Samsung unveiled three new foldable smartphones last week – and one of them might be my new favourite way to take movies and TV shows on the go.

The Korean giant launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Flip 8 and the Z Fold 8 – the one I am most interested in – at Galaxy Unpacked. Here it set some pretty clear expectations of what these devices are capable of, and who they are aimed at.

The Z Flip 8 is all about fun, while the Z Fold 8 Ultra is a productivity powerhouse.

The Z Fold 8, however, is a device that is designed to deliver “a more immersive viewing experience”. And watching content on that expansive unfolded screen is one of this Samsung’s biggest selling points.

This all-new folding phone sports a new design with a 4:3 aspect ratio interior display – which makes it a more suitable device for watching content. The Z Fold 7, in comparison, had a unique 1.11:1 aspect ratio, which resulted in sizeable black letterboxing bars when watching 21:9 movies or 16:9 TV shows.

Ultimately, this defeated the point of having a large screen for watching content in the first place. While the big display is nice in theory, in reality the portion that is actually taken up by the content you are watching is roughly the size of your standard ‘slab’ phone.

The Z Fold 8 changes this. Samsung specifically said, during the presentation, that this screen is better for watching content from streaming services, because letterboxing bars are less noticeable and the content fills more of the display.

Further AV-centric upgrades include the new Flex Titanium display structure, which adds a thin layer of titanium alloy and flexible titanium plates beneath the AMOLED display for enhanced display uniformity and rigidity. This makes the display crease, which can catch the light and become distracting on the older models, less of an issue.

These display upgrades immediately caught my attention. As someone who spends far more time than I’d like to admit sitting on lengthy train, coach and plane journeys, a portable large-screen experience that can fit into my pocket is a dream come true.

Now, with my very own Z Fold 8 in my hands, I have been able to test drive this portable AV fantasy. And I’m going all in…

SIM swap…

I have swapped full-time to the Z Fold 8, which means leaving the comfort of Apple’s iOS behind. Everything from my streaming apps to my WhatsApp now resides on the Z Fold 8, and I have been using it as my full-time smartphone for the past week.

To get a true flavour of how this phone handles video, I have logged in to every app imaginable.

Those include dedicated movie and TV streaming apps such as Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+, as well as more casual social-focused video apps such as YouTube and Twitch. I’m even conducting my frequent bouts of TikTok and Instagram Reels doomscrolling on this phone.

I have changed a few crucial settings to get the best picture experience from the phone. I’ve switched off adaptive brightness, eye-comfort shield and adaptive colour tone (all useful features in their own right, but not ideal for video playback), and switched on extra brightness.

I have also changed the colour profile of the display from its vivid preset to natural.

And I couldn’t forget about sound, of course. Samsung allows users to toggle Dolby Atmos on and off with a simple press of a button, so I have switched it on for a more immersive audio experience.

I know that this won’t rival a Dolby Atmos soundbar or speaker package, of course, but it’s a nice smartphone feature to have, nonetheless.

On the subject of audio, I can already reveal that playing music on this phone is a treat. The boxy, passport-shaped cover screen takes on a portable music player (think iPod Touch) persona, which is a treat to use.

A cinematic screen in my pocket…

I’ll leave our upcoming full review of the Z Fold 8 to go into exactly how this phone performs, but I can certainly share how much I’ve enjoyed the process of watching videos on this device.

Watching Superman on HBO Max is a prime example of how this phone can really shine. You are genuinely getting a bigger picture experience here, while also having the convenience of having a phone that can slip neatly into your pocket.

The upgrade from my iPhone 16 Pro’s 6.3-inch display was immediately noticeable, and yet the super-thin form factor doesn’t make the phone feel unwieldy.

Switching to an old episode of The Simpsons (Radioactive Man from season seven) on Disney+ really blew my mind, as the 4:3 aspect ratio of the content matches the display perfectly. The super-thin bezels and display-filling content combine for a seamless and immersive experience.

Moving on to the social video apps that I use day to day, the Z Fold 8 offers a very different but equally impressive experience. Most of the fun here, as Samsung acknowledged in its presentation, is scanning the comments as you watch, and the Fold 8 accommodates this with ease.

Being able to keep the live chat open without significantly shrinking the live stream is a dream, and being able to scroll a full-size TikTok feed with the comments open sells the big-screen experience even more.

It's still a learning curve…

It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, though.

I have found that I sometimes find myself mindlessly scrolling on the cover screen, forgetting that I have a bigger and better display lurking beneath. This is simply a case of ‘old habits die hard’, as I’m used to having just one screen on my phone, not two.

And while the letterboxing bars have been significantly slimmed down compared with the Folds that have come before, they are still more sizeable than the ones found on other phones.

That said, I’ve faced the same issue when watching movies on an iPad; it’s an inherent drawback of tablets. Unless any company is willing to make a 21:9 tablet, I can't see that being resolved any time soon.

The more I use the phone, the less these teething issues bother me, and the more I am finding myself enjoying the foldable format.

Having a pocket-sized device with a genuinely immersive OLED display is the dream for any AV enthusiast who often finds themselves on the go. As someone who fits that brief perfectly, it feels as though the Z Fold 8 was made for me.

MORE:

Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 hands on review

As well as our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

And check out the best smartphones for movies and music

A good, cheap OLED TV has been top of many cinephiles' wish list for over a decade. This makes the S85H a big-ticket item despite it sitting at the bottom of Samsung’s new OLED TV range.

It’s looking set to be one of the cheapest options for serious movie fans who want a new OLED that sits in the same family as the S99H, a set we recently declared to be the finest Samsung OLED we’d ever tested. Big shoes to fill, then.

Price

The Samsung S85H is available in sizes from 48 to 83 inches. The cheapest 48-inch size launched carrying a £1199 ($1199) price tag, while the giant 83-inch model retails for £3699 ($4499).

We have the middle-child 55-inch model in our review rooms, which launched at £1499 ($1499 / AU$2499).

Initially, that meant it cost slightly less than its closest rival, the LG B6, which cost £1599 (AU$2500) when it first came out.

However, rapid price drops mean it’s now more expensive than its LG rival. The 55-inch B6 is now available for as little as £899 in some places.

However, the S85H puts is still cheaper than most of this year’s mid-tier OLEDs, including its big brother, the 55-inch S90H, which now floats around the £1699 mark.

Design

You won’t find any flourishes like the fancy metal bezel sported by the flagship S99H; instead the S85H has a rather utilitarian look, with a basic, plastic design that is nevertheless mostly solid.

The TV has feet, rather than a pedestal stand design and includes two placement options, central and wide, which puts them on the furthest right and left edges. This is a nice touch that lets you adjust the position to fit on your cabinet and place a soundbar underneath it as required.

Our only minor quibble with the design is that, as well as feeling distinctly plasticy, the feet wobble. Not so much that we’re worried it will break, but enough that you’ll want to place it with care.

The SolarCell remote seen on Samsung’s previous step-down and entry-level OLEDs also makes a return. It is pleasingly compact and intuitive, and features solar and USB-C charging, something that isn’t guaranteed at this price. The only real negative is the ongoing lack of a backlight, which makes using it in the dark a bit tricky.

Features

The set's specifications sheet is nearly identical to the outgoing S85F, with only three big upgrades to mention.

It has been upgraded to Wi-Fi 6E, which will improve connectivity if you have a compatible router using the standard. It also has a new AI football mode, which Samsung claims will “make you feel like you’re in the stadium” using the set’s processing smarts.

Finally, there is a smattering of what Samsung claims to be "performance improvements" – the biggest, apparently, is to its peak and operating brightness. Samsung hasn’t given a definite nit count, however, so we can't be sure how big the alleged brightness upgrades are.

Samsung also hasn’t specified what panel is being used, but the fact that the S85H is powered by the same NQ4 AI Gen2 processor as its predecessor suggests it may be using one of the new OLED SE panels LG Display unveiled at CES in January, which aim to boost brightness while simultaneously bringing prices down.

We had hoped the Q85H would get the newer Gen3 silicon, which brings more accurate tone mapping and better upscaling, among other things, but that remains reserved for the more expensive S99H and S90H models.

The same is true for Samsung’s vibrancy-boosting Quantum Dot tech, which once again is reserved for its flagship offering. A shame, yes, but unsurprising given the S85H’s price. You also, once again, won’t find the firm’s Glare Free screen coating included, which will be an annoyance if you use the TV in a room with lots of ambient light.

Despite the lack of big changes, the S85’s specifications remain very competitive at this price.

The set offers four full-speed HDMI 2.1 inputs, capable of carrying a 4K/120Hz signal for next-generation gamers. ALLM and VRR are also on board, so gamers are fully covered.

The only big omission is the set’s lack of support for Dolby Vision Gaming, or any version of Dolby’s HDR standard, for that matter. The S85H continues Samsung’s HDR grudge match, with it only supporting the HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG standards.

The set also doesn’t support FlexConnect, a bit of audio tech that the LG B6 does. This is a clever technology designed to let you create surround sound systems using compatible speakers on the fly. It includes the power to use the TV’s speakers as the central channel. Samsung, instead, pushes its own Q-Symphony solution, which aims to make the TV’s sound system work with compatible soundbars to improve audio quality and create a wider soundstage.

The latest-gen version of Tizen featured on the S85H is easy to navigate and includes a content bar at the top that splits your apps into categories, curated and arranged to automatically match your usage habits. All the major apps and services are present and running correctly, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV and more.

Picture

In its out-of-the-box Eco mode, the S85H comes off a little strong. Playing our F1: The Movie 4K Blu-ray, the picture is a little sharp, oversmoothed and colours, particularly reds, are overcooked.

Switching to Filmmaker mode, things rapidly improve. Now, the cars’ movements become precise and rapid, losing the artificial floaty feel of its default setting.

Colours are also much more reined in, but reds still look a little overcooked, which leads to a series of quick tweaks before we finally settle on Filmmaker Mode, with the Warm 1 colour profile and Active Dynamic Tone Mapping on for the best results.

The TV’s colours are still a little bombastic compared to the more subdued B6, but the picture’s solidity and three-dimensionality ensure our eyes still favour the Samsung during the heated F1 race.

Switching to Pan, our standard peak brightness stress test due to its atypical 4000 nits mastering, it’s immediately clear that the S85H burns brighter than previous entry-level OLEDs we’ve tested and its main rival, the LG B6. The setting sun offers a wider range of reds and oranges that show up as pure white on its rival.

The only slight issue is that, once again, colours are pushed a touch too hard, with blues looking a smidge too vibrant and the picture a little too warm in general.

(Editor’s note – for our sanity, if a filmmaker is reading this, please master your next film in 4000 nits and shoot an incredibly bright scene we can use for testing. If our reviewers are forced to hear Pan’s butchered version of Smells Like Teen Spirit for much longer, there may be a mutiny.)

Switching to our 4K Blu-ray Sinners test disc, minor black crush creeps in. Although the scene oozes menace and has a wonderful sense of dread, thanks to the perfect blacks, parts of the gangsters’ faces lose definition and fade into the black background.

The S85H also has a tendency to try too hard. In a bid to show how bright it can go, the set artificially raises the brightest sections of the picture, but doesn’t always have the finesse to do it naturally.

Highlights on characters’ skin come up as pure white, losing some detail and adding a distracting artificiality, making it look like they’re in the spotlight on a Broadway stage, rather than drinking and dancing in a dingy Prohibition-era speakeasy.

The aggressive push then flattens faces completely by overbrightening them, losing shadow detail and some of the picture’s otherwise impressive three-dimensionality. The flaw isn’t uniform either, rearing its head at specific moments, which is distracting and breaks our immersion in its otherwise solid performance.

Switching gears to our 4K Blu-ray of Civil War and tagging in step-up OLEDs, including its big brother/sister the S90H, the S85H puts up an admirable fight, but there are obvious benefits if you can afford to go up a price tier.

The S90F delivers a series of modest improvements that add up to make a big difference. On the S85H, greens in a military camp’s grass fields look a little too vibrant, taking on an almost cartoony look. Skin tones lose their warmth and colour volume, coming across as slightly jaundiced during low-light scenes compared to the more lifelike, immersive S90F.

The flames in a burning forest flicker a little brighter on the step-up model, offering more detail, with a wider range of reds and oranges dancing in the brightest parts of the flames. Overall, we get a little more nuance, a sprinkle more finesse, and a generally more natural picture with the S90F.

The S85H does a decent, but not front-of-the-pack, job of upscaling our SDR True Grit Blu-ray. The picture retains the grainy, spaghetti western feel, but the picture is dimmer and a bit flatter than those we've seen on rival sets. Though it retains the intentional grain, some sharpness and detail are lost. The stitches in the characters’ woollen clothes look a bit softer than we’d like, too.

Sound

“Where’s the bass?” is the immediate question we ask, testing the S85H’s 2.0 channel, 20W, Dolby Atmos system with our F1: The Movie test disc.

Engine noise, the sound of the crowd, the boom of cars crashing and skidding across the track; all of it lacks the bite and impact needed to do justice to the scene. The entire sound feels weak, even by TV speaker standards, sounding more like a Scalextric race than a deafening, international F1 event.

And this issue is the sound system’s undoing. Moving to a night-time battle scene in Civil War, explosions are occasionally entirely lost as vocals and the higher-frequency sound of gunfire, bizarrely, overpowers them.

This is a particular shame as, while the speakers never come close to matching a moderately capable soundbar, such as the entry-level Sonos Beam (Gen 2), they do get some things right.

During the musical medley in Sinners, Sammie’s blues vocals don’t have the power or vibrato required to do them justice, but they’re suitably separated from the guitar part.

As the scene develops, adding more and more layers and modern music genres to the song, that decent separation continues, with each part remaining distinct, albeit underpowered. And the set does a reasonable job of offering a sense of direction as the camera swoops through the barn.

The S85H’s speakers are ultimately fine for watching the news or a casual series, but not quite good enough for even basic movie watching. You will need to invest in a soundbar or speaker system for that.

Verdict

If you want an OLED TV but can’t afford to step up into the mid-tier, it’s one of the top options currently available, the Samsung S85H is a very competent option at the price.

Its punchy, immersive and nicely three-dimensional picture is a cut above most of its entry-level rivals. There are undoubtedly palpable gains to be had in paying more for a mid-range OLED, however – ones we think are worth paying for.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 5

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Samsung has applied an unexpected twist to its eighth generation of folding phones.

Traditionally, the Korean smartphone titan has split its foldable lineup into two subsets: the Flip, which is a throwback to the flip phones of the early 2000s, and the Fold, which is a book-style foldable that goes from traditional smartphone to small tablet form factor in a matter of seconds.

However, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 changes that, as the Fold now comes in two flavours: the Z Fold 8 and the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

If you're still reeling from that revelation, we need to hit you with another shocking announcement: the Z Fold 8 Ultra isn't the surprising new device of the duo. In fact, it's the standard Z Fold 8 that has caught us off guard – in a good way, of course.

We were lucky enough to attend an early hands-on session to check these new bendable smartphones out before their official announcement at Samsung Unpacked, and we've got plenty of early thoughts on this new duo of handsets.

Price

Samsung has shared UK pricing for both models in all storage configurations. Pricing is as follows:

These are premium handsets, and the pricing reflects that. The Z Fold 8 is actually £100 cheaper than the outgoing Galaxy Z Fold 7; however, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is £100 more.

The Z Fold 8 comes in four finishes – Graphite, Cream, Pistachio and Lavender – while the Z Fold 8 Ultra also comes in Graphite and Cream, as well as Violet Shadow and Green Shadow.

Design and build

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is very similar to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 in stature. It retains the same 6.5-inch 21:9 outer display and 8-inch interior display, although it's somehow even thinner this year. That's a pretty impressive claim considering that the Z Fold 7 was just a hair thicker than the USB-C charging port when unfolded.

Samsung has also created an easier opening and closing mechanism through the inclusion of magnets, which makes the Z Fold 8 Ultra noticeably easier to unfold into its tablet form.

Both the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra also come with the brand's new Flex Titanium Technology display architecture. Underneath the flexible AMOLED display now sits a super-thin titanium alloy mesh and a flexible titanium plate, which work together to create a flatter and more uniform display when the phones are unfolded.

The crease in the middle of the phone is, as a result, less prominent, resulting in a more seamless interactive experience on those larger interior displays.

Moving on to the Z Fold 8, this is where things get interesting. It features an entirely new form factor, with a 7.6-inch 4:3 landscape interior display with a 10:16 aspect ratio outer screen. While the Z Fold 8 Ultra is more akin to a chocolate bar when folded, the Z Fold 8 feels more like a passport.

Its shorter and wider stature makes it strangely satisfying to hold, as its size is almost like one of the BlackBerry handsets from around 15 years ago. And in a world of smartphones that are becoming less wieldy, especially for one-handed operation, it's incredibly refreshing to use this outer display, as every edge and corner is within thumb's reach.

Best of all, Samsung has reportedly made this change with content consumption in mind. While the Z Fold 8 Ultra remains a flagship for power users, the standard Z Fold 8 is positioned as a device designed for watching, reading, and scrolling.

Features

Both handsets sport a multitude of features to make them ideal for consuming movies and music. The Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra both feature displays with 3000 nits peak brightness, with HDR10+ support and Samsung's Vision Booster feature on board. This can boost contrast to ensure greater visibility when using the handsets in direct sunlight.

Samsung has also implemented its effective anti reflectivity display coating, which is appreciated considering these phones sport large interior screens that can easily catch the light.

What wasn't disclosed during our early hands-on session is whether these phones support Samsung's excellent ProScaler feature. If this is on board, we presume it will be the improved version found on the five-star Galaxy S26 Ultra.

As for sound, it seems as though Samsung is sticking with Dolby Atmos, which can be accessed via the built-in speakers and either wired or wireless headphones.

Samsung has outfitted both foldables with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor and, depending on your storage configuration, that will be paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. The Galaxy S26 Ultra uses the same processor and RAM combination, and it has no trouble handling the Android operating system with Samsung's One UI system running on top.

This includes Samsung's exhaustive list of Galaxy AI features. We'll spare you the full list, but the usual suite of picture editing, search functions and writing tools are all present.

Samsung's nifty Now Brief feature is also here, which can show you contextual information throughout your day, while Now Nudge will recognise important information on your screen (such as times, dates, and locations) and offer contextual replies based on information from other apps, such as your calendar.

Features-wise, the biggest way in which these phones differ is with their cameras. The Z Fold 8 sports two outer cameras – a 50MP main and a 50MP ultra wide – while the Z Fold 8 Ultra features an upgraded 50MP ultra wide camera (up from 12MP), a 200MP main camera, and 10MP telephoto lens.

There's also a difference in battery capacity. The Z Fold 8 gets a 4800mAh battery rated for up to 26 hours of video playback, whereas the Z Fold 8 Ultra moves up to a 5000mAh cell with an additional hour of video playback. Both support wired fast charging up to 45W.

Picture

Screen size differences aside, both handsets offered a similar picture experience during our brief hands-on testing. As per usual, our testing environment was less than ideal, as we weren't allowed to download or log in to any streaming apps, so we had to rely on movie trailers played on YouTube. Therefore, our early findings here won't be representative of our final review.

We watched the trailers for Dune: Part Three, The Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day during the hands-on session; clearly we're huge Zendaya fans.

Both devices presented sharp and crisp images, with punchy and bold colours and fairly smooth-looking motion. The biggest difference between the two, however, was the presence of the letterboxing bars.

As both phones use OLED displays, the bars remained perfectly black and easy to ignore, but the aspect ratio of the standard Z Fold 8 meant that the bars themselves were much smaller and, therefore, less noticeable.

We would have ideally swapped the colours to the natural preset, and also preferably streamed something in HDR10+ to see these phones at their maximum potential, but Samsung made us pinky promise not to swap settings or install any apps.

Sound

We'll keep this brief, we weren't able to do any meaningful sound testing during our hands on time.

We did, however, manage to quickly blast the speakers on the Z Fold 8 Ultra in the busy hands-on area, and found that they cut through the hustle and bustle surprisingly effectively.

We'll need to plug a pair of our reference headphones in to fully assess how these phones handle music, but looking generally at Samsung's portfolio, we know that its handsets tend to fall behind Apple and Sony's best offerings when it comes to music.

That could all change with the Z Fold 8 and 8 Ultra, but only time (and some thorough testing) will tell.

Early verdict

Samsung's surprising duo of new foldables have made a positive first impression. We've been a fan of having a bigger screen to watch movies on that conveniently fits into your pocket for quite a while now, so having an even more compact option that's made with content consumption in mind is music to our ears.

We'll need to test both phones before we apply a full verdict, so stay tuned for our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra reviews coming soon.

MORE:

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

As well as our Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

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Samsung has unveiled three new foldable phones at its annual Galaxy Unpacked event, two of which are its brightest Galaxy smartphones ever.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is a new addition to the Z Fold family, and is joined by the Z Fold8, both of which have a peak brightness of 3000 nits. That comfortably outdoes the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 2600 nits.

The Z Fold8 Ultra really follows the Z Fold7, with the same size 8-inch internal screen. The Z Fold8, however, has a smaller 7.6-inch screen, and is shorter and wider when folded. The Z Fold8’s 5.5-inch cover screen has a 10:16 aspect ratio, while the internal screen is the more traditional 4:3.

Samsung says the Z Fold8 Ultra’s internal screen is the equivalent of having two 6.5-inch screens side by side, making it ideal for multitasking.

Both it and the Z Fold8's screens have an anti-reflective coating, making them easier to see in bright sunlight.

The Z Fold8 Ultra measures 4.1mm thick when unfolded, making it the thinnest Galaxy Fold ever. It has a new hinge with new magnets, making it easier to open and more durable over time.

It also has a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra wide (up from 12 megapixels on the Fold7) and a 10-megapixel telephoto. Also onboard are the same ProVisual Engine with advanced AP processing for Nightography video as the Galaxy S26, and the same Horizontal Lock features. That keeps your video recording steady even if your hand is anything but. A new mode lets you present your videos in cinematic presets (like romance or thriller) with no editing required.

Both it and the Z Fold8 are powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy as the Galaxy S26. The Ultra has a 5000mAh battery for 27 hours of video playback, and charging up to 67 per cent capacity in 30 minutes, while the Fold8’s 4800mAh unit offers 26 hours of video and juices up to 63 per cent in 30 minutes.

At 201g, the Z Fold8 is the lightest Galaxy Z Fold that Samsung has ever made.

Samsung also announced the Galaxy Z Flip8 clamshell phone, which flips open like the classic Motorola Razr from the early noughties. It follows the four-star Z Flip 7, and is the slimmest and lightest Z Flip phone yet.

All three phones are available to pre-order now, and will ship next month. The Z Flip8 starts at £1100, the Z Fold8 £1699 and the Z Fold8 Ultra £1899 (all 256GB storage). They all come in 512GB variants too, with the two Z Folds also available with 1TB of storage.

MORE:

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How does the Samsung Galaxy Flip 7 review compare?

Soundbars tend to come in two flavours now: the usual standalone bar, and the soundbar system with extra speakers that has increased in visibility in recent years.

We’ve rounded up two of our favourites from both categories to see how they stack up. And not just any two – the Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra, and Samsung’s new HW-Q990H soundbar system.

We’ll go through various categories such as price, design, features and, of course, sound, to find out which is the better buy.

As soundbar standoffs go, it doesn’t get much closer than this. So, after a deep breath, let’s get started…

Samsung HW-Q990H vs Sonos Arc Ultra: price

The Sonos Arc Ultra officially launched at £999 / $999 / AU$1799. However, it does get healthy discounts every now and then – the cheapest we’ve seen it go is £719 in the UK on Cyber Monday.

The Samsung HW-Q990H launched at a more expensive £1599 / $2000 / AU$1999. That’s a £600/$1000/AU$200 increase – though you have to bear in mind that this also includes a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surrounds.

You can add extra speakers to the Arc Ultra, but it quickly adds up. The cheapest way to build a Sonos system is to add a Sub Mini and two Era 100 speakers, which are available as part of the Home Cinema Completion Set for £785/$887/AU$1270, though if you shop around you can often find these products on sale separately.

The Samsung HW-Q990H is also much newer, only launching in spring 2026. Samsung’s annual soundbar system tends to tumble in price quickly and consistently after launch – the HW-Q990H is already down to £1299 in the UK. Last year’s model, the HW-990F, crashed to under £700 over Prime Day, and we’d expect the HW-Q990H to follow a similar pattern.

As things stand, the Sonos Arc Ultra is the better value buy, especially if you get it at a discount – but the two may very well swap places over the course of the next year.

**Winner: Sonos Arc Ultra**

Samsung HW-Q990H vs Sonos Arc Ultra: design

There is, of course, one key difference between the Samsung HW-Q990H and Sonos Arc Ultra; the Q990H is a soundbar system with surrounds and a subwoofer, whereas the Arc Ultra is a solo soundbar.

However, even the soundbar of the Q990H alone is bigger than the Arc Ultra – the Arc Ultra fits all of its channels into a 7.5 x 118 x 11 cm (hwd) bar, while the main soundbar of the Q990H comes in at 7 x 123 x 14cm. The Q990H’s surround speakers are a smaller 20 x 13 x 14cm, while the subwoofer is a 25 x 25 x 25cm cube.

The Q990H is a well-built, premium-feeling system constructed from aluminium and high-quality plastic. However, the design is identical to previous Samsung soundbar systems, and is starting to feel a little tired. The sharp, hexagonal design is a touch brutalist – especially compared to Samsung’s sleek OLED TVs – and the edgy soundbar does feel at odds with the rounded cube-shaped subwoofer.

We prefer the smooth curves of the Sonos Arc Ultra. The solo soundbar is pretty much all grille, with just a Sonos logo and a status light breaking up the appearance from the front, ensuring that sound can emanate from the soundbar in almost any direction.

The Arc Ultra’s design is largely similar to that of its predecessor, the Sonos Arc, with the exception of the 'ledge' at the back of the top of the chassis, which now houses touch controls for playback and volume. The Bluetooth pairing button is hidden in the recess around the back with the HDMI and power ports, which is a tad inconvenient.

The Sonos Arc Ultra gets our vote on an aesthetic level, but we still have features and sound quality to assess.

**Winner: Sonos Arc Ultra**

Samsung HW-Q990H vs Sonos Arc Ultra: features

The Arc Ultra boasts a 9.1.4-channel configuration, with 15 Class D amplifiers powering 14 drivers that are all Sonos-engineered. There are seven tweeters, six midrange woofers, and a 'Sound Motion' woofer, and it's the last of those that's the really big deal.

Rather than the one heavy motor that most speaker drivers employ, the Sound Motion driver has four smaller, lightweight motors in opposing corners. Working together, these motors are apparently able to push the cone to shift far more air and produce far more bass.

The Samsung, on the other hand, is an 11.1.4 system, with an impressive total of 23 individual drivers on board. This includes 15 drivers in the main soundbar unit, three in each of the wireless surround speakers, and two 8-inch woofers (in a push/pull configuration) in the wireless subwoofer. Upward-firing drivers are present in both the soundbar and surround speakers for immersive audio.

Speaking of immersive sound formats, the Sonos Arc Ultra only supports Dolby Atmos. The Q990H boasts three: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Samsung’s Eclipsa Audio. Eclipsa has not seen widespread coverage outside of YouTube so far, but it’s handy that the Q990H is futureproofed should this change down the line.

While the Sonos Arc Ultra does have an HDMI eARC output for sending high-fidelity sound from your TV, there are no HDMI inputs to enable passthrough, which could be an issue for any gamers out there. If you have a TV with only two HDMI sockets and more than one game console, you’ll be in a bit of a pickle as the Arc Ultra will take up one of your ports.

The Samsung, on the other hand, has two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 passthrough sockets, which support up to 4K/120Hz signals with VRR and ALLM, as well as HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. So you can plug two high-speed game consoles directly into the soundbar itself, and still enjoy plenty of gaming features.

The Sonos Trueplay calibration process for the Arc Ultra comes in two flavours – Quick and Advanced. The Quick method, which is a single measurement using the soundbar’s own microphone, makes a big difference, whereas the iOS-only Advanced method, the ‘hoovering-the-walls’ method we’ve seen before, only very slightly improves beyond that.

Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound Pro feature, which is essentially the Q990H’s’s calibration system, can helpfully accommodate if you can’t place the rear speakers at the recommended 135-150-degree angle behind the listening position. However, this isn’t just a one-time measurement – the feature is a constantly running system that monitors your listening space at all times to make adjustments in real time.

The Sonos app also allows you to access EQ controls and features such as Night mode, Speech Enhancement and the Loudness setting. However, we ran into several bugs during testing, and while a lot of the issues have been ironed out, it’s still not the most intuitive platform.

Luckily, you shouldn’t need to use the app too often – the remote control can handle most duties, and music can be sent directly from apps such as Spotify and Tidal.

Conversely, we find the Samsung SmartThings app to be the preferred way of interacting with the settings menus of the Q990H. The app has a snappy connection and set-up time, with easy-to-understand menus and generally solid stability.

The Q990H can also be connected wirelessly to compatible Samsung TVs, though we’d recommend sticking to a wired connection for the best audio quality and reduced latency. Q Symphony is also on offer, in which the Q990H can work in tandem with the speakers of a Samsung TV – though again, we’d recommend just sticking to the system rather than bringing a TV's sound quality into the equation.

Finally, the Q990H offers a Sound Elevation feature that’s designed to raise the audio upwards to match the position of your screen. We found it overshot things slightly and placed the sound towards the top of our TV, but this could be useful for those who wall-mount their TV and leave a gap between it and their soundbar.

The Sonos Arc Ultra is no slouch in the features department, but it loses out to the newer, feature-packed Samsung HW-Q990H. The soundbar system boasts more immersive audio support, a snappier, more stable app and, crucially, HDMI passthrough.

**Winner: Samsung HW-Q990H**

Samsung HW-Q990H vs Sonos Arc Ultra: sound

Starting with the Samsung HW-Q990H and a test viewing of Civil War, we find this soundbar package excels in practically every aspect. A woodland scene demonstrates the soundbar’s excellent placement of cinematic effects, with birds chirping overhead and twigs crackling underfoot.

Vocal clarity is excellent, with crisp, detailed and full-bodied dialogue, and the tonality and emotions of their voices are captured thanks to the Q990H's rich sonic characteristics and deft handling of low-level dynamics.

Bass is handled very well too, refusing to distort or warble during Blade Runner 2049’s infamously tricky chapter two. In fact, the bass builds nicely throughout, with a sense of tonal variation which makes it sound tuneful and dynamic.

K’s crowded apartment complex and a dystopian street are also captured with a level of finesse and detail that seriously sells the atmosphere of each scene. Background sounds are also cleverly woven into the soundfield without making them sound forced or intentionally singled out.

Moving on to music, we try the Q990H’s Standard mode, which removes the rear speakers and lets the main soundbar unit and subwoofer shine for stereo music reproduction.

Most, if not all, of the positive attributes from our movie testing are present and correct for music, too – vocals are warm and detailed, bass is taut, and there is a general sense of naturalism and balance to the sound. The Samsung system is a talented performer – but can’t quite top the Sonos when it comes to music.

Sonos soundbars have long been among the most musical in the category, though, and the Arc Ultra further solidifies that reputation. We prefer it over the Samsung system thanks to its richer, more rounded and smoother sound – the Arc Ultra is an energetic, exciting and engaging listen, and a crackingly musical soundbar.

Moving away from music, we also put the Arc Ultra through the Blade Runner 2049 chapter two test, and it also impresses. There’s no chuffing from the drivers and it has a really good go at the super-deep notes of the soundtrack. Bottom-end control isn’t cast iron, but the combination of weight and control is impressive.

The spatial sound-effect placement is also quite impressive for a solo bar. Voices and other audio are placed above us, in the top corners of the room and move around us, far beyond the extremities of the TV.

The sound is detailed too – incidental noises are delivered clearly and cleanly without distracting, with the Arc Ultra’s low-level dynamic subtlety ensuring these sounds are presented naturally and realistically. Grand changes in volume are also dispatched without fuss or fluster, with the solo soundbar capable of going very loud indeed.

So who comes out on top? Well, it depends entirely on what you plan to use the soundbars for. The Sonos Arc Ultra is a musical powerhouse and manages to pack in impressive detail and spatial effects into one convenient, plug-in-and-play bar.

The Samsung HW-Q990H, on the other hand, requires a bit more setup and space, but really benefits from the rear speakers for surround and height effects, as well as the rather impressive subwoofer.

It really depends on which soundbar is the best for you and your needs – both products excel in their respective areas, so we’re going to call this one a draw.

**Winner: Draw**

Samsung HW-Q990H vs Sonos Arc Ultra: verdict

As soundbar battles go, it doesn’t get much closer than this. There’s no wrong answer here really, with two top-tier home cinema audio options.

The Sonos Arc Ultra is better looking and is the go-to choice if you want just one box that excels with music and movies. The Samsung HW-Q990H is stuffed with features, including the all-important HDMI 2.1 inputs for gamers.

The Arc Ultra is also cheaper at the time of writing, but the HW-Q990H will inevitably fall to a similar, if not cheaper, price by next year.

If you’ve got the space for a multi-speaker system, then the HW-Q990H is an easy recommendation. But if you’re after the convenience of a single soundbar, then the Sonos Arc Ultra will serve you extremely well.

