Latest news with #SamsungS90F
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business Insider
Samsung S90F 4K TV review: A contender for the top TV of the year
The Samsung S90F OLED TV is the successor to the brand's S90D, which is the reigning champ in Insider Reviews' guide to the best TVs. This new 2025 model is yet another excellent television, and it delivers a brighter image than its predecessor. Unlike most OLEDs in this class, the S90F uses quantum dot color technology, which results in a more vibrant picture. Out-of-the-box color accuracy is fantastic, exceeding many comparably priced rivals. While the S90F isn't the absolute brightest OLED on the market, it has more than enough luminance for a typical room and deep black levels that provide amazing contrast in a dim home theater. However, as impressive as the S90F is, it's important to remember that last year's similar S90D is still available and often on sale for a lot less. Though the S90F is a worthy successor, most people are still better off snagging the cheaper S90D while it remains in stock. But as the year goes on, the S90D will sell out, and the S90F will drop in price, making it a top contender to seize the crown as the best TV overall. The TV has a great design, but beware that not all sizes are created equal The S90F is available in six screen sizes — 42, 48, 55, 65, 77, and 83 inches. However, it's important to note that only the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch versions use a QD-OLED panel. The others use a non-quantum dot OLED, so their color performance isn't quite as advanced. My sample was a 65-inch S90F, so my impressions also apply to the 55- and 77-inch sizes. All sizes have an incredibly thin frame that looks sleek and stylish. The S90F's profile is notably slimmer than many competing Mini LED TV models, like the TCL QM8K, since its OLED panel doesn't require space for a separate backlight. Its thickest point is only 1.6 inches, where its back panel protrudes to house the TV's electronics and connections. The majority of the display's ports are either side- or down-facing, which allows the TV to be mounted very close to the wall if desired. Despite requiring no screws to assemble, the included pedestal stand feels stable and holds the S90F well. It measures 14.4 inches wide by 10.4 inches deep, so it still comfortably fits on a thinner credenza or table. There are four HDMI inputs, and they're all version 2.1 with support for up to a 4K/144Hz signal. But to get full bandwidth capabilities, it's important to make sure Input Signal Plus is activated in the TV's menu. The setting can be found by navigating to General & Privacy, then External Device Manager, then Input Signal Plus. You can turn this on for each HDMI input, and it enables the port to receive high-bandwidth signals. If it's set to off, the TV will not be able to display at 4K/120Hz (or 144Hz for PC gaming). The S90F comes with Samsung's compact SolarCell remote with Alexa and Bixby voice control. There's an additional AI button at the top of the remote this year, but otherwise, its face is identical to previous models. The small size of the remote keeps all of its functions easily within thumb's reach, but the tiny buttons could be mildly frustrating to use if you're someone with large hands. The remote's rear has a solar panel for charging, so you don't need batteries, and it has a USB-C port as a backup if you ever run out of juice from light sources. The S90F's excellent color volume delivers vibrant images As I mentioned above, I reviewed the 65-inch S90F, which uses a QD-OLED panel. One of the benefits of a QD-OLED screen over regular OLED (called WOLED) is color volume. WOLEDs rely on white light that passes through a color filter. But QD-OLEDs use blue light with red and green quantum dots. Without getting too into the weeds with technical details, this process enables a QD-OLED to produce higher color volume with brighter, purer saturation. Using my X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, C6 HDR5000 colorimeter, Murideo Seven-G 8K pattern generator, and Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays, I measured the S90F's P3 color gamut coverage at 99.78% in Filmmaker Mode (the TV's most accurate setting). That's an exceptional number at the top end of what TVs can achieve. The P3 color gamut is what modern high dynamic range (HDR) movies and TV shows use, so the S90F is capable of displaying the full range of colors that Hollywood productions are graded for. On top of that, its color accuracy is excellent. This all results in bright, realistic colors that look stunning on screen. I watched several HDR videos to test the TV's real-world performance. The explosions in "Mad Max: Fury Road" burst in swirls of red, orange, and yellow. Skin tones looked natural and not overblown. The TV's accurate, vibrant hues accentuated the film's changing color palette, starkly delineating the red and yellow day sequences from the rich blue scenes at night. The S90F allowed the film's stylistic look to shine through and create a highly engaging cinematic experience. However, like all Samsung TVs, the S90F doesn't support Dolby Vision HDR, instead opting for HDR10+, a competing royalty-free HDR format originally developed by 20th Century Studios, Panasonic, and (surprise) Samsung. Both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ do the same thing — adjust the picture on a scene-by-scene or frame-by-frame basis to offer the most accurate HDR image your TV is capable of. But Dolby Vision content is more widespread, and it allows more fine-tuning in post-production that could lead to better performance. You can learn more about the pros and cons of different high dynamic range formats in our HDR guide. Ultimately, the benefits of Dolby Vision