Samsung S90F QD-OLED TV Review: Refined From Any Angle

Comprehensively fantabulous representation quality. Vivid yet earthy colors. Deep opposition and shadiness detail. Clear and elaborate representation processing. Class-leading off-angle representation quality. Good question handling retired of the box. Tizen astute strategy shows existent improvement. Easy to acceptable up and dial in. Great features and connectivity.

Not arsenic agleam arsenic apical flagships. Pedestal basal feels budget. Samsung Smart TV Plus needs to chill. No Dolby Vision.

The Samsung S90F QD-OLED is an unequivocally fantabulous TV. After weeks of testing, I tin hardly find a flaw successful its performance. And yet, aft being wowed by immoderate of the champion TVs ever made this cycle, Samsung’s midrange OLED is missing immoderate pizazz. Ho-hum is excessively beardown a word, but for the past fewer years, what utilized to beryllium the OLED saccharine spot has suffered from a comparative deficiency of premium punch compared to flagships. That’s due to the fact that Samsung and LG person been redeeming their astir breathtaking OLED tech for their priciest sets, and dissimilar a fewer years ago, there’s a existent ocular difference.

None of this takes distant from the S90F’s quality to present a comprehensively phenomenal viewing experience. While it didn’t instantly dazzle successful mundane viewing, diving into high-quality contented revealed a TV that continues to refine the small things, with heavy and nuanced opposition that LED TVs can’t match, splashy yet naturalistic quantum dot colors, and fantastic processing that brings clarity and realism to each insignificant detail. Now that its terms has dropped by respective 100 dollars, the S90F is peculiarly enticing–especially for anyone yet to beryllium spoiled by the apical of the market.

Practically Premium

The S90F’s basal is the slightest premium happening astir it. Don’t get maine wrong, it looks bully erstwhile you drawback it together, but similar the erstwhile S90D, the faux pedestal plan comprises dual basal legs and a alternatively flimsy integrative cover, akin to much budget-friendly sets similar Hisense’s U7 bid LED TVs. Credit wherever it’s due, the legs are brainsick elemental to attach, with nary tools required, and portion the main panel’s ultra-thin apical feels similar a liability during setup, its width of conscionable an eighth of an inch astatine the apical looks similar a cardinal bucks connected your console.

The S90F lacks Samsung’s latest matte-like anti-glare coating (found connected its likewise priced QN90F mini-LED exemplary and the pricier S95F OLED), but the TV inactive does a good occupation minimizing astir glare, performing astir arsenic good arsenic LG's G5.

It's besides readily evident that the 65-inch exemplary I reviewed uses quantum dots for enhanced colors. The trade-off is simply a backdrop that isn't rather arsenic obsidian arsenic LG’s much accepted OLED screens (called “WOLED”), though similar each OLEDs, it's perfectly escaped of immoderate airy bloom astir the edges of crisp images. Like erstwhile models, Samsung confusingly equips lone the 55-inch, 65-inch, and 77-inch sizes with QD tech, utilizing a WOLED sheet for the different sizes.

Behind the surface is simply a pop-out little basal wherever you'll find a suite of 4 HDMI 2.1 inputs with enactment for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) astatine up to 144Hz for high-end gaming PCs. The relegation of 2 of the inputs beneath the input cubby makes connecting awkward, but considering high-end models similar the Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 MK II connection conscionable 2 HDMI 2.1 ports total, I’m not complaining.

Samsung’s micro-sized distant has hardly changed year-over-year, and that’s good by me. Its stubby size is ergonomic and convenient, highlighted by star and USB-C charging truthful you’ll ne'er request to regenerate the batteries.

Tizen Redemption?

Samsung’s Tizen astute bundle is astir arsenic swift to acceptable up arsenic the hardware, and here’s wherever I’m going disconnected publication from erstwhile years: Tizen whitethorn really beryllium bully now? While this aforesaid Tizen iteration gave maine fits successful the Frame Pro, the S90F performed brilliantly, with swift effect and zero streaming hiccups implicit aggregate weeks of testing. This whitethorn beryllium due to the fact that I reviewed the TV aboriginal successful the cycle, giving Samsung clip to update, but I'll instrumentality it.

I inactive person immoderate complaints, starting with the TV’s relentless pursuit of Samsung's ad-based TV service, Samsung TV Plus. The work launches by default during startup, forcing maine to expanse done the Advanced Settings and crook it disconnected nether Startup Options. Even then, it kept turning connected The Fairly Odd Parents connected startup, yet seeming to halt connected its own.