** Overall Winner: Draw**

MORE:

How to build the perfect home cinema system

Check out the best TVs around

The best soundbars to pair them with

And the best surround sound systems worth your cash

If recent rumours are to be believed, Samsung is about to jump on the clip-on trend with its latest pair of wireless earbuds.

We've not had official confirmation yet, but one rather sharp-eyed Twitter / X user noticed an update to Samsung's Galaxy Wearable app which, among other things, listed the term 'Galaxy Able' in reference to a new pair of earbuds.

This tallies with earlier reports that Samsung is set to debut an entirely new product line – separate from its Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Pro ranges – this year.

According to Forbes via Android Authority, earlier leaks using the moniker "BUDSABLE" and the model number SM-U6000 had confirmed that a new pair of buds could be on the way. Leaked artwork then suggested that a clip-on design could be the direction in which Samsung was headed.

Dedicated Samsung site sammyguru.com, also alleges they might even use bone conduction technology, similar to the tech used in the sport-centric Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 from 2024.

It certainly wouldn't surprise us if Samsung ended up jumping on the ever-growing open and clip-on wireless earbud trend.

Recent clip-on offerings have included the likes of Huawei FreeClip 2 and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, as well as the open-style Sony LinkBuds Open and the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC, all of which eschew traditional in-ear configurations in pursuit of a more comfortable, out-of-ear design.

Those rivals are all born from big-name brands, so it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility if Samsung moved to match its competitors by offering an open alternative to keep its Galaxy-focused fans happy.

Samsung's recent Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are some of the best buds we've yet tested from the Korean giant, so it might be in the perfect position to start rivalling its competitors in this emerging corner of the market.

Samsung has its annual Unpacked event slated for the 22nd of July, so there's a good chance we might get a proper unveiling of the new buds – and its next-gen foldable phones – when we attend in a few weeks time.

Naturally, we'll let you know what we discover.

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Read our recent Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro review

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Samsung proved it could make an incredibly capable portable AV machine with the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

That handset introduced a truly groundbreaking picture upscaling feature, which directly addressed the shortcomings of streaming video on your smartphone; ultimately earning it a spot on our coveted annual What Hi-Fi? Awards list.

A year on, and Samsung is back with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which makes a few subtle tweaks to the Award-winning formula. While AI is still very much at the forefront of the S26 Ultra’s appeal in general, Samsung is also promising upgrades that should appease AV enthusiasts such as us.

However, with Apple and Sony nipping at its heels, can Samsung keep up the momentum and deliver another smartphone that you can dependably enjoy movies, TV shows and music on while you’re on the go?

Price

The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at £1279 / $1300 / AU$1799 for the base 256GB configuration, although Samsung also offers 512GB (£1449 / $1500 / AU$2099) and 1TB (£1699 / $1800 / AU$2549) versions.

The first two options come with 12GB of RAM, whereas the 1TB is outfitted with 16GB.

Compared with the S25 Ultra, the base model is £50 more expensive here in the UK, the 512GB model is £100 more than the S25 Ultra, and the 1TB version is £150 more than last year’s model.

And looking at the wider smartphone market, the S26 Ultra has a few notable competitors. The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max (which we haven’t reviewed yet, but stay tuned) starts at £1199 / $1199 / AU$2149, making it significantly cheaper. We have reviewed the standard iPhone 17 (£799 / $799 / AU$1399), and we thoroughly approve of its AV credentials.

If you don’t want to compare Apples to Androids, then the Sony Xperia 1 VIII (review also coming soon) has just launched at £1399 here in the UK, but it’s not on sale in the States or Australia.

Design

Samsung’s flagship has gone through a gradual transformation over the past few generations. The S23 Ultra featured a curved screen and sharp corners, the S24 Ultra flattened that screen, and the S25 Ultra smoothed out the corners for a nicer feel in the hand.

The S26 Ultra feels like yet another evolution while also retaining the design DNA of its predecessors, except for the aforementioned smoother corners and the slightly awkward smattering of camera lenses on the rear being now mostly housed on a raised “island”.

This looks neater, but it also means that the phone now rocks dramatically if you interact with the display while it’s lying flat on a table.

Another design quirk that’s more of an irk is Samsung’s decision to drop the durable titanium frame of the S25 Ultra and move back to an aluminium shell, which makes it feel slightly less premium than its predecessor.

Apple made the same move for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, citing improved thermal efficiency as the primary driver behind the change.

Samsung has, at least, ensured that the S26 Ultra is sporting the latest and toughest version of its Armour Aluminium material, which can also be found on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This is paired with Corning’s Gorilla Armour 2 display coating for better scratch and crack resistance, and Samsung’s excellent anti-reflectivity screen coating.

Samsung has also achieved its “thinnest Galaxy Ultra smartphone yet” with the S26 Ultra, as it has shaved the handset down to just 7.9mm from the S25 Ultra’s 8.3mm thickness.

Despite the thinner build and change in materials, the S26 Ultra is broadly the same weight as its predecessor, at 214g. That’s still pretty impressive for a device with a 6.9-inch display, and it doesn’t feel particularly unwieldy in the hand despite its size. That said, it's still a sizeable smartphone, and it likely won’t suit those with small hands.

Samsung is offering the S26 Ultra in a range of finishes, including Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black or White, as well as Silver Shadow and Pink Gold, which are both exclusive to its online store. Our review unit is the Cobalt Violet version, and we think it looks rather smart in this hue, which shifts from purple to a dark blue depending on how the light hits it.

Features

Strap in, this is going to be a long one.

Samsung is once again billing this smartphone as the ultimate feature-packed handset for power users, and that’s evident from the feature set. That being said, not a whole lot has changed since last year.

We’ll start with the glorious 6.9-inch Super AMOLED 2x Display, which is practically identical to that of the S25 Ultra. It features the same 3000 nits peak brightness, 3120 x 1440 resolution, 500ppi pixel density, HDR10+ support and a variable refresh rate of 1Hz-120Hz.

It does come with a few new tricks, including a privacy mode, which can block the display from off-axis viewing. This has been impressively achieved at a pixel level, and can be easily switched on or off for the whole screen, or even certain parts of the display, meaning you can look at sensitive information or input passwords without worrying about prying eyes.

More exciting for us is the upgraded ProScaler feature, which Samsung says uses a new algorithm for even sharper and richer upscaling of lower-resolution content. Once again, Samsung claims that its mobile division has worked closely with its TV arm to achieve this, and the results last year were excellent. Here’s hoping the new version is even better.

Furthermore, Samsung is touting an enhanced mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) system with 10-bit data processing for colours. Samsung claims that this will allow for four times the precision and subtlety when it comes to displaying colours. This is music to our ears, as Samsung’s smartphone displays have traditionally leaned towards the more enthusiastic end of the scale when it comes to colour reproduction.

The audio capabilities of the S26 Ultra seem to be mostly identical to those of its predecessor – at least on paper. Unsurprisingly, there is no headphone jack (wired audio peripherals can be connected to the USB-C socket), and Bluetooth audio is supported via the Samsung Seamless Codec (SSC) and LE codec.

Dolby Atmos is once again supported via headphones, and the stereo speaker arrangement consists of the bottom-firing speaker and earpiece speaker.

On to the less AV-crucial features of the S26 Ultra. This handset uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Samsung processor. The ‘for Samsung’ suffix differentiates this from the standard Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 chipset found on other smartphones, as Samsung has customised it for supposedly improved performance.

As mentioned earlier, this is backed up by either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on the storage configuration you choose; our unit is the base 256GB/12GB configuration.

In practice, the Galaxy S26 Ultra flies through the Android 16 software system, which is running Samsung’s customised One UI 8 skin on top.

Disappointingly, Samsung hasn’t upped the battery capacity of the Ultra, choosing to stick with the 5000mAh cell of the S25 Ultra. It does, however, benefit from some charging upgrades, including faster wired and wireless charging.

Samsung claims that the S26 Ultra can go from zero to 75 per cent in 30 mins via 60W wired charging, whereas wireless charging is now boosted to 25W. You will, of course, need to supply a supported fast charger to access these charging speeds.

While Samsung is selling a range of magnet-equipped accessories, including cases and power banks, oddly, the company has opted not to include the magnet ring in the handset itself for native Qi2 charging support.

Apple’s MagSafe and Google’s Pixel Snap features have been hugely popular for seamless accessory compatibility, so it feels as though Samsung is missing out here.

Samsung is still managing to impress when it comes to the camera specifications. The S26 Ultra features a very similar camera set-up to its predecessor, which is no shame to us.

The S26 Ultra sports four lenses in total. The 200MP main sensor is reportedly 47 per cent brighter for better night photography, while Samsung claims the 50MP telephoto zoom lens features a 37 per cent improvement over last year.

The 10MP 3x optical zoom lens now apparently features less noise and better HDR support, while the 50MP ultra-wide lens (which was updated on last year’s handset) seems to be the same.

Last, but by no means least, is Samsung’s extensive AI feature set. Samsung is billing this phone as “the easiest, effortless AI phone”, so you can bet that artificial intelligence is baked into most of the software.

The usual suite of Galaxy AI features is here, including Circle to Search, writing suggestions, auto-translate, and the Now Brief feature, which provides contextual information such as calendar entries, weather forecasts and news depending on your interests and time of day.

These are being joined by a generative AI photo-assistant tool, which can transform photos into different styles simply by typing in a prompt, and Now Nudge, which will provide intelligent auto replies based on information from other apps (such as your calendar or messages).

Finally, Samsung’s Audio Eraser feature, which is supported for video recording to isolate and remove background noise, is now available on video streaming apps, including Netflix. This essentially works like a dialogue enhancement mode on a TV or soundbar, as users can choose to soften or remove background noises in order to make voices sound clearer and more present.

Picture

Samsung has proven that it can apply its OLED TV expertise to its smartphone displays, as we likened last year’s S25 Ultra to the S95D QD-OLED TV. Having just reviewed the S99H, we can once again see a resemblance between Samsung’s flagship smartphone and TV.

We load Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max onto the handset to put its picture performance credentials to the test, and we have the Galaxy S25 Ultra on hand for a head-to-head comparison.

We’ve also made a couple of crucial changes to the picture settings, namely changing the resolution to 3120x1440/QHD+ (from the default 2340x1080/FHD+ resolution) and switching the colours from the vivid preset to natural.

With these settings dialled in, the S26 Ultra delivers a superbly crisp, contrast-rich, and three-dimensional image that isn’t far removed from its predecessor, but some subtle upgrades help make it even more cinematic.

Starting with The Batman on HBO Max, the phone serves up a visual treat during an establishing shot of the grimy Gotham streets. Bright digital signage contrasts wonderfully with the dimly lit city streets, and the tangible sense of depth and solidity to the image really sells the film's gritty, oppressive atmosphere.

The level of detail is also very impressive, most likely thanks to Samsung’s excellent ProScaler upscaling feature. The subsequent shot of an illuminated corner shop looks spectacularly rendered, with a level of sharpness and three-dimensionality that makes the 6.9-inch display feel hugely cinematic.

Moving on to the hectic race sequence from Ready Player One, we find that the motion niggles that caught our eye on the S25 Ultra are no longer noticeable. This frantic sequence is presented with excellent fluidity, and while we could describe it as slightly over-smooth, it doesn’t distract us from the bombastic action on screen.

This sequence also demonstrates how capable this phone is when it comes to handling contrast. The vehicle headlights, the beaming sun, and the floodlights that illuminate the track are shown with intense pockets of dazzling brightness.

Rounding out our testing with Wake Up Dead Man on Netflix, we find that the Samsung can sensibly deliver more natural-looking content, too. Colours here, including skin tones, foliage and clothing, all look well-balanced, and there is a slight increase in warmth and richness to these colours that, for the most part, don’t verge into oversaturation.

This sequence also demonstrates how capable this phone is when it comes to handling contrast. The vehicle headlights, the beaming sun, and the floodlights that illuminate the track are shown with intense pockets of dazzling brightness.

Rounding out our testing with Wake Up Dead Man on Netflix, we find that the Samsung can sensibly deliver more natural-looking content, too. Colours here, including skin tones, foliage and clothing, all look well-balanced, and there is a slight increase in warmth and richness to these colours that, for the most part, don’t verge into oversaturation.

What strikes us most is how a handful of fairly subtle picture upgrades take this smartphone to the next level. The extra degree of sharpness, more adept handling of highlights, improved motion, and superior contrast handling all culminate in a phone that feels like having a pocket-sized OLED TV.

Sound

Samsung smartphones have, in previous years, lagged behind the likes of Apple and Sony when it comes to nailing sound, but the S26 Ultra feels like another step in the right direction for the Korean tech titan.

Plugging in a pair of wired headphones via our trusty USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, we stream a handful of tracks over Apple Music in Lossless quality to assess how the S26 Ultra handles music.

Overall, the new phone sounds slightly crisper, cleaner and more detailed than its predecessor, and Samsung seems to have learned from its competitors in a few key areas.

Voices are, once again, at the forefront of the listening experience, with the Samsung digging up a greater sense of tonality and vocal characteristics compared to its previous flagship handset. The harmonies of Bon Iver’s For Emma sound layered and wonderfully detailed, while there is a greater sense of texture to the guitar strums throughout Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You.

Controversially, we also think that Dolby Atmos is well implemented for music here. The sense of space and openness introduced into Harry Styles’ Carla’s Song is impressive, and we feel as though it ties all of the aspects of the track together nicely. Usually, we’d recommend leaving this off, but Samsung’s implementation is surprisingly effective and doesn’t feel overly processed or vague-sounding.

However, despite a decent helping of audio upgrades, we still prefer Apple’s approach to audio. Plugging the same adapter and headphones into an iPhone 16 Pro reveals a warmer, better-organised sound with even more texture. We also find that the iPhone’s sound feels more full-bodied and better integrated, which highlights Samsung’s occasional tendency to sound a touch too direct and overexcited.

While the Samsung doesn’t get anything outwardly wrong, it needs to nail those final sonic subtleties to match its incredibly talented competitors.

We do approve of the S26 Ultra’s speakers, though.

The physical distance between the downward-firing loudspeaker and the earpiece at the top of the display (which combine to make a stereo speaker arrangement) results in a good sense of stereo separation. With Dolby Atmos switched on, this handset can create an impressively large and spacious cinematic sound, which is well-suited to big blockbuster action sequences, such as the aforementioned Ready Player One race.

Verdict

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone might not be a game-changing upgrade compared with its Award-winning predecessor, but it's hard to argue that it hasn’t made some meaningful improvements to make it an even better smartphone for portable AV usage.

Contrast, detail levels and motion have all been improved, making this once again feel like a feature-packed, pocket-sized OLED TV. While Samsung could learn a thing or two from its competitors when it comes to musicality, this is another top-notch Android smartphone for those who prefer to watch their films and TV shows on the go.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Also consider the Sony Xperia 1 VII

Read our Apple iPhone 17 review

The best smartphones for music and movies

It must be tough when the spotlight of deals is snatched away from you during your own sales event.

Case in point, this Samsung HW-Q990F deal at B&Q, which takes the price from £1699, all the way down to just £695. That is an unbelievable discount, especially for an Award-winning, multitalented soundbar system such as this.

Now, we'll admit that B&Q isn't our usual go-to retailer for home cinema kit, but this discount shows that it's well worth looking way beyond Amazon's scope to secure the best deal.

For reference, the same soundbar package is currently sitting around the £750 mark on Amazon (there seems to be a few different listings at different prices), whereas Richer Sounds is asking £799 for it.

B&Q, it looks like you're good for more than just DIY and gardening...

Samsung's Award-winning HW-Q990F offers genuine surround sound without having to clutter your living room with cables.

The system is made up of a main soundbar unit that connects directly to your TV via HDMI eARC, as well as two wireless surround sound speakers that are designed to be placed adjacent to or behind your seating position, and a wireless subwoofer.

There are dedicated upward-firing drivers in both the soundbar and surround speakers for proper Dolby Atmos height effects, and the system as a whole features 15 drivers in total for an 11.1.4 setup.

While we loved the spacious, rich and detailed sound it provided during our thorough testing process, we found that the redesigned subwoofer was the star of the show. Samsung says it has a power output of 300W, and with bass this punchy and deep, we can believe that claim.

Not only does it sound great, but setup is a breeze, and it's feature-packed too. Practically every wireless streaming method is supported – from Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, to AirPlay 2 and Amazon Music – and you can pass signals in up to 4K/120Hz with Dolby Vision or HDR10+ via the HDMI 2.1 passthrough socket.

If you want surround sound without the hassle of hiding cables, then the Samsung HW-Q990F is a no-brainer.

Especially if you're thinking of buying it from B&Q for £695. We've never seen it drop this low before, and with most competing retailers selling it for considerably more money, we think B&Q's deal is probably the best we've ever seen on this soundbar.

If anything, this is a lesson for those on the hunt for a bargain; it pays to look further afield this Prime Day.

MORE:

Find the best Amazon Prime Day home cinema deals here

Read our full Samsung HW-Q990F review

And check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

We've waited 13 agonising years for GTA VI to finally hit consoles.

After what's felt like a never-ending onslaught of leaks, delays, and speculation, we're officially less than six months away from what could be the biggest gaming launch in history.

While securing a copy is top priority – pre-orders start at midnight tonight – I'm taking the release of this hotly anticipated title as an excuse to level up my gaming setup, and what better time to do it than during Amazon Prime Day?

I've found the ideal gaming TV, a soundbar system that will put you in the centre of the action, and a console that should not only be powerful enough to handle GTA VI but also ensure that the high-resolution, neon-adorned streets of Vice City shine in glorious 4K.

Regarding the console, I recommend the Sony PS5 Pro. We haven't reviewed it yet, but its dedicated upscaling feature leads us to believe that it will offer extra headroom for the expected demanding graphical requirements of GTA VI.

As someone who has gamed on a PS5 since launch (including the superb GTA V remaster), and has also been eyeing up a PS5 Pro since Sony unveiled it back in 2024, seeing it drop in price this close to GTA VI's official pre-order date simply feels like the fates aligning.

As for the TV, I felt as though the LG C5 was a no-brainer. It's our current Award-winner in various categories, including "best gaming TV", and the 55-inch (which is the size we reviewed first and can thoroughly recommend) is currently £1000 off – that's a mind-blowing saving.

It sports four full bandwidth HDMI sockets that support up to 4K/144Hz (or 4K/120Hz with the PS5 Pro), and LG's Game Dashboard feature will be the perfect sidekick during your car chases and shootouts this November.

Finally, the Samsung HW-Q990F (another Award-winner, no less) is also enjoying an unbelievable discount of just over £1000. With Dolby Atmos on board (which the PS5 Pro supports for gaming now), it's bound to get you immersed in GTA VI's sprawling city, especially with planes and helicopters soaring overhead.

And with another HDMI 2.1 socket on board (bringing the total of this system to five), we could even bestow it with the title of "best gaming soundbar".

However, what makes it truly stand out is the incredible subwoofer, which should add some serious low-end punch to gunshots, explosions and car engines.

All of the components listed here work in tandem to also deliver a superb home cinema experience, meaning movies, TV shows and music will also benefit from this do-it-all system too.

And with Prime Day in full swing, you can expect to save a staggering £2080 in total; what's not to like?

MORE:

Find the best Amazon Prime Day home cinema deals here

Check out our picks for the best gaming TVs

As well as the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

If you want a satisfyingly cinematic or sporting experience at home, there really is no substitute for screen size.

The good news is that a big TV needn't cost big money. These days, 65-inch TVs go for much less money than you might imagine, and if you wait for a big sales event, your cash can go even further.

And it just so happens that we're right in the middle of a big sales event – Amazon Prime Day – and I've sifted through all of the deals to find three super-cheap 65-inch TVs that I can recommend as great buys.

• View all the Prime Day deals on Amazon

What do I know about it? I'm so glad you asked!

I've been testing TVs for almost 20 years now, so I know the good from the bad (and the ugly, for that matter). I've also been personally involved in every What Hi-Fi? TV review in probably the last 10 years – and that includes the reviews of the three models I'm recommending here.

Happy with those credentials? Excellent! Here are my three picks, ranked in order of quality.

1. TCL Q6C

Deal price UK: £529 at Amazon
Deal price US: n/a

If you're looking for the best-value 65-inch TV in the Prime Day sales, this is the one I'd buy.

The TCL Q6C impressed us so much in testing that we awarded it five stars and described it as "an absolute steal". That's high praise for any TV, but it's especially impressive when you're talking about a 65-inch set that's currently selling for well under £600.

What makes the Q6C stand out is that it brings technologies normally associated with much more expensive TVs down into the budget category. It uses a Mini LED backlight with local dimming, alongside Quantum Dot colour technology, and the result is a picture that's far more sophisticated than the price suggests.

In our review, we were particularly impressed by the TV's contrast and black-level performance. Dark scenes look surprisingly deep and convincing, while bright HDR highlights have real punch.

Colours are another strong point, delivering plenty of vibrancy and richness without tipping into the sort of exaggerated look that often plagues cheaper TVs.

It's also an excellent option for sport and gaming. Motion is handled confidently, helping fast-moving action stay clear and composed, while gamers get features such as 4K/144Hz support, VRR and low input lag.

No TV at this price is perfect, of course. The sound is merely decent rather than exceptional (something that can be rectified with one of the best budget soundbars), and you'll get the best results by spending a little time tweaking the picture settings. But those are minor caveats when the overall performance is this strong.

Simply put, if your budget stretches to the TCL Q6C, it's the best cheap 65-inch TV I've seen in the Prime Day sales.

2. Amazon Ember QLED

Deal price UK: £600 at Amazon
Deal price US: $710 at Amazon

The TCL Q6C is my top pick, but the Amazon Ember QLED isn't far behind, given its current Prime Day price.

In fact, one of my colleagues recently described the deal on this TV as "impossible to ignore", and it's easy to see why. Amazon has cut the price dramatically, turning what was already a solid mid-range TV into one of the most tempting bargains in the sales.

The Ember QLED is a significant step forward from Amazon's previous QLED efforts. It features a full-array backlight with 160 dimming zones and a panel that's considerably brighter than its predecessor, resulting in a picture that's sharper, punchier and more three-dimensional than you might expect at this sort of money.

During testing, we were particularly impressed by its detail levels and colour performance. Images look crisp and vibrant, while upscaling of lower-quality content is handled well enough that everyday broadcast TV remains enjoyable.

The TV also supports every major HDR format, including Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, so you're covered regardless of which streaming service you use.

Another advantage over many budget rivals is the sound. Built-in TV audio is rarely worth talking about, but the Ember QLED produces a fuller, clearer and more spacious presentation than most affordable sets manage.

Why isn't it above the TCL? Primarily because the Q6C's Mini LED backlight delivers superior black levels, contrast and gaming performance. The Amazon also tops out at 60Hz, making it less appealing to serious gamers.

Still, if you're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem or simply want a big, capable and easy-to-use 65-inch TV for as little money as possible, the Ember QLED is an excellent Prime Day buy.

3. Samsung U8000F

Deal price UK: £367 at Amazon
Deal price US: $400 at Samsung

The Samsung U8000F is the TV I recommend if your budget is as tight as possible.

At £367/$400 during Prime Day, it's substantially cheaper than both the TCL Q6C and Amazon Ember QLED, and that price difference is impossible to ignore. In fact, it's one of the least expensive big-brand 65-inch models you can buy.

Of course, some compromises are inevitable at this sort of money. Unlike the TCL and Amazon models above, the U8000F doesn't have a Mini LED or full-array backlight, and its picture isn't as bright or as impactful when displaying HDR content. Black levels are also less convincing, meaning movie nights won't have quite the same cinematic punch.

That said, Samsung has done a commendable job with the fundamentals. In our testing, we found the U8000F delivered a balanced, natural picture that avoids many of the exaggerated traits often seen on budget TVs. Colours are pleasingly authentic, detail levels are respectable, and standard-definition and HD content are handled particularly well.

Samsung's excellent Tizen smart platform is another big plus. It's packed with streaming apps, easy to navigate and generally feels more polished than many rival smart TV systems.

The biggest reason to choose the U8000F over the TVs above is simple: value. While the TCL Q6C is undoubtedly the better performer and the Ember QLED offers a more advanced specification, both cost considerably more. If spending £500-£600 on a TV still feels like a stretch, the Samsung gives you a huge screen from a trusted brand for comfortably under £400.

No, it's not the best TV in this list. But when price becomes the priority, the U8000F makes a very strong case for itself.

MORE:

Here are all of the best TVs and the best TV deals you can get right now

Don't forget the sound: here are the best budget soundbars

"Why can't I hear the dialogue on my TV speakers?"

It's a question we're asked all of the time, and while we're seeing TV manufacturers attempt to fix the issue with built-in dialogue enhancement features, we think there's a clear answer to this problem.

An external sound device, namely a soundbar, is one of the most crucial – and easy – TV upgrades that you can make.

Not only will you get clearer dialogue, but many soundbars also offer deeper bass, improved dynamics, and, if you opt for one that supports it, Dolby Atmos.

With Amazon Prime Day officially less than 24 hours away, we expect to see plenty of discounts on several models featured in our best soundbars list.

However, if you're simply looking for a quick, easy, and reliable recommendation, then you've come to the right place.

I've selected three soundbars – an affordable option, a mid-range choice, and a premium soundbar package – all of which have been thoroughly tested to solve your sonic woes by our expert team of reviewers.

Just be warned, it's early days, so prices may drop further during the Prime Day sales as the week progresses, but these are the top savings I've spotted in the initial round of discounts.

So, if you're tired of muffled voices or you're sick of rewinding to catch a crucial missed line of dialogue, then look no further.

Affordable: Creative Stage Pro

This sub-£100 marvel of a soundbar is also the most versatile option on this list.

Designed to be used with smaller TVs or on a desk with a computer monitor, the Creative Stage Pro is a charming, super-affordable, and effective soundbar.

It ditches a fancy feature set and instead opts for a straightforward approach to improving sound, and we think that was a clever move from Creative.

That simplicity extends to the setup process; a single cable links the soundbar to the included subwoofer, and there are options to connect the soundbar to your TV via an HDMI ARC or optical connection.

We think it's especially talented when it comes to voices, as our full review notes that it outputs "crisp, detailed and emotive dialogue", which is the ideal solution to stave off muffled TV sound.

We reviewed it at £130, but Overclockers UK has it down to just £95.

Mid-range: Sony HT-S2000

Sony's entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar is my choice at the more affordable end of the market.

This compact, fuss-free soundbar sports an easy plug-and-play setup, and it produces a sound that is guaranteed to be leagues ahead of your TV's built-in speakers. Not only that, but the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.2 ensures that streaming music to the unit is a breeze.

Generally speaking, the HT-S2000 ticks a lot of boxes, especially for the money. It serves up punchy dynamics, impressive directionality, and superb clarity, which results in an impressively cinematic sound despite the soundbar's modest footprint.

When it comes to voices, we stated that the HT-S2000 delivers "crisp and clear dialogue" and praised its ability to dig up an impressive amount of sonic subtleties. This means that voices not only sound clearer, but also more textured, tonally varied, and realistic.

We reviewed it at £349, but it can be found for just £299 at Amazon right now; that's a tidy £50 saving on a five-star soundbar.

Premium: Samsung HW-Q990F

This Award-winning soundbar package has been discounted so deeply that we think it makes a compelling mid-range option for those scouting out a new 'bar to sit below their TV.

This package includes a soundbar, two surround speakers, and a subwoofer, making it a full surround sound package. The trick here is that all components connect wirelessly, making it a neater solution compared to a traditional wired surround sound package.

The system produces a hugely spacious and detailed sound, with the included subwoofer being a particular highlight. It produces a rich, powerful, and tonally varied bass that blows many competitors out of the water.

On top of this, the HW-Q990F is no slouch when it comes to dialogue. We found it presents "natural and detailed voices" in our review, and if you want even more clarity, then Samsung's Active Voice Amplifier Pro feature is on board to grant your wishes.

We reviewed it at a hefty £1699, but it can currently be found on Amazon for just £749 (a staggering £950 saving).

MORE:

Find the best soundbar deals here

As well as our picks for the best budget soundbars

As well as the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Prime Day 2026 doesn’t technically start until midnight, but that hasn’t stopped retailers from dropping a load of awesome early OLED TV deals.

And of that list, one in particular stands out; the first significant saving we’ve spotted on the five-star Samsung S99H.

That’s right, despite it just launching and receiving a glowing review from our experts mere weeks ago, Richer Sounds has already cut a significant wedge off the 55-inch S99H’s asking price.

You can grab the 55-inch Samsung S99H for £2149 right now, if you use the TRADE250 code at checkout.

But the savings don't stop there. You can then save a further £250 by claiming cashback from Samsung. That lets you get a latest generation, flagship QD-OLED for £1899, which is undoubtedly a tempting proposition.

If you’ve read our S99H review, then you’ll likely at the very least be tempted to snap one up – and we get why. As our experts said in our review:

“With a stunning, contrast-rich picture, improved sound system and a feature set that blows most other TVs out of the water, the S99H is the flagship OLED to beat for 2026.”

And if you want the best new OLED TV currently available, and don’t mind paying for it, then this deal is easy to recommend.

But, for those not 100 per cent committed to buying the latest hardware, there is one minor fly in the ointment. Specifically, the Award-winning, 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 II is also currently discounted.

Head to Richer Sounds and you can grab our 2025 Product of the Year winner for £1699. Yes, that’s not the best price ever on the set, but it’s a solid saving on its £2499 launch price. It also makes it slightly cheaper than the Samsung.

Samsung’s latest flagship OLED TV is better in some ways. Running the two sets head-to-head this year, the S99H is a smidgeon brighter and offers minor upgrades in some of the areas we are about. But it is still a very close race between the two.

Which is why we currently think the Bravia 8 II is better value for most people. Only serious performance chasers who insist on only buying the latest hardware will be better off spending that much extra for the S99H.

MORE:

Get all of our experts' recommendations in real-time with our Prime Day 2026 home cinema deals live hub!

These are the best OLED TVs we've reviewed

We rank the best TVs money can buy

Can you believe that there was a time when Samsung didn’t feature a single OLED TV in its range? That all changed in 2022, when it put its spin on OLED by adding a layer of Quantum Dots and launched the excellent S95B QD-OLED TV.

Five years later, the brand is now reaping the benefits of the self-emissive panel technology. It now makes some of the finest OLED TVs around – take the five-star S95F and S90F duo from last year – and its 2026 lineup features more OLED TVs than ever before.

Of course, Samsung was never going to celebrate half a decade of OLED success without taking things up a notch, which is why it has introduced a new, rather unusual flagship model that takes inspiration from one of the brand's other most successful models.

That new flagship OLED is the S99H, a premium QD-OLED TV that oozes style and sophistication, thanks at least in part to its aesthetic similarities to the wildly successful, design-led The Frame LCD range.

Here, though, those smart good looks have been blended with the core abilities of the excellent S95F – with a generous helping of performance upgrades for good measure.

The result? A showstopping OLED TV that blends style and substance, and one that we think could dethrone the current reigning champion of our best OLED TV list: the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Price

We have the 55-inch Samsung S99H before us today, and it’s officially priced at £2499, though in true Samsung fashion, that launch pricing hasn’t stuck around for long. We’re already seeing a £100 decrease across all sizes, which puts the 65-inch version at £3199, the 77-inch model at £4199, and the 83-inch size at £5999.

Now, we need to clear something up regarding model numbers for different regions.

In the US and Australia, Samsung is calling this model the S95H. Despite the different name, it is an identical TV. In these regions, you’ll find the 55-inch S95H for $2500 / AU$3999, the 65-inch S95H for $3400 / AU$5299, the 77-inch S95H for $4500 / AU$7999, and the 83-inch S95H for $6500 / AU$9995.

That's not the end of the story, though. To confuse things even more, Samsung is selling a model under the S95H name here in the UK, too, but it’s a different TV. From what we gather, it is the same TV as the S99H, but without the metal frame-style design. In fact, it looks identical to last year’s S95F.

So, to reiterate, the S99H we're testing here is known as the S95H in the US and Australia, but that is not the same as the UK's S95H TV. Yes, we have given some constructive feedback to Samsung on all of this.

Got all that? Then let's consider the S99H's competition, which primarily comes in the form of Sony’s awesome, Award-winning Bravia 8 II, the 55-inch version of which, after around a year on sale, now costs around £1799 / $2600 / AU$3995. That makes it significantly cheaper than the S99H in the UK, but there's rough pricing parity between the two TVs in the US and Australia.

There’s also the 55-inch LG G6 to consider, which appears to be widely discounted to £1840 here in the UK, but is so far sticking to its $2500 / AU$3995 launch price in the US and Australia, respectively.

Design

We’re confident in saying that this is one of the most unusual-looking TVs to enter our AV testing room.

Samsung clearly took inspiration from its hugely popular The Frame TV when it came to designing the S99H, and while this television’s looks won’t be to everyone’s taste, we’re just pleased to see a TV company that’s willing to push the boat out when it comes to design.

The S99H features a two-layer design, with an OLED screen section mounted onto a slightly larger metal backplate, with a roughly 2cm gap between. Samsung calls this its “FloatLayer” design.

It’s hard to describe, but the effect it gives is essentially a floating OLED panel surrounded by a premium metal frame. Much like LG’s G-series, this TV is designed to be wall-mounted, and while we can’t do that in our testing room, we have seen it wall-mounted at various hands-on events leading up to launch.

In short, the S99H looks like a work of art when it's fixed to a wall, as the floating design becomes really quite striking and effective. Despite the two-layer design, the overall depth is just 2.8cm, which also helps to sell the futuristic look that Samsung is going for.