are too subtle to be considered a must-have, but this is one area where the S90F is a step behind OLEDs from LG and Sony. When it comes to brightness, though, the S90F edges out other OLEDs in this price range while also delivering a decent upgrade over last year's S90D. The S90D offered around 1,240 nits of brightness on a standard 10% window. The S90F improves that number by a couple of hundred nits, with a max of around 1,457 nits on a 10% window. Smaller window sizes can hit an even higher peak of around 1,620 nits. This allows specular highlights (like explosions and light sources in movies and TV shows) to really pop. For example, a scene with stars against a black night sky sparkles with a wonderful intensity on the S90F. The S90F's OLED panel also enables perfect black levels when watching TV in a dark room, completely free from any of the patchiness or uneven backlighting that can pop up on QLED and Mini LED sets. That said, ambient light causes those black levels to slightly elevate, which makes them look a little gray in a bright room. This is due to the TV's QD-OLED panel lacking a polarizing layer, which is something that LG's WOLEDs have. A TV's overall brightness is higher without this filter, but it also allows light to reflect internally and adversely affect the screen's black levels. During regular viewing, this rise in black level is only slightly apparent, and it's not as distracting as it is on TVs that use a matte screen coating, like the flagship Samsung S95F. Even in a room with ambient light, I found myself able to sit back and enjoy TV shows without any major issues. And though it does have a glossy finish, the S90F handles direct reflections well. The S90F also has extremely wide viewing angles, which is a benefit found on all OLED displays. There's no visual degradation to the color or brightness, even from more than 60 degrees off-axis. If you have a large group over to watch TV or a movie, you can be sure everyone is getting a similar experience. As a whole, the S90F's picture performance is remarkable for its price. Compared to other 2025 TV models, its closest competitor is the LG C5, which is often sold for around the same amount. Performance between the two is a trade-off as you get better color and brightness on the S90F, but better daytime black level performance and Dolby Vision support on the C5. The interface is quick, but a bit frustrating to navigate Samsung uses the Tizen smart TV operating system, and the company has made some improvements over the past couple of years that have made navigation far more responsive than it used to be. I have an older S90C in my bedroom, and even with a consistent flow of updates to the OS over the years, moving the cursor around the home screen can be frustrating, as it stutters or fails to respond right away. The S90F, on the other hand, is zippy and smooth, and apps load quickly. But I find Tizen's organization to be cumbersome, and it requires a good amount of setup and customization to work well. The S90F autoplays the last app that was used if you let it sit idle for a few seconds, and the setting to turn this off is buried within the Smart Features menu. In order to add new apps to the home screen, it takes a bunch of clicks and searching to find them in the Apps tab, move them to the main page, and then shift them from the end of the apps bar to a more accessible spot toward the beginning. If you have external devices attached to the TV, there isn't an input select button on the remote, so you need to navigate to Connected Devices and then scroll over to the desired input. Everything feels like it takes a few more button presses than it needs to. For gamers, though, Tizen's centralized gaming screen is a useful feature. All gaming options, including cloud gaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, are in one place that can be easily accessed by clicking on the side-bar menu's Gaming Hub. If you have a console connected, it will be shown on that page as well. The TV also supports a suite of AI features that Samsung has dubbed "Vision AI," including image and audio enhancements, but none of these functions are all that noteworthy. I generally recommend just keeping the TV in Filmmaker mode to get the most accurate picture. Should you buy the Samsung S90F TV? The Samsung S90F is one of 2025's top upper-midrange TVs. It has great contrast and a bright, detailed picture that's incredibly color accurate. The high refresh rate and cloud gaming support also make it an excellent gaming TV. The TV's black levels are perfect in a dark room but slightly compromised in a brighter space, and the Tizen OS isn't my favorite smart TV interface. But those strikes are small compared to the S90F's many strengths. When it comes to direct OLED competitors, the LG C5 is a worthy alternative for people who prefer the LG brand. Ignoring limited-time discounts, both TVs are typically sold for around the same price. I prefer the C5's interface, and its black levels are better than the S90F's when viewed in a bright room. But the C5 can't match the S90F's color volume or overall brightness. So, the choice between the two comes down to whether you prioritize color and brightness over daytime black levels and navigation. It's also key to remember that last year's S90D can still be found for a lot less money. It's a little dimmer, but it's otherwise a very similar display. With that in mind, the S90D still remains the better buy for most people. But as stock of the S90D runs out and the S90F's price comes down later this year, this newer model will take the upper hand. Based on past price trends for similar Samsung models, I expect the 65-inch S90F to drop down to as low as $1,600 in the fall. So, you may want to hold off until deals pop up over the coming months.
