The 11 Best Samsung Smart TV Apps of 2018

If you enjoy TED Talks, now you can watch them from the comfort of your couch or favorite chair using the TED app. The app is free. You have access to more than a thousand videos of business leaders, musicians, techies, medical experts, and many more who offer enlightening insights and perspectives on a great range of topics.

Two Accuweather apps are in the Samsung App store — one paid, one free. The free Accuweather app might be all you need if you live in one of the larger cities listed in the app. For those who live outside the listed cities, the paid Accuweather app ($2.99) displays forecasts by specific cities and zip codes. It shows 10-day forecasts, satellite views, and hour-by-hour weather maps. The app also provides weather warnings. This is a complete weather app that is easy to navigate and easy to read at a glance.

FandangoNOW offers more than movie times and reviews. This is a full-on video-streaming service offering access to more than 30,000 movies and TV shows without a subscription.

Fandango purchased the M-Go service and built upon it to create FandangoNOW. If you used M-Go, all of your purchases will be available on FandangoNOW.

Though the app is free, content is available for rent or purchase. Purchases made through the FandangoNOW app will earn you Fandango VIP points that you can use for discounts on future purchases.

This app offers video tutorials for all Samsung products from cell phones and computers to TVs and more. You'll learn the basics of the device as well as how to get the most out of it.

Videos include how to connect your Blu-ray player to the internet, how to troubleshoot your Samsung washer, how to create macros on your Samsung TV remote control, and dozens more.

PLEX provides a way to organize your content so that it can be easily accessed on your Samsung smart TV. This gives you the ability to play any compatible media content that's stored on your computer on your TV. You just have to make sure that you have the PLEX app installed on your TV, and the PLEX media server software installed on your computer. Once you have the app and media server installed, you're ready to go.

The basic app is free, but you can upgrade to PLEX Premium ($4.99 mo, $39.99 yr, $119.99 lifetime). This lets you watch and record live TV on your computer or in the cloud (antenna and tuner required, as well as the ability to sync your content with compatible mobile devices).

If you have a Samsung 4K Ultra HD TV and can stream in 4K, then check out UltraFlix for a host of free and paid 4K content. You can rent many movies for $4.99, usually with a 48-hour viewing window. Content offerings, some in HDR, change periodically. You need only a 4mbps to 5mbps broadband speed.

Everybody watches YouTube, but that isn't the only source of free, original, uploaded video content. Vimeo offers thousands of videos from many sources, including aspiring amateur filmmakers. The best way to get started is by checking out Vimeo's staff picks. Categories include music videos, short documentaries, comedy, and more.

If you are a cult TV and movie fan, this is the app for you! Shout Factory TV provides access to great content such as select Roger Corman films and sci-fi classics such as A Boy and His Dog and Dreamscape. If you like classically "bad" movies, check out collections from Elvira's Movie Macabre, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Rifftrax.

You can even binge-watch old TV shows such as Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, even Super Sentai (the original Japanese Power Rangers). There's also plenty of original programming and other special content.

Watch it all for free. The only downside is that titles move in an out periodically, so if you find something you like, watch it while it's there.

This app can help you start your day in the morning. On the left is a large digital clock and calendar so you can see what day it is and stay on time. The center section of the screen is an hour-by-hour weather report for the day — helpful when you're deciding what to wear to work. On the right side of the screen is a local map with traffic so you'll know what time you need to leave.

Of course, Samsung TVs feature the familiar standards in video streaming subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Video, and ​Hulu. You also can download apps for video-on-demand services that let you pay as you go, such as Vudu and CinemaNow. Most offer similar titles and are run on the same platform. Vudu is known for its higher-quality video and sound, including the latest Dolby Atmos surround-sound releases.