Unfortunately, the TV doesn’t look quite as suave when it’s set up in its tabletop configuration. Samsung includes two quite cheap-feeling plastic feet with the TV that feel somewhat at odds with the rest of the premium design, and the metal bezel and floating design look less convincing when it's not attached to a wall.

Samsung also includes two remotes in the box: a “traditional” button-heavy number, and a sleeker “smart” remote. The latter includes both a USB-C socket and a small solar panel on the back for easy recharging, though it’s frustratingly not backlit. Then again, neither are the remotes included with the aforementioned Sony or LG TVs, so we can’t knock Samsung too much here.

Features

Samsung’s penchant for cramming (almost) every imaginable feature into its TVs is, once again, evident with the S99H.

We’ll start with the QD-OLED display, which Samsung has managed to squeeze even more brightness out of since we last saw it on the S95F. It can now reportedly reach a whopping 2700 nits in the Movie picture mode, and as you’ll come to find out in the picture section of this review, there are plenty of instances in which we find ourselves being taken aback by how bright this TV can get.

Samsung has also improved its Glare Free coating this year, making it more effective at combating reflections and glare from ambient light. The matte display also makes artwork from Samsung’s Art Mode feature look more realistic for those who want a TV that blends into its surroundings.

In usual Samsung fashion, HDR support comes in the form of HDR10+ (including the Adaptive and Gaming versions), HDR10 and HLG, but not Dolby Vision.

Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, HDR10+ Advanced, is also supported by the S99H. Unfortunately, no content is available in the new format yet, and we don't have a date for its arrival. Amazon is said to be working on adding it to Prime Video in the not too distant future, though.

Hardcore PC gamers will be pleased to learn that the S99H can handle signals right up to 4K/165Hz, as well as the console-friendly 4K/120Hz format, across all four of its HDMI 2.1 sockets. VRR, ALLM and HDR10+ Gaming are also all supported.

All of the connections are built into a side-facing nook in the rear of the TV, which is a departure from the One Connect box that has come with Samsung’s previous flagship OLED TVs.

One Connect does live on, though, and in a quite remarkable way: Samsung is offering an optional Wireless One Connect accessory, which is set to launch in July for £299 / $350 (AU price TBC).

This features four HDMI sockets, and because it connects to the S99H wirelessly, it takes the total HDMI 2.1 socket count to a staggering eight. That’s enough to support all three of the current-generation consoles, a gaming PC, a 4K Blu-ray player, a soundbar or AVR, and a streaming device, and you’d still have one spare.

The S99H also supports Dolby Atmos, both via HDMI eARC and through its built-in 4.2.2-channel 70W sound system.

Samsung offers two simplistic sound modes, Standard and Amplify, but there is also a range of Samsung-specific sound processing features based on its Vision AI platform, including Object Tracking Sound Plus, Active Voice Amplifier Pro, Adaptive Sound Pro, and AI Sound Controller Pro; all of which are fairly self-explanatory.

Q Symphony also returns. This allows you to use the TV’s speakers in unison with those of a connected Samsung soundbar, but it should be approached with caution – we generally find that a good soundbar performs best when the less capable speakers of a TV don't get involved.

AI also steps in to help with picture processing, as Samsung has implemented its 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro features, alongside a Real Depth Enhancer contrast enhancement system and Colour Booster Pro.

On the subject of AI, Samsung has applied its “AI for All” mantra in swathes here, as the S99H is positively dripping in artificial intelligence, right down to the AI button on the remote.

A click of this button brings up Samsung’s Vision AI interface, which can recognise on-screen content and provide extra contextual information. This includes related content, cast information and prompts to find out more detailed information about the show or movie.

Scrolling from this page brings us to a more generalised AI interface, from which Samsung allows you to pick your preferred system. Here you can ask for recipes, generate AI wallpapers, or ask general questions. The sky is, hypothetically, the limit.

This is all made possible by the same NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor found in last year’s S95F, as well as Samsung’s Tizen OS platform. The operating system has had a fairly comprehensive refresh for 2026, with a new content bar at the top that splits your apps into categories including entertainment, gaming and art, and the operation feels generally slicker.

App coverage is mostly excellent, with a wide range of international and domestic streaming applications. Currently, the only missing app is BBC iPlayer; we’ve reached out to Samsung, which says that it expects to add iPlayer support soon.

Samsung TV Plus, which features hundreds of free over-the-internet streaming channels, is also included, and gamers are well looked after thanks to the presence of apps for services such as Xbox, Amazon Luna, and Nvidia GeForce Now.

Picture quality

It’s clear that Samsung has been working to tweak and adjust its picture processing over the years in the pursuit of achieving that final pinch of picture quality excellence, and the S99H is evidence that its work has paid off. This is Samsung’s most mature TV yet, and it’s all the better for that.

We opt for Filmmaker Mode as our preferred picture preset, albeit with a couple of tweaks to get the best performance possible: we switch Colour Temperature from its Warm 2 default to Warm 1, and turn the judder and blur reduction settings up to 1.

The resulting picture is extraordinary, and it makes any content we throw at it – from Blade Runner 2049, Civil War, Pan and Drive, to No Time To Die and The Batman – shine. We have the S99F set up next to the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and despite the tough competition, the Samsung delivers an unflinching visual feast.

Starting with the opening scene of Blade Runner 2049, we find that the S99H serves up oodles of contrast, which results in a deeply three-dimensional picture with superb highlights.

The overhead shot of the solar farm instantly draws us in, thanks to the superb detail levels mixed with the excellent sense of depth. We also approve of how the S99H handles the gloomy, bluish-grey sky, as well as the skin tones of Officer K and Sapper Morton.

In fact, the S99H makes the Sony Bravia 8 II look a bit green in our head-to-head comparison, and skin tones start to look a bit pasty, too. Sony TVs have traditionally leaned towards the cooler side when it comes to colour reproduction, even in Filmmaker Mode, but it’s interesting to see these TVs take a different approach, particularly as they use the same panel technology.

This is most evident in the scene from Pan in which the floating pirate ship enters a cavern; the Samsung runs rings around the Sony when it comes to maintaining low-light colour volume. Skin tones are noticeably warmer and more vibrant on the Samsung in this instance. That being said, the Sony is evidently better at maintaining shadow detail.

In fact, some shadow detail is lost entirely on the S99H, especially during dark sequences in moodier flicks such as Drive and The Batman. In both films, we find facial features and clothing textures occasionally succumb to darkness, while the Sony has no trouble keeping them visible.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung takes the crown when it comes to delivering dazzlingly bright highlights; in fact, we’re adding the S99H to the list of TVs that we’ve had to shield our eyes from physically.

Reverting to the exceptionally bright (and critically dismal) Pan, we find the mix of punchy, concentrated highlights and rich colours stealing our attention away from the Sony entirely.

However, the more conventional-looking Civil War is the perfect test disc to highlight exactly what this TV does well. Everything from the night-time forest fire sequence to a helicopter gliding over a lake and the Charlottesville military camp looks fantastic.

There’s a real sense of nuance here that previous Samsung TVs haven’t always been able to capture. Foliage, for example, is wonderfully textured and detailed without looking over-etched, and while the colours do seem a smidge over-saturated compared with those from the Bravia 8 II, it's not to an extent that looks instinctively wrong.

The sequence that shows the journalists driving through a forest fire seals the deal here. The mix of detail, depth and contrast served up by the S99H is remarkable – the striking, bright flames contrast wonderfully with the dark background, and there is a real sense of intensity and warmth derived from how Samsung's OLED handles highlights.

We fire up the standard Blu-ray of Logan to assess the S99H’s upscaling capabilities, and it's a similar story here, too. Detail levels are superb, and if we weren’t so eagle-eyed, the S99H could almost have fooled us into thinking we were watching a 4K disc.

Colours are also nicely balanced, and motion remains solid, too. This TV excels regardless of what you throw at it.

Sound

It’s not just the picture performance that Samsung has improved. Sound has also been upgraded, which is a good sign after the S95F’s middling delivery.

We stick with Civil War, which highlights everything from dialogue to explosions, and even Dolby Atmos height effects. The rhythmic swooping of helicopter blades is delivered with a strong leading edge, underpinned by a pleasingly controlled dose of bass.

Moving on to the scene in which Lee and Jessie have a heart-to-heart conversation in a wooded area, we approve of how the S99H captures the subtle characteristics of their voices well, and overall, the dialogue is crisp and well-defined. The atmospheric effects, including birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind, sound pleasingly spacious, too.

There is plenty of height and width to the sound, which is also evident in Blade Runner 2049. The sequence in which Officer K returns to his home from the police precinct is another example of how the S99H captures atmospheric sounds to great effect.

The booming audio adverts are placed with impressive precision and plenty of height, while the S99H somehow manages to beam the sound of the bustling street in a way that creates a fairly convincing sense of immersion.

While we’re on the subject of Blade Runner, we put the S99H through our usual chapter two stress test and find that Samsung has changed its approach. Where many of the brand's previous models have been quite bassy but a little prone to distortion, the S99H digs less deep but proves to be almost entirely distortion-free.

Sony takes a similar approach with the Bravia 8 II (and many other of its TVs), and we ultimately find it to be a sensible compromise. We would of course like more bass weight, but if that has to be sacrificed somewhat to reduce distracting distortion, then so be it.

It’s not all good news on the sonic front, though: like the S95F, the S99H simply doesn't go very loud. Even close to its maximum volume levels, this is an easy TV to talk over. The Amplify setting helps to negate this somewhat, but it does result in some dynamic compression.

The Sony Bravia 8 II also does a better job of organising the sound during scenes with lots of competing effects. The ending battle of Civil War is a perfect example, as the Sony balances dialogue, explosions, and vehicle sounds with care to create a more impactful and immersive soundscape.

With all that said, the S99H is still a big improvement over the S95F where sound is concerned, and it's ultimately a very usable (and even enjoyable) built-in sound system.

Verdict

There’s no other way of putting it; Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the S99H.

With a refined approach to picture tuning, a feature set that (with one key caveat) many TVs can only dream of, and a greatly improved sound system compared with last year’s model, the company’s latest flagship OLED TV takes the title from the S95F as the best TV the company has made to date.

The bold new design might not suit all tastes, and die-hard Dolby Vision fans may be disappointed, but we’re struggling to find reasons not to recommend the Samsung S99H to anyone considering splashing some serious cash on a flagship OLED TV.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia 8 II

Also consider the LG G6

Read our Philips OLED910 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

It's one thing to make a film sound good in the cinema, but it is a whole other task to take that experience to your home.

Much of that process relies on sound editors and engineers, who have their work cut out adapting the sound to home cinema products.

During the launch of Sony’s latest soundbar system, the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio, we heard Academy Award-nominated sound editor Andrew De Cristofaro speak about the different ways sound must be engineered.

He has worked on films such as The Housemaid, Green Book and Venom: The Last Dance, and collaborated with Sony during the development of the new Bravia Dolby Atmos sound system.

De Cristofaro says: “Sound is doing way more than you think. You can close your eyes and still follow the story but if you mute it, the experience falls apart.” He adds that instead of purely making a film sound good, his job is about making “sound tell the story”.

We watch a scene from Venom: The Last Dance to demonstrate, in which Eddie and Venom come face to face with the monstrous Xenophage. First, we listen with the raw audio that comes to the sound department after filming. As you would expect, it feels far less exciting than the final cut. Footsteps sound more like shuffling, the cracking flame of a lit car has no impact, and the reveal of the Xenophage is as casual as someone getting on the bus.

Venom’s voice is not audible either, as Tom Hardy (who plays both Eddie and the aforementioned alien symbiote) records his lines offset right before he shoots. The crew then pitch the vocals down and feed them back to him so that he can interact with the character live.

Next, De Cristofaro demonstrates how sound effects start to make the scene feel more dramatic. Layer upon layer of crackling, humming and spitting is added to create the sound of the fire. The footsteps of Hardy’s character as he walks the street become precise, which creates more of a three-dimensional sound, and vocals are brought to the fore.

The stomps of the Xenophage are also given a low squelching sound that immediately makes you feel the weight and monstrous nature of the character. The final touch comes with some dramatic bass stabs, and the end result is a tense and atmospheric scene.

But how do you adapt that sound to home cinema kit? De Cristofaro admits that it is a different kettle of fish compared to the cinema audio. The impact can disappear, vocals get lost and the sense of space collapses.

De Cristofaro says that “you have to rebuild a three-dimensional soundfield” adding that “sound isn’t tied to the speakers necessarily; it is mapped into a 360 space”.

He uses the Bravia Trio as an example of this, as the sound engineers at Sony are employing the brand’s proprietary 360 Spatial Tone Mapping which “analyses your room and reconstructs that environment so you maintain the scale”. As its name suggests, the Trio system comprises three speakers: a tiny central channel soundbar and two left and right channels.

We are yet to hear the Trio soundbar system in our test room to confirm whether this is the case, but we have heard other soundbars such as the KEF XIO and the Samsung HW-Q990F come very close to the desired full dome of sound.

De Cristofaro adds: “When everything is working right, when the dialogue is clear, when the space feels real, when the dynamics land the way they should, you don’t hear the system. You feel the film.”

MORE:

Here are the best soundbars we have reviewed

Check out our review of the KEF XIO

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Sony has finally announced its full 2026 TV range, and guess what’s missing? That’s right – OLED.

It was long suspected that the brand’s new flagship model would be an RGB Mini LED set to replace the Bravia 9 ‘standard’ LED model. And, sure enough, that’s precisely what we’ve got, in the form of the technically formidable Bravia 9 II.

What I wasn’t expecting, though, was no new OLED in the range at all.

No replacement for the Bravia 8 II is no surprise: Sony works on two-year lifecycles for most of its models, and the company’s awesome QD-OLED set is only a year old.

And I’m beyond expecting a replacement to the A90K, which launched way back in 2022 but appears to have been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in the warehouses of Amazon, Currys and John Lewis.

I was, though, expecting the Bravia 8 to get a replacement. Now two years old, Sony’s W-OLED model is struggling to justify itself against last year’s LG C5 and the newer C6. Surely a nip-and-tuck upgrade would be worth it, both for Sony and consumers who want meaningful choice when buying a step-down/mainstream OLED TV.

Alas, though, there’s not a single new OLED in Sony’s new range, with all three of its existing models expected to run for at least another year.

And that’s prompted in me a dreadful thought: what if Sony plans never to launch another OLED TV? Sadly, the more I think about it, the more I feel that’s a very realistic possibility.

It’s all about profit, of course, which is understandable; it’s saddening nonetheless.

You see, Sony buys all of the panels for its OLED TVs from its rivals: it buys the W-OLED panels for the A90K and Bravia 8 from LG, and the QD-OLED panels for the Bravia 8 II from Samsung.

This, inevitably, eats into the money the brand can make from these OLED TVs, especially while it tries to compete on price with those brands that both make the panels and sell the TVs.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Home Entertainment division, which is responsible for the design, development and manufacture of its TVs (and home theatre products), is about to become a joint venture between Sony itself and TCL, the latter of which will hold a 51 per cent share.

TCL is, of course, the biggest manufacturer of LCD TV panels in the world. It’s famously uninterested in OLED where TVs are concerned, and while it is in the process of building a huge factory where it will produce OLED panels via inkjet printing, these will be for smartphones, tablets and laptops, at least in the first place.

So, once the Sony/TCL joint venture begins operations at the start of 2027, will it have any interest in buying expensive OLED panels from its rivals so that it can produce Sony OLED TVs from which it receives very little profit? Or will it entirely focus on producing TVs using the in-house panel technology supplied by the TCL side of the merger?

Sadly, it’s not hard to imagine the answer to that one.

Of course, Sony says it is very much not done with OLED, and I sincerely hope that’s true, as I’m yet to test a backlit TV that beats an OLED overall. But Sony also needs to operate as a business, which means making profits. And that, I suspect, means saying goodbye to OLED.

With any luck, I’m wrong, but if the Bravia 8 II really does turn out to be Sony’s last OLED TV, at least it’s an awesome one.

MORE:

Check out our Sony Bravia 9 II hands-on and Sony Bravia 8 II review

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

It might surprise you to learn that, expensive though they can be, there’s not a lot of profit in TVs. That’s why manufacturers have increasingly been trying to sell add-ons alongside them – most notably soundbars.

Of course, any soundbar will work with any TV via the universal HDMI eARC connection, so brands have had to find ways to incentivise buyers to stay loyal to a single ecosystem.

Partly, that’s been through bundle deals – “buy one of our TVs and get money off one of our soundbars”, that sort of thing – but manufacturers have also introduced synergistic features such as integrated controls, wireless TV-to-soundbar audio connections and, most controversially, systems that synchronise the speakers in both devices.

Why is that controversial? Because, broadly speaking, these features are usually worse than simply using the soundbar on its own – yet buyers are often led to believe they are missing out if they don’t enable them.

Thankfully, Sony is discontinuing its version of the feature, Acoustic Centre Sync, in future TVs and home cinema products. Now I’d like Samsung and LG to do the same with Q-Symphony and WOW Orchestra.

To be fair, the concept behind these features does make a certain amount of sense. Why buy a soundbar only to completely disable the speakers built into your TV? Isn’t that just wasting audio hardware you have already paid for?

There are also genuine theoretical benefits. The TV’s speakers can be used to anchor effects and dialogue more directly to the screen, particularly when the soundbar sits low beneath the display.

That’s especially true of Sony’s OLED TVs, which use actuators to vibrate the panel itself in order to create sound. The audio quite literally comes from the screen. If any company was going to make this concept work convincingly, it was probably Sony.

The problem, though, is that even very good TV speakers are generally nowhere near as capable as the speakers in a decent soundbar. In fact, most TV speakers are deeply compromised by the physical limitations of modern ultra-thin TVs.

So when a manufacturer asks the TV and soundbar to work together, you’re often shifting part of the audio workload from the better speaker system to the worse one.

Brands use clever digital signal processing and calibration to create spatial and tonal cohesion between the two systems, and the technical achievement can actually be pretty impressive. But TV speakers and soundbar drivers are so fundamentally different that the result rarely sounds entirely natural or convincing.

To be absolutely clear, there are exceptions. Some specific TV and soundbar combinations can sound pretty good with these features enabled, usually because the manufacturer has spent time properly tuning that exact pairing.

The problem is that most combinations won’t have received that level of optimisation – yet the feature is still there, still heavily marketed and usually switched on by default.

Most people will naturally assume that a feature promoted so heavily by the manufacturer must improve performance, so will leave it enabled without a second thought. Even enthusiasts who are sceptical enough to question it often need to spend a frustrating amount of time A/B testing lots of different content before deciding whether it actually sounds better or worse.

The result is that plenty of people who buy a TV and soundbar from the same brand are unknowingly getting a diluted audio experience rather than an upgraded one.

Whether Sony would phrase it this way or not, discontinuing Acoustic Centre Sync feels like an acknowledgement that the compromises often outweigh the benefits. The company doesn’t want you buying one of its broadly excellent soundbars only to undermine its performance by involving the often inferior speakers in your TV.

I think that’s the right decision.

In most cases, people who spend good money on a soundbar deserve to hear that soundbar operating at its full potential. Sony appears to have recognised that, and I hope Samsung and LG eventually do the same.

MORE:

Here are the best TVs and best soundbars you can buy right now

Read our Sony Bravia 9 II hands-on review

And our Sony Bravia 7 II hands-on review

Here it is, folks: our first full review of an RGB Mini LED TV.

We have previously run extensive hands-on tests of a couple of RGB Mini LED TVs – most notably the huge Hisense 116UX – but, due to their astonishing sizes and prices, we’ve had to do the testing outside our own facilities. In our world, that’s not a full review, so those TVs haven’t received star ratings.

The 65-inch Hisense UR9 we have before us today is designed to address the size and price issues that have until now prevented more people from hopping on the RGB Mini LED bandwagon.

This set, then, is leading the mainstream RGB Mini LED charge. And, while it’s a fair way short of perfect, particularly next to a flagship OLED TV, the UR9 is an impressive TV in its own right and a tantalising glimpse at the technology’s long-term potential.

Price

Price is always a hugely important factor whenever we test a product, but it’s particularly crucial to how the Hisense UR9 will be viewed.

In the UK, the launch price of £2999 places the 65-inch UR9 in the same category as flagship OLED TVs such as the new LG G6 and last year’s Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II.

In Australia, though, the AU$3999 price puts the Hisense UR9 up against step-down OLEDs such as the LG C6.

Most interestingly (and confusingly), while the announced launch price in the US was a super high-end $3500, when the TV actually arrived in shops, the tag was a vastly cheaper $2000, placing the UR9 in an entirely different category, below even step-down OLED models.

Essentially, then, this Hisense is a rather different proposition in each of those three regions. Seeing as we are UK-based and it’s a UK sample we’re reviewing, though, it’s the UK price that we are primarily working with here. And that means the UR9 is going to have to face off against the mighty Bravia 8 II QD-OLED.

Design

The Hisense UR9 is not one of those modern flagship TVs that disappears into your living room.

At 4.5cm thick, it’s decidedly chunky by current premium TV standards, particularly next to the impossibly slim OLED models with which it competes on price.

The rear panel is completely flat, though, which makes the UR9 fairly tidy for wall-mounting, and the overall build feels solid and substantial.

The TV’s general styling is perfectly pleasant, too, though it stops short of being genuinely luxurious. Bezels are slim enough, the dark metallic finish is smart, and the overall aesthetic is clean and restrained, but the UR9 lacks the slick elegance and premium flair of rivals such as the Sony Bravia 8 II and Samsung S99H/S95H.

Hisense has made some nice, practical decisions, though.

The centrally mounted pedestal stand has a relatively narrow footprint of around 42cm, making the UR9 easier to place on narrower furniture than many similarly sized rivals. It also offers two height positions, allowing you either to keep the screen sitting low and tidy or raise it slightly to create extra clearance for a soundbar.

Rows of tiny perforations run down both sides of the set, while larger openings line the top edge. These house the UR9’s side- and up-firing speakers, which form part of its integrated Devialet sound system.

Overall, then, the UR9 is more functional than fashionable – a practical, purposeful TV rather than a particularly glamorous one.

Features and specs

The headline feature here is, of course, the UR9’s RGB Mini LED backlight.

Unlike a conventional Mini LED TV, which uses a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, the UR9 instead uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. In theory, this approach allows for both greater brightness and more precise colour reproduction.

Hisense claims peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we’re testing here, alongside 980 local dimming zones and a native 170Hz panel, all driven by the company’s Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor.

Gamers are generally very well served – with one unusual caveat. Unlike most premium TVs, which have four HDMI sockets, the UR9 has just three. These are accompanied by a PC-gaming-friendly DisplayPort connection – something that remains extremely rare on TVs.

Is a DisplayPort connection more valuable than a fourth HDMI socket? We have our doubts, but to a small number of very committed PC gamers, it may be very useful.

All three of the HDMI sockets are 2.1-specified, though, with support for 4K/170Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz), VRR and ALLM. Some brands, including Sony, still offer just two HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TVs.

The UR9’s input lag is decent rather than exceptional. We measured 32.5ms at 60Hz in the standard Game mode, though enabling the Refresh Rate setting reduces that figure to a more respectable, though far from groundbreaking, 24.6ms.

The UR9 supports every significant HDR format currently in use – HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – plus the intelligent Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive variants that respond to ambient room lighting conditions.

It is also IMAX Enhanced certified, and the UK version of the TV features an anti-reflective, anti-glare screen coating that proves fairly effective at combating bright-room reflections.

Audio specifications are unusually ambitious by TV standards, too. The UR9 features a Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel speaker system with dedicated up-firing drivers, plus support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

In the UK and Australia, the UR9 runs Hisense’s own VIDAA smart platform, while the US version instead uses Google TV.

VIDAA still isn’t the prettiest smart system around, but it’s fast, responsive and logically laid out. App support is broadly very good, too, with all of the major streaming services and UK catch-up apps present and correctly supporting the relevant picture and sound formats.

There are, however, a few frustrating omissions. Most notably, the Apple TV app lacks access to the Apple TV store and users’ purchased libraries, so it can’t be used for movie purchases and rentals. That’s a real disappointment, as Apple’s pay-as-you-go store is the best around.

While far less important for a TV, it’s worth noting that music streaming support is sparse, too, with Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz all absent. There are no cloud gaming apps, either.

The inclusion of Freely is welcome, though, as it allows live TV channels to be streamed over the internet without an aerial connection.

Picture quality

The Hisense UR9 makes a superb first impression. In fact, perhaps the most impressive thing about it is just how rarely it behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Before getting into that, though, some setup advice is required, because the TV’s default HDR settings do it few favours.

When first fed HDR10 content, the UR9 automatically switches into its HDR Energy Saving mode which, despite its name, is surprisingly aggressive. Colours skew cool and bluish, motion processing is overly intrusive, and the overall image looks unnatural and overcooked.

HDR Standard and HDR Dynamic are similarly best avoided, both pushing sharpness, brightness and processing much too hard.

Thankfully, Filmmaker Mode proves far more successful. It delivers the most accurate and balanced picture of the available presets, and it quickly becomes our preferred overall option.

Interestingly, though, IMAX Cinema is also unusually compelling. While its underlying settings appear almost identical to those of Filmmaker Mode, it consistently produces a noticeably brighter and punchier image without obviously compromising balance or naturalism.

As a result, we would stick with Filmmaker Mode for dark-room and purist viewing, but happily switch to IMAX Cinema during the daytime or whenever we fancy a little extra visual intensity.

Once properly configured, the UR9 is an extremely accomplished performer.

Play 1917 on 4K Blu-ray, and the opening logos immediately demonstrate just how well controlled the TV’s backlight system is. Blooming around the bright white text is minimal, black depth is strong, and colours look rich, warm and nicely cinematic.

More importantly, the local-dimming system generally goes about its business without drawing attention to itself. Throughout our testing, the UR9 almost never exhibits the flickering, brightness pumping or visibly shifting backlight behaviour that can make many Mini LED TVs distracting.

That consistency quickly emerges as the UR9’s defining strength. While many bright Mini LED TVs constantly remind you that they are dynamically manipulating a backlight behind the scenes, the Hisense instead achieves a broadly very composed, stable and natural delivery that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

Blade Runner 2049 showcases this particularly well. Black depth is consistently strong, shadow detail is excellent and subtle blooming is tightly controlled. There’s also impressive richness and stability to colours, especially reds, which look wonderfully pure and saturated without drifting into pink or magenta tones.

Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity.

Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.

Motion handling is strong, too. The default Film setting is decent enough, but switching Motion Enhancement to Clear results in noticeably smoother pans without introducing the distracting soap-opera effect or processing artefacts that such systems often create.

The notoriously difficult Matera cemetery and chase sequence from No Time To Die is handled particularly well, with impressively little judder to the panning shots and clean rendering of drifting smoke and rapid camera movement.

Dropping down to standard-def and SDR, our Kiss Kiss Bang Bang DVD is reproduced with pleasing warmth, strong detail and impressively clean upscaling. Colours are arguably pushed a touch too hard at times, but the overall presentation remains highly enjoyable and consistently cinematic.

For all of the UR9’s strengths, though, direct comparisons with a top-tier OLED TV still reveal the limitations of even this undeniably refined RGB Mini LED model. Despite its impressive local-dimming system, the Hisense simply cannot match the pixel-level contrast control of the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Extremely bright highlights against deep black backgrounds are sometimes handled slightly conservatively, presumably to avoid blooming. Perhaps counterintuitively, those bright white logos against pitch-black backgrounds appear more intense and impactful on the Sony OLED than on the much brighter, on paper, Hisense.

More significantly, the OLED TV produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image across the board. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within clouds, shadows and highlights appear more convincing and refined, creating a more rounded look.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: we have documented that extra solidity you get from OLED plenty of times previously, most notably when we used the Sony Bravia 8 OLED as a comparison in our Bravia 9 Mini LED review. But it bears repeating for those who are choosing between an OLED and a backlit TV.

Viewing angles are another clear OLED advantage. While the UR9’s picture performance doesn’t entirely fall off a cliff when you move off-axis, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is surprisingly narrow.

And while the UR9 usually keeps blooming impressively well controlled, especially for a backlit TV, particularly torturous scenes can still expose its limitations.

The bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer is a great example. From the UR9, there’s a slight general greying to the image, plus some visible glow around isolated spotlights in the darkness. The opening starfield of Alien: Romulus, meanwhile, reveals that the UR9 cannot simultaneously maintain truly inky blacks and perfectly intense star highlights in the way an OLED can.

To be clear, the Hisense performs well in these scenes by LCD standards, and many owners may never notice such shortcomings during normal viewing. But they do prevent the UR9 from truly matching the effortless contrast precision and dimensionality of the best OLED TVs.

Sound quality

Developed in partnership with Devialet, the UR9’s 4.1.2-channel speaker system delivers a surprisingly expansive and full-bodied presentation by TV standards, with particularly impressive width and height effects.

The Theatre sound mode is the most immediately striking of the available presets, producing a presentation that extends well beyond the physical boundaries of the TV and creating a convincing sense of spaciousness with Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

There’s decent bass depth, too, and the UR9 maintains good composure at high volumes, avoiding the harshness and distortion that can afflict many flatscreen TVs when pushed hard.

The overall presentation is smooth and rich in character, which makes the UR9 an easy and enjoyable listen over long viewing sessions.

It isn’t perfect, though. Dynamics are a little stunted, and action scenes lack some of the punch and excitement they deserve, while dialogue could be projected with greater clarity and emotional expression.

The Theatre mode also slightly overplays its hand at times. While its extra spaciousness is undeniably appealing, it introduces a faintly diffuse and echoey quality to voices, along with a slight sense of delay that makes speech sound less natural than it should.

As a result, we find ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode for most content. It still sounds pleasantly spacious and open, but delivers dialogue with greater focus and cohesion while maintaining good weight and scale.

Ultimately, while even a modest dedicated soundbar will comfortably outperform it, the UR9’s audio system is better than that of most TVs, even at this lofty level.

Verdict

In several ways, the Hisense UR9 is one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Most of the time, you’re not even made aware that it is a backlit TV, so good are its black levels, its control of blooming and its consistent, flicker-free contrast.

While it is possible to trip up the backlight, it’s quite hard to do so, and many buyers may never see an unsightly bloom in their period of UR9 ownership.

But while this first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV is broadly mercifully free of the flaws that generally afflict backlit TVs, it still can’t match the overall picture quality of the best OLED models.

The pixel-level contrast control of OLED brings benefits in several areas. There are the notably brighter highlights on very dark backgrounds that even accomplished backlit sets, such as the UR9, are too cautious to go all guns blazing with for fear of blooming. There are the almost flawless viewing angles, too, which the UR9 is a long way from matching.

The biggest thing, though, is the generally more solid, more perceptually three-dimensional image that OLED provides. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the Hisense UR9 simply looks flatter, less dynamic and less impactful.

Ultimately, as enjoyable and technically impressive as the UR9 is, we can’t think of a good reason you would buy it over a flagship-grade OLED, and that’s the level at which Hisense is pitching it – at least in the UK.

Of course, if you are someone who has a flagship-level budget for their next TV and a general aversion to OLED, the Hisense UR9 should be right around the top of your list.

If you’re a UK buyer, it’s probably a good idea to wait and see if we get a massive US-style discount before placing an order, though.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Also consider the Sony Bravia 8 II, LG G6 and Sony Bravia 9

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Surround sound systems come in practically every shape and size these days, but there's one modern alternative that we've seen sweep the world of home cinema.

We are, of course, talking about wireless soundbar systems. Bose has just unveiled its Ultra Lifestyle soundbar, subwoofer and wireless speakers, and it joins the likes of Sonos, LG, Sony, Yamaha and Samsung in offering an ecosystem of home audio products that can work together to essentially create a proper surround sound experience.

While they vary in quality – we've recently raved about Samsung's superb HW-Q990H, while LG's Sound Suite system didn't quite hit the mark – there's no doubting they are super popular, convenient, and effective ways to achieve surround sound without filling your living room with bulky floorstanding speakers.

We're even seeing companies get creative with their soundbar systems. Majority recently impressed us with its pint-sized Bowfell Halo Atmos system, and Hisense scored a coveted What Hi-Fi? Award with its superbly affordable AX5125H package.

While they won't suit everyone, and a true surround sound speaker package will always win in terms of delivering proper cinematic sound, there are plenty of great options around, and it's reminding us of a previous home cinema audio trend.

A full surround sound system in a box isn't a new phenomenon; in fact, they were all the rage in the early 2010s. Samsung, Panasonic, LG and many more used to sell a whole home cinema in a box, combining a DVD or Blu-ray player alongside a compact wired 5.1 speaker set, unlocking surround sound for the masses without the need for an AV receiver.

Our review of the Panasonic SC-BTT590 from back in 2012 highlights how capable these systems once were. We complimented this system, saying "the handover between speakers is smooth, making for a convincing surround sound".

Stretching even further back to 2010 with the Award-winning Sony BDV-E370, which featured an "easy, idiot-proof set-up" and speakers that "deliver surprising scale and power".

These nifty, streamlined systems were made to combine cinematic sound with plug-and-play convenience, which sounds like a very similar objective to the soundbar systems we're seeing today.

The biggest difference between the home cinema in a box systems of old and the current soundbar packages is the inclusion of a Blu-ray player that once acted as a hub to drive these speakers.