CNET
18-07-2025
- CNET
Samsung S90F OLED TV Review: Great Picture for Gaming, Movies and More
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. 8.6 / 10 SCORE Samsung S90F OLED TV $2,498 at Amazon $2,200 at Samsung $2,498 at B&H Photo-Video Pros The Samsung S90F boasts excellent image quality Fast motion for gamers Cons It's expensive It lacks the step-up model's glare free coating Is it QD or not? Samsung S90F OLED TV 8.6/10 CNET Score $2,498 at Amazon If you're a gamer or a dyed-in-the-wool film nut, then the TV technology you should be looking at is OLED. It offers excellent contrast for that cinematic look, saturated colors and excellent gaming performance. Though cheaper models like the Philips OLED exist, most OLED TVs are priced at the higher end, including the Samsung S95F, LG G5 and C5, and this one, the Samsung S90F. In many ways, the Samsung S90F is a slight update to the 2024 model, but it does pack in enough of the company's tech to make it worth considering. Furthermore, the S90F performed in a similar way to the S95F in my tests -- though it's worth noting it lacks the more expensive model's high brightness, anti-reflective coating and connection box. For those things alone, the flagship is worth the upgrade for many high-end shoppers, but the S90F is no slouch either. It's capable of a dynamic picture and is great for gamers as well. Meanwhile, the Samsung S90F and its closest competitor, the LG C5, have had some aggressive price reductions of late, and both were down to $1,800 for Prime Day. I'd expect similar discounts to recur leading up to Black Friday and the holidays this fall. Between the C5 and S90F, Samsung has a slight edge in my tests, but given the similarities between the two, my advice is simple: just buy whichever is cheaper. Samsung S90F OLED TV sizes, series comparison The Samsung S90F OLED TV is available in sizes between 42 inches and 83 inches. Ty Pendlebury/CNET I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch S90F, yet it's unclear if the testing is applicable to other screen sizes in the series, as I note further below. In the UK, only the 65-inch S90F uses QD-OLED technology while every other size uses WOLED. When I spoke with a Samsung representative in the US, however, they were unable to confirm if the 65-inch was also the sole QD-OLED model or even which tech it involved at all: "Samsung TVs are designed to consistently offer excellent performance, regardless of the specific panels used," they said. The Samsung website also doesn't mention any other technology beyond "OLED HDR Plus." Why does this matter? It's very likely that color reproduction differs between the many sizes of S90F and the one I tested, and so measurements aren't directly transferable. All-in-one design Ty Pendlebury/CNET While some might like the sleek look of Samsung's S95F flagship, it also necessitates an umbilical cable and a large plastic box you need to put somewhere. The S90F likes to keep it simple by comparison. Design-wise, the S90F is similar to both the S90D that preceded it and the LG C5, too, with an ultra-slim screen and a chunkier "inputs" section at the bottom. If you're wall mounting, the overall depth is still only 1.6 inches on the 65-inch model, while those sitting the TV on a stand will appreciate the slender and easy-to-install legs. Over the years, Samsung has pared down its remote to the bare minimum -- a wafer-shaped clicker powered by a solar panel on the back. I preferred the chunky and colorful remotes of old, but you did have to put batteries in those. If you use your TV as a switch, the lack of an input button is also an inconvenience. You can navigate to the Connected Devices menu option, but having a dedicated button makes the process a lot easier. All the streaming you need For 2025, the company has updated its menu system with some slick new screens, including the volume bar. However, it may need some quick relearning to find the options you need. Helpfully, the new menu highlights the last setting used, and so you may be able to access an often-used setting without deep-diving menus. Meanwhile, the Samsung S90F home page is back to familiar territory, and it lists a number of categories on the left -- Samsung Account, Search, Ambient, Samsung Daily Plus, Gaming Hub and Home. Home is the default, and when displaying streaming services, the TV features a series of relevant thumbnails across the screen. Thanks to the sheer number of Samsung TVs out there, this is also one of the most popular smart TV platforms, and it therefore enjoys a large