Why I Recommend This Samsung Qled Tv Over Pricier Oled Models In 2025 - And Don't Regret It

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The QN90F TV has fantabulous image and sound.
• It's awesome for streaming and entertainment, pinch useful show settings and features successful tow.
• Not perfect for hit aliases precision platforming games owed to consequence times.

Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Google.

I precocious sewage nan chance to activity successful nan ZDNET Louisville testing lab, wherever I tested nan Samsung QN90F and saw really it performed successful real-world tests alternatively than a cautiously curated showroom experience. Compared to nan S95F OLED, nan Samsung QN90F has a image that's almost arsenic vibrant and detailed, arsenic good arsenic somewhat amended object-tracking sound. 

Also: The champion Samsung TVs you tin buy

For nan price, it's a amended worth unless you're looking for features that only nan S95F OLED has, specified arsenic nan OneConnect box. I ran nan Samsung QN90F done a artillery of tests to spot really good it handled everything from streaming to gaming. I besides worked pinch our laboratory engineers to tally Calman verification tests to spot really accurately nan QLED sheet tin recreate images successful some RGB and black-and-white.

Unlike nan S90F, which had a important bluish displacement successful its colour tests, nan QN90F favors warmer tones. This tin make immoderate scenes look a spot oversaturated, and this tin beryllium exacerbated by nan integrated bluish ray select that tin beryllium toggled connected and off. 

But I would personally alternatively person that than really lifeless they tin look connected screens that favour cooler colors. The lukewarm colour displacement was astir noticeable while screening black-and-white films for illustration Casablanca, pushing everything toward a much ray sepia reside that someway felt much due than nan blue-grey of nan S95F.

Read more: I tested nan Samsung S95F OLED for a week, and I'm fresh to springiness up my surviving room TV

The opposition is besides reasonably comparable to nan much costly OLED model, giving you heavy blacks and crisp specifications that thief brighter colors pop. The QLED sheet handles good specifications good crossed each image modes, though nan AI-assisted action does make immoderate images look somewhat fuzzy, particularly if location are characters moving quickly, aliases a batch of speedy trim edits. But wherever nan QN90F really stands retired erstwhile compared to nan S95F OLED is nan audio.

Adam Breeden/ZDNET

I'm not judge if it's owed to really razor-thin nan S95F is, but nan audio ne'er sounded arsenic afloat aliases arsenic 3D arsenic it could person been. The QN90F is still a bladed TV, but by having much room to really create sound, you'll get a somewhat richer listening acquisition moreover without having to group up other location audio equipment. 

I compared some TVs by playing a fewer movie musicals, Persona rhythm games, and a big of euphony albums, and nan QN90F ever came retired connected apical erstwhile it came to sound quality. 

Also: Changing these 6 settings connected my Samsung TV greatly improved nan performance

When it comes to gaming, nan Samsung QN90F has nan aforesaid dedicated dashboard arsenic different Samsung TVs, which allows you to set input latency, refresh rates, and dedicated gaming image modes to suit your favourite genres. The input latency was good for astir shooters and action games I play, for illustration Ghost of Tsushima and Judgement. 

Adam Breeden/ZDNET

But erstwhile it comes to hit aliases platforming titles, it tin get a spot frustrating, arsenic moreover pinch nan lowest imaginable latency option, there's a hold that you tin feel, if not ever see. Not capable to origin vexation aliases immoderate important issues, but it is thing to support successful mind if you're doing thing for illustration an charismatic speedrun.

My biggest title astir nan QN90F is that while it's easier to put together than nan S95F,  nan package setup process is tedious and time-consuming, pinch almost endless privateness policies, licence agreements, and suggested app lists to dress to publication aliases outright disregard until you tin get to nan location surface and download what you really need. 

Also: How to clear your TV cache (and why it greatly enhances your viewing experience)

Another title I person is that location aren't immoderate benignant of precocious image settings for adjusting colour temperature, sharpness, and contrast. You person 4 image modes to take from (standard, movie, filmmaker, and AI-assisted), but nary of them let you to fine-tune immoderate settings for a genuinely civilization image that useful pinch your space. 

ZDNET's buying advice

All successful all, nan Samsung QN90F is simply a coagulated bargain if you're looking for a high-quality TV pinch fantabulous image and audio quality, but don't needfully want to outpouring for a much costly OLED model. 

With a warmer image and fuller sound, you get a somewhat much enjoyable acquisition erstwhile watching older black-and-white films, but immoderate games and movies pinch tons of colors mightiness look a spot oversaturated. (That's thing you tin ever modify successful image settings, of course.) It's a awesome worth for a QLED TV, particularly if you tin drawback it connected waste (as it often is).