mount a TV above a fireplace.
Sizes, bezels and what you actually get
The Frame Pro comes in 55, 65, 75 and 85 inch. The regular Frame runs 55 to 85 and adds a 98 inch, which Samsung Canada lists but wasn’t selling here as of September 2026. At that size the install stops being a bracket question and becomes a doorway, blocking and lifting question, which we cover on our 100 inch TV installation page.
We’re deliberately not printing a price table. Samsung moves Canadian pricing on these constantly, and the numbers on a blog post age badly. The Pro carries a real premium over the regular Frame at every size. We’re a Samsung dealer, so if you want the current number on a size you’re weighing, ask us and we’ll tell you what it is today.
Two things buyers are routinely surprised by. The customisable bezels are magnetic and sold separately, in Modern Brown, Modern Teak, Modern White and Sand Gold Metal, with the 98 inch the only size that includes one in the carton. And the Art Store isn’t all free: the set comes with a rotating set of complimentary artworks, around 370 a year, while a subscription unlocks a library Samsung now puts at over 5,000 works from more than 800 artists. Art Mode itself doesn’t need the subscription, and displaying your own photographs is free, which is what a fair number of our customers end up doing anyway.
Should you just buy discounted 2025 stock?
Reasonable question in September, with retailers clearing last year’s sets. There’s a trap in it that nobody selling you the TV will mention.
The cheap TV with the expensive install
The 2025 regular Frame ships a traditional wired One Connect box. That’s the model that still needs an AV back box cut into the wall, an outlet fitted inside it, and the cable routed. The discount on the television can be smaller than the difference in the installation.
That cuts both ways, though, and it’s worth being straight about it. The back box costs more to fit, but what you get for it is the thing the 2026 regular Frame can’t give you: one thin cable to the screen and every port tucked away. If a spotless wall is the whole point, the older model with the box in the wall still wins on looks.
The 2025 Frame Pro is a simpler case. It already had the wireless box, so it installs much the same as the 2026 Pro. What you give up against this year’s model is the upgraded Glare Free coating, the newer processor, panel-side eARC for a soundbar, and the 55 inch size, which didn’t exist in the 2025 Pro range.
So the rule of thumb: a discounted 2025 Pro is often genuinely good value. A discounted 2025 regular Frame is the one where you price the install before you price the TV, and then decide which matters more, the invoice or the wall. Send us the model number and we’ll tell you which one you’re looking at.
Which one should you buy?
If the reason you want a Frame is that you never want to see a cable, buy the Pro, with one exception. It’s the only one of the two where the panel needs nothing but power no matter what you connect, and the wireless box means we can put your sources anywhere in the same room. The exception is gaming, where the box’s latency pushes you back to a cable at the panel. Its mini-LED backlight is edge-lit rather than full array, so treat it as the better picture rather than a different class of television, especially now that both models share the matte coating and the 144Hz panel.
If you stream everything and the idea of a box in a cabinet annoys you more than it costs you, buy the regular Frame. No box, nothing to hide, meaningfully cheaper, and with nothing plugged in it really is one power cable.
If you own a receiver, a console and a cable box, be honest about that before you choose. That’s a short conversation with us, and it’s a lot cheaper before the bracket’s on the wall than after. We install Samsung Frame sets across the GTA every week, along with the Hisense Canvas and LG Gallery equivalents.
Questions we get asked
Does the 2026 Samsung Frame still come with a One Connect box?
It depends which one you buy. The 2026 Frame Pro (LS03HW) still includes a box, but it’s the Wireless One Connect, so no cable runs between it and the TV and it can sit up to 10 m away. The 2026 regular Frame (LS03HE) has no One Connect box at all, because Samsung moved the ports onto the television itself.
Where can the Wireless One Connect box actually be placed?
In the same space as the TV, within 10 m of the screen. Samsung warns it may not work if a wall is blocking it, or if it’s shut inside a metal cabinet. A wooden media console or a sideboard on the far side of the room is fine; the next room over is not. It also needs its own outlet and the dedicated USB-C adapter it shipped with.
Do I still need to recess a box into the wall for a 2026 Frame?
No. On the Frame Pro the box lives in your cabinet, and on the regular Frame there’s no box to hide. Recessing an AV back box is still the right answer on older Frames and on any set where the One Connect has to sit behind the screen, including the 2025 regular Frame.
Can I really just plug in power on a 2026 Frame TV?
On the Frame Pro, yes for the panel itself, because every source connects to the wireless box instead. On the regular Frame it’s only true if you watch nothing but the built-in streaming apps, since the HDMI ports are on the TV. Add a cable box or a games console and those cables arrive at the screen.
What do I do with my old One Connect box if I upgrade?
It stays with the TV it came from. Samsung says of the Wireless One Connect that it “cannot be used interchangeably,” and the older wired boxes are matched to their own set the same way, so a spare isn’t something you carry forward to a 2026 model. The regular 2026 Frame has no One Connect socket at all, so there’s nothing to plug an old box into. If your old Frame is moving to another room, the box goes with it and still needs somewhere to live there.
Is the Slim Fit Wall Mount still included with the 2026 Frame TVs?
Yes, on both the Frame and the Frame Pro. Samsung lists it in the carton contents for each model. The Full Motion Slim Wall Mount is the one that’s sold separately, and it’s only worth it if you need to angle the screen.
How much does it cost to install a 2026 Frame TV in Toronto?
Frame installation starts at $259.99 for sets up to 65 inches and $299.99 for 77 inch and larger on regular drywall. With no AV back box to cut in, a 2026 Frame often leaves room in the budget for a recessed outlet instead, which is the part that actually makes the wall look finished. Above a fireplace, or on marble and stone, send us a photo and we’ll price it from that.
Are you insured, and will my condo board need paperwork?
We carry $2,000,000 commercial liability insurance, which is what most condo boards and property managers want on file before they let a contractor into the building. Ask and we’ll send the certificate straight to your property manager. Every installation is backed by a one-year material and workmanship warranty.
Is the Frame Pro good for gaming through the wireless box?
Not for fast-paced games. RTINGS measured the Wireless One Connect box adding considerable latency even in Game Mode, and found much lower lag running a console into the Micro HDMI port on the panel instead. Both 2026 models are 144Hz with VRR, so the panel is capable; it’s the wireless link that costs you. If gaming matters, plan a cable to the screen and tell us before we mount it.
Free Quote
Tell us what you plug in. We’ll tell you which Frame to buy.
Send one photo of the wall and a list of your devices. We’ll come back with the mount, the cable plan and a straight price.
Takes about a minute · One-year workmanship warranty · $2,000,000 liability insurance