range of streaming services. It also caters to gamers with apps such as Steam Link and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Like most modern TVs, the S90F features a Gaming Hub with its own dashboard. The S90F includes VRR support up to 144Hz on all HDMI ports, so you can be indiscriminate about which port you plug your PC/gaming console into. Unlike most higher-end TVs, the S90F doesn't have Dolby Vision HDR, and while I don't think this is a big deal, completists may look to LG, Sony or even Panasonic instead. In terms of onboard connectivity, the S90F includes: Four HDMI 2.1 inputs 4K (144Hz max) 3x USB-A, 1x USB-C Optical digital audio output Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.3 Ethernet High-end OLED comparison: Samsung S90F vs. LG C5 vs. Samsung S95F vs. Samsung S90D vs. TCL QM8K vs. Hisense U8Q TV and movies Starting with the opening scene of the horror movie It, I found that the S90F and the S95F had the best shadow detail of the group. At the 3:06 minute mark, Georgie is descending the stairs into the basement, and there is some shadow detail barely visible at the top of the screen. On the S90F, the beams there had the greatest sharpness, and Georgie's face was also visible against the light coming through the door. The C5 and the S90D had the worst detail in shadows, with less crispness than the other Samsungs, but they were still pretty good. Meanwhile, the LCD-based TCL QM8K did pretty well with this freeze-frame moment, with decent detail and no washed-out blacks, and I could also make out Georgie's face the best. So many TVs they won't fit in one bright-room testing picture! From left to right: TCL QM8K, Samsung S90D, Samsung S90F, LG C5 and Samsung S95F. Switching to the brighter scenes of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I found most of the TVs looked very similar -- excellent contrast and saturated, comic book colors. However, the LG C5 stuck out with slightly yellowish-looking skin tones on the unmasked, alternate universe Spider-Man. When watching the "endless runner" war movie, 1917, I found that both of the 2025 Samsung TVs again had the best shadow detail of all of the models on test. At the 1 hour 07 minute mark, you see Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) awaken in a dark room. The S90F and the S95F were able to amplify the highlights on the soldier's watch, but the TCL looked worse here. This is because the scene is very close to black, and the TCL's backlight makes the scene look strange and ghostly -- as if it's shot through a muslin filter. I've seen this effect on LCD TVs before, including the massive and expensive Hisense 116UX TV. Lastly, I put all five assembled TVs through the Spears and Munsil 4K HDR10 test disc. I found that the S90F and S95F had the most highly saturated colors and also the best levels of contrast. Read more: How We Test TVs Bright room If you have a bright room with light sources that are directly reflected by the screen -- say a window or overhead bulbs -- then you have two options available. The first is the cheapest: turn the lights off or buy a blackout curtain. The second is to buy the Samsung S95, with its antireflection technology. While the S90F will reduce bright room glare and provide excellent contrast, you will still clearly see any direct light sources. However, when compared with the older S95D, I did see an improvement in the S90F's in bright room performance, with slightly less of the room behind me visible. Shining a phone flashlight against the screen from my seating position, I found that the light was not visible at all on S95F. The flash was visible on both S90F and S90D, as they appeared to behave similarly with bright, direct lights. Next, came the C5 with special FX-like halos and then even more visibility on the TCL. Light output in nits TV Brightest mode (HDR) Accurate mode (HDR) Brightest mode (SDR) Accurate mode (SDR) Samsung S90F 1,466 1,466 633 305 Samsung S95F 2,150 2,150 391 297 Hisense U8Q 4,080 4,070 4,107 436 LG G5 2,813 2,297 1,030 412 LG C5 1,434 1,187 480 288 TCL QM851 3,183 3,183 3,084 1,262 Samsung S95D 1,734 1,666 544 265 Gaming When set to gaming mode, four of the TVs -- the three Samsungs and the Hisense -- had high brightness and were ultra-responsive. When playing Doom, I found that the LG C5 in gaming mode was disappointingly dark and highlights were muted. This is a repeat of last year's C4 and S90D comparison, where the S90D also looked brighter. While consistency is a virtue in LG's case, I think most gamers would prefer to be able