That's to be expected in a world dominated by streaming and massively improved wireless audio protocols, but being the physical media advocates that we are, it's a shame nonetheless.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Sonos, Bose, LG and Sony all take a modular approach, allowing you to connect surround speakers and subwoofers as you see fit, and most of these companies offer components at different price points.

More customisation and different speaker configurations mean you can essentially build a surround sound package that better suits your needs and budgets, which is always a plus.

Sony, in particular, has welcomed this approach with open arms, as it now offers five different optional subwoofers and three different types of wireless sound speakers.

So, are soundbar systems secretly just a revival of one of the 2010s ' best home cinema trends? We think they're more of a spiritual successor with the same mission statement in mind: save people from their TV speakers by bringing simple, effective cinematic sound to the masses.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

As well as the best surround sound systems

And find the best soundbar deals here

Samsung is making a statement with its 2026 TV lineup. The company is shifting things around in its range, moves which include demoting Neo QLED to its mid-range in favour of the new RGB Micro LED panel technology. And there are even more OLED options to choose from than in previous years.

With all of these exciting TVs primed to launch, Samsung kindly invited me to view some of its latest products before they officially hit the shelves. And this time, I managed to get some in-depth time with three of its latest premium TVs.

While I have seen some of the models mentioned here today in action at CES, and on a visit to Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea, this time I was allowed to sit with the TVs for an extended period, change the settings, and even play some reference discs straight from our AV testing room.

With that in mind, here's a quick roundup of my thoughts from hands-on looks at three of Samsung’s latest premium TVs…

RGB Micro LED could be a winner…

The first TV I spent time with yesterday was also the most fascinating model from Samsung’s new lineup. The R95H uses the brand’s new RGB Micro LED (which seems to be its version of RGB Mini LED) panel technology, and the initial signs are very promising.

I saw this TV at gargantuan sizes at CES, including 115- and 130-inches, but this time around it was the more real-world 65-inch model on show. While pricing wasn’t shared, I’m willing to bet that this will be a more attainable option to experience the latest panel tech compared with the huge TVs mentioned above.

Using a medley of reference clips we often use for testing, from films including Oppenheimer, Blade Runner 2049 and Pan, I got a flavour of what this TV can do. It’s safe to say that I walked away rather impressed.

A tricky nighttime scene from Oppenheimer demonstrated this TV’s local-dimming capabilities; I struggled to see any blooming, and black levels were remarkably good for a backlit TV.

At the other end of the scale, the blindingly bright Pan looked superb on this TV, with rich colours and dazzling highlights. There was also a sharpness and solidity to the picture that could – and I stress could, as we need more time with the set to cement this claim – give OLED a run for its money.

We'll need to assess this TV in our home cinema testing room to settle on a final verdict, but I certainly felt that this set left a strong first impression.

The S90H looks good, but my biggest question remains…

Sitting in the middle of Samsung’s premium TV range, the S90H is the closest rival to the five-star LG C6 that I have seen so far. Samsung set this TV up in a very brightly lit hotel room with all of the curtains open – and there was a reason behind this.

For the first time since Samsung introduced the display coating on the S95D, Glare Free is being introduced on the step-down models in the company’s range, which includes the S90H. And you’ll find it on every screen size, from 42 to 83 inches.

While it was unquestionably effective at combatting reflections and diffusing ambient light, it did disperse the light in a way that seemed to introduce a touch of greyness to blacks (this was most noticeable in the letterboxing bars of 21:9 content). However, this felt a reasonable tradeoff, and it certainly gives this TV an edge for daytime viewing.

That being said, Samsung remained coy on a hot-button issue relating to this TV, which is why I still have my reservations. Once again, the company refuses to clarify which OLED panel is inside this TV. While we have it on good authority that the S90H uses a WOLED panel, the previous generations of this TV have been subject to an “OLED panel lottery” in which Samsung used WOLED and QD-OLED panels interchangeably.

While the company maintains that the panel doesn’t matter, and that users will get a top-notch picture experience regardless, we know that these panels perform differently when it comes to brightness and colour reproduction; therefore, this remains a potential sticking point with the latest entry into the S90-series.

S99H: a unique OLED flagship?

At the top of Samsung’s range is the S99H, frustratingly called the S95H in the US. This might be the most interesting-looking flagship OLED TV we’ve seen so far this year.

The design is the most striking aspect of this set: it features a metal backplate that invokes the look of Samsung’s popular The Frame range TVs. On top of this plate is the OLED display, designed to appear as if it is floating. As a result, this TV really looks like nothing we’ve seen before.

It is designed to be wall-mounted, making it a competitor to LG’s W6 Wallpaper TV, although the benefit of the S99H is that it can also be configured to sit on a TV stand if needed.

We know that this TV uses a QD-OLED panel in its 55- to 77-inch sizes, but Samsung Display doesn't currently make QD-OLED panels in the 48-inch and 83-inch sizes that the TV is also available in.

During my demo time with the TV, the benefit of QD-OLED was certainly evident, as this TV presented an image that combined dazzling brightness and rich colours, alongside the superb contrast that we have come to expect from OLED.

Brightness improvements seem to be evident across the board with this new range, and I was impressed by both the Filmmaker Mode and Movie Mode picture presets with these TVs.

Further testing is, of course, required for all of these sets, so stay tuned for our full reviews coming soon.

MORE:

Read our Samsung S95H hands-on review

As well as our full Samsung S95F review

And check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

TCL has announced its latest answer to the art TV craze, and it's packing an upgrade that could see it produce a better quality picture than most of its rivals.

The A4000 Pro NXTVISION blends style and substance, with a frame-like chassis that challenges Samsung's super popular The Frame and Hisense's Canvas TV.

It's designed to blend seamlessly into your living room environment, and when paired with the Art Gallery mode (which features curated artwork and AI-generated content) and included walnut woodgrain frame, it doubles as a versatile piece of wall art when not in use.

Sounds familiar so far, right? Well, TCL hopes to set its offering apart by bringing the picture quality up to standard, as some of the frame TVs on the market sacrifice panel tech for the sake of design.

Not TCL, though, as it has included its precise QD-Mini LED backlight on this TV, and paired it with a matte HVA panel, which should improve viewing angles. That's quite a step up over Hisense's edge-lit QLED Canvas TV.

TCL claims to have included up to 488 dimming zones (presumably this refers to the largest 75-inch screen size), and the A4000 Pro also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

Furthermore, this TV can support gaming signals up to 4K/144Hz over HDMI 2.1, with VRR and ALLM supported, making this a solid choice for gamers and home decor aficionados alike.

TCL has also included the Google TV smart platform and an Onkyo-tuned 2.0 channel sound system, which supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Audio. It says that "dialogue is clear and immersive without requiring an external audio set-up" on the A4000 Pro NXTVISION, which will appeal to minimalists who don't want trailing cables.

This TV comes in four sizes, starting at 43 inches, and it undercuts both of the rivals we've mentioned above. The 55-inch model starts at £899, which seems like a bargain compared to the equivalent Hisense, which we reviewed at £1099.

Samsung's 2026 Frame Pro (which is also billed as a Mini LED art TV), comes in at a staggering £1699 for the 55-inch model, which makes the TCL also look like a steal by comparison.

The TCL A4000 Pro NXTVISION is set to launch later this year, and you can see pricing for all sizes below:

• 75A400 PRO-UK – £1,399
• 65A400 PRO-UK – £1,099
• 55A400 PRO-UK – £899
• 43A400 PRO-UK – £599
  

MORE:

Read our full Hisense Canvas review

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

And read our full TCL C7K review

As the large-screen trend continues, many people are looking at investing in a projector, rather than the 100-inch-plus TVs on offer from the likes of Hisense, TCL and Samsung. And, to furnish that desire, we are seeing more ultra-short throw (UST) projectors hit the market than ever before.

Acer is the latest brand to jump on the trend with the catchily named PD1520Us projector. It boasts an affordable price tag and the capability to project a huge image without taking up much space.

Weighing just 740g, this UST projector seems to join Samsung’s The Premiere 5 and Optoma’s Photon Go projectors in this quirky new category of compact UST projectors.

It features an LED light source, with a claimed 2000 LED lumens of brightness, and a reported lifespan of 30,000 hours. Setup should also be easy, thanks to the auto focus and an auto 2D keystone feature for an easy setup.

Acer also touts wi-fi, Bluetooth, and screen-mirroring functionality built in, allowing users to beam content from a phone or tablet. There is also a smart platform built in, which supports Netflix and YouTube, although it appears to be a proprietary operating system rather than Google TV or Android TV.

Despite its small footprint, this projector can beam a 100-inch Full HD image onto your wall, and it needs to sit only a few centimetres from your wall, to do so according to Acer.

The company says that it has specifically designed this UST projector to be “light enough to move from the lounge to the bedroom”, and “for UK homes where space is at a premium”. The built-in battery, which Acer says is rated to last around two hours on a single charge, means it can even be used outside.

Acer also says that this projector has “4K support”, which we presume means that it can accept 4K signals, but outputs them in 1080p. We have reached out to Acer for confirmation.

Much as with the Samsung Premiere 5, you can change the orientation by standing the projector in an upright position to beam a 23-inch interactive surface onto a table, worktop, or even the floor.

Acer even has a variant that includes the same touch-screen-style interface, although that is being sold only through commercial channels currently.

Priced at £550/€650 (or £650/€700 for the Touch variant), the Acer PD1520Us sits below the Samsung and Optoma rivals mentioned above, making it a tempting choice for those looking for a UST on a budget.

MORE:

Read our full Optoma Photon Go review

As well as our Samsung The Premiere 5 review

And check out our picks for the best portable projectors

With what has felt like a never-ending influx of panel technologies over the past couple of years – think Micro Lens Array OLED, RGB Mini LED and Primary RGB Tandem OLED – we've lost sight of the true future of TV panel tech.

Micro LED, which employs millions of microscopic self-immersive LEDs for an OLED-like experience without the drawbacks, has been quietly simmering in the background for years.

While Samsung has been selling its series of The Wall TVs with Micro LED panels for quite some time, the price tags attached have meant that they have been reserved for the super wealthy. We certainly don't see them in physical retail stores very often.

This is where Hisense steps in. The company kindly invited me to a morning spent in Harrods to oggle at its 136-inch MX Micro LED TV, which is set up and running alongside its UXQ RGB Mini LED TVs to tempt customers with deep pockets to invest in the next generation of TV technology.

Now, I appreciate that Harrods isn't a retailer that appeals to the masses – it's certainly not where I do much of my shopping. But this is a luxury TV technology after all, and the price tag reflects it.

At a staggering £119,999, this TV certainly seems to signify Hisense’s intent to move away from the affordable 4K models it has launched in the past, and make its mark on the premium home cinema sector.

Sporting a claimed peak brightness of 10,000 nits (our camera clearly couldn't handle the dazzling brightness) and a sound system tuned by French hi-fi company Devialet, this is an undeniably impressive TV specification-wise. The company even shared some insight into what you can expect if you do buy one of these huge (and expensive) sets.

Getting a 136-inch TV through a standard door is borderline impossible, but the modular nature of Micro LED means you needn't worry about that. According to Hisense, if you purchase one of these TVs, an engineer with the frame and Micro LED panels will arrive at your home and hand assemble the TV in roughly four hours.

For this price, that's the kind of service you'd expect – right?

Hisense does, however, have some competition. Samsung is also showcasing its Micro LED offering at Harrods, so it seems we are inching ever closer to seeing the true successor to OLED hit the mainstream.

I’ve even seen some more living room-friendly Micro LED TVs at the likes of CES and IFA, which scale the screen sizes down to between 65 and 85 inches. They remain concepts for now, but we could see more conventional models such as these in the future.

We'll need those prices to drop first, though – we highly doubt the average consumer will spend six figures on a TV anytime soon.

MORE:

MicroLED TV: everything you need to know

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

As well as the best Mini LED TVs

We get the impression that Samsung’s audio division might be one of the hardest-working teams in the AV industry. Delivering a new soundbar lineup every year is no mean feat – especially when they’re this good.

While the likes of Sonos, Sony and JBL tend to refresh their models every few years, Samsung somehow always manages to have a fresh set of soundbars ready every year, though that can lead to some generations having quite subtle differences from their predecessors; case in point, the HW-Q990H.

Last year’s HW-Q990F wowed us with an impressive new subwoofer that was built from the ground up to deliver punchy, musical and controlled bass from a surprisingly small package.

The HW-Q990H, which we have before us in our home cinema testing room, seems like a much more modest upgrade on paper – but when we take a listen, it turns out that there are a few more changes under the hood.

Price

Samsung has decided to launch the HW-Q990H at roughly the same £1599 / $2000 / AU$1999 price as its predecessor (that's actually £100 cheaper than last year here in the UK).

While that might sound like a lot to pay for a soundbar system now, we need to keep in mind that, traditionally speaking, Samsung's annual system tends to tumble in price fairly quickly and consistently throughout the year.

Last year’s HW-Q990F, for example, has dropped well below the £800 mark at various points since its launch – and especially during the major sales events such as Black Friday.

In fact, there is still plenty of Q990F stock around with huge discounts, and that is going to make it hard for the new Q990H to justify its high launch price.

Some more affordable all-in-one soundbar options have scored highly in our test room recently, including the Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799) and Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 (£1399 / $1400 / AU$1795), which may appeal to those wanting a neater solution.

However, none of these come with dedicated surround speakers or a subwoofer in the way that the Samsung does. You’ll have to cough up some extra cash to create an HW-Q990H adjacent system with these bars.

Design

If you were to put the soundbar portion of the HW-Q990H system in a lineup next to the Q990F, Q990D and Q990C, we’d seriously struggle to pick it out as the latest model. Looks-wise, this soundbar is practically identical to its predecessor, which is both good and bad news.

This is a very well-built and premium-feeling system. Everything is constructed from aluminium or a sturdy, high-quality plastic.

The main soundbar measures 7 x 123 x 14cm (hwd) and weighs 7.3kg, whereas the surround speakers are 20 x 13 x 14cm and weigh 3.4kg each.

The subwoofer, on the other hand, is a cube measuring 25 x 25 x 25cm and weighing 8.3kg. Those measurements are absolutely identical to the HW-Q990F’s.

This design is starting to look quite tired. The sharp, elongated hexagonal design is a touch brutalist (especially compared to Samsung’s sleek OLED TVs), and while the metallic grey finish is sleek, we think that the edgy soundbar and rounded cuboid subwoofer are at odds with one another aesthetically.

We prefer LG’s handsome (but sonically flawed) Sound Suite H7, or the smooth curves of the Sonos Arc Ultra. That being said, this isn’t a beauty contest, so we’re more interested in its features and sound performance – though we also need to remember that this bar will constantly be in your eyeline, and the surround speakers will be permanent fixtures in your living room.

Features

As with every Samsung product we test these days, from TVs to mobile phones, the HW-Q990F is feature-packed. There is, of course, a healthy dose of AI inclusions, but we’ll start with the hardware configuration.

This is an 11.1.4 system, with an impressive total of 23 individual drivers on board. This includes 15 drivers in the main soundbar unit, three in each of the wireless surround speakers, and two 8-inch woofers (in a push/pull configuration) in the wireless subwoofer.

Both the soundbar and surround speakers feature upward-firing drivers, which brings us neatly onto the immersive sound formats that this system supports.

The Q990H features support for three immersive audio formats: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Samsung’s Eclipsa Audio. Having full coverage of the available formats is a bonus, and while Eclipsa hasn’t been adopted by any other services aside from YouTube so far, it’s nice to be future-proofed in case that changes at some point.

In order to achieve the best surround sound experience, Samsung recommends placing the rear surround speakers at a 135-150-degree angle behind the listening position. Thankfully, Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound Pro feature, which is essentially this soundbar’s calibration system, can accommodate if your space doesn’t allow for this placement.

Interestingly, unlike most soundbars we test, which tend to take one set of measurements to map your room and adapt the sound, Samsung’s version is a clever, constantly running system that monitors your listening space at all times to make adjustments in real time.

On top of this, Samsung supports four sound modes: Standard, Surround, Game and AI Adaptive.

Standard takes a straightforward approach in which signals are directly reproduced (two-channel recordings are presented in stereo, for example), whereas Surround broadens the soundfield by introducing audio upscaling processing.

The Game setting reduces latency, and the AI Adaptive mode will, as the name suggests, employ artificial intelligence to analyse your content and adjust the sound to suit.

Another layer of processing is Samsung’s new Sound Elevation feature, which is new for this model. It’s designed to raise the audio upwards to match the position of your screen.

Samsung hasn’t really given a clear indication of how it determines where to place the audio, and for us, it seems to overshoot slightly and place the sound towards the top edge of our reference TV. This setting may appeal more to those who wall-mount their TV and leave a gap between it and their soundbar.

There is also a new Auto Volume feature that controls sudden loud spikes in volume when switching between different channels, applications or sources.

All of these sound settings can be applied via the included remote, and the dot-matrix display on the front of the soundbar is fairly useful for telling you which setting you're adjusting.

However, the Samsung SmartThings app is the preferred way of interacting with the settings menus, thanks to its snappy connection and set-up time, easy-to-understand menus, and generally solid stability.

You can also control your source from this app, including music streamed wirelessly to the system. The HW-Q990H supports Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Tidal Connect and Bluetooth, and it’s even Roon Ready.

Samsung also allows you to connect the Q990H wirelessly to many of its compatible TVs, and Dolby Atmos is even supported here – though for the sake of getting the best audio quality and reduced latency, we recommend sticking with a wired connection.

While we’re on the topic of the Samsung ecosystem, Q Symphony – in which your Samsung TV’s speakers work in tandem with the system – is also supported here. It's worth trying, but don't assume that using Q Symphony will produce better sound than using the Q990H's speakers alone. Many TVs will bring down the overall sound quality rather than improve it.

Wired connectivity is equally impressive, as the soundbar has three HDMI sockets in total. This includes an HDMI eARC for connecting to your TV, alongside two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 passthrough sockets, which support up to 4K/120Hz signals with VRR and ALLM, as well as HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision (the last of which is especially nice as Samsung’s own TVs don’t support Dolby Vision).

Sound

We’ll be the first to admit that we weren’t expecting much of a change from last year’s Q990F, and yet the HW-Q990H has a few surprises up its sleeve.

We’ve hooked the soundbar package up to our reference TV (the Sony Bravia 8 II) and 4K Blu-ray player (the sadly discontinued Oppo UDP-203), and raided our library of reference discs to assess the system’s sound performance.

As with the previous model, the Surround mode proves to be the best for movies and TV shows, as the wider sound field means that all components hang together in a more sonically cohesive way. The Standard preset, meanwhile, is better for music, and those who prefer minimal processing, or perhaps want a more focused sound, may prefer it for movies and TV shows.

Overall, the improvements to this generation from the HW-Q990F (which we have on hand for direct comparisons) can be distilled into this: the Q990H takes everything we love about the last generation, and delivers it with even more nuance, detail and scale.

Starting with Civil War, we watch the section leading up to the climactic final battle, and we find that this soundbar package excels in practically every aspect. As Lee goes to comfort Jessie in a serene woodland area, we’re totally immersed in the environment thanks to the soundbar’s excellent placement of cinematic effects.

Birds chirping in trees overhead and the subtle crackling of twigs and leaves breaking underfoot are realised with superb accuracy, and the river trickling in the background is packed with sonic nuance; it all sounds genuinely alive.

As the two characters have a heart-to-heart conversation, we find that the tonality and emotions of their voices are captured thanks to the Q990H's rich sonic characteristics and deft handling of low-level dynamics. Vocal clarity is also excellent, as the system has no problem delivering crisp and detailed, yet full-bodied, dialogue, and we find little in the way of sharpness or sibilance in any of the characters’ voices.

As the Western Forces prepare to deploy, the thunderous rumble of helicopter blades is delivered with a crisp leading edge to each swoop, and is rounded out with a thickness, weight and richness that gives a genuine impression of heavy-duty metal blades chopping through the air.

It should come as no surprise that bass is handled very well, considering how much of a step up the HW-Q990F was with its redesigned subwoofer. The HW-Q990H seems to carry across the same, or at least a very similar, subwoofer, which brings an equally impressive dose of low-end weight.

We switch to Blade Runner 2049’s infamously tricky chapter two, and find that the bass builds nicely, peppering tension throughout. It refuses to distort or warble, and yet it reaches plenty deep, and there is a sense of tonal variation within the bass, which makes it sound tuneful and dynamic.

We find that the system’s previously established strengths are also on show. The way it projects height effects and places them – especially the announcements of the holographic advertisements near Officer K’s apartment – is impressive indeed. While this was a strength of the HW-Q990F, the Q990H takes this even further, with a greater sense of accuracy and spaciousness.

This system captures the bustle of the dystopian street and the buzz of K’s crowded apartment complex with a level of finesse and detail that seriously sells the atmosphere of each scene. It cleverly picks up background sounds and weaves them into the soundfield without making them sound forced or intentionally singled out.

Rounding out our film testing with Thunderbolts, we start the scene in which the team of anti-heroes makes a daring escape from a compound surrounded by military personnel. The tapping percussion featured throughout this sequence feels agile and snappy, conveying excitement and energy while easily keeping pace.

Dialogue is once again a highlight here; Yelena Belova’s dry wit is captured differently from John Walker’s stoic inflexion, thanks to the system’s ability to capture finer details. It’s not a night-and-day difference compared with its predecessor, but once we notice it, it becomes clear that the Q990H is the better of the two at unearthing subtler sonic nuances.

Moving on to music, we try a range of tracks, including Harry Styles’ Carla’s Song, Heavy by The Marias, and tracks from Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar OST in the system’s Standard mode. This sound mode removes the rear speakers from the equation and lets the main soundbar unit and subwoofer shine for stereo music reproduction.

The good news is that most, if not all, of the positive attributes from our movie testing are present and correct for music, too. Vocals are warm and detailed, bass is taut, deep and keeps pace, and there is a general sense of naturalism and balance to the sound.

While the Sonos Arc Ultra is our preferred soundbar for music, thanks to its richer, more rounded and smoother sound, the HW-Q990H is still a seriously talented performer.

Verdict

While it may look like a subtle upgrade on paper, and it even looks borderline identical to its predecessor when we unbox it, Samsung has made some worthwhile under-the-hood refinements with this soundbar package.

Its ability to capture a touch more detail and nuance, and place spatial sound effects with even greater precision, makes this system another step up in a lineage of soundbars that have improved year-on-year.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung HW-Q990F

Also consider the Sonos Arc Ultra

Read our Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 review

Best soundbars: options for every need, recommended by our experts

It’s early days for 2026 TVs, with some brands (Sony, for one) yet to reveal their full ranges – but I’ve already spotted a front-runner for TV of the year, and it’s probably not the model you’re expecting.

The model I’m talking about is the Philips OLED951.

In picture terms, this is Philips’ flagship TV for 2026, and while many brands seem to be taking a fairly evolutionary approach to their OLEDs this year, Philips is really pushing the boat out.

On paper, it ticks almost every box: picture performance, gaming features, spectacular flourishes and future-proofing.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the on-paper promise will translate to real-world perfection, and we’ll have to conduct a full review before we can deliver our verdict on that.

But, having now briefly seen it in action, I think there’s a good chance the OLED951 can really deliver.

Here, then, are seven reasons I think this Philips flagship OLED could end up being the TV of 2026.

It’s an OLED

An obvious one this, but the Philips OLED951 is… well… an OLED.

That’s a good thing in my book. The RGB Mini LED invasion is upon us, and there are some very good RGB Mini LEDs already out and on the way (including one from Philips), but I’m yet to see any evidence that the technology’s various strengths are a match for the pixel-level contrast control of OLED.

Perfect black pixels next to bright white or coloured ones make for unbeatable contrast, which has benefits right across the picture, particularly in terms of solidity and perceived three-dimensionality.

An OLED-beating RGB Mini LED TV might one day materialise – I’m open to that – but I predict that in 2026, at least, the best TV will be an OLED.

Brighter than the LG G6

We’ve written plenty of times about how brightness is a long way from the most important thing for a TV to deliver.

Still, lots of brightness headroom can be useful for a TV to deliver the goods in a brightly lit room. It also adds a degree of future-proofing, just in case Hollywood suddenly starts mastering lots of movies to 4000 nits (something I see very little evidence of, for what it’s worth).

Brightness isn’t going to be an issue for the OLED951, though, because Philips claims it can hit a peak brightness figure of 4500 nits, and a full-screen brightness of 400 nits.

Those are improvements over last year’s already very bright OLED950 of 800 and 50 nits, respectively.

Those figures, if achieved, will also make the OLED951 a good deal brighter than the LG G6, which shares a ‘Meta 4.0’ Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel with it – something that Philips says is down to its unique picture engine.

But will those figures be achieved? Having seen the OLED951 running against the OLED950 (see the photo above), it certainly looks like it. The OLED951 looked so much brighter that the figures given actually seem conservative.

And this isn’t just brightness for the sake of brightness, either, because, as we’ve seen in our own testing, when increased brightness is combined with OLED’s perfect black and pixel-level light control, the result is even greater contrast, which, as mentioned above, tends to make images look more solid and three-dimensional.

That was certainly the case in the side-by-side demo – the OLED951 really popped.

Four HDMI 2.1 sockets and custom settings for every game

Finally, Philips’ flagship OLEDs (and most of its other models, in fact) will have four HDMI 2.1 sockets.

These will all be able to accept gaming signals of up to 4K/165Hz, complete with VRR and HDR, including in the Dolby Vision format.

Sure, LG and Samsung have been offering OLEDs with four HDMI 2.1 sockets for years, but when combined with everything else the OLED951 offers (more of which I’ll get to), that still makes it a tantalising proposition for gamers.

Another feature that will appeal to gamers like me is the ability to customise settings for individual titles.

These settings can be designed to improve the picture (extra brightness and vibrancy for Rocket League, perhaps, and a darker, broodier presentation for Alan Wake II), give you an advantage over online rivals (through an onscreen crosshair or enhanced shadow detail, for instance), or deliver geeky gaming info such as the current frame rate.

If you’re a gaming picture quality obsessive, that’s very neat.

Ambilight and AmbiScape

Look, I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, and I certainly don’t think it makes sense for all content, but Ambilight – which extends the onscreen action onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light – remains a spectacular feature.

And now your room lights can be synchronised with what you’re watching more easily, too. This isn’t an entirely new feature, but previously, you needed Hue bulbs.

Now, thanks to the new AmbiScape feature, lights that conform to the Matter standard will be supported – and there are loads of those. That will make it far more affordable and flexible to get your lounge lights in on the Ambilight action.

Again, this won’t be an upgrade for all content, but play the aforementioned Rocket League, and it’s impossible not to get an extra thrill when a goal creates a flash of brilliant colour right across your room. It works brilliantly for colourful animated movies, too, such as the Spider-Verse series.

Dolby Vision 2

Will Dolby Vision 2 be a big deal in 2026? There’s a strong possibility it won’t be, as we’ve still had no news on actual content in the format.

It is coming at some point, though, and our first looks at it in action have been very impressive, so if you’re buying a TV this year, it’s well worth considering going for a model that supports the format.

That makes Philips’ new OLED951, OLED911 and OLED811 particularly appealing, because they will be the first OLED TVs to support Dolby Vision 2. In fact, they will also support the even more advanced Dolby Vision 2 Max, which adds, among other things, the very interesting Authentic Motion feature.

The Dolby Vision 2 and 2 Max support will be added via a post-launch software update (October is the current ETA), but don’t go thinking that 2026 OLEDs from other brands will follow suit: Dolby Vision 2 also needs to be baked into the hardware, and based on what we’ve been told so far, this hasn’t been done in the case of, for example, LG’s new models.

Excellent anti-reflection tech

Fighting reflections is a key theme in current TV development.

It’s probably fair to say that Samsung is best at it: its top OLEDs suppress reflections incredibly effectively.

But it does this by using a matte panel, and that tends to make blacks look quite grey in a well-lit room.

The new Meta 4.0 OLED panel from LG Display, though, suppresses more reflections than the previous version while still retaining the glossy finish that allows it to produce almost perfect blacks, even in strong ambient light.

According to official figures, the reflectance has been reduced from 0.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent. That doesn’t sound like a huge change, but in reality, it makes a clear difference.

We first saw this new anti-reflection tech in the G6, which massively impressed us with its combination of reflection suppression and deep blacks, and it looked equally excellent in the demo of the OLED951 against last year’s OLED950.

This is one of those things that really comes down to taste, with some people being perfectly happy with the matte look of the Samsung models. I personally prefer the glossy look, though, and the new panel in the LG G6 and Philips OLED951 strikes the best balance of anti-reflectivity and black performance that I’ve so far seen.

Dual Engine picture processing

Those already in the know about Philips’ 2026 TV lineup might be wondering why I’m getting all excited about the OLED951 rather than the OLED911.

After all, everything I’ve written so far also applies to the OLED911, and the OLED911 also has a Bowers & Wilkins sound system that, if form is to be believed, will make it one of, if not the, best-sounding TV in its class.

The reason is that the OLED951 has the Dual Engine version of Philips’ new 10th Gen P5 AI processor, whereas the OLED911 has the single-chip version. This unlocks some extra picture processing features that should further improve certain things, such as bright details and banding suppression.

The difference perhaps won’t be huge – we’ll need to fully test both models to find out – but as someone who subscribes to the ‘all TVs should be partnered with a dedicated sound system’ philosophy, I’ll always choose the potential for better picture quality over a better sound system.

You may feel differently, of course, and that’s fine. If that’s the case, I strongly recommend you read Lewis Empson’s Philips OLED911 hands-on.

That also looks like an excellent TV – but on paper (and from what I’ve seen of it so far), the OLED951 is the one that ticks every box for me.

MORE:

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Could Sony's True RGB be the RGB Mini LED tech to beat OLED?

We're almost a third of the way through 2026, and if there's one takeaway from the world of TVs, it's that maybe too much is happening.

I'm deeply immersed in the release schedules and latest technologies tied to the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL, and yet even I'm finding 2026 to be one of the most confusing years for TVs to date.

Part of that is a good thing, as we're getting lots of exciting innovations this year, which are sure to define generations of TVs to come, but they're ultimately meaningless if the messaging is unclear.

I've been catching up with the brands mentioned above since January, getting behind-the-scenes access to some of the more exciting TVs to launch this year. But, despite my extensive access to TV experts from said brands, I still have plenty of unanswered questions...

RGB Mini LED: mid-range marvel or premium panel tech?

The biggest TV news of 2026 is that practically every TV manufacturer is launching new backlit TVs with this state-of-the-art panel technology.

RGB Mini LED looks to be the successor to Quantum Dot Mini LED, as it strips away the QLED layer and swaps a white backlight for individual red, green and blue LEDs in the pursuit of greater colour accuracy and backlight control.

On paper, this sounds great, and we've even seen a few impressive sets, including the Hisense UR8 and TCL RM9L, in action. We've also just been treated to a demo of Sony's True RGB system.

The issue is that these companies can't decide where to position RGB Mini LED. And this lack of clarity on its place in the pecking order is already causing confusion.

Samsung and Hisense seem to be championing it as flagship technology, meaning it's reserved for premium models that sit alongside (or, in some cases, above) OLED TVs. Samsung's R95H appears to sit alongside the brand's S95H QD-OLED this year, which can only signify that the Korean AV giant sees it as a top-of-the-line technology.

Philips and LG, on the other hand, maintain that it sits below their respective OLEDs. Philips has been more open about this, as it claims "OLED is still the reference", and the company's mid-range MLED981 sits below even the entry-level OLED761.

So, which one is it? Is this new panel tech best suited to flagships? Or is it not capable of challenging even some of the most affordable OLEDs on the market?

Is OLED in trouble?

We were blindsided by two prominent OLED TV manufacturers, Sony and Panasonic, essentially selling off their TV businesses to Chinese firms, TCL and Skyworth. The latter is only handling Panasonic's European TV division.

Both Japanese giants are known for producing high-quality, and often fairly pricey, OLED TVs, but that may be about to change. While we can't speak entirely for Sony, we do know TCL's firm anti-OLED stance (specifically for TVs, the company uses OLED for mobile and automotive displays), so we don't have high hopes.

What we can presume is that Sony likely won't launch a premium OLED TV this year, as it now employs an unconventional release schedule, where each model is only refreshed every two or three years – or in the case of the A90K, possibly longer. The Bravia 8 II launched last year, so we expect this to stick around until 2027.

Speaking of not launching a new premium OLED, Panasonic confirmed that the Z95B will continue as its flagship offering in 2026. As it stands, the entry-level Z86C will be the only new OLED from the legendary Japanese AV company this year.

Pair that with the LG G6 being the first in the series to not score five stars (you can read our full LG G6 65-inch review here), things are already looking interesting for this year's What Hi-Fi? Awards judging process.

All we'll say is that it's a good job that the LG C6 is a simply superb OLED TV, as it might be among a modest cohort of new models this year.

Is Dolby Vision 2 really coming this year?

The final slightly baffling hot topic in the TV world is Dolby Vision 2. Now, I've seen it in action a couple of times, and I have to say that it looks superb, but there are so many unanswered questions.

Hisense and TCL were announced as launch partners at IFA 2026, and yet neither referenced it at their respective launch events in Europe last month. Furthermore, when questioned about it, Hisense confirmed that it should be coming to its 2026 TVs, but possibly not at launch. Instead, it'll likely be added via a software update down the line.