Tizen besides seemingly auto-scans for OTA antenna channels, leaving maine confused astir however to rescan, portion the S90F's deficiency of ATSC 3.0 enactment means you won’t get Nextgen channels with features similar HDR. One last oddity is that the TV's HDMI CEC Anynet system, designed to interface with connected devices, has a caput of its own, sometimes firing up my Panasonic DP-UB9000 Blu-ray subordinate oregon PS5 unprompted, portion different times ignoring them.

Samsung's Game Hub remains a favorite, offering loads of unreality gaming services, alongside an accessible crippled barroom for on-the-fly adjustments. I truly enjoyed gaming connected this set, from the windswept islands of Ghosts of Tsushima to Astrobot’s hyper-vibrant multi-level madness.

While the Settings tabs are inactive oddly divided apart, Samsung makes representation setup a breeze. Those looking for the astir close representation person 2 choices: Movie oregon Filmmaker mode, with the second offering settings truthful close I hardly made immoderate changes for SDR oregon HDR (High Dynamic Range) video. As always, Samsung omits enactment for Dolby Vision HDR, focusing connected the HDR10 modular and the Dolby alternative, HDR10+.

The Little Things That Kill

I acceptable up the S90F halfway done paternity leave, allowing for a batch of prime TV time. As I alluded to above, the TV didn’t instantly sound my socks disconnected successful the aforesaid mode arsenic the top-tier LG G5, Panasonic Z95B, oregon Sony Bravia 8 II I tested, oregon the Samsung S95F that wowed my editor. The archetypal happening that truly got my attraction was Disney’s Skeleton Crew, which provided the benignant of glittering stars and gleaming planets successful the depths of abstraction that marque OLED TVs shine, but got enactment connected clasp due to the fact that it inexplicably woke up our sleeping babe each clip we deed play.

Once I started putting the S90F nether the microscope with adjacent parts investigating demos and high-production films and TV, I was pleasantly amazed astatine however good it performed successful areas similar basal opposition and achromatic levels, surface uniformity torture tests (where I didn’t find a azygous aberration), and immoderate of my toughest question blur and stuttering scenes.

In Filmmaker mode, the TV proved incredibly close to a manager oregon producer's intent, astir matching the champion flagship models I’ve tested. You whitethorn not ever agree with the director’s intent, particularly for peculiarly acheronian content, but you tin adhd immoderate superior popular by changing HDR Tone Mapping from Static to Active (which Movie mode does automatically). The S90F’s shadiness item is truthful bully you whitethorn not request to, but it could beryllium utile successful agleam rooms.

Speaking of agleam rooms, this exemplary doesn’t travel adjacent to the blasting brightness of the latest OLED flagships oregon high-end LED TVs, galore of which tin apical retired astatine an eye-watering 4,000-5,000 nits of brightness. Still, with good implicit 1,000 nits highest brightness successful tiny highlights, the S90F has much than capable punch for thing you tin stream, but flashy Blu-rays similar Mad Max: Fury Road oregon Hellboy tin look somewhat muted successful the brightest scenes.

Even so, I recovered myself entranced by the TV’s cinematic touch, with high-end processing that equates to fabulous item and colors that popular without ever looking overcooked. Nature shows similar Netflix’s Our Planet are particularly beautiful, seeming to gully you into the luminous chaos of a engaged coral reef oregon the emerald-aqua pools of a mangrove forest—the crushed you bargain a TV similar this to statesman with.

In different notable triumph, the S90F has among the champion off-axis accuracy I’ve ever tested. You tin beryllium mode disconnected to the broadside (as acold arsenic you tin inactive spot the screen) with nary noticeable simplification successful colour accuracy oregon brightness. That's an country successful which virtually each LED TVs conflict mightily, and adjacent astir different OLEDs can’t match. If you ticker from each angles, this is simply a large screen.

In general, whether the S90F is close for you volition beryllium connected your TV experience. Less persnickety folks looking for much pizazz volition find a bully enactment that's cheaper from QLED TVs similar the Hisense U75QG oregon the TCL QM7K, though off-axis viewing, accuracy, and clarity each instrumentality a large hit. For Videophiles looking to beryllium wowed with an upgrade implicit their existent OLED, I urge going up a tier to LG’s G5, Sony’s Bravia 8 MK II, oregon Samsung’s S95F, particularly if you ticker a batch of Blu-rays.

Even though higher-end screens look a interaction finer, the S90F won maine implicit with its accuracy and quality. From the revamped Tizen OS to a astir flawless ocular performance, this is simply a assured and accomplished mid-tier OLED astatine the apical of its game. As it dilatory drops successful terms successful 2026, it volition lone go much compelling.