Buying guide for best Samsung 4K TV
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As the bestselling TV brand, Samsung produces 4K TVs that are synonymous with quality, offering excellent performance, fantastic picture quality and all the features you’ve come to expect from a 4K smart TV. When looking for a good 4K TV, there are a few important factors to consider, including what you will primarily be using the TV for (4K movies or gaming?), how much you’re willing to spend (4K TVs can range from $500 to $5,000), how bright your viewing area is (certain 4K TVs perform better in brighter rooms) and how wide your viewing area is (some TVs have their picture degrade when viewing from an angle).
With an array of new offerings from Samsung for 2024, the BestReviews Testing Lab researched and tested a number of TVs, putting them through a range of tests to evaluate their performance across key metrics, such as brightness, motion blur, contrast, responsiveness and viewing-angle stability. With these metrics, we identified the top 4K Samsung TVs currently on the market.
New releases
Samsung has recently released its latest lineup of TVs for 2024, featuring premium home-theater models to TVs that fit seamlessly in a fashionable living space. If you’re in the market for a new 4K TV, here's a breakdown of the latest offerings from Samsung.
Product specifications
Screen Size: 65” | Resolution: 4K | Panel Type: QLED | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | Voice Assistant Integration: Bixby
Simply put, there’s no other product on the market quite like Samsung’s The Frame. A wholly unique TV, The Frame is a modern 4K TV that also serves as a dynamic art piece. It has a unique design that can seamlessly fit into any living space, making it ideal for anybody who doesn’t want their TV to be the center of attention in a room. While testing, we weren’t super impressed with its conventional TV capabilities, but its one-of-a-kind matte display and sleek design lend itself to Samsung’s art-streaming capabilities.
Samsung updated The Frame for 2024 with Pantone Art Validated Colors, making its streaming artwork as accurate as ever. However, we felt it lacked a certain wow factor we’ve come to expect from other 4K OLED and QLED models. For instance, it didn’t score well with sharpness and saturation, and the overall feeling was not as crisp as the other 4K TVs we tested.
It’s not the best daily driver (though certainly not bad), but its minimalist design and art-forward capabilities make The Frame stand out among its 4K competitors.
Product specifications
Screen Size: 65” | Resolution: 4K | Panel Type: OLED | Refresh Rate: 144Hz VRR | Voice Assistant Integration: Bixby
The next iteration of Samsung’s popular OLED line, the Samsung S95D is an impressive OLED powerhouse. During testing, we were blown away by the S95D’s brightness, its inky blacks and no drop-off when viewing from an angle. This is our top pick among the Samsung 4K TV lineup. New for 2024, the S95 includes Samsung’s OLED Glare-Free technology — the first-ever TV equipped with such tech.
We think this is the best 4K Samsung TV as it excels with movies and especially gaming. We tested the S95D with a PS5 at max settings and it was as smooth as butter. It easily could’ve handled even more, meaning it will be future-proofed for the next generation of consoles. Fortnite was gorgeous running on this TV, and live sports were as smooth as we’ve ever seen on a 4K TV. We felt this was a step up compared to the prior generation Samsung premium OLED, the S95C.
OLEDs are a very popular choice among TV buyers these days, and the S95D is a fantastic option for those looking to dive in. This is the one to buy if you want one of the best OLEDs on the market.
Product specifications
Screen Size: 65” | Resolution: 4K | Panel Type: QLED | Refresh Rate: 144 Hz | Voice Assistant Integration: Bixby and Alexa
The little brother in Samsung's 2024 QLED TV lineup, the QN90D was a solid performer in our testing. Although it didn't quite match up to an OLED screen, the QN90D delivers accurate picture quality with good brightness and vibrant colors. The QN90D features new technology for 2024 including a NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor and Quantum Matrix Technology, aimed at optimizing both picture and sound.
Overall, this TV performs well across various metrics, particularly impressing us with its gaming features. However, we did notice some motion blur while using a PS5. Samsung's Motion Xcelerator technology elevates the refresh rate to 144 Hz, placing it in the higher end of 4K TVs.
In line with Samsung's QLED standards, the QN90D maintains the quality we've come to expect from Samsung. For those considering an upgrade from an older model, the QN90D is a solid pick.
How we tested the best Samsung 4K TVs
We tested these TVs by viewing the TV from several different angles to get a sense of picture quality, including brightness, color accuracy, viewing angle, anti-glare and sharpness. We also tested the TV in different formats to get an idea of how the picture changes.
To test gaming performance, we tested with a PS5 to see how it handled next-gen graphics, input lag and VRR. We tested the TVs in various game modes to see how they handled processing.
How do Samsung’s 4K TVs compare to other brands?
Samsung primarily builds QLED TVs, which is an upgraded version of LED TVs. QLED TVs use quantum dots, which result in higher brightness, an important characteristic in 4K TVs. Because of this, Samsung 4K TVs typically have better contrast and more brightness than other brands. With that said, Samsung, in recent years, started offering OLED TVs to compete with other brands like LG. OLED TVs have better color accuracy and wider viewing angles, and their brightness capabilities are catching up to QLED TVs.
Modern 4K TVs offer High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology that enhances picture quality. The most common formats are HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. HDR10 is the most basic HDR technology, while HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are more advanced and offer more color-accurate pictures. While many TVs offer all three, Samsung doesn’t support Dolby Vision. This can be a frustration for some consumers, as most HDR content is presented more often in Dolby Vision. For some, this is a deal-breaker, but for most, you will not notice the difference.
Samsung 4K TVs have the added benefit of SmartThings home-automation integration. If you are invested in other Samsung technology, such as phones, light bulbs, plugs or fridges, SmartThings helps automate your smart home, letting you control every appliance from your phone.
How well do Samsung’s smart features work?
Samsung 4K TVs use their proprietary operating system named Tizen OS. Anybody familiar with a typical streaming box will be right at home with Tizen. It includes all the apps you need in a modern smart TV, along with other features like Samsung Gaming Hub, a cloud gaming service, and Samsung TV Plus, a free live TV app. Tizen works well for anybody who doesn’t want to invest in a dedicated streaming box.
Samsung’s SmartThings home automation works pretty flawlessly but takes some time to get used to. Samsung no longer offers first-party equipment for SmartThings, like a hub, but the app works well for most people looking to control their home devices.
How well do Samsung’s voice commands work?
Samsung has its own voice-command service named Bixby, but Alexa and Google Assistant can be used on Samsung TVs via third-party apps. Bixby will be familiar to anybody who has used Alexa or similar voice-command services. If your house is primarily using Samsung devices, Bixby is a fantastic option. However, if your household has mixed devices, Google Assistant and Alexa do a better job of managing across platforms.
Are there any known issues with Samsung TVs?
Samsung TVs are considered one of the most trusted brands in the premium TV space. Samsung’s standard warranty is 12 months for all of their products, not just TVs. If you buy from certain retailers such as Costco, an extended warranty may be added to the standard 12 months. Online reviews of Samsung customer service are negative but are skewed by people experiencing bad service.
While their builds are generally high-quality, the built-in sound of Samsung TVs across the board is lackluster. We recommend buying a sound bar or a separate audio connection for any of their TVs. However, this is a common complaint we have across all TV brands and is not unique to Samsung.