to see into the darker areas of the picture -- that's where all the baddies hide! Given that the C5 and S90F are similar in price and have equivalent lag (around 10ms) -- when tested with the Leo Bodnar lag tester -- the Samsung's brighter picture ultimately makes it better for gamers. Uniformity and viewing angle OLED screens tend to offer both excellent uniformity and off-angle performance, and the S90F, like the other OLED TVs that flanked it, had excellent uniformity, and colors stayed vivid while viewing off-axis. Settings and picture mode notes As always, I tested every mode for light output, color accuracy and greyscale performance. Two modes in particular stood out -- Movie or Filmmaker mode -- and it was a coin toss as to which was more accurate in SDR mode as they were very similar. However, for HDR, Filmmaker was definitely better. Samsung S90F test measurements Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (SDR) 633 Good Avg. gamma (10-100%) 2.41 Poor Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 2.02 Good Dark gray error (30%) 0.98 Good Bright gray error (80%) 3.17 Average Avg. color checker error 1.46 Good Avg. saturation sweeps error 1.33 Good Avg. color error 1.26 Good 1080p/24 Cadence (IAL) Pass Good Input lag (Game mode) 10.00 Good HDR10 Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (10% win) 1466 Good Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976) 99.95 Good ColorMatch HDR error 2.20 Good Avg. color checker error 1.65 Good Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR) 9.43 Good Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review.
Tom's Guide
01-07-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Surprise! Amazon just knocked this 2025 Samsung OLED TV by $200
With Prime Day just around the corner, expect to see some huge savings across the board, from running shoes to projectors. But you can often even find major discounts on brand new TVs, even Samsung OLEDs, before the big sales week even starts. Right now you can get the 55-inch Samsung S90F 4K OLED TV for $1,797 at Amazon. That's $200 slashed on this 2025 OLED, bringing it down to its lowest price yet, which even included most of the range in sizes. But you better hurry, as it's selling fast! (For more deals, check out our guide to the best Prime Day OLED TV deals). The Samsung S90F OLED TV is an enticing new entry, offering 144Hz refresh rate on one of Samsung's best upscaling processers. It also has Tizen OS, which is built with tons of free channels not to mention several cloud gaming services, and a full Gaming Hub for all your settings in one place. The S90F also has tons of AI baked into it, like an AI Sound Pro that boosts audio dramatically. 42" for $1,19948" for $1,49777" for $3,199 Samsung is going all out when it comes to AI in 2025 and that's noticeable most on the S90F TV, it's middle-of-the-road OLED this year. It sits right under the S95F OLED, making it just a little less feature-rich than Samsung's flagship but full of surprising metrics. While we don't have a full review of the S90F just yet, I have seen it multiple times in action, including even at Samsung's facilities in Seoul, Korea last year. There's this really cool feature that has stuck in my mind Samsung showed us, which allows the S90F to automatically amend darker scene sin HDR to look even clearer. For perspective's sake, they put on a scene from "House of the Dragon," which was pitch black with a dragon in the foreground. When Samsung's HDR magic was turned on, the person in front of the dragon and even its scales were all far clearer without detracting from the experience. It was pretty incredible. Of course, you are losing out on Dolby Vision as the Samsung S90F OLED doesn't have that certification, but you will have HDR10+ and HDR10, the latter of which makes it ideal for the Nintendo Switch 2. It's also rated up to 144Hz via VRR with a native 120Hz refresh rate, and that's great for modern consoles like the PS5 Pro. And even when you look at its metrics, it's got a lot going for it. An input latency of 9.1ms, not to mention hitting 100% of the UHDA-P3 gamut, which pertains to its HDR color coverage, is superb. The only other TV that has a similar result released this year is the Sony Bravia 8 II OLED TV, which comparatively costs $2,999. This Samsung S90F OLED TV deal won't last for long, but if you want something a bit cheaper check out our ongoing early Prime Day deals live blog for even more savings across tech and fitness gear. There's even more discounts to snag next week when Prime Day hits.