Philips, on the other hand, made no qualms about Dolby Vision 2 Max being supported on its 2026 OLEDs, including the OLED911. This feels more promising, especially when LG and Sony have remained especially tight-lipped about the new HDR format for quite some time.

There is, of course, the issue of Dolby Vision 2 content. To our knowledge, the only services that will support Dolby Vision 2 are Canal+ and NBC's Peacock service, neither of which really has the mainstream draw of Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.

It is, of course, early days, so we could see more services pick the format up, but the creation of Dolby Vision 2 content is still a mystery right now.

Looking to a buy a TV now? Here's my advice...

If you're in the market for a TV now, my honest advice would be to hold out until we gain a little more clarity.

The best TV that we've tested this year (so far) is the LG C6, and while it is brilliant, it's also expensive right now. We expect this price to drop steadily throughout the year, as the C5 and C4 did, so your patience should be rewarded.

We're also yet to review any of the new RGB Mini-LED models, so if you can wait until we make a judgment on these upcoming TVs, we'd recommend doing so. It's entirely possible that RGB Mini LED could surpass OLED in terms of picture performance, but we won't know until we try them ourselves.

And if you're confused by the state of the TV world in 2026, then don't worry – we live and breathe TVs here, and even we're feeling a bit overwhelmed.

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 65-inch review

The LG C series is a bit of a mess right now, and it's all the better for it

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

It's April and finally spring time, which in the UK means wildly inconsistent weather where you'll be met with rain and even snow for one half of the day, switching to blinding sunshine and warm temperatures without any warning. It certainly keeps us on our toes.

What remains consistent through it all is a steady of stream of hi-fi and home cinema products entering our test rooms, and we have a few highly-anticipated products to get started on this month.

This includes the first of Cambridge's new range of active wireless speaker systems; brand-new Onkyo hi-fi in many, many years; a sequel to Samsung's Award-winning Dolby Atmos system; and LG's flagship 4K OLED. We are also curious to find out how a high-end Optoma projector fares, and whether Acoustic Energy can repeat its sublime sonic success with a floorstanding model.

As ever, please do get in touch in the comments below or ping us an email at whathifi@futurenet.com if you have any questions about the products we're testing, and we'll do our best to get back to you with an answer. Enjoy the sunshine when it arrives!

Cambridge Audio L/R S

Cambridge Audio made a splash with the launch of its first-ever active wireless speaker systems earlier this year, and we have the smallest and cheapest of the trio – the L/R S (in the middle, above) – in for testing.

The active speakers feature Bluetooth aptX HD streaming, a USB-C input for easy desktop use, and 50 watts per channel of built-in amplification. Costing £399 / $549, these compact speakers are available in six finishes (including some colourful green and orange ones) and are in direct competition with the Award-winning Ruark MR1 Mk3. Exciting.

LG G6

Hot on the heels of the five-star C6, LG’s flagship 4K OLED is in our test room to establish whether it’s worth the extra outlay.

We’re expecting a more polished and refined version of the Primary RGB Tandem OLED performance of last year’s G5 – but will it deliver that? And will that be enough for the G6 to topple the Sony Bravia 8 II from the flagship OLED top spot? We can't wait to find out.

Onkyo Icon A-50

It has been many years since we had any Onkyo hi-fi in our test rooms, and the Icon A-50 streaming amplifier has plenty going on to make up for the wait. Combining 140 watts of Class A/B amplification with excellent network streaming features, the A-50 is a thoroughly modern hi-fi component that includes HDMI ARC connectivity, a moving magnet and moving coil phono stage, and is encased in a sleek, minimal design.

Will Onkyo's comeback to the world of hi-fi be a success? Let's find out.

Acoustic Energy AE309 Mk2

Acoustic Energy's AE300 Mk2 standmounters wowed us with their understated but incredibly accomplished performance for the price, nabbing a Product of the Year Award and earning a spot at the top of our best stereo speakers list.

Can this sonic goodness be replicated in a floorstanding model? We have the AE309 Mk2 towers in our test rooms, which feature the same cabinet construction and new drivers as their illustrious standmount sibling. At £1199, the AE floorstanders will be going up against the hugely enjoyable Fyne Audio F501E (another Award winner), and we're excited to hear how they fare.

Samsung HW-Q990H

The sequel to Samsung’s Award-winning Q990F Dolby Atmos soundbar system, the Q990H looks very similar to its predecessor, but it features enhanced processing for an apparently more immersive performance. As before, the new system includes a 'bar, a pair of wireless surround speakers and a subwoofer in the package.

We’ll be testing the new model directly against the old one to find out if the upgrades are worthwhile.

Optoma UHZ78LV

Priced at £6000, Optoma’s new flagship home cinema projector has rivals such as the Sony VPL-XW5000ES, Epson EH-QB1000 and BenQ W5850 in its sights. Its secret weapons? A massive claimed peak brightness of 5000 lumens and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (as well as standard HDR10).

That could make the UHZ78LV an excellent choice for mixed-use rooms as well as dedicated home cinemas – if the performance is up to scratch. We'll find out this month!

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April is usually when practically every TV manufacturer has officially unveiled its lineup of TVs for the year, and I've had the pleasure of seeing almost every new model in the flesh.

From new Primary RGB Tandem OLED flagships, to game-changing RGB Mini LED sets, and even affordable mid-range models (both Mini LED and OLED), the 2026 TV market is officially in full swing after a busy string of launches.

I started my year at CES, where Samsung and LG stole the spotlight with flagship OLED TVs, and from there I've attended hands-on events with Panasonic, Philips, Hisense and TCL to see each company's respective new TV ranges.

While we're still yet to hear from Sony about what it has up its sleeve (especially in the wake of its partnership with TCL), it's looking like a majority of the big players in the TV world have locked in their lineups.

I've selected the five that have caught my eye most at these events, and even included a bonus option which boasts some major improvements over its disappointing predecessor.

1. Philips OLED911

Kicking things off with Philips, the OLED911 is a sequel to one of my favourite TVs of 2025. The OLED910 offered up a picture experience that truly rivalled the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and there was no competition when it came to sound performance.

Its sequel, the OLED911, was unveiled at Philips' Unboxed Event in Berlin last month, and it stole the spotlight at the showcase.

It sports a second-generation Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel with an even higher claimed brightness figure than its predecessor and improved anti-reflective qualities to combat glare from ambient light.

Furthermore, it features a major upgrade for gamers: four HDMI 2.1 sockets (all of which support up to 4K/165Hz with VRR and ALLM), and it is also the first OLED TV in the world to support Dolby Vision 2 Max.

Rounding things off with the improved 81W Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which includes a slimmer rear-mounted subwoofer with four passive radiators, and dedicated left, right and centre channels, all of which feature dual 45mm midrange glass-fibre drivers alongside a 19mm titanium-dome tweeter.

This TV is feature-packed, and it comes in a slick new design as well, which makes it one of my top TVs to watch out for in 2026.

Read our Philips OLED911 hands on review

2. TCL C7L

While the pricey OLEDs are unquestionably the more eye-catching sets I've seen at these events, I've also been on the lookout for some of the more affordable options, which are guaranteed to shake up the mid-range TV market in 2026.

Case in point, the TCL C7L, which is a follow-up to the Award-winning C7K. Spotted at the company's Nxt Home launch in Paris last month, the C7L stood out thanks to its new Super Quantum Dot Mini LED (SQD-Mini LED) display, which promises more dimming zones, higher brightness figures, and better colour accuracy.

It's got big shoes to fill, but the TCL C7L promises to make some big picture upgrades over its five-star predecessor, which was enough to get me excited during my brief hands-on time with the new Mini LED set.

Read our TCL C7L hands on review

3. Samsung S99H/S95H

If we were giving out an Award for the luxurious TV of 2026, then Samsung's new S99H (S95H in the US) would have already won.

This new flagship OLED TV sports a brighter QD-OLED panel (Samsung claims there's a 700 nit upgrade in the TV's movie picture mode), and there have also been reported improvements to colour reproduction and banding visibility in lower-quality content.

Samsung has also made some changes to the One Connect system. The TV sports four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets housed within the main chassis. However, there is also an optional wireless One Connect box, which expands this to a whopping eight HDMI 2.1 sockets.

These upgrades sit inside a new, premium chassis that incorporates a Frame-style metal bezel, on which the QD-OLED panel sits to create a floating effect. I've seen this TV wall-mounted, and paired with the matte display finish, it really does look like a work of art.

I was treated to an early sighting of this TV at Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, and was there to see its official unveiling at CES 2026. Despite being severely jet-lagged in both instances, this TV was an absolute showstopper at both events.

Read our Samsung S95H hands on review

4. Hisense UR8

2026 is a big year for backlit TVs, as the next generation of Mini LED panel technology is here.

RGB Mini LED was introduced on a handful of 2025 TVs, namely a 115-inch Samsung model and a 116-inch Hisense. It should come as no surprise that these gargantuan TVs with their first-generation panel technology are wildly expensive.

Thankfully, that's all about to change in 2026. Hisense isn't the only company to welcome the new panel technology into its line up this year; however, it wants to be known as the RGB Mini LED brand, and the UR8 is just one of its new models.

With promises of high brightness figures and rich, pure colours, Hisense is really going all-in on the new panel technology, which hopes to succeed Quantum Dot Mini LED.

Interestingly, I've opted for the cheapest RGB Mini LED in the range, which I came face-to-face with in Munich, Germany, last month.

This is mostly because I, and many others, presumed that a new panel technology would equal huge introductory price tags, and yet Hisense claims that this step-down model – which comes in 55-, 65- and 75-inches – will hit the market at a "competitive" price.

Read our Hisense UR8 hands on review

5. Panasonic Z86C/Z85C

Speaking of step-down TVs, Panasonic has only announced one new OLED TV this year, and it's unfortunately not a successor to the excellent Z95B from 2025. Instead, Panasonic (which is now producing its European TVs in collaboration with Chinese AV brand Skyworth) unveiled the Z86C (Z85C in Europe) at its event (also in Munich) earlier this year.

This entry-level OLED TV sports LG Display's new OLED SE panel technology, which removes the polariser to cut back on costs. This will, of course, reduce the TV's ability to combat glare and reflections, but for dark-room viewing, the Z85C should be just fine.

With its 120Hz refresh rate, supported by two HDMI 2.1 sockets, the Z86C is also a solid choice for gamers. In my brief experience with the TV, I found that even at this entry-level point with a stripped-back panel, the contrast and black depths that OLED brings to the table were unquestionably great, even if this TV didn't quite rival its Award-winning Z90B counterpart.

Read our Panasonic Z86C hands on review

Bonus: Sony Bravia 3 II

I'm sneaking in this TV as a bonus option, and I'm even breaking my own rules here as it's not a TV I've seen in the flesh. It's no secret that the Sony Bravia 3, which I reviewed last year, was a bit disappointing, especially by Sony's usually excellent TV standards.

It ultimately came down to the hardware limitation; the Bravia 3 featured a 60Hz direct-lit LED panel with no QLED layer, which made it feel quite expensive, especially considering it outpriced the Award-winning TCL C7K (which featured a 120Hz QD-Mini LED display).

I have to give credit where credit is due though; Sony has come back with a MKII refresh which directly addresses my gaming-focused concerns, and it even brings something new to the table for Sony TVs.

While we don't get Mini LED or even QLED here, it does now feature a 120Hz panel and four, yes four, HDMI 2.1 sockets to support gaming features.

Better yet, the Bravia 3 II now comes with Sony's XR processor, which has worked wonders in its more expensive TVs, especially when it comes to enhancing the sharpness and solidity of the image.

While I feel as though Sony could (and probably should) have crammed in another upgrade or two, these are certainly steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, this TV isn't currently slated to come to the UK yet, meaning we'll have to wait to see if this TV is an improvement over its predecessor.

Find out more about the Sony Bravia 3 II here

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Samsung’s old dominance of the budget TV market has been severely challenged in recent years, most notably by the likes of Hisense and, especially, TCL.

Can the 65-inch U8000F do enough within its measly price to make the Korean brand the king of TV value once more?

Price

In the UK and US, at least, being able to bag a 65-inch Samsung U8000F for £469 / $430 really does look like a potentially huge bargain.

It’s perhaps not quite such an eye-catching deal in Australia, but when all is said and done, even AU$1299 hardly looks excessive for a 65-inch TV with the usually dependable Samsung name attached.

There are, as we’ll come to later, plenty of reasons why this TV is so affordable. These reasons don’t, though, include anything that might automatically disqualify it from being a potentially good performer for its money.

Not surprisingly, in today’s TV world, the strongest competition for the U8000F comes from TCL – in particular from the C7K and C6KS models, the 65-inch versions of which cost in the UK £829 and £479 respectively. The latter model actually adds local dimming and Mini LED lighting to the equation, despite costing more or less the same as the Samsung U8000F.

Design

The 65-inch U8000F is predictably built predominantly from fairly lightweight plastic. This makes it easy to move around, though, and actually, its bodywork still feels decently rigid and robust. That’s helped, perhaps, by the use of some attractively integrated ribbing in parts of the rear panel.

It’s fairly chunky around the back by today’s TV standards, making it a slightly awkward-looking wall hanging option – but you don’t notice its depth so much when it’s mounted on its pair of included feet.

These feet handily just slot and lock into holes on the screen’s underside, without the need for any screws. They’re positioned quite wide apart, however, meaning you’ll need a fairly wide TV stand to accommodate the TV.

The U8000F’s bezel tastefully sits more or less flush with the screen it holds, and is narrow enough when viewed head-on to prevent you from spotting the bodywork’s fundamentally plasticky nature.

The TV ships with two remote controls. One is an old-school looking chunky affair with a full button count, while the other is a much sleeker number with a nice polished finish and much reduced button count. It doesn’t carry a solar panel like the ‘smart’ remotes you get with Samsung’s premium TVs, but it’s comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Features

The panel at the 65-inch U8000F’s heart is understandably fairly basic by Samsung LCD standards. It’s lit by big ol’ regular-sized LEDs rather than Mini LEDs, and its backlighting doesn’t benefit from any sort of true local dimming system. It’s only a native 60Hz panel, too, which may limit its appeal to gamers with 120Hz (or more) consoles or PCs.

Most surprisingly of all, it doesn’t get a colour system built around Quantum Dots. Instead, as with all of Samsung’s U series TVs of the past few years, it gets something called PurColour, backed up by a Crystal 4K processor that’s a good few notches down in power and sophistication from Samsung’s Neo QLED processors.

If this PurColour system can still map colours accurately and subtly, though, it could still be enough to help the U8000F stand out from the budget TV crowd.

The TV supports high dynamic range video, including in the premium HDR10+ format. There’s no Dolby Vision, though; it seems like hell will need to freeze entirely over before Samsung joins most other TV brands in bringing Dolby Vision to its TVs.

The U8000F’s smart features and interface are provided by Samsung’s home-grown Tizen OS. This would normally be fine; Tizen now carries basically every streaming and catch-up TV service almost anyone could want, bar Freeview Play and Freely. You can operate the TV and find content by talking to it, too, via Samsung’s Bixby system or an external Alexa device. It maintains a dedicated Game Hub screen from which you can access streamed gaming apps or any game consoles or PCs you have connected.

Unfortunately, though, the 65-inch U8000F struggles with the demands of the latest Tizen system, typically running very sluggishly when it comes to opening menus, and booting up apps and streaming services.

While the U8000F’s lack of 120Hz support for gaming is unfortunate (if hardly surprising for such a cheap TV), it does have a few other gaming tricks up its sleeve. These include ALLM switching, VRR support and the HGiG system, whereby the TV essentially passes HDR output control to your Xbox or PlayStation console.

The set also takes just 9.7ms to render graphics when running in its Game mode – one of the lowest such figures we’ve measured.

Picture settings, meanwhile, include a Filmmaker Mode, raising hopes of an easily accessible route to accurate picture quality for AV enthusiasts, as well as Samsung’s suite of Picture Clarity tools for making pictures look cleaner and sharper. The Picture Clarity options here, though, do not include a blur reduction system as you get with more premium Samsung TVs; there are only noise reduction and judder reduction components to play with.

The U8000F’s sound is delivered by a fairly basic 2 x 10W sound system, bolstered by Samsung’s Q Symphony and OTS Lite features. Q Symphony lets the TV’s speakers join forces with those in Samsung soundbars, while OTS Lite uses nifty audio processing to try to make specific sounds appear to be coming from the correct part of the screen.

Connections on the U8000F, finally, comprise a trio of HDMI ports, a single USB-A port, an Ethernet port, the RF jack, a CI slot and, of course, wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless options.

Picture

The U8000F is very much a tale of two picture settings, looking very respectable for its money in its Standard mode, but struggling to meet the demands of AV enthusiasts with its Filmmaker Mode.

Starting with the good news, the Standard mode’s pictures immediately look surprisingly bright by budget TV standards. There’s a very clear step up in brightness between SDR and HDR content, as well as a mild expansion in the HDR image’s colour range. Enough in both cases to make HDR look convincing and surprisingly natural – helped by the presence of a surprisingly effective dynamic tone mapping system (a feature that’s by no means a given at the sort of price level the U8000F is operating at).

The TV’s brightness in Standard mode sits alongside some quite respectable black tones for such an affordable TV. This makes dark scenes comfortable to watch, and creates a degree of contrast that again helps to sell the idea that this is a more HDR-friendly TV than most of its similarly priced rivals.

We should stress that we’re not talking about depths of black in dark scenes of the sort you’d get with an OLED or premium LCD TV – there’s always a hint of grey to remind you that you’re watching a fairly affordable LCD screen – but the impact of this is mild by cheap TV standards.

Dark scenes contain plenty of shadow detail on the U8000F, too, avoiding that flat, hollow look so commonly encountered with budget TVs. Especially budget TVs that are as focused on producing a convincing black tone as this Samsung model seems to be.

The U8000F’s pictures are also sharp enough to look definitively 4K – and thanks to some crisp upscaling, this feels pleasingly true with HD sources as well as native 4K.

The sharpness does dip, though, due to some resolution loss over moving objects that none of the available Picture Clarity settings can completely fix (though choosing a Custom setting with Judder Reduction set to level four or five can at least reduce the impact of the screen’s quite strong native judder with 24fps sources).

There are a couple more Standard mode niggles to report as well. First, very bright picture areas can clip a little, meaning they lose subtle shading information and end up looking so stark that they draw too much attention to themselves (though this reduces with Dynamic Tone Mapping active). Second, colours in relatively dark scenes can ‘clump’ a little, so that very detailed areas such as grass or leaves become a bit rough and ill-defined.

You can also sometimes notice a slightly distracting lag between the backlight system dimming and brightening during scenes that feature abrupt cuts between dark and light shots, and finally, there’s a narrow stripe of light leakage running down the left and right sides of the picture – though this is only generally visible in the black bars above and below 21:9 and similar-ratio films. It’s typically too faint to appear where there’s any sort of picture information other than pure blackness on the screen.

While it’s good to find a very affordable TV that is ambitious enough to carry a Filmmaker Mode, unfortunately, that mode isn’t much fun to watch on the U8000F.

Clipping, for instance, becomes quite extreme without any Dynamic Tone Mapping in play, while motion looks both juddery and soft.

Colours feel flatter in Filmmaker Mode, too, and the image generally lacks impact. Perhaps the biggest issue with Filmmaker Mode, though, is that for some reason, perhaps due to its reduced brightness and contrast, dark scenes suddenly reveal multiple areas of backlight clouding at various points across the screen. You can reduce the impact of this if you watch in a little ambient light, but it’s a shame this feels necessary.

Dark scenes look generally a little greyer in Filmmaker Mode, too, and this greyness can also sometimes take on a slightly green or blue tint.

Not everything about the Filmmaker Mode is a bust. Colours look slightly more even-handed and nuanced, which contributes in particular to a touch less colour clumping in densely textured areas. Shadow detail is still strong, too, despite the extra clouding. Ultimately, though, the Filmmaker Mode’s slightly more nuanced feel in some areas isn’t enough to make it the sort of instant cinematic hit that movie fans might have hoped for.

There’s one more issue to mention, too, that actually affects all of the U8000F’s picture settings: viewing angles. View the TV from really any sort of angle, and the VA panel design causes contrast to take a substantial hit, with parts of the picture that should be black taking on a vivid blue-grey tone. Basically, if your room layout requires lots of people to routinely watch this TV from the side, it’s probably not the TV for you.

Sound

The first thing to say here is that we recommend pretty much always turning the U8000F’s Amplify sound mode on. Without it, the sound tends to feel small and trapped inside the TV.

Even with Amplify mode on, the U8000F’s sound doesn’t exactly shake your foundations. There isn’t much bass depth or presence, and volume levels, even set to maximum, are hardly going to burst your eardrums.

While we might have wished for the U8000F’s sound to give us a bit more, though, what it does give us is actually quite clean and engaging – at least to the extent that the TV seems to understand its speakers’ limitations.

So, bass, while not heavy, seldom distorts or crackles. Treble, while not particularly extended, doesn’t tend to sound harsh or forced. Voices are quite well-rounded and contextualised, and surprisingly, given there are only two speakers in play, the OTS Lite system places voices and spot effects decently accurately in the right place on the screen.

This all makes the sound quite clean and therefore immersive by budget TV standards, making it surprisingly easy to live with.

Verdict

The 65-inch Samsung U8000F is overall a solid TV for its money. It’s up against some stiff and only slightly more expensive competition, and it’s certainly not without its limitations, but provided you aren’t a die-hard cinephile desperately on the hunt for a good Filmmaker Mode, the U8000F’s Standard picture setting actually serves up a cleaner, more balanced, more punchy and above all more consistent performance than most rivals in its class.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 4

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The proposed Sony and TCL joint partnership has taken another step forward today, with the new entity to be called 'Bravia Inc'.

This new name has been revealed as part of an announcement that the TCL/Sony takeover of Sony's Home Entertainment business has moved from the "memorandum of understanding" phase announced in January, to a "legally binding definitive agreements" phase.

I don't know about you, but I think 'Bravia Inc' is a pretty cool name, and it also suggests to me a Sony-first focus that I find encouraging.

And there are other details to be encouraged by if you're concerned about the future of Sony TVs and home cinema.

For starters, while we know that TCL will have 51 per cent control of the new company, whereas Sony will have 49 per cent, Bravia Inc will be headquartered in Sony's Tokyo HQ, and its CEO will be Sony's Kazuo Kii.

And, according to a Sony representative, "the two companies will be considered nearly equal partners".

Yes, I do worry about the "nearly" in that quote, but I think the new company being based at Sony and being led by a long-term Sony staffer are positive signs.

I don't want it to seem as though I don't have respect for TCL's involvement here, by the way, because the Chinese brand of course has a lot to offer, but it's the future of the Japanese legend that I'm most concerned for – and I know many readers feel the same.

As I wrote previously, this merger has the potential to be a good thing for both Sony and TCL, if the qualities of each are leveraged in the correct way.

And, indeed, that does appear to be the plan, with the Sony representative explaining that Bravia Inc will marry "Sony’s high-quality picture and sound technology, premium brand value, and operational expertise, alongside TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale, manufacturing footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertically integrated supply-chain capabilities."

This is what most of us want: Sony's peerless processing and premium products, boosted by TCL's scale and bleeding-edge hardware.

That quote, though, has given me pause for thought: where does OLED factor into all of this?

TCL, famously, cares not for OLED. Its focus is very much on advanced LED backlighting. More zones, more brightness and, as of 2026, so-called 'Super QLED' tech.

The prospect of Sony getting access to this panel technology at the developmental stage and weaving its magic to produce future flagship backlit TVs is naturally tantalising, but will there also be OLEDs in the range? I'm beginning to doubt it.

The beauty of this partnership from a business perspective is presumably that Sony will have first and super-cost-effective dibs on TCL's panel hardware. Does it also want to be buying notoriously expensive OLED panels from LG Display and/or Samsung Display? I don't think so.

Would the TCL (slightly more than) half of Bravia Inc even allow such a thing? Again, I'm not sure.

There is the possibility that TCL will eventually leverage its new inkjet OLED factory for the production of televisions, but that's far from a sure thing, and there's a question mark over how well-suited inkjet OLED panels are for use in TVs anyway.

All of which has got me wondering: could the Bravia 8 II, Bravia 8 and A90K turn out to be Sony's last OLED TVs?

We may not know for a while yet – Bravia Inc isn't expected to start its operations until April 2027 – but I certainly hope not.

In my eyes, OLED is still the best TV technology, and Sony leaving it behind would be a great shame.

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Read our Sony Bravia 8 II review and Sony Bravia 9 review

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Now this one is a bit bonkers, really.

A full Dolby Atmos home cinema with, practically, a 100-inch screen for three grand? If you had asked me for an estimate on the overall cost of that lot a decade or so ago, I would have had to double that price. At least.

And ease of use? Forget it. This was the realm of the full home cinema projector (with a decent screen) and a good multichannel amplifier with a full surround sound speaker system to go with it – and hours of painstaking set-up to go with it.

Not with this system. Just three components (one of which is really only a bonus) that are a doddle to set up together are all you need for a stunning, cutting-edge home cinema.

The system

• TV: TCL 98C7K (£1999)
• Sound system: Samsung HW-Q990F (£849)
• Console: Sony PlayStation 5 (£400)
• Total system price: £3248

The TV

TCL seems intent on finishing off the projector business – in the home at least – as quickly as possible.

To get this screen acreage on a TV for less than £2000 was complete science fiction a few short years ago. To get it today, and for it to have the performance capabilities it does, is astonishing.

Yet here we are. How TCL has managed to deliver so much TV for so little money is, frankly, beyond us.

The 98C7K is an all-out assault on the super-sized screen market. And it achieves the seemingly impossible: a 98-inch 4K Mini LED TV for a price that would make many 65-inch sets blush.

The raw cinematic impact of a 98-inch picture never grows old, but this TV is far more than just sheer acreage. It is built on a foundation of spectacular picture quality, driven by its Mini LED backlight and Quantum Dot colour system.

TCL claims a mighty 3000 nits of peak brightness, which, when married to more than 2000 separately controlled local dimming zones, results in a picture that is dazzlingly bright and contrast-rich.

Small HDR highlights, such as the glint of metal or the gleam in an eye, look bold and lifelike, while bright daylight scenes maintain much more brilliance than even the best OLEDs can muster up.

TCL’s new ‘Halo Control’ technology is the ace up its sleeve. This impressive tech focuses on greatly reducing the unwanted light halos that can plague local-dimming LCD sets.

While subtle, deliberate clouding is occasionally introduced to disguise potential blooming, the overall result is a beautifully handled performance with contrast, with deep, convincing, neutral black tones and a vibrant, subtle colour palette.

The picture also feels sharper and denser than previous models, holding up nicely even with motion, and the set supports every major HDR format: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision.

The console

Crucially, for the modern living room, the 98-inch C7K is a superb gaming hub.

It supports 4K/144Hz, VRR (including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), and ALLM, with an input lag of just 13.1ms at 60Hz.

It’s an enormous, responsive window into your gaming worlds – which is why we suggest you include a PS5 in this set-up, and connect it to one of the TV’s two full HDMI 2.1-capable ports.

Gaming on this scale needs to be experienced to be believed, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of the TCL’s talents in this area.

Besides, you can also use the PS5 as a Blu-ray player while you’re saving up for a dedicated machine for your amazing new home cinema.

The sound system

While the enormous telly boasts (or tries to boast, at least) a 6.2.2-channel sound system, designed in conjunction with Bang & Olufsen no less, our usual advice with a big-screen TV holds true, even with one as big as this: invest in decent sound to make the most of your lovely big picture.

And with Samsung’s Award-winning HW-Q990F soundbar system currently available in UK shops for vastly less than the £1699 price at which we believed it worthy of not only five stars, but also a Product of the Year gong for 2025 – our choice of sound booster was clear.

The HW-Q990F is last year's iteration of Samsung’s exemplary all-in-one solution. And it has taken an already spectacular package and turned it into an exemplary one.

The Q990F is an 11.1.4 system, boasting 23 drivers across the main bar, the wireless rear surrounds, and the sub. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and it sounds terrific.

Dialogue sounds excellent, with natural and detailed voices that carry plenty of subtle inflexion.

This carries forth to sound effects, and, as we say in our review: “We have to commend the Q990F’s delivery of Dolby Atmos effects. The ‘bubble of sound’ that we look for in any Dolby Atmos system is well and truly present here, and it’s not just the impressively placed height effects that we like. It's the way that the soundbar and surrounds are so tonally well matched, while the audio processing ensures that sounds move organically between the channels, that truly seals the deal for us.”

The real star of the show is that new subwoofer. Samsung has swapped from a tall, narrow unit to a much more compact, rounded-cube design. Don't be fooled by its smaller dimensions compared with the sub that comes with the Q990D; this one packs an almighty punch.

We find the Q990F’s bass to be rich, powerful, and, most importantly, controlled and dynamic. It’s a huge step up from the previous model. There is a newfound sense of tonal variation in the low-end, making the bass feel more organic and seamlessly integrated into the system as a whole.

The TCL 98C7K and the Samsung HW-Q990F work so well together. The TV’s only real weakness – the inevitable shortfall in sonic ability – is surgically corrected by the soundbar’s greatest strength: its class-leading, controlled, and deeply textured low-end from the new subwoofer.

The verdict

The TCL 98C7K delivers a picture that is utterly dominant and absorbing, with intense brightness and deep contrast, and it does a great job of replicating the look of a premium, high-end cinema display.

The Samsung HW-Q990F soundbar system then adds the scale and immersion to the sound that the picture deserves. The 11.1.4 system’s superb delivery of Dolby Atmos effects – the precise placement of height effects, the organic movement of sound – wraps the enormous visual in a convincing, three-dimensional audio landscape.

You get a full 98 inches of bright, sharp, detailed, and colourful 4K images, backed by a dynamic, cohesive, and deeply immersive surround sound performance – all without the hassle and cost of a separate AVR and countless passive speakers.

Now that, for us, is the definition of a fuss-free cinema. Just make sure your room is big enough for that telly…

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Read the full TCL 98C7K review and Samsung HW-Q990F review

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Original Story 13/03/2026: LG has announced that its 2026 TV lineup and a handful of its 2025 TVs are receiving an audio-focused upgrade.

The latest 3D audio format to hit the AV scene, Eclipsa Audio, has already made its way to various Samsung models (we'll explore this more later), and the technology is now supported, alongside Dolby Atmos, on LG's 2026 TVs, including the C6, G6 and W6.

That’s a wide range of LG TVs, from the OLED lineup to its new RGB Mini LED models. Playback will be supported via both the TV’s built-in speakers and HDMI eARC audio devices, such as soundbars.

The Korean AV giant has also confirmed, via FlatpanelsHD, that a software update is coming to certain of its 2025 TVs as well. It looks as though the G5, C5, C5S and QNED9M will be among the models to receive this update.

Also known as Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF), the 3D audio platform was developed as an open-source alternative to Dolby Atmos.

It is, however, currently not supported on any of the services that provide Dolby Atmos – Netflix, Disney+ or Apple TV – as it is being aimed at content creators on YouTube, allowing them to add immersive audio to their videos.

More interestingly, perhaps, Eclipsa Audio was developed by LG's arch rival Samsung, with Google. Seeing LG apply a feature derived from its biggest rival is a surprising turn of events. Could HDR10+ be next?

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 review

As well as our LG G6 hands-on review

And check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

TCL has had a great run of TVs lately, but now the division has suffered a blow. It's been banned from marketing certain models as 'QLED' following a court case with Samsung in Germany, Korea Times reports.

The court ruled that the models in question (including the TCL QLED870 series) do not deliver the kind of colour reproduction expected from quantum dot LED (aka QLED) TVs.

TCL has disputed the claim.

The District Court of Munich I ruled that, in marketing the TVs as 'QLED', TCL's German subsidiary violated the country's unfair competition law.

According to the court, the quantum dot diffusion plates used by TCL didn't improve the colour reproduction as expected. Hence calling the TVs 'QLED' constituted a deceptive trading practice.

QLED TVs work by using a blue light as the backlight. Between this and the panel a quantum dot film is applied to enhance colour reproduction. This results in more precise colours that are more accurately placed within the picture.

TCL claims its TVs do qualify as QLED as it has applied quantum dot particles on diffusion plates.

Following the ruling, TCL can no longer market or sell these TVs, or others using the same technology, as QLED models. The court's ruling is only binding in Germany, but Samsung has launched similar lawsuits in other countries, including the US. So chances are this won't be the end of it.

We would also expect TCL to appeal.

We've contacted both TCL and Samsung for comment, and will update this story if we hear back.

TCL was previously accused of falsely claiming its TVs had QLED status by Hansol Chemical, a Korean manufacturer of materials needed for quantum dot displays. Hansol filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission in 2024.

Whatever the merits of the case, TCL's 'QLED' TVs have reviewed very well of late. The C7K and C6KS even won What Hi-Fi? Awards last year. Expect to hear more about this case going forward.

MORE:

Should you buy a TCL TV? Everything you need to know

And the best Samsung TVs around

The best TVs full stop

Philips and Samsung are both veterans of the TV industry, mass-producing quality sets before the first issue of What Hi-Fi? went on sale half a century ago.

The TV industry and the two brands are very different now, but both still know how to put together a tasty-looking flagship.

These aren’t just any flagships, though; what we have battling it out before us are the Philips OLED910 and Samsung S95F, two stunning OLEDs and contenders for the best TV of the last year.

So which of these five-star sets is the better buy? We’ll break down the arguments below…

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Price

The Samsung S95F launched first, with the 65-inch model retailing for £3399 / $3300 / AU$5299.

However, prices have dropped in recent months, with a standout January deal bringing the 65-inch S95F down to £1799 / $2430 / AU$3424. Typically, though, the S95F is available for around £2099.

The 65-inch Philips OLED910, however, launched at a very aggressive (at the time) price of £2199 (Philips OLEDs are not available in the US or Australia at all).

Similarly, a standout January deal dropped the OLED910 to £1699; it currently sits at around £1999.

Even though the gap has narrowed, the OLED910 has reached a deeper low and has consistently undercut the Samsung, making it the more budget-friendly choice over time.

**Winner: Philips OLED910**

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Design

This really is a fashion face-off, as we have two of the most stylish TVs among the OLED flagships.

Neither has changed much from its predecessor, which is no bad thing – the OLED910 evokes the sculpted OLED909, with a grey Kvadrat fabric wrapped around the slim speaker bar and dainty, ice-skate-like feet.

The biggest design draw of the OLED910 design is, of course, Philips’s Ambilight technology. This consists of coloured LEDs along the back of each side of the TV, that create a full, seamless lightshow that dynamically matches the on-screen action.

Ambilight instills a bit of a marmite reaction among home cinema aficionados, but we think it can be stunning with the right bright, colourful content such as the Spider-Verse movies.

The Samsung S95F, on the other hand, boasts a uniform 1.1cm thickness and a premium metal shell.

This is partly achieved through Samsung’s One Connect Box, which houses all the processing, connections, and power in a separate box that then connects to the TV via a single cable. As well as enabling the S95F’s astounding thinness, it also serves as a tidy, discreet cable manager.

In contrast to the OLED910’s dainty feet, the S95F comes with a premium, and heavy, pedestal stand. It gives the TV a very solid base while also being low-profile enough to accommodate a typical soundbar.

If you’re a big Ambilight fan, this might be enough to swing things in the Philips’s favour, but for sheer attractiveness and all-around appeal, we’re going to give this to Samsung.

**Winner: Samsung S95F**

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Features

Starting with the all-important panels, Samsung, of course, uses its QD-OLED offering. The fourth generation of the technology claims to allow the TV to go 30 per cent brighter than its S95D predecessor, with a peak brightness of around 2000 nits.

Philips, as a user of LG’s panels, has made the move from MLA OLED to Primary RGB Tandem OLED. Brightness is the big beneficiary of this switch, with Philips claiming that the OLED910 can hit a peak brightness of 3700 nits.

Honestly, though, it’s best to more or less ignore claims such as these; each brand measures in different ways, so they are rarely like for like figures, and the settings required to get the brightest images never create a picture that is actually pleasant to watch.

All you really need to know here is that these are two of the brightest OLED TVs currently available, and the Philips could potentially be the brighter of the two.

Samsung has also upgraded its anti-glare coating, which is more effective at suppressing reflections than that of glossy panels such as the Philips OLED910. The matte screen does result in some raised blacks when viewed in a bright room, but this is not an issue if you take your viewing seriously enough to dim your lights.

Samsung’s panel also has a higher refresh rate of 165Hz, and 4K/165Hz gaming is supported via all four HDMI 2.1 sockets. The OLED910 maxes out at 4K/144Hz and has only two HDMI 2.1 sockets, with the other two being limited to 4K/60Hz.

Those with lots of gaming hardware may lean towards the S95F then; but do bear in mind that the PS5 and Xbox Series X can output at a maximum of 4K/120Hz, so only PC gamers with very powerful machines will have any use for refresh rates beyond that.

Both TVs support VRR and ALLM.

These are modern flagship TVs, so it’s no surprise that both the sets feature a raft of AI-powered picture-performance features. A highlight of the S95F is AI Upscaling Pro, one of our favourite features of the QN900D 8K TV, which can sharpen finer details and remove visual imperfections. The Philips OLED910, on the other hand, can classify on-screen content and adapt the picture quality to best suit what you are watching; it also includes algorithms to enhance sharpness, colour vibrancy and contrast.

Philips comes out on top in terms of HDR commitment, with support for all four HDR formats: HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. Unsurprisingly, the S95F lacks Dolby Vision, as Samsung continues to push its own HDR10+ format.

Both TVs support Dolby Atmos. The Samsung boasts a 70W, 4.2.2-channel speaker system with Samsung's proprietary OTS+ technology; Philips, on the other hand, has partnered with Bowers & Wilkins for an 81W, 3.1-channel system.

We’ll factor the panel technology into the picture round as it is ultimately the performance that matters. That leaves the two TVs fairly evenly matched – the Samsung has the gaming advantage, while Philips boasts all-encompassing HDR support.

**Winner: Draw**

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Picture

Both TVs, as expected, make a relatively poor impression in their default settings. Switching to Filmmaker Mode largely fixes the issues for the Samsung S95F; the Philips OLED910, however, requires a bit more work, as several of the ‘Ambient Intelligence’ settings are left on.

Once settings are properly dialled in, however, it’s remarkable how close both these TVs get to the Sony Bravia 8 II, our Product of the Year and current benchmark.

The Samsung S95F is arguably even more impressive than the Bravia 8 II when it comes to bright content, such as Kingpin’s dimension-melding machine in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is gloriously vivid and dazzling in the best possible way.

The Philips might not have the same pop, but it does offer superb vibrancy and punch that go hand in hand with naturalism and authenticity. As long as you stay in Filmmaker mode, the brightness isn’t forced.

With more grounded content, both TVs suffer from a smidge of over-exaggeration, particularly with skin tones, which can look a little too red. However, this is a minor issue you are unlikely to notice on either TV when watching in isolation. It is certainly present, however, when viewed side by side with the more balanced and super-accurate Bravia 8 II.

This is not to detract from the overall delivery on both – every 4K and HDR movie we throw at each TV is displayed with stunning sharpness and detail.

The S95F’s QD-OLED panel delivers consistent colours from the darkest to the brightest parts of the image, while the OLED910’s Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel is slightly less vibrant and consistent at the extremes.

However, it’s the OLED910 that comes closest to the Bravia 8 II, which is really exceptional given the lower price.

Motion on the OLED910 is genuinely excellent, with a firm grip on people’s movements and a satisfying lack of judder even in tricky panning shots. All of which is achieved without the dreaded soap-opera effect, meaning the OLED910 has a rare Goldilocks motion setting.

The S95F, in comparison, has no such Goldilocks setting – the small amount of judder present by default can’t be removed without at least a whiff of the soap-opera effect.

The OLED910 handles dark scenes exceptionally well, offering OLED’s trademark perfect blacks and excellent shadow detail, with skin tones that aren’t too washed out.

This is where the S95F has a noticeable picture quality flaw: black crush. It’s not a huge flaw by any means, but some of the subtlety in dark scenes is lost. Changing the Shadow Detail settings results in unintended side effects that outweigh the benefits.

The OLED910 has some flaws of its own, though, including imperfect blacks in Dolby Vision performance and over-brightened SDR content in every single picture preset. To be clear, SDR content still looks excellent, but we would prefer a mode that tracks intended brightness accurately – which is what the Samsung does in its Filmmaker Mode.

Overall, though, it’s the OLED910 that comes out on top. It offers a solidity and vivaciousness that few TVs can match, and is an excellent picture performer overall, only a few whiskers off our benchmark.

**Winner: Philips OLED910**

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Sound

When it comes to sound, there’s a clear winner here.

We’ll start with the S95F, which sounds impressive for such a thin TV with a speaker system completely hidden from view.

To quote from our Samsung S95F review: “There’s significantly more bass than one would expect, a generally balanced tonal range, clear dialogue, and a soundstage that extends fairly effectively beyond the TV's side and top edges.”

However, the S95F is rather quiet, and cranking up the volume results in a buzz from several of the speakers. The louder the set goes, the more the speakers crackle, whether it's the explosive part of a movie or the less challenging parts.

There is nothing in the settings that fixes this, and indeed, several of the other sound modes and features have problems of their own.

The Philips set, on the other hand, benefits greatly from the brand’s collaboration with Bowers & Wilkins.

As our Philips OLED910 review reads: “With every Dolby Atmos movie we throw at it, the TV produces a sound with lots of width, good effect placement, very good detail, impressive weight (for a TV) and lovely tonal balance.”

There’s particularly good spatial and tonal organisation, while dynamics are impressive too, with voices having lots of realism and bigger volume changes handled very adeptly.

Other than a little softness in the bass, there’s nothing to complain about with the OLED910’s audio delivery. It sounds even better than our current benchmark, the Sony Bravia 8 II, and you would have to be looking at a soundbar as good as the Sonos Arc Ultra for any significant sonic upgrade.

For this reason, the Philips OLED910 comfortably takes the win for sound quality.

**Winner: Philips OLED910**

Philips OLED910 vs Samsung S95F: Verdict

As two OLED flagships and five-star stunners, this was always going to be a close call.

The Samsung S95F still reigns supreme as the best-looking of the 2025 flagship OLEDs, and has an awful lot going for it, including four HDMI 2.1 sockets and a faster refresh rate.

But the Philips OLED910 pips it in both picture quality and sound, while costing a decent amount less too. If you’re a fan of Ambilight too, then the pendulum swings strongly in favour of the OLED910.

Neither TV is a bad purchase, and it must be said that the Samsung S95F delivers bright content with a vivid, dazzling pop, and does so with less fiddling of the settings. The audio also delivers more bass than the OLED910, and is balanced and clear enough for everyday use.

The OLED910, however, is the closest TV to our current benchmark, the Sony Bravia 8 II, in terms of picture quality. It’s vibrant and punchy in a more natural, authentic way than the S95F, and excels in dark scenes, where the S95F suffers from black crush. The built-in audio is also among the best on the market right now, with none of the distortion issues of the S95F and a sonic performance that would need a good soundbar to comfortably top.

Gamers and aesthetics-focused buyers may well want to go for the S95F, but the Philips OLED910 is our multifaceted, all-around pick.

**Winner: Philips OLED910**

Looking for a home cinema sound solution? You’ll find two paths branching before you: one leads to an AVR and surround sound speaker package, the other to a Dolby Atmos soundbar.

You might think that these devices could live in harmony, but we often see people claiming soundbars to be inferior and incapable of delivering cinematic sound that even remotely rivals that of the best AVRs.

While there is a modicum of truth to that – we have tested hundreds of soundbars, AVRs and surround sound speaker packages in total and find that a true surround sound system will almost always beat the soundbar experience – there is actually plenty of nuance to the matter.

Convenience is the main draw of a soundbar – and the reason I use one myself. Not everyone, especially those in pokey city flats or shared houses, has the space to deploy a full 5.1.2 (or greater) system; and attempting to route cables around a rented property is a concept that sends a shiver down my spine.

There is also the financial aspect: when it comes to budget considerations, a Sonos Arc Ultra for £899 is a far more appealing all-in-one Dolby Atmos solution compared with an AVR and 5.1.2 speaker package, which can cost upwards of £2000.

Put simply, soundbars have their place in this world, and we are fans of them regardless of whether or not they are deemed to be “true home cinema” audio solutions.

But that doesn't mean there isn’t room for improvement.

Relatively speaking, soundbars are much newer than AV amplifiers. Yamaha introduced the first soundbar, the YSP-1, back in 2004, while Denon is credited with introducing the world's first AV amplifier back in 1985 with the AVC-500. That's a 19-year difference, and as we know, a lot can happen in the world of AV in almost two decades.

With that in mind, I feel soundbars could learn a thing or two from their elders, and that sentiment is felt with the current crop of soundbars and AVRs on the market.

Don't be stingy with the HDMI ports…

While soundbars have been improving in this regard in recent years, we are still seeing some models launch without the most important connectivity options. HDMI passthrough – which (I have recently lamented) Sonos and LG have not included in their latest soundbars – is a feature I think every soundbar should include.

AVRs have, understandably, featured an abundance of HDMI sockets for connecting Blu-ray players, streamers, games consoles and more to your TV or projector for quite some time. As such, AVRs have become the beating heart of many home cinema setups, acting as the central interface which manages connected devices and home cinema sound alike.

We have to give the likes of Samsung, JBL and Sony kudos for including full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets on their flagship soundbars; and Sennheiser and Harman Kardon also earn my favour by including HDMI sockets on their ’bars, even if they tend to be of the 2.0 standard and therefore don't support quite as many gaming features.

If a soundbar is going to take up a precious HDMI 2.1 socket – many TVs only have two of these, by the way – then it's only fair that it should give something back.

Fewer apps, more on-screen setups…

I have lost count of how many soundbar apps are currently clogging up my iPhone's storage – and I would rather drop the majority of them. While this isn't a blanket issue, I have tested many soundbars which have less-than-ideally optimised apps, and connectivity is usually the first hurdle to overcome.

I’ve had soundbar apps flat-out refuse to connect to their respective soundbar, and that has locked a handful of crucial features, including calibration, access to sound modes and input selection, leaving them to be handled via a remote control handset or on-device buttons and interpreted by either a dot-matrix display or a confusing array of flashing LEDs.

All of this could be avoided if more soundbar manufacturers included an on-screen setup, one which would allow us to adjust settings without having to rely on an app.

We have recently seen this included on the Yamaha True X Surround 90A, which was a welcome addition, while many AVRs have offered on-screen setups for quite some time. Denon’s range has supported this for a while, and we even saw a trimmed-down (yet surprisingly functional) version included on the JBL MA7100HP, which made setup and operation a lot easier.

Considering many soundbar manufacturers also produce TVs (think Sony, LG and Samsung), an on-screen menu system that ties into their respective smart platforms would be a rather nice touch.

Get serious about sound customisation and calibration…

I think this is where people place the most emphasis on the differentiation between AVRs and soundbars. A soundbar is essentially a plug-and-play device; sure, there are often various sound modes, and most Dolby Atmos-supporting soundbars include a method of calibrating them, but there aren’t often many ways to customise deeply the sound of your soundbar.

Vague EQ settings aside, I understand why soundbars aren’t as in-depth as AVRs when it comes to sound customisation. They are usually aimed at people who have no interest in the complexities of a full home cinema speaker system; for them, the ease of use and immediate sound payoff are the primary concern. That being said, a deeper customisation menu for enthusiasts would go a long way to winning over staunch audiophiles.

Calibration, on the other hand, could easily be improved on many soundbars. We often see soundbars use a built-in microphone, or utilise the microphone in your smartphone, to take measurements and calibrate the sound to your room.

While this is usually pretty effective, I much prefer the accuracy of an AVR calibration system, which usually involves hooking up an external microphone (often included in the box) and placing it in your main seating position, to best tailor the sound to the place you will be watching your movies or TV shows.

We have seen this once on a soundbar – the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max launched with an external microphone for this very purpose. But very few soundbars sporting this feature have passed through our home cinema testing room since.

A more accurate and thorough method of calibrating the sound could negate some of the criticism surrounding the notion that soundbars “don't do real Dolby Atmos”. If you’re spending in the region of £1000 on a flagship model, an included microphone shouldn't be out of the question.

MORE:

Check out our full Marantz Cinema 30 review

As well as our Sonos Arc Ultra review

Here is how to set up and get the best sound out of your AVR

We're only three months into 2026, and I've already spent most of my year listening to more soundbars than I can count from the likes of Sonos, LG, Samsung, JBL and Harman Kardon.

By that metric, I’ll have listened to hundreds of soundbars by the time 2027 rolls around. But after my latest stint with the LG Sound Suite H7, it doesn't matter how a manufacturer pitches their flagship performance if there are connectivity shortcomings.

While the wireless connectivity options found on the Sound Suite H7 are bountiful, including Bluetooth 5.4, wi-fi, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, wired connectivity options are slightly less well served.

In fact, that soundbar has a single wired connection option, and that is HDMI eARC. This is an output socket only, and it isn't backed up by any sort of additional HDMI passthrough sockets.

In our full review of the new LG flagship soundbar, we noted that the lack of any additional HDMI socket "feels like a missed opportunity considering LG has prided itself on featuring four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets on its TVs for quite some time".

Now, this isn't an issue that's exclusive to the LG Sound Suite H7, as its main competitor and notable What Hi-Fi? Award-winner is also missing this feature.

The Sonos Arc Ultra, which is a superb Dolby Atmos soundbar by all our metrics, is also missing an HDMI passthrough socket. Now, this is easily the best soundbar that we have on hand, and I look forward to listening to it every time I'm reviewing one of its many competitors, but I'm not sure if I could live with it day to day.

HDMI sockets are a precious commodity in my house. My Sony OLED TV is already limited in that it only has two HDMI 2.1 sockets, and the four in total that I do have are currently occupied by a PlayStation 5, a Sony UBP-X700 4K Blu-ray player, a Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus, and a Sky Stream box.

That leaves the rest of my AV devices (I admit I probably have more than the average Joe), such as my Apple TV 4K and Nintendo Switch, without an HDMI socket to call home; so, I rely on the very useful HDMI passthrough sockets built into my Sennheiser soundbar to pick up the slack. It's taking up a precious HDMI 2.1 port, so providing a couple of sockets in return is the least it could do.

There are some limitations, such as the fact that these sockets are HDMI 2.0 and don't support the latest gaming functions; however, my ageing Nintendo Switch doesn't support VRR or ALLM, so I'm not too fussed.

We've seen plenty of other soundbars on the market that provide HDMI passthrough sockets too. I have to give Samsung some kudos here: the HW-Q990F offers two HDMI inputs, both rated to support up to 4K/120Hz signals and Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Now that's more like it.

While I really do rate the Sonos Arc Ultra highly, I think Sonos should really consider upping its game in this specific area.

We've seen comments and feedback from various online platforms, with people venting their frustration to Sonos and, more recently, to LG about the lack of HDMI passthrough.

The really frustrating part is that the last LG soundbar that we reviewed, the mid-range, four-star S70TY, featured an HDMI 2.1 passthrough that supported 4K/120Hz gaming. It therefore feels like LG has taken an unnecessary step backwards in this regard.

Controversially, I'm at the point where I probably wouldn't even consider a soundbar unless it had HDMI passthrough.

That might sound extreme, as sound performance is and always will be paramount, but people (myself included) are expecting more from their soundbars these days.

Therefore, functionality is becoming as important as performance, and I think a few soundbar manufacturers need to recognise that.

MORE:

Read our full LG Sound Suite H7 review

As well as our Sonos Arc Ultra review

And check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

It’s great to see progress. Samsung isn’t anywhere near a young brand, and a long way from some plucky underdog trying to swim its way, Dory-like, through a sea of well-fed tech sharks. But in pure performance terms, it hasn't quite cracked the wireless earbuds market like its rivals have.

Samsung was actually pretty quick out of the traps to jump onto the wireless earbud trend, releasing its first-ever wire-free in-ears, the IconX, in 2016, a year before Sony unveiled the WF-1000X and two years before Bose revealed its Bose SoundSport Free.

The Korean tech giant has not, however, put as much emphasis on wireless audio as its competitors. Sony’s range of headphones and earbuds is extensive, as is Bose’s, whereas more dedicated audio brands such as JBL and Sennheiser have tended to pump out their own rivals at far higher rates and with far greater critical acclaim.

That all seems to be changing.

Over the past few years, Samsung’s efforts to make a pair of flagship wireless earbuds to match the likes of Sony, Bose and Apple have gathered serious momentum. The brand’s latest flagship buds – the impressive Galaxy Buds 4 Pro – show the clearest indication yet that this is a company taking audio seriously.

A short history lesson

‘Twas not ever thus. While the likes of Sony tended to take to this particular game like the proverbial mallard to the pond, Samsung’s attempts have tended to be middling at best.

We awarded the first standard Samsung Galaxy Buds a measly two stars when we reviewed them in 2019; and things didn’t exactly improve by leaps and bounds in the coming years. 2021’s flagship Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro? Three stars. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2? How about the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro? More three-star ratings.

Things really shifted, however, in 2023 with the launch of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. The third-generation flagships were a different proposition to what had come before – they looked different, offered new and different features, and crucially, they sounded different.

For different, of course, read ‘better’ – these four-star wireless earbuds were by far the best we had yet heard from Samsung, with a crisp, clear signature that really shone when using the company’s own 24-bit/96kHz SSC UHQ hi-res Bluetooth codec with a compatible Galaxy smartphone.

Taking sound seriously

Thankfully, Samsung has refused to rest on its laurels. Learning the lessons from the successes and failures of the third-generation Pro buds, it came back even stronger this year with the launch of its best effort yet: the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

What impressed us most about the Buds 4 Pro is how they seemed to take everything we liked about their predecessors and refined them all for a genuine step forward.

This wasn’t a reinvention, but more of a clear and conscious tinkering of something that had worked reasonably well the first time around.

Gone were those rather unnecessary stem ‘blade’ lights and Apple-inspired design, replaced by a more premium metallic housing, a new charging case and, most importantly, the best Samsung sound yet.

As we say in our review: “These might well be the best-sounding buds that Samsung has yet made, and certainly a clear step up in detail and clarity over their third-generation predecessors. The Buds 4 Pros’ outstanding levels of textural insight and clarity make a recording of Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca sound appropriately regal, before bringing out the lean, retro feeling of Elvis Costello’s Veronica with aplomb.”

Those improvements are no mere coincidence.

According to the engineers at Samsung, the fourth-gen model inherited many of the same design features from the Buds 3 Pro, such as two-way, dual-amp drivers, but with “refined tuning based on an enhanced woofer driver” for a more “rich and clear sound”.

That said, there is a clear openness to experiment to see what works best: "We do not have a specific preference for types or materials. We are continuously considering drivers to maximize various audio performances, including sound quality and noise control."

We’re not quite in five star territory yet – the competition is fierce in this category – but it really does feel as though Samsung is getting closer to that promised land. The class-leading Sony WF-1000XM6 are more musically refined and engaging, while the Apple AirPods Pro 3, while perhaps not quite as clear and crisp, have the edge in terms of dynamics and overall musicality.

Samsung's desire to improve and adapt has worked wonders, however. When you consider that the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offered “disappointing, unengaging dynamics” and a sound which we described as “lacking subtlety and precision”, the sparky, detail-rich audio of 2026’s flagship earbuds really feels as though it comes as the result of an audio team taking sound seriously.

Finding that fifth star

This all leads to the next logical question: where does Samsung go from here in order to hunt down its class-leading competitors?

According to the company itself: “The market's anticipation for the integration of audio devices with AI is steadily increasing. In this context, we possess the advantageous positions of the Galaxy Eco system and Galaxy AI. Moving forward, we aim to deliver an unparalleled experience through the synergy between Galaxy Buds and Galaxy AI, offering what other companies cannot provide.”

That’s all well and good, but what we urge Samsung to remember is the very reason it has made it to this point in the first place: sound. We have seen major strides from the thin, detail-light disappointment of the company’s early efforts in the current earbuds. While AI integration is all well and good (the Buds 4 Pro have live translation just like AirPods Pro 3, for example), it is those sonic strides that have taken the Galaxy line from rank outsiders to number one contenders.

Just look at Apple. A few years ago, we were awarding each iteration of AirPods a predictably mediocre three (or sometimes four) stars, before Apple upped its audio game with the five-star AirPods Pro 2 in 2023.

Since then, the superb AirPods Pro 3 and appealing AirPods 4 with ANC have taken things to new heights, proving that while fancy features and seamless user-integration are all well and good, sound quality remains king.

Technics also struggled to find that fifth star with its early efforts, but a constant drive to improve its sonic performance culminated in the excellence of the Award-winning EAH-AZ100 last year.

If Samsung can take those lessons and emulate a similar sort of success by focusing on sound first, then it might give Sony, Bose, Apple and co. something to really worry about in the wireless earbuds scene.

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There has been a revelation in the ongoing decline of physical media – and, as someone who treasures their 4K Blu-ray library, it was the update I’ve been waiting for.

A recent report from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) confirmed that after an extensive period of decline, 4K Blu-ray sales returned to growth in the United States, with a 12 per cent rise in 2025 compared with 2024.

While physical media sales fell overall, this was only by 9.3 per cent. That's undoubtedly still a drop, but it’s much less severe than expected; and it could well be a sign that optical media is coming back into fashion.

With streaming fatigue setting in from the abundance of available services, all of which offer various tiers that lock features behind pay walls and slowly increasing subscription costs overall, the renewed uptake of physical media seems to be a natural step.

Furthermore, more people are striving to get the best picture and sound performance out of their TVs, projectors, soundbars and surround sound speaker systems – and 4K Blu-ray is the best way to accomplish this.

There is, however, one slight issue, and it's one I've drawn attention to before. It’s undeniably great to see sales figures rise for 4K Blu-rays; but what will people play them on?

There are very few manufacturers still producing dedicated 4K Blu-ray players. Sony and Panasonic are the only remaining brands in the mainstream space, while Magnetar is one of the only options for enthusiasts who don’t want to scour eBay and pay above the odds for a discontinued Oppo or Pioneer player.

We’re willing to bet that most people are feeding their UHD Blu-rays into a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. They are the most readily available and current 4K Blu-ray players on the market – and, of course, they have the dual-purpose appeal of also being game consoles.

Unfortunately, from our testing, we have found that these consoles don't perform to the same level as a dedicated Blu-ray player – though they certainly aren’t bad options.

All the entries on our best 4K Blu-ray players list launched in either 2018 or 2019, apart from the Sony UBP-X700, which had an incremental update last year to remove the streaming features. There has been no official word from Panasonic on whether it will update its 4K players any time soon.

Pair that with prices that have actually increased rather than decreased since launch (Panasonic's entire range has gone up in price since our initial reviews), and I can see why 4K Blu-rays haven't been the most compelling option for consumers in recent years.

I've done my bit to promote the format to anyone who will listen, but these manufacturers also need to show their commitment to ensure the format continues this reported growth.

While we’re at it, I’d be thrilled to see the likes of Samsung and LG return to the optical disc player market. They pulled out years ago despite offering some seriously impressive disc players.

The likelihood of this happening is, of course, quite slim, but I shall continue my campaign for new players regardless.

MORE:

Read our full Panasonic DP-UB820EB review

As well as our Sony UBP-X700 review

And check out our picks for the best streaming devices

Apple has gone from strength to strength with its wireless earbuds. Its recent flagship, the AirPods Pro 3, takes the performance of the five-star AirPods Pro 2 even further, indicating that the tech giant isn't happy merely selling the most wireless earbuds – it wants to produce the best, too.

Samsung, it seems, is on a similar trajectory. The brand's wireless earbuds have been steadily improving over the past five or so years, with Samsung looking to position itself as a major player in the audio world as well as that of smartphones, tablets and TVs.

That all makes for a really interesting comparison. What we have here are two pairs of flagship wireless buds – the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and the Apple AirPods Pro 3 – flying the flag for their respective tech giants. Both are on serious upward trajectories, but which brand has made the greatest strides in performance? Let's find out.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: price

The Apple AirPods Pro 3 launched at £219 / $249 / AU$429, although given that they've been out for a few months, discounts will occasionally chip away at those figures. At the time of writing, for instance, you can find a pair for £204 in the UK at some retailers.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are operating in very similar territory as the AirPods Pro 3. At £219 / $249 / AU$399, we're still at a premium level, but just below the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM6 (£250 / $330 / AU$500) and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) (currently £249 / $299 / AU$450).

Being the newer pair, discounts are less likely for Buds 4 Pro, so for now at least, Apple might be able to shade a victory.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 3 **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: design and comfort

We might have mentioned that the outgoing Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro looked a little like a pair of Apple imitators when we reviewed them in 2024, but that's not a criticism we could lay at the door of the fourth-gen follow ups.

The new Buds 4 Pro look far more distinctive, and dare we say classy, than their predecessors, sporting a classic stem and bud design with a removable silicone eartip and a sleek metallic stem covering.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro sports a solid IP57 certification, offering protection against dust ingress and immersion in water up to a metre deep for around 30 minutes, the same rating as you'll find from their Apple rivals.

In terms of fit, we don't find there to be too many issues with the Samsung buds, although there are some caveats.

The removable ear-tips are angled in slightly to allow for a more secure seal, with the stems helping to add a counterweight and keep everything locked into place. While Samsung offers an ear-fit test via the companion Wearable app, we're still left frustrated that only three choices of tips are included in small, medium and large sizes.

We'd also mention that some of our testers struggled to keep the Samsung buds firmly in place during more strenuous activities such as gym workouts or running sessions, so they may be less suited to sports and strenuous workout sessions.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pros' touch controls come via a predominantly pinch-and-hold system, whereby you give the stems a squeeze to control operations such as playing and pausing tracks or switching noise cancelling modes, or else swipe up or down on the exterior of the stem to increase or decrease your music’s volume.

That's essentially the same system as you'll find with the AirPods Pro 3. There's not much to choose between the two pairs, here, with the AirPods’ touch controls on the stems remaining intuitive and responsive for managing tasks such as music playback, changing noise modes and controlling volume.

Away from touch controls, we're rather keen on the AirPods Pro 3's design. Yes, there are always subjective differences from person to person, but during our testing time, we found them to offer a secure fit which locks into position easily. Plus, you get two extra ear-tip options (XXS and XS) for a total of five, easily beating the meagre three offered by Samsung.

The buds are lightweight and easy to wear in daily use, and we feel the redesign actually is a bit more forgiving of the eartips you choose. If you can get the best fit for your ears, the AirPods Pro 3 are light, unobtrusive and easy to get along with in daily use.

It's a reasonably close-run thing, but for their well-honed design and provision of extra eartips, we're giving the win to Apple here.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 3**

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: features

The Apple AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are both premium buds (the Pro is the clue there), so in both cases you're furnished with all of the tricks and treats that you'd expect to find from each brand's respective wireless flagbearers.

The Samsung buds certainly aren't light in this regard, housing a healthy array of features to complement their sonic and noise cancelling capabilities.

You'll need Samsung's Wearable app to get the most out of your Samsung buds, although as you'll find with the AirPods when connected to an iPhone, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are integrated within your Samsung device’s native operating system to grant access to many of their features without having to delve into the app at all. As you may have guessed, Apple users get no app support at all for the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

For AirPods users, there's no standalone app for iOS or Android users, as is par for the course, with all settings integrated into your device's iOS operating system menus instead.

Both sets provide support for spatial audio in some form or another. The Samsung's offer '360 spatial audio' with head tracking, both of which require a Samsung device in order to work and can be toggled on or off via the accompanying app.

As we said in our review: "The tech works admirably, and unquestionably provides a more spacious and open experience than when listening in standard mode. Head tracking is also effective, even if it does suffer from the usual gripe of having a very slight delay whenever the sound moves from one earbud to the other."

The AirPods Pro 3 integrate spatial audio with dynamic headtracking with similarly capable results, working slickly and smoothly when paired with an iOS device. You won't be surprised to learn that if you want the best spatial experience, you'll want to have access to Apple Music and its catalogue of spatial audio tracks.

What about battery life? Samsung’s wireless flagbearers provide seven hours of charge time from the buds and a total of 30 with the case when ANC is turned off. Switch noise cancelling on, and those numbers drop to around six hours from the buds and a total of 26 hours with the case.

By comparison, the AirPods Pro 3 will manage eight hours in a single charge from the buds with ANC switched on, stretching to a total of 24 hours of overall battery life with the charging case in play. That's slightly better in-bud battery for the AirPods, but a total of 24 hours does seem a little light in comparison.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pros' key feature is the use of Samsung’s proprietary SSC UHQ hi-res codec, which grants transmission of up to 24-bit/96kHz file quality via Bluetooth with compatible Samsung Galaxy devices.

Conversely, there's still no higher-quality codec support from the likes of aptX or LDAC for the AirPods Pro 3, so you'll have to settle for the standard AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs – the general line we tend hear from Apple is that its AirPods simply don't require hi-res codec support to sound their best. No iPhone, iPad or MacBook support any other codecs either, so this is likely of no issue to iOS users.

Apple does have its own tricks up its sleeve, though. The AirPods Pro 3 come fitted with a new heart rate sensor to track health and workout stats, and they have hearing tests and hearing health-related features, too.

Live translation features are available on both models, but note you'll need to be on specific (usually the latest) software and compatible devices to make the feature work.

Strong showings from both sides, then, with Samsung's hi-res codec support countered by Apple's impressive health-based features. Both have features that work solely with its own devices in their own ecosystems. A draw seems like a fair result.

** Winner: Draw **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: noise cancelling and voice calls

With the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, calls are delivered clearly thanks to the buds' trio of microphones and a voice pick-up unit, while background intrusions are capably softened to stop them from interrupting your conversations.

Noise-cancelling is well implemented on the Samsung buds, capable of subduing busy traffic sounds and the general hubbub of the office so we can concentrate mostly on the music.

Samsung’s Adaptive sound feature, which automatically switches to ambient mode when it detects human speech, works well during testing, too. We're impressed by how effectively the setting clicks into gear whenever we engage in a conversation to test whether our buds are paying attention.

The similar "Conversation Mode" feature on AirPods Pro 3 also intelligently detects when you're speaking, which lowers the volume of the music so you can have a quick conversation.

Samsung's buds won't let you down then, but they're not quite good enough to overcome the best that Apple has to offer. Call quality is clear, detailed and sounds natural on the AirPods Pro 3, with no harshness or any of that over-processed quality to our voices that we often experience with many lesser earbuds.

Where the Apple buds really distinguish themselves is through their excellent ANC. We take our AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro to the gym to test their noise cancelling talents, and while the latter take the edge off the various intrusions we experience – background music, general chatter, the whir of an exercise bike – the AirPods Pro 3 simply suppress the general clamour more powerfully and more effectively.

They're also much better at dealing with sharp, loud noises than their Samsung rivals. The clank of weights dropping can threaten to intrude in on your best workout playlist, but with the Pro 3, those spikes of sound are impressively diminished to the point that we barely notice them when they occur.

Apple's noise cancelling capabilities really are mightily impressive, and earn them the win here.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 3**

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: sound quality

We're convinced that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the best wireless earbuds Samsung has made. They sound resplendently clear, clean, well-organised and peppy, offering an enthusiastic, precise and lively tone that is rarely a chore to listen to.

That tone feels similar in general flavour to their third-gen predecessors, but this is still a clear sonic step up from that which came before. As we said in our review, the Buds 4 Pros’ "outstanding levels of textural insight and clarity make a recording of Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca sound appropriately regal, before bringing out the lean, retro feeling of Elvis Costello’s Veronica with aplomb".

Listening to genres and tracks that really play to their strengths, the Samsung buds deliver a lovely balance between analysis and pure fun. We find that rock, hip-hop and dance numbers tend to fare particularly well, as evidenced by a powerful rendition of Slipknot’s pulsating Before I Forget and a sparky reproduction of Justice’s Phantom Pt. II.

If you want to get the best out of your Galaxy buds, it's definitely worth getting hold of an up-to-date Samsung device to take advantage of that fancy hi-res SSC UHQ codec.

We use a Samsung S25 smartphone to test out how the earbuds sound with hi-res SSC UHQ codec, and there's no question that the Buds 4 Pro move to the next level sonically when using this higher-quality codec. They retain their general flavour, but overall clarity and detail levels increase considerably when compared to playing via an iPhone or the standard Bluetooth codec on a Sony Xperia 1 VI smartphone.

How do the AirPods Pro 3 sound by comparison? This isn't the walkover for Apple that some might have been expecting, and if anything, we find that their Samsung rivals arguably offer greater clarity and textural detail than their rivals can muster. That's no mean feat, especially as we described the third-gen AirPods Pro as being clearer and more detailed than their antecedents.

Still, the AirPods are superbly clear, balanced and spacious-sounding, with a keen ear for midrange vocal authenticity. They're immensely easy to get along with, giving music ample room to breathe and allowing musical textures and vocal strands plenty of space to flourish.

Where Apple's flagships really excel, however, is in their superior feeling of musical engagement. As we said in our review: "Dynamically, they do a wonderful job of conveying the ebbs and flow of a track, and are adept at slowing things down where needed, as well as keeping more energetic compositions in check – all without losing any of the verve or emotional intent of a track."

They're also seriously impressive in how they dispatch rhythms, offering a snappy, propulsive sense of timing that keeps our attention from the outset. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro aren't poor in this regard, but they don't quite have that innate rhythmic understanding, especially with more nuanced fare, as their Apple rivals.

This is a close affair, and certainly an impressive effort from Samsung's pristine, detailed flagships. We find that the AirPods Pro 3's more dynamic and rhythmically engaging sound takes the cake here, as it just makes us feel more involved and invested in the music we play.

Samsung is closing the gap, but there's still some daylight between their latest flagships and their Apple rivals.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 3**

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the best wireless earbuds the company has made thus far. They're packed with features and sound better than their predecessors, demonstrating a clear indication that Samsung has what it takes to close the gap on the market's biggest names.

That said, it isn't quite enough to beat the best that Apple has to offer. The Pro 3 are the finest performing AirPods yet, and while it's a close run thing, their impressive ANC talents and more engaging, dynamic sound quality sees them pip their Samsung rivals to the post.

Each pair is designed for a different audience – AirPods for iOS users, Galaxy buds for Samsung users – but all other things being equal, we'd still take the AirPods Pro 3 over their plucky rivals.

** Overall winner: Apple AirPods Pro 3 **

MORE:

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Does anyone have what it takes to knock Sony of its proud perch? The Sony WF-1000XM6 are the current cream of the premium wireless earbuds crop, laying down a marker to which all other rivals must now aspire.

They're quite possibly the best wireless earbuds that Sony has ever made, and when you think about some of the delights the Japanese company has produced in the past few years, that's quite the compliment.

Samsung is up for the challenge. The Korean brand showcased a real determination to compete in the premium wireless space with the previous Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and now hopes to go one further with its fourth-gen follow-up, the just-released Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 4. This is the most almighty of challenges for the flagship buds, but if they can trouble the class leaders, we'll know that Samsung has truly arrived on the premium wireless scene.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: price

The Sony WF-1000XM6 cost £250 / $330 / AU$500 at launch, making them a little cheaper for UK buyers compared with the older WF-1000XM5 (£259 at launch) but more expensive if you happen to live in the US ($299) or Australia (AU$419).

They're not, however, cheaper than their Samsung rivals. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are very much a premium pair of earbuds, but their £219 / $249 / AU$399 tag sees them significantly undercut Sony's flagships. The fourth-gen model didn't see a price hike over their third-gen antecedents, either, which is a nice touch from Samsung.

** Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: design and comfort

Samsung's fourth-gen flagship buds are a little different from those which preceded them.

The classic stem and bud design with a removable silicone ear tip returns, but it’s much harder to accuse the Buds 4 Pro of looking like a pair of Apple rip-offs this time around. The vertically placed ‘Blade Lights’ of the third-gen model have also gone, replaced by a sleek metallic stem covering which just gives the fourth-gen iteration a more premium aesthetic.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have had their IP rating boosted from IP53 to IP57, granting protection against dust ingress and immersion in water up to a metre deep for around 30 minutes. That's a more robust certification than the Sonys, which can only muster an IPX4 rating for general protection against splashes of water rather than full immersion.

Fit-wise, we generally find the Samsung earbuds comfortable and easy to get along with. The removable eartips are angled in slightly to allow for a more secure seal, with the stems helping to add a counterweight and keep everything locked into place. Samsung offers an ear-fit test via the companion Wearable app, confirming whether you’ve obtained an adequate seal with a quick scan of your ears.

Sadly, we feel let down that you only get three sizes of tip from which to choose, as the provision of small, medium and large options just seems so miserly for a pair of flagship wireless earbuds. We'd also note that some of our wearers struggled to keep the Samsung buds in place during more strenuous activities, so they may be less suited to running or sporting endeavours than more active-focused alternatives.

Touch controls on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are employed by a predominantly pinch-and-hold system, whereby you give the stems a squeeze to control operations such as playing and pausing tracks or switching noise cancelling modes, or swipe up or down on the exterior of the stem to increase or decrease your music’s volume.

Sony's WF-1000XM6 rivals are a similarly bold departure from what came before, and the design is certainly distinct from the more traditional bud and stem design of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Open that rather chunky monolith of a charging case and you'll see that Sony has altered both the look and the feel of the earbuds when compared to the outgoing model, sporting a more rectangular, boxy aesthetic.

Aside from improving noise cancelling and call quality (more on that later), the XM6s' configuration is designed improve in-ear comfort, yet as we found during our testing, that might depend on who is using them.

That firm eartip material has returned for the sixth-gen iteration, and while it will suit some ears just fine, we still have multiple team members who simply cannot get to grips with how Sony's latest buds fit inside their ears.

Sony does offer a handy air pressure fit test in the Sound Connect app, as well as four eartip sizes (extra small, medium and large) over the three offered by Samsung. Still, an extra large option wouldn't have gone amiss for those users with larger ears, especially given how tricky the fit of the premium buds can be for some wearers.

Touch controls are on board for the XM6, and we're pleased to report that we find them responsive and well-integrated during our tests. As is the case with the Buds 4 Pro, you can customise their configuration via their respective companion apps.

Decent, if not perfect, performances on both sides. We imagine that most users will find the Buds 4 Pro to be easier to get along with fit-wise, and they are more robust in terms of their IP rating, but they do lose a point for their meagre array of tip sizes.

** Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro**

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: features

We're in properly premium territory here, with each competing brand going all out on the features front, as befits two pairs of flagship wireless earbuds.

The Samsung Wearable app is the platform you'll need in order to get the most out of your flagship Samsung buds. As you’d find with a pair of AirPods when connected to an iPhone, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are integrated within your Samsung device’s native operating system, so you can access many of their features without having to delve into the app at all. Naturally, you won't be surprised to learn that Apple iOS users get no app support at all.

For Sony users, you'll be operating your WF-1000XM6 via the Sound Connect app (available for both iOS and Android), a platform which plenty of settings when it comes to the number of customisation options and device metrics it provides – including a the handy speak-to-chat mode, which lowers music volume when it recognises you are speaking to someone.

The Samsung buds provide support for the brand's '360 spatial audio' with head tracking, both of which require a Samsung device in order to work and can be toggled on or off via the accompanying app.

The tech works admirably, and unquestionably provides a more spacious and open experience than when listening in standard mode. Head tracking is also effective, even if it does suffer from the usual gripe of having a very slight delay whenever the sound moves from one earbud to the other.

For the XM6, support for Sony's 360 Reality Audio is on the menu, aiming for a similar effect of granting a more immersive, three-dimensional soundfield. You will require a scan of your ears, as well as a compatible streaming service with these tracks (which are different from Dolby Atmos recorded tracks), such as Amazon Music Unlimited, to make use of the tech.

How about battery life? Samsung’s wireless flag-bearers grant seven hours from the buds and a total of 30 with the case when ANC is turned off. Switch noise cancelling on, and those numbers will drop to roughly six hours from the buds and a total of 26 hours with the case. By comparison, battery life for the WF-1000XM6 comes in at eight hours from the buds and a total of 24 hours with the case, with ANC on.

The Galaxy Buds Pro 4s' big trump card comes via their compatibility with Samsung’s exclusive proprietary SSC UHQ hi-res codec, granting transmission of up to 24-bit/96kHz music files over Bluetooth via newer Galaxy devices.

We used a Galaxy S25 smartphone to get the most out of our test buds’ sonic capabilities, though we're assured that the S24 and S23, as well as the newer generations of the Z Flip/Fold phones also offer compatibility with SSC UHQ.

Bluetooth support for the Sony WF-1000XM6 comes courtesy of standard SBC and AAC alongside Sony's own LDAC codec for hi-res transmission up to 32-bit/96kHz, and you'll also need a compatible source device in order to access it. Most Sony Xperia phones, such as the Xperia 1 VI and Xperia 1 VII, do offer LDAC support.

It's a a close run thing on the general features front, with both pairs tending to match each other blow for blow when digging into their admirably large bags of tricks.

** Winner: Draw **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: noise cancelling and voice calls

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are admirable in their handling of both noise cancelling and voice calls.

Speech comes across as clear and reasonably expressive thanks to the buds' trio of microphones and a voice pick-up unit, while background noises are capably softened to lessen their intrusiveness during phone calls.

You get full noise-cancelling, transparent pass through and an Adaptive mode when it comes to the Buds 4 Pro's ANC flavours. Standard full ANC is effective enough, capable of subduing traffic noises and the general hubbub of a busy street when using the buds outdoors.

Samsung’s Adaptive mode monitors your environment and automatically switches to the more transparent ambient mode when it detects sounds such as human speech or the screech of nearby sirens. In our tests, it's impressive how effectively the setting clicks into gear whenever we engage in a conversation to test our buds' reflexes.

A very fine effort on both fronts from Samsung, but it isn't enough to win this particular shootout. We switch over to the slightly costlier Sony WF-1000XM6 when taking a phone call and they set the gold standard for clarity, isolation and the naturalness of vocal reproduction from both callers.

The addition of the new QN3e processor and a quad array of microphones in each earbud works to tremendous effect, isolating you from outside noise while putting speech to the forefront of any conversation. The Sonys also throw their Adaptive NC Optimiser into the mix, which automatically adapts the ANC algorithm to your fit and for the environment you’re listening in.

The resultant noise cancelling performance is exceptional. In full ANC mode, Sonys are superb at how naturally and subtly they isolate us from all kinds of exterior sounds, presenting us with a clean, rumble-free background through which our music can more easily shine when outdoors, on our commute or even on a plane.

Even when you sink to the noisy recesses of London's underground network, the XM6 are able to dim down the low-end and midrange noise so they are much less intrusive.

A good effort from Samsung, but Sony is the clear winner here on both counts.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: sound quality

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are, to our ears, the best wireless earbuds Samsung has ever made. They're clear, well-organised and snappy performers, with an enthusiasm and sonic precision that we find hard to resist.

They boast a similar flavour to their third-gen predecessors, albeit with greater detail and clarity elevating their performance to new heights. As we said in our review, the Buds 4 Pros’ "outstanding levels of textural insight and clarity make a recording of Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca sound appropriately regal, before bringing out the lean, retro feeling of Elvis Costello’s Veronica with aplomb".

That crisp, agile approach means the Buds 4 Pro are natural entertainers, and with the right genres, they're capable of putting on a real show. We find that rock, hip-hop and dance numbers tend to fare particularly well, as evidenced by a powerful, crunchy rendition of Slipknot’s headbanging Before I Forget and a sharp, lively reproduction of Justice’s funky Phantom Pt. II.

If you really want to get the best out of the Galaxy buds, it is worth having an up-to-date Samsung Galaxy device in order to take advantage of the brand’s own hi-res SSC UHQ codec.

When paired with the Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone and with that high quality codec switched on, the Buds 4 Pro take things to the next level, with overall clarity and detail levels increasing considerably when compared to playing via an iPhone or the standard Bluetooth codec on a Sony Xperia 1 VI smartphone.

Good as the Galaxy buds are, the Sony WF-1000XM6 remain the benchmark-setters. Pitched in an even battle, the XM6 are a clear improvement over their rivals, as well as pretty much any other earbuds you'll find at this level.

These are, by our measure, the best Sony buds yet. The WF-1000XM6 are as detailed and insightful as we'd expect, yet they also ooze a natural warmth and rich tonality which gives them immense appeal. If you found their predecessors just a touch analytical or dispassionate, that relative defect has been admirably rectified with the compellingly entertaining XM6.

Perhaps what we admire most about the WF-1000XM6 is their expressiveness and outstanding dynamic handling. The Sonys just sound so natural and believable as they tease out dynamic strands and fluctuations with remarkable insight and agility, giving music a three-dimensional, engrossing appeal that has us entranced no matter the tunes we play.

This is where the XM6 really distance themselves from their Samsung contemporaries, and while the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are admirably spacious and clear, the Sony's hugely expressive, authentic delivery makes them a considerably more involving option. For getting you to feel the heart and soul of your music, it's the Sony buds every time.

The WF-1000XM6 are excellent across the frequency range, too. As we said in our review, they deliver "crisp highs all the way down to tightly controlled and textured lows", and have "a grasp of bass notes and deliver layers of texture which the old model can’t quite replicate. The Sonys exhibit all the bass power and weight you could ask for, but it’s the way the notes are controlled and defined which really sets them apart from their rivals".

Yes, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pros' performance when making use of their specific Samsung SSC UHQ codec does narrow the gap somewhat, but it's not enough to mask their relative limitations when put head-to-head with the best that Sony has to offer.

For sound performance, the WF-1000XM6 are in a class of their own.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs WF-1000XM6: verdict

Samsung's Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the best wireless earbuds we've heard from the brand. The fourth-generation in-ears are easily the strongest indication yet that Samsung has what it takes to compete in one of audio's toughest arenas.

Their crisp, precise and detailed sound will make rivals sit up and take notice, although it's worth noting that they sound (and perform) their best when paired with the latest Samsung Galaxy devices and using the proprietary hi-res codec.

Those improvements aren't, however, enough to topple one of the most dominant names in wireless audio. In terms of pure sound quality, Sony continues to lead the pack, with its WF-1000XM6 once again raising the bar so high that it'll take something truly remarkable for anyone to surpass them. And you don't need to have a specific device or codec to hear them at their best, either.

For their outstanding sonic talents, backed by some exceptional all-round credentials, the XM6 remain the buds to beat.

** Overall winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

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The premium 48-inch TV used to be the domain of the LG C-series alone, with other manufacturers focusing their OLED efforts on 55-inches and up (yes, 48 inches is now considered “small”).

These days, though, rival brands such as Panasonic and Samsung are in on the 48-inch OLED act.

The Panasonic Z90B and Samsung S90F are actually both better than the 48-inch C5 – but which is the better of the two, and therefore the ultimate compact living room TV?

We’ve pitted them against each other to find out.

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: price

The 48-inch Panasonic Z90B is not available in the US or Australia, but arrived on UK shores at £1499. That puts it exactly on par with the Samsung S90F, which launched at £1499 / $1500 / AU$2499.

However, both models have seen discounts since then – the Panasonic has gone as low as £1099, but the Samsung has seen some incredible savings, dropping as low as £819 at one point.

Despite having the same launch price, the Samsung S90F is consistently available for less than the Panasonic Z90B, so it wins this round.

**Winner: Samsung S90F**

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: build

Both TVs are sleek and thin, making them easy to mount flush on a wall. For standing, both TVs come with a rectangular pedestal with no swivel option.

However, the Panasonic comes with a notably larger pedestal. We’d prefer a smaller footprint, but the pedestal is well-made and sturdy, with no sway or flex during testing – and may well be a selling point for those with toddlers or large pets.

As is customary for Panasonic’s premium TVs, a speaker bar is prominent on the bottom of the Z90B. While this speaker bar should result in better sound quality (we’ll get to that in the sound section), it’s going to be a bit annoying for those who already have or are planning to get a dedicated sound system, particularly a soundbar.

The Samsung features a smaller pedestal that sets the screen higher than the Z90B, allowing room for a small soundbar to be placed underneath without blocking the view.

There are also gaps in the pedestal’s top and sides that make it easy to pass cables through – a small quality-of-life optimisation that we think makes a huge difference.

It’s also worth noting how easy it is to connect the pedestal to the Samsung, with the screw-free design meaning assembly takes less than a minute.

When it comes to remotes, the Z90B receives the same large, clunky remote that all Panasonic OLEDs have. It has all the app shortcuts you’ll need, but there’s no backlight, solar or USB charging.

The Samsung, on the other hand, actually comes with two remotes – a traditional, retro slab and a streamlined modern handset with USB charging and a rear-facing solar panel.

The win has to go to Samsung for this one – from a design perspective the Panasonic is held back slightly by old-school looks, the bolted-on soundbar and outmoded remote, while the Samsung is more stylish and offers a thoughtful cable management solution.

**Winner: Samsung S90F**

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: features

Pound-for-pound, the Panasonic Z90B and Samsung S90F (and LG C5, for that matter) are quite similar when it comes to features.

Both TVs feature a WOLED panel, despite larger versions of the Samsung S90F featuring a brightness-boosting QD-OLED panel in some regions.

One of the Panasonic Z90B’s big advantages, however, is a heatsink, which should let Panasonic push the panel harder for a brighter performance, all while reducing the risk of burn-in and panel degradation.

The Panasonic features the HCX Pro AI Processor MKII chipset, the same silicon seen in the flagship Z95B, which has an AI processing focus like all the other TV chips we have seen this year.

A perk of the HCX Pro AI Processor MKII includes Panasonic’s 4K Remaster Engine upscaling and a new Amazon Prime Video Calibrated picture setting, similar to the mode Sony added to its 2024 range.

Panasonic’s partnership with TV calibration specialists Portrait Displays continues, which means the Z90B can be Calman calibrated with relative ease (providing you have the equipment and technical know-how).

The S90F sports the NQ4 AI Gen3 processor, which is again the same as its step-up sibling, the S95F. The AI focus of the silicon includes Samsung’s 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro and AI Colour Booster Pro services, all catered for.

These all do pretty much what they say on their respective tins – to improve contrast, boost colour accuracy and intelligently upscale content to 4K as required.

The Panasonic features Amazon’s Fire OS. This provides strong app support, including the big international streamers as well as specialist services and local catch-ups. Our only quibble is that it’s a little ad-heavy, and it’s not immediately clear which content is free and which is paid for.

The Samsung naturally uses the company’s own Tizen OS, which also has solid app support with all the usual suspects, whether international, local or specialist. There’s also more AI focus, with curated profiles and recommended shows based on user habits.

The Panasonic offers all-encompassing HDR support, including all four common standards: HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. This is in contrast to Samsung, which, as usual, lacks support for Dolby Vision, though the other three standards are supported.

However, the Panasonic loses points for having only two full-speed HDMI 2.1 inputs, one of which doubles as its eARC.

That will be fine for people who have just one current-generation games console and a Dolby Atmos soundbar, but those with multiple consoles and a soundbar will have to do some cable swapping if they want their games to run at full speed.

The Samsung, on the other hand, offers four full-fat HDMI inputs – ideal for those with an Atmos soundbar and a mixture of PS5, Xbox Series X or gaming PC.

Those HDMI 2.1 ports even go up to 4K/144Hz on both TVs, and there’s VRR and ALLM on both sets, too. Both feature dedicated gaming menus too, though only the Panasonic supports Dolby Vision gaming.

All in all, the Panasonic Z90B and Samsung S90F are pretty even-stevens when it comes to features. The Panasonic’s biggest flaw is the two HDMI 2.1 ports, but it makes up for it with Dolby Vision support, which is the S90F’s most glaring omission. So we’re going to call this round a draw.

**Winner: draw**

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: picture

Both companies have legacies – Samsung TVs tend to push their panels for a fun, blow-your-socks-off experience that can be a little overcooked, while Panasonic has a reputation for wonderfully authentic, as the director intended, movie experiences. And that’s largely what we see here.

Both TVs perform poorly out of the box, but switching to Filmmaker mode on each model improves things immensely.

We find the Samsung requires some additional tweaking to motion and colour settings, but once that’s done, movements lose their artificiality and colours look much more realistic. However, the skyline is still too red for our liking.

The Panasonic’s unchanged Filmmaker Mode, though, rewards us with the best picture we’ve yet seen on a 48-inch TV.

The Z90B excels at retaining warm detail in background dunes and colour volume in dim scenes, details that are lost on the Samsung.

The warmth extends from the darkest parts of characters’ faces to the brightest part of the picture, with wonderful colours, shades and detail, and no loss of authenticity or addition of artificiality.

What is interesting is that the Z90B is generally dimmer than the S90F, but it saves its punchiness for moments that are genuinely meant to go bright.

This is notable during a test viewing of Civil War. Peak highlights are every bit as bright and full of detail as on the S90F, but because the Z90B chooses to focus its efforts on the areas that are meant to be bright, “they hold a much more distinct, realistic place in the picture, adding weight and a true sense of three-dimensionality to the scene”, to quote from our Panasonic Z90B review.

Bright areas such as the chandelier in the White House are a notable example, with every bauble visible and sharp, whereas parts of the ornament just come across as white on the S90F.

However, the drawbacks of this dimmer display start to show in darker scenes. While blacks are nice and inky, and we can see every nook and cranny of an approaching spaceship in Alien: Romulus, we do have to look harder to see the ship in the first place.

The same occurs when we test SDR with the True Grit Blu-ray, as details that are visible on the S90F in the opening night-time scene are completely black on the Z90B. Things improve in brighter scenes, but the SDR performance still lacks dynamic range and definition compared to the S90F.

The Samsung, on the other hand, has plenty of pop, with explosions in a night-time battle in Civil War proving to be dazzlingly bright, while also retaining colour volume and offering solid levels of detail in both the darkest and lightest parts of the picture.

The S90F’s strengths in low light continue in Alien: Romulus, with an immersive picture as the spaceship descends, even if contrast is a touch heavy-handed.

The S90F also boasts one of the best upscaled pictures we’ve seen in quite a while, with True Grit retaining its spaghetti western, grainy feel, but featuring a wonderful sense of depth, with every stitch and dirt stain in the characters’ clothing looking sharp.

There are pros and cons to both sets here, with the Samsung S90F’s higher brightness resulting in more pop, especially during low-light scenes. It’s also the stronger upscaler, with a greater dynamic range and more definition than the Z90B.

However, it does tend to overbake colours, even after fiddling with the settings. And this is where the Z90B comes into its own – once in Filmmaker mode, you’re rewarded with a picture that is wonderfully authentic and weighty. It may come down to “wow” factor versus “as the director intended” here, but for our money, the Z90B gets the win for its startling commitment to cinematic authenticity.

**Winner: Panasonic Z90B**

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: sound

The Samsung S90F’s audio is, bluntly, a mixed bag. The 60-watt, 2.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos-ready sound system is very weak, as we were easily able to hold a conversation with the volume set at 100.

Even more concerning, distortion becomes noticeable when the volume exceeds 60, especially during scenes with gunfire and explosions.

We attempt to remedy this by switching to Amplify, the only other mode available other than Standard.

This does not help, however – rather than offer better separation between different parts of the audio, the low end is pushed down so far that we only hear dialogue and upper frequencies. We soon switch back to Standard, which is far more balanced.

Despite being a tad weedy, the speakers do at least offer some directionality. Top Gun: Maverick is an ideal test for this, and we find the audio does at least match the jet plane’s on-screen movements.

Moving to the Z90B, we have a 60W, 2.1 arrangement that Panasonic markets as offering an audiophile experience. We wouldn’t say it lives up to this description, but it is easily better than the Samsung S90F – and every other 48-inch OLED we’ve tested recently.

Once again, there’s a good sense of directionality during a gunfight in Civil War, but this time, there’s noticeably more low-end heft and volume, with the explosions offering rumble even at moderate volumes.

This doesn’t come at the expense of the dialogue, however, with a reasonable separation between background noises and characters’ voices, even during scenes with heavy, low-end action.

It’s still no match for a moderately capable soundbar, thanks to imprecise bass and underpowered front drivers, but it’s the best audio performance you’ll find on an OLED this size – giving the Z90B another win.

**Winner: Panasonic Z90B**

48-inch Panasonic Z90B vs Samsung S90F: verdict

Both TVs are solid OLEDs for smaller rooms, and among the best TVs we have tested at this size.

The Samsung S90F is noticeably cheaper than the Panasonic Z90B and it also boasts a more modern, user-friendly design. It goes toe-to-toe with the Z90B when it comes to features, and offers a dazzlingly bright, punchy picture, even if it is a little overbaked.

However, it can’t quite trump the Panasonic Z90B when it comes to picture quality. The Z90B may suffer some drawbacks from its less bright screen, but for cinematic authenticity and an “as the director” intended experience, the Z90B easily comes out on top.

Add in a superior, if not perfect, built-in sound system, and the Panasonic Z90B is the top choice out of the two, and indeed out of all the 48-inch OLEDs we have tested.

**Winner: Panasonic Z90B**

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro represented something of a watershed moment. For perhaps the first time, these were Samsung buds which we could confidently recommend,and while they had their blind spots, the Buds 3 Pro were the clearest indication we’d seen, and indeed heard, that Samsung could chase down the major players in the wireless earbuds space.

The challenge now, then, is for the Korean giant to go one step further with its new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. Their third generation predecessors earned an eminently respectable four star review when we put them through their paces in the summer of 2024, yet that won’t be enough to keep their makers happy.

Only the best of the best will cut it in this ruthless arena, especially when you’re competing against the might of Sony, Technics and Apple – can Samsung finally make that step up to the big leagues?

Price

We’re pleased to report that the Buds 4 Pro haven’t seen a price hike over their predecessors. Like the third-gen flagships, the newer model is once again priced at £219 / $249 / AU$399.

This puts them a little below the likes of the new Sony WF-1000XM6 (tested at £250 / $330 / AU$500) and the Technics EAH-AZ100 (tested at £259 / $299 / AU$499), while roughly matching the cost of the rival Apple AirPods Pro 3 (£219 / $249 / AU$429).

Build & comfort

We’d like to think that Samsung took heed of our gentle ribbing that its outgoing flagship buds reminded us, and many others, of a pair of rival AirPods, because this new iteration confidently sports an aesthetic which feels more unique and distinctive than that which came before.

No, they’re not particularly revolutionary in terms of their configuration – the classic stem and bud design with a removable silicone ear tip is well-worn territory – but it’s tougher to accuse the Buds 4 Pro of looking like Apple rip-offs this time around.

They’ve also had their IP rating boosted from IP53 to IP57, granting protection against dust ingress and immersion in water up to a metre deep for around 30 minutes – a quick dip in the sink confirms the Galaxy buds are up to code.

Buds aside, the case also looks more distinctive, sporting a clam shell design with a transparent lid so that you can admire your buds as they take a well-earned snooze, plus wireless charging if you have a compatible charger.

The vertically placed ‘blade lights’ of the outgoing model – which indicated key vitals such as battery life and connectivity status – have gone, replaced by a sleek metallic stem covering which just gives the fourth-gen buds a more premium aesthetic. Given we didn’t find much use of those blade lights when testing out the outgoing Samsung buds, it likely won’t be a huge miss.

Fit-wise, the Buds 4 Pro are generally easy to get along with. The removable eartips are angled in slightly to allow for a neat, secure seal, with the stems just helping to add a bit of counterweight to keep everything lodged in place, although we did occasionally feel that grip loosen when performing more strenuous gym workouts. Samsung has kindly offered an ear-fit test which you can access via the provided app, confirming whether you’ve obtained an adequate seal with a quick scan of your ears.

Sadly, we’re still left grumbling that you only get three sizes of tip from which to choose. The provision of small, medium and large options feels miserly for a pair of flagship wireless earbuds, especially when the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM6, Technics EAH-AZ100 and AirPods Pro 3 all furnish you with at least four, sometimes five, options to get the perfect fit.

Touch controls are employed by what is predominantly a pinch and hold system, whereby you give the stems a firm squeeze to control operations such as playing and pausing tracks or switching noise-cancelling modes, while swiping up or down on the exterior of the stem with your finger will increase or decrease your music’s volume.

It’s a reasonably intuitive system, albeit one that takes a little getting used to. We start out being far too gentle when giving the buds a feather-light pinch, realising that you need to go with a rather forceful squeeze to get them to respond to your wishes. That volume control is responsive and efficient, though, even if you might have to turn your head a little to get the buds in an adequate position for you to give them a swipe.

Features

You’ll need to download the Samsung Wearable app if you want to get the most out of your flagship Samsung buds. It’s a clean, clear and well-ordered platform that’s available on newer Samsung and Android devices. It won’t surprise you to learn, incidentally, that Apple users get no app support at all.

As you’d find with a pair of AirPods or Beats headphones hooked up to an iPhone, the Buds 4 Pro controls are integrated within your Samsung device’s native operating system, meaning you can access many of their features – including ANC adjustment and immediate pairing – without having to go fire up the app in the first place.

As before, the new buds offer support for Samsung’s take on spatial audio with head tracking, both of which require a Samsung device in order to work and can be toggled on or off via the companion app.

Spatial audio works well enough, and unquestionably provides a markedly more spacious and open experience than when listening in standard mode. Head tracking is also reasonably effective, even if it does suffer from the usual affliction of having a very slight delay whenever we move our head from one side to the other.

Do the Buds 4 Pro pack enough portable power to go the distance? Samsung’s wireless flagbearers boast seven hours from the buds and a total of 30 with the case when ANC is turned off. Switch noise cancelling on, and those numbers will drop to roughly six hours from the buds and a total of 26 hours with the case.

Those are solid numbers, and generally capable of keeping up with most of Samsung’s key rivals. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) tend to clock in at around 6 hours from the buds and 24 hours altogether, while the Sony WF-1000XM6 will give you 8 hours from the buds and 24 hours from the case. The AirPods Pro 3 will offer more in-bud battery life (8 hours), but their total of 24 hours is just beaten by Samsung’s flagship candidates.

If you’re seeking a reason to upgrade to Samsung’s more recent raft of Galaxy mobile devices, the Buds 4 Pro could be it. One of the unique powers of the outgoing Buds 3 Pro was their compatibility with Samsung’s exclusive proprietary SSC UHQ hi-res codec, providing transmission of up to 24-bit/96kHz music files over Bluetooth via newer devices. Those hi-res capabilities return for the fourth-gen flagship iteration, so we enlist the services of a Galaxy S25 smartphone to get the most out of our test sample’s sonic capabilities.

Noise cancelling & voice calls

Voice calls via the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are ably handled. Speech comes across as reasonably clear thanks to the buds’ trio of microphones and voice pick-up unit. During calls, background noises, such as the bluster of wind and the swoosh of a nearby motorway, are impressively diminished. The costlier Sony WF-1000XM6 sound clearer and more natural, but Samsung’s flagbearers get the job done just fine.

Noise cancelling, meanwhile, comes in a healthy variety of flavours, including a more transparent passthrough setting alongside full active noise cancelling. This full ANC mode is effective enough in daily use, and while the Sony WF-1000XM6 are more effective at blocking out higher highs and deeper lows, we certainly notice an appreciable softening of road traffic noise and the general hubbub of a busy street when we take our Samsung test pair out for a stroll.

You also get access to Samsung’s Adaptive mode, which monitors your environment and automatically switches to the more transparent ambient setting when it detects sounds such as human speech or the screech of nearby sirens.

That automatic mode switching works well, and it doesn’t take long for the Buds 4 Pro to move seamlessly into ambient mode after we’ve started an impromptu conversation in the office. Clever.

Sound

While the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will appeal predominantly to Samsung users, Samsung envisions its flagship buds as being compatible with a range of source devices. As such, we use a Samsung Galaxy S25 phone for much of our test time, as well as the five-star Sony Xperia 1 VI to assess the Buds 4 Pros’ general Android performance, and an iPhone 15 to see if they can play ball with Samsung’s arch rivals Apple.

The Buds 4 Pro feature a dual driver arrangement, with a larger 11mm woofer combined with a tweeter that aims to cover a wider range of frequencies (deeper bass, higher highs) and deliver greater dynamics than before.

However we listen, it doesn’t take long for us to develop something of a soft spot for the fourth-gen flagships. These are clear, well-organised and snappy performers, keenly and enthusiastically firing your music into your ears with the same tenacity as an eager labrador puppy desperately trying to retrieve a tennis ball from underneath the family sofa.

That crisp, nimble approach is hard to resist, and with the right genres, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are capable of putting on quite a show. Rock, hip-hop and dance numbers played via Tidal tend to fare particularly well, as evidenced by a powerful, crunchy rendition of Slipknot’s headbanging Before I Forget and a similarly eager, lively reproduction of Justice’s funky Phantom Pt. II.

These might well be the best-sounding buds that Samsung has yet made, and certainly a clear step up in detail and clarity over their third-generation predecessors. The Buds 4 Pros’ outstanding levels of textural insight and clarity make a recording of Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca sound appropriately regal, before bringing out the lean, retro feeling of Elvis Costello’s Veronica with aplomb.

If you really want to hear your earbuds firing on all cylinders, it pays to have an up-to-date Samsung device to hand in order to take advantage of the brand’s hi-res SSC UHQ codec. When paired with the Samsung S25 smartphone and with that high-quality codec switched on, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro take on their final and most fearsome form, like a chunky Charmeleon evolving into a mighty, fire-breathing Charizard.

Overall clarity and detail levels are increased considerably, giving Johnny Cash’s seminal cover of Hurt a welcome boost. Cash’s voice is rich and full of a gravelly, smoke-filled melancholy, while his guitar player sounds both meatier and more resonant yet simultaneously nimbler and more clearly defined than when using an iPhone or the standard Bluetooth codec on the Sony.

Everything, in fact, sounds tauter and more precise when playing through a compatible Samsung device. The bass is grippier and more responsive, while midrange textures, such as delicate guitar strums and human vocals, are more densely packed with detail than when playing on another Android or Apple device.

That hi-res codec doesn’t quite save the Buds 4 Pro from their relative limitations, though, especially when put up against the best in the business in the shape of the new Sony WF-1000XM6. Dig out Radiohead’s strange, entrancing Decks Dark, and you’ll notice the clear step up the five-star Sony buds provide as they tease out each instrumental strand with a near-obsessive attention to detail.

Dynamically, the XM6 are a cut above, granting a real sense of shape and expression to the track’s descending piano passages, all while giving the quiet drums beneath a more perceptible feeling of weight and intent. The Buds 4 Pro excel at making Decks Dark sound clear, spacious and nicely balanced, but the XM6s’ more musically involving rendition once again highlights why the Sony heavyweights are quite possibly the finest wireless earbuds we’ve heard at this level.

The AirPods Pro 3 are also just a shade more dynamically and rhythmically expressive than their Samsung counterparts, as evidenced by their engrossing delivery of Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting, but the Buds 4 Pro win back points by outshining the AirPods Pro 3 for clarity, spaciousness and overall levels of detail.

Verdict

Samsung is taking sound seriously, and it shows. The brand’s flagship Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are its best-sounding wireless earbuds yet, offering a clear, agile performance that’s backed by a whole host of slick features.

You’ll need a recent flagship Samsung smartphone to get them firing on all cylinders, but if you’ve got the kit to get them sounding their best, the Buds 4 Pro are a really solid pick, especially for devoted Samsung users.

Review published: 25th February 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 5
• Comfort 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WF-1000XM6

Also consider the Apple AirPods Pro 3

Read our Technics EAH-AZ100 review

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: which flagship earbuds are better?

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6: has Samsung closed the gap on the class leaders?

Best wireless earbuds: top pairs tested by our reviewers

Samsung has announced its latest trio of Android smartphones, with the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra forming the three-strong lineup for 2026.

These high-end handsets will serve as the flagship models, replacing the Award-winning Galaxy S25 Ultra and the four-star Galaxy S25 Plus from last year.

Samsung is touting updated designs, more powerful chipsets, better cameras and, if you can believe it, even more AI smarts than ever before. All of these do, unfortunately, come at a cost, and we mean that in the literal sense.

Samsung's new flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra

Starting with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, this flagship handset boasts a 6.9-inch Super AMOLED 2X display with a variable refresh rate of 1Hz-120Hz, and a resolution of 3120x1440.

It sports the superb ProScaler feature of its predecessor, which upscales lower-resolution content to look its best on the high-resolution display, and Samsung claims it has worked with its TV division once again to improve the tech on the new S26 Ultra.

Furthermore, Samsung is touting an improved mDNIe system for more natural and subtle colours, as well as HDR10+ and HDR10 support for compatible streaming apps.

Dolby Atmos audio is also on board, and can be accessed via wireless or wired headphones, as well as the built-in stereo speaker system, which utilises the handset's bottom-firing speaker and earpiece.

Powering this beast of a smartphone is the latest Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset from Qualcomm, and it's backed by 12GB of RAM if you opt for the 256GB or 512GB model, or 16GB of RAM if you choose the spacious 1TB configuration.

This powerful processor enables a wide range of Galaxy AI smarts, including automatic translation, Circle to Search with Google, writing assists, generative photo editing, and the Now Bar system, which can show you relevant news, calendar entries, and weather information at the relevant time.

Now Nudge is another new feature, which uses AI to dig into your apps to search for relevant information to automatically reply to messages or enter details on websites. There's also a generative photo assistant tool which can totally change a photo you've taken into a new style or scenario with a simple text prompt.

Speaking of photos, the S26 Ultra sports a quad rear camera arrangement with a new 200MP main sensor that's reportedly 47 per cent brighter than its predecessor, and a pair of upgraded telephoto sensors that provide better noise reduction and HDR performance.

Samsung is touting higher charging speeds, with wired charging now reaching 60W, and wireless charging topping out at 25W. If you have a compatible 60W wired fast charger, Samsung says that you can expect the Galaxy S26 Ultra to reach 75 per cent in just 30 minutes.

Disappointingly, Samsung hasn't upgraded the battery itself, meaning we have the same 5000mAh cell that's been featured on the last few Galaxy S Ultra iterations.

All of these features come wrapped up in a redesigned chassis with smoother, more rounded corners, and an Aluminium Armour frame (so long titanium) that features enhanced durability to withstand knocks and dings.

This is also the slimmest Ultra smartphone to date, according to Samsung, as it's shaved the S26 Ultra down to just 7.9mm, down from the S25 Ultra's 8.3mm thickness.

Samsung is launching the S26 Ultra in four widely available finishes (Black, White, Cobalt Violet and Sky Blue) and two exclusive (Pink Gold and Shadow Silver) colours for its online store.

As we mentioned earlier, prices have gone up this year, with the S26 Ultra now starting at £1279 for the 256GB model, £1449 for the 512GB version, and a whopping £1699 for the 1TB edition. Those prices are £50, £100 and £150 more than last year's models, respectively, which is a tough pill to swallow.

International pricing is TBA as of now; however, we do know that the S26 Ultra will launch on 11th March 2026, with Samsung offering customers double the storage capacity at no extra cost if they choose to pre-order the handset before then.

Upgraded step down models launching too

Moving down to the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus, these handsets shave off a few features in a bid to keep costs down.

The S26 sports a 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 2340x1080, a variable 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ and HDR10 support. Unfortunately, it doesn't support ProScaler, though this year's model features a 0.1-inch screen size upgrade compared to last year's model.

The S26 Plus moves up to a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 3120x1440 resolution, support for the same variable refresh rate and HDR formats as the other models, and the ProScaler feature is supported here.

Both handsets utilise Samsung's latest Exynos 2600 chipset in the UK. However, that's switched for the same Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip in North America, China and Japan. That's backed up by 12GB of RAM across the board for both models, and the base storage configuration is now 256GB on the standard S26, with a 512GB version also available for both.

The S26 sports a 4300mAh battery with Samsung's Super Fast Charging and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 standards supported, which translates to 25W wired charging or 15W wireless charging. The S26 Plus, on the other hand, steps up to Super Fast Charging 2.0 and Super Fast Wireless Charging, allowing for 40W wired or 20W wireless charging.

Both devices feature a triple rear camera setup, with a 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto and a 50MP main sensor. Furthermore, the raft of Galaxy AI features listed on the S26 Ultra are also supported here.

The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will launch in the same range of colours as the Ultra – that's Black, White, Cobalt Violet and Sky Blue (widely available), and Pink Gold and Shadow Silver (Samsung exclusives) – on the 11th of March.

Prices have also gone up for the entry-level models, thanks to the removal of the 128GB base storage, meaning the Galaxy S26 now starts at £879 instead of £799 (or £1049 for the 512GB version).

The Galaxy S26 Plus starts at £1099 rather than the £999 starting price of the Galaxy S25 Plus, with the 512GB model costing an Ultra-like £1269. Samsung will also double your storage on S26 and S26 Plus if you choose to pre-order before the official launch date.

MORE:

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

As well as our Apple iPhone 17 review

And check out our picks for the best smartphones for music and movies

Samsung Display has announced the launch of an advanced new version of its OLED panel technology, combining two brightness-boosting methods that can currently be found on many of the best OLED TVs on the market today.

While the company has decided to launch it officially only now, there’s a chance you are already experiencing the benefits of this upgraded OLED panel.

It’s called QD-Penta Tandem, and it features a five-layer OLED stack, which, keen screen enthusiasts will know, is one layer more than offered in LG Display’s Primary RGB Tandem OLED.

Samsung Display has added an additional blue layer to the existing four-layer blue stack, which it claims will enhance “luminous efficiency by 1.3 times and extend lifespan by two times compared with last year’s four-layer QD-OLED”.

Samsung increased the number of blue light-emitting OLED layers from four to five last year, with Quantum Dots (the “QD” part of QD-OLED) handling the production of colours.

Stacking additional OLED layers is a method that rival company, LG Display, has used in the past, namely with its aforementioned Primary RGB Tandem OLED technology. That differs by including different colour OLED layers (red, green and two blue layers to be specific) rather than relying on Quantum Dots to produce colours.

In a surprising twist, Samsung Display confirms that QD-Penta Tandem has already been featured in several TVs since 2025; the two biggest QD-OLED TVs that come to mind are the five-star Samsung S95F and the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, both of which feature exceptional brightness and colours.

With Samsung Display launching this new QD Penta-Tandem branding, it seems to us that it could retroactively apply the new panel name to the existing 2025 QD-OLED TVs. It looks as though upcoming 2026 models, including the Samsung S95H, may also sport the panel branding.

The company affirms that it “plans to expand QD-OLED Penta Tandem across its full range of panel sizes this year, supplying the technology for flagship products from major customers” across the TV and monitor markets.

MORE:

Read our Samsung S95H hands-on review

As well as our LG G6 hands-on review

And check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

Sometimes less is more.

That’s certainly the case with the recent crop of cheap soundbars we have tested – and there’s one specific feature I don’t mind missing out on when I’m setting up a budget bar.

The tension of unboxing a soundbar, waiting to find out whether the app I need to test said ’bar will be usable or not, is usually unbearable.

I am, of course, in a unique position. As someone who has unboxed and set up countless soundbars, I have more applications taking up my iPhone’s storage than the average Joe.

Sonos, Sony, Samsung, LG, Sennheiser; each has its own application, and that's just to name a few.

They all vary greatly in quality, too. Samsung’s SmartThings app is intuitive, responsive, and mostly optional if you don’t plan on streaming music to your HW-Q990F from your phone. The LG Soundbar app, on the other hand, has been a bit of a buggy mess when we have used it in the past.

That app tended to crash mid-way through the setup process, forcing me to unpair the soundbar from my phone and restart the process completely when I reviewed the LG USE6S back in 2023.

Admittedly that was almost three years ago, so things may have changed; however, the LG Soundbar app currently sports an embarrassing two stars on the Apple App Store, so I'm not willing to bet it has made much progress.

Thankfully, it’s an issue that hasn’t presented itself with the last few soundbars I have looked at. None of them has an app to speak of. This is because they sit towards the more affordable end of the soundbar spectrum; and the most effective way to keep costs down, from what we've seen, is to make a soundbar “dumb”.

Cheap soundbars can teach the flagships a lesson...

Take the four-star Creative Stage Pro, which surprised us with its potent sonic performance despite its minuscule price. While we like its crisp dialogue and punchy bass, arguably its biggest draw is that it just works, and once you plug it in, you don't really need to think about it ever again.

It's a similar story for the Sony HT-SF150, which remains our reference cheap soundbar despite being more than six years old now. Its plug and play nature made it a quick and easy comparison tool to assess the Creative Stage Pro’s performance.

Stepping up in terms of price and complexity, I also helped to test the Sony Bravia Theatre System 6 (review coming soon), which also lacks wi-fi compatibility.

That soundbar does support the Sony Bravia Connect app, but it works over a Bluetooth connection and is simply an alternative way to access settings and features that can also be found on the supplied remote control.

Having an app that works with the soundbar, but isn't necessary to operate or get the best out of it, really is a best-case scenario in my opinion. In fact, it led me to a realisation.

I would take an optional or simple soundbar app over a badly optimised one that happens to be full of features any day of the week. The frustration of an app crashing mid setup can really sour the excitement of testing a new soundbar; I would rather sidestep the process completely if it’s going to be more hassle than it’s worth.

I understand that this philosophy really applies only to budget soundbars, as pricier models need a calibration system, or a way to connect external components such as wireless subwoofers and surround speakers. But that definitely leads me to wish that the flagship soundbars in question had better apps.

If I’m going to be forced to use a soundbar app, can these multi-billion-pound corporations at least make sure it’s a good one?

Maybe that’s too much to ask. So for now I’ll revel in the straightforward, plug-and-play simplicity of the budget soundbars that we’re currently testing.

MORE:

Read our full Sonos Arc Ultra review

Check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

As well as the best budget soundbars

2026 will be the year of the RGB Mini LED TV. Thanks to wanton obfuscation from TV manufacturers, though, that won’t necessarily be very clear.

RGB Mini LED is the next evolution of Mini LED, which, you’re probably aware, takes traditional LED backlighting and replaces the chunky, old-fashioned LEDs with vastly smaller ones.

Because the LEDs are so much smaller, loads more of them can be crammed into a backlighting system, resulting in better light control and, therefore, better contrast.

On standard Mini LED TVs, the LEDs are generally blue, and their light is passed through filters to create different colours. The difference with RGB Mini LEDs is, as you’ve probably guessed, that the LEDs themselves are red, green and blue.

When done correctly, the main advantages of RGB Mini LED technology are purer colours and extra brightness (which in turn creates even greater contrast).

Is RGB Mini LED an OLED-beater? It’s too early to tell, as most brands are launching their first sets that use the technology this year. I’m inclined to think it’s going to work better in the mid-range bracket, with OLED’s perfect blacks and pixel-level contrast control keeping it on top; but that’s beside the point for now.

The actual point is that RGB Mini LED technology is exciting stuff. So why are several brands avoiding using the real term for it and instead trying to make you think you’re getting something even more advanced?

I’ve sort of answered my own question there, haven’t I?

What’s in a name?

Look, I’ve got no real issue with TV brands using fancy names for what is ultimately quite boring terminology. But what I don’t like is when brands try to pretend a TV is something it’s not.

So, for example, Samsung’s original launch of ‘QLED’ TVs way back in 2017 really got my goat.

Why? Because the ‘QLED’ name had already been applied to a future panel technology involving self-emissive Quantum Dots – in other words, a true rival to self-emissive OLED technology. Here, though, Samsung was applying the name to backlit TVs with a Quantum Dot layer, almost certainly in order to place it on the same pedestal as OLED in potential buyers’ minds.

Samsung’s use of the term ‘Neo QLED’ to describe its Mini LED TVs, though, was fine in my book. Once the use (misuse, in my mind) of QLED was established, adding a word such as ‘Neo’ to denote the next technological evolution was just funky branding.

But why am I bringing this all up now? Because two brands are launching their RGB Mini LED TVs using the word ‘Micro’ rather than ‘Mini’.

RGB Mini LED and Micro LED are not the same thing

You see, Micro LED TVs already exist. They are currently ridiculously expensive, but they are available to buy right now. Samsung, LG and Hisense all currently produce genuine Micro LED TVs.

What makes a Micro LED TV ‘genuine’? It’s when the pixels are self-emissive, as they are with OLED and the aforementioned ‘true’ QLED.

Genuine Micro LED is generally seen as the eventual successor to OLED. All of that lovely pixel-by-pixel contrast control combined with greater brightness, purer colours and no risk of burn-in or degradation over time. I have seen it in action several times over the years, and I’m very much a believer.

But Samsung and LG – yes, two of the very same manufacturers that produce true Micro LED TVs – now also have other, less ‘true’ (at least in my opinion) Micro TVs on their books.

LG’s first RGB Mini LED TV is the MRGB95, which the brand is referring to as a ‘Micro RGB Evo TV’. Samsung, meanwhile, has its R95H ‘Micro RGB TV’.

To be absolutely clear, these are not TVs with self-emissive, Micro LED-derived pixels. These are backlit TVs that use very small RGB LEDs. You know, like RGB Mini LED TVs.

The argument appears to be, at least in LG’s case, that because the LEDs these TVs use are smaller than those in Mini LED models, the ‘Micro’ element is fair game.

I’d argue that there are lots of words for ‘very small’, and choosing ‘micro’ sure looks like an effort to blur the lines between these backlit RGB LED TVs and real Micro LED TVs.

It’s certainly the case that this has already caused a fair amount of confusion among us tech journos, so what possible chance does the average punter have? I posit that it's very little.

Interestingly, Hisense is very specifically sticking with the ‘RGB Mini LED’ name for its TVs in this arena, because it feels using the word ‘micro’ would be disingenuous.

On the other hand, it is adding the word ‘Evo’, which must be infuriating to LG – but that’s all good fun, if you ask me.

MORE:

Don't want to wait? Here are the best TVs you can buy right now

Samsung has begun teasing the next iteration of its Galaxy smartphone series, which we presume will be called the Galaxy S26. This will follow on from last year's Award-winning Galaxy S25 Ultra, which featured a screen that simply knocked our socks off.

Therefore, expectations are high for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is expected to launch later this month – though no date for the company's annual Unpacked event has been set quite yet.

Samsung is, however, already touting the upgraded AI abilities of the upcoming series of flagship handsets. While AI doesn't spark much joy for us, there is an interesting new display feature which could hint towards an upgrade coming to that glorious Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen.

Samsung is touting this feature as giving the forthcoming Galaxy S series a “new layer of privacy”, referring to some clever pixel-level technology that will stop snoopers from peeking over your shoulder at your phone screen.

The idea here is to give people peace of mind when they enter passwords or sharing personal details over messages, without worrying. It appears as though this feature will combat off-axis viewing, meaning that the display will be viewable only to the owner of the phone.

Better yet, users can allocate the privacy system to specific parts of the display, meaning passwords and pin codes stay hidden, and even certain apps and notifications can be assigned to this new private-screen mode.

This is a unique feature, and not one that we have seen before on any smartphone. Samsung itself states that it has been working on the feature for more than five years.

The inclusion of this feature could hint towards an overall display upgrade coming to the Galaxy S26 Ultra – cause for excitement indeed.

The excellent OLED display paired with the ProScaler upscaling feature made the Galaxy S25 Ultra one of the best smartphones of 2025, so expectations are high for this mysterious new model.

MORE:

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

As well as our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review

And our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

We're less than a month away from the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy Buds 4 launch, if the latest leak is to be believed. And considering it comes from reliable source Evan Blass, we would say it is.

His post shows a promotional image for Galaxy Unpacked, which is Samsung's annual showcase for the next Galaxy S variant. The date given is 25th February – that's three weeks on Wednesday.

Last year's event was held on 22nd January, so this year's would be slightly later than usual.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 will be Samsung's flagship phone for 2026, until its Z Flip and Z Fold foldables launch in the summer, that is. It's expected to have a screen privacy feature that means people around can't see what's on your screen, leaving you free to enter passwords in public without anyone snooping on you.

It's also said to be slimmer than the Galaxy S25, to offer the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor (in certain markets), with a 200MP telephoto sensor rumoured for the S26 Ultra. Price rises have also been rumoured for certain models and capacities, but by no means all.

The Galaxy Buds 4 models, however, are expected to keep the same price as their predecessors. According to Dealabs, the Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro will cost the same €179 and €249 respectively as their predecessors. Those are European prices – in the UK, the Buds 3 launched at £159 and the Buds 3 Pro £219 (though both have come down from these prices since their 2024 launch).

Leaked pictures have shown a flatter, more compact design for both pairs of buds, while the charging case has also been redesigned. The buds are also said to have Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) connectivity, which could bring hi-res audio functionality.

Head gestures à la the AirPods Pro 3 are also on the cards.

Samsung's phones have reviewed well in recent years, but its wireless earbuds less so. Here's hoping the latest models can give the best AirPods a run for their money.

MORE:

Check out the best smartphones for music and movies

The best AirPods alternatives you can buy

Read our Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

There was only one thing I could possibly write about for this week’s edition of Adventures In AV.

The proposal of a Sony and TCL joint venture that will take control of the former’s home entertainment business (which produces its TVs, soundbars and more) has shaken the industry.

I’ll be honest, it’s shaken me. I didn’t see the news coming, and as someone who grew up in a Sony household and is a big fan of the brand’s OLEDs in particular (I currently live with an A95L), I’m deeply concerned about what it means for the future.

To be clear, I’m not blinkered towards Sony. There have been plenty of Sony products, including TVs, that have disappointed me, and I’ve been involved in plenty of less-than-positive Sony reviews over my 18 years of testing.

Besides, we review as a team (it’s the What Hi-Fi? ‘how we test’ mantra), so any personal subconscious biases are counteracted as part of our testing process.

But, at its best, Sony can be unbeatable when it comes to TVs, and I think we need Sony to continue to be Sony – but will that be allowed as part of this joint venture?

The Sony difference

Sony takes its time. These days, most of its TVs have a two-year lifecycle, while every other brand replaces its entire range every year.

That extra time allows for more careful and considered tuning and development, and it results in greater quality jumps between generations.

And where its rivals battle it out to produce TVs with the largest, most impressive-sounding numbers, Sony generally (there are exceptions, such as the Bravia 9) rises above such showboating and focuses on squeezing the most out of its hardware in the name of delivering cinematic authenticity.

I’m not saying that’s always the right course, but it’s important that we have a brand that takes this approach when all of the others (with the exception of Panasonic) are obsessed with fighting a numbers war.

TCL is, of course, one of those brands that is obsessed with numbers. Each year, it tries to outdo the likes of Hisense and Samsung by packing its new TVs with the most dimming zones and the highest brightness – and it often comes out on top.

My concern is that this approach could be applied to Sony – TCL is going to have the controlling, 51 per cent stake of this proposed joint venture, after all – and we could end up with yet another brand focused on tech specs at the expense of patient, careful development.

There is, though, a way this could all work out…

The optimistic vision

If it feels as though I’m doing TCL down, that’s not my intention. I’ve been incredibly impressed by the Chinese brand’s TVs over the last couple of years, with 2025’s range proving incredibly consistent and awesome value for money.

TCL is great at what it does, which is produce TVs with specs and picture quality well beyond their price points.

And this is precisely the area in which Sony is weakest. It rarely launches budget-oriented TVs these days (it's been selling the same 32-inch model since way back in 2021, for heaven’s sake), and when it does, they’re rarely, if ever, the best in class – the recently reviewed Bravia 3 is a case in point.

So, what I’m proposing is that the TCL and Sony brands continue to target the areas of the market they’re already most invested in.

In fact, I’d like to see them both double down – TCL could stop edging closer to the super-premium end of things and solidify its position as champion of the mid-range and budget sectors, and Sony could stop producing budget-oriented models that are more or less destined to fail, at least in performance terms, and concentrate entirely on premium and flagship models.

So, what’s the point of the joint venture?

But if TCL and Sony ‘stay in their lanes’ as I’m proposing, what’s the flipping point of the joint venture? I’ve got thoughts on that, too.

Without stepping on Sony’s toes, TCL could bring its Japanese partner’s processing and tuning nous into its TVs, potentially resulting in an irresistible blend of mid-range-demolishing specs and super-authentic calibration.

Sony, meanwhile, could benefit from TCL’s greater scale and resources, allowing it to produce more models without entirely compromising its conservative approach. Being shorn of the responsibility to produce more affordable models could help here, too.

I’m not saying we necessarily need Sony to replace every model every year, but it would be nice if it had the capacity to extend its OLED range into more affordable and smaller models. For the love of all that is holy, it could at least finally put 2022’s A90K out of its misery and replace it with a model to take on LG’s latest C series.

Let’s not forget that TCL is currently building a huge new factory that will produce OLED panels using a new, more efficient, inkjet manufacturing process. It’s intended for the likes of laptops and phones in the first instance, but surely TV panels are on the agenda, too.

Imagine if Sony could get first dibs on new, more affordable OLED technology as part of this joint venture. It could usher in a new dawn of Sony OLED TVs that no longer rely on the panel-manufacturing arms of LG and Samsung.

But will any of this happen? As should be abundantly clear by now, I just don’t know – and neither, it seems, do my contacts at Sony or TCL. Besides, let’s face it, any further official statement at this point is only going to put a positive spin on things, whether that's justified or not.

The proof will, as ever, be in the pudding, and we’ll be waiting a long time for that, as even if the joint venture is ratified, it’s not expected to commence operations until April next year.

In the meantime, I reserve the right to be very nervous about the future of Sony TVs – but also aware that there is a way it could all work out for the best.

MORE:

Here's our full news story on the Sony and TCL joint venture

And here are the opinions of several of our team members and readers on the matter

These are the best TVs you can buy right now

You know what they say about OLED TVs: you wait your whole life for a cheap one to come along, and then two arrive at once.

So, hot on the heels of our review of Toshiba’s XF9F OLED TV, we have Philips’s take on the budget OLED, the OLED760.

It currently costs just a little more than the Toshiba model, but the OLED760 is still remarkably affordable for an OLED. It also boasts better specs and fancy Ambilight, and is, perhaps crucially, the product of a brand with almost a decade of experience in the OLED TV game.

So, can it succeed where the Toshiba struggled?

Price

The 65-inch Philips OLED760 launched at an impressively low price of £1499, but its current £1099 asking price makes it potentially one of the year’s biggest TV bargains.

OLED TVs – especially those equipped, as the OLED760 is, with an eye-catching supporting cast of Ambilight technology and strong gaming support – just aren’t supposed to be this cheap. Yet here we are.

Not surprisingly, the other screen sizes of the OLED760 keep the value flag flying, with the 55-inch costing £899 and the 77-inch costing £1599.

Philips’s website lists a 48-inch OLED760 model as well, but at the time of writing, we couldn’t find anywhere in the UK selling this model. Philips OLEDs unfortunately aren’t available in the US or Australia.

Cheap though it is by OLED standards, the Philips OLED760 can, remarkably, be beaten for price, with the recently reviewed Toshiba XF9F OLED currently available for just £999 in 65-inch form.

The cheapest 65-inch OLEDs from more established brands such as Samsung and LG, meanwhile, start at around £1500.

Design

Far from being the lump of boring plastic we would expect such a budget-conscious OLED to look like, the OLED760 is actually rather glamorous. It combines a remarkably narrow, premium-feeling black screen trim with a chassis so slim at the outer edges that it gives your credit card a run for its money.

The TV does bulk out a fair bit over its more central rear portion – all of its connections, processing, speakers and the like have to go somewhere, after all – but you won’t notice this chunkier bit unless you’ve hung the TV on the wall or you’re watching it from a really severe angle.

Even the little blade-style feet supplied with the screen enjoy a quite premium ‘satin chrome’ finish.

Then there’s the OLED760’s most eye-catching claim to design fame: its three-sided take on Philips’ Ambilight technology.

This, if you’ve somehow never come across Ambilight before, uses an array of LEDs arranged down the back of the screen’s left, right and top edges to produce a pool of coloured light on the wall behind and around the TV.

This pool of light can be purely ambient, set to a colour of your choice, or set to have the LEDs constantly mirror both the tone and the position of specific colours of what you’re watching.

We realise Ambilight perhaps sounds a bit much when just described in writing like this, but while we would advise toning down Ambilight’s brightness and responsiveness from its default settings, it really can enhance the viewing experience. As well as making for a fun dinner party talking point.

Features

You would expect a £1099 65-inch OLED TV to be stripped back to the bare bones in terms of features. The OLED760, though, is having none of that.

Gamers will be delighted, for starters, to find the set capable of supporting 4K/120Hz feeds, complete with VRR in the generic, AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync formats. Even more impressively, these features are supported across all four of the TV’s HDMI sockets, rather than being limited to just a couple.

When the TV’s receiving a game source, you can call up a dedicated game menu that shows both information on the incoming game feed and a small selection of gaming aids.

The screen takes just 13.1ms to render 60Hz graphics in its Game preset, too – and that drops to only around 6ms with 120Hz sources. There’s even a special Game Mode setting for the Ambilight system.

The OLED760 can also play all four of the current TV HDR formats: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. In other words, it will take in the best version of any content you feed it.

A Filmmaker Mode is provided for AV fans looking for an instantly accurate picture mode, though there’s also extensive Calman calibration support if you want to pay for a professional calibrator to come in and further optimise the set.

The OLED760 even retains a version of Philips’ P5 AI Perfect Picture Engine processor.

This isn’t the latest, most powerful, most feature-packed version of this processor, but it still has elements working on the core five aspects of picture quality referred to in the ‘P5’ part of its name: colour, contrast, sharpness, motion and source detection/recognition. This means it’s still got way more about it than the processing systems found on most high-value TVs.

Smart features are provided by the relatively new Titan OS platform. This isn’t the most dazzlingly presented smart service around, but it does carry the vast majority of the streaming services most UK TV buyers will want, including Disney+, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer.

In fact, it even carries the new Freely service, via which you can live stream (as opposed to receive through an aerial) most of the channels found on the Freeview HD terrestrial broadcast service, and enjoy subscription-free access to tens of thousands of hours of on-demand content.

Bluetooth 5.2 and Apple AirPlay are built in, too, and it also works with both Apple Home and Google Home, while Amazon Alexa voice control is built in and accessed via a microphone built into the remote control. The one major app that isn’t available during testing is Apple TV – but you can these days access Apple TV content through the Prime Video app, albeit at a lower bitrate (and therefore quality).

While the OLED760’s 2 x 10W sound system isn’t the result of one of Philips’s collaborations with audio brand Bowers & Wilkins, the set still supports playback of both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks, as well as providing a few handy audio features including bass enhancement, dialogue enhancement, room calibration, a graphic equaliser, a night mode, and even the option to establish specific individual hearing profiles.

In these days when all OLED panels are very much not equal, we need to wrap this section up by stressing that the panel inside the OLED760 does not boast the MLA, ‘Evo’, Quantum Dot or Primary RGB Tandem technologies found in various of today’s mid-range and premium OLED TVs.

Instead, it’s a basic OLED panel without any significant brightness-boosting or colour volume-enhancing tricks up its sleeve (beyond anything Philips’ P5 processor can bring to the table). Even a pretty basic OLED panel still has the potential to rock the mid-range TV world, though…

Picture quality

While the OLED760’s pictures don’t hit the same HDR-hungry heights that the premium likes of the LG G5, Samsung S95F and Panasonic Z95B do, they’re anything but a disappointment for the set’s money.

But let’s get the downers, such as they are, out of the way first. The most obvious one is that the OLED760 isn’t nearly as bright as this year’s top-level OLEDs are. This applies both to full-screen bright HDR content (which looks to be around half as bright as this year’s boldest OLED performers) and the intensity of small bright peaks.

Motion is also less assured here than it is on Philips’ more premium TVs these days. Judder with 24p film sources is a bit stark with no motion processing active, but then some motion settings leave images looking a little soft and blurry, while others that clean this softness up push too far in the other direction, leaving motion feeling too fluid to still feel natural.

While we never quite find a perfect solution for the screen’s slight motion niggles, though, the brightness issue is really just part and parcel of equipping the OLED760 with an OLED panel affordable enough to hit its budget-conscious retail price. And it comes with plenty of healthy mitigating factors in tow.

For instance, since the OLED760 naturally retains OLED’s unique ability to have each and every self-emissive pixel produce its own light and colour independently of even its closest neighbours, local contrast is still super-impressive compared with any LCD TVs available for the same sort of money.

The OLED760 can, after all, produce an image’s deepest black pixels right alongside its brightest whites, contributing to a degree of contrast and intensity that provides more than ample compensation for the screen’s relatively limited core brightness.

Those deepest black pixels really are black, too, revealing none of the greyness that you get to some degree with even the strongest mid-range LCD TVs.

Nor is there any instability in the OLED760’s portrayal of dark scenes; baseline brightness levels always look rock solid, even with dark shots that contain multiple subtle shifts in their overall light balance.

Plus, of course, since this is OLED technology, there’s no backlight clouding or blooming to worry about.

The OLED760 improves over its predecessors in Philips’ TV range by also managing to reveal impressive amounts of shadow detail in even the darkest image corners.

We don’t find ourselves troubled, either, by any major green or mauve undertones while watching dark scenes, even when watching the screen from a wide angle. In fact, watching the OLED760 from an angle merely reminds us of OLED’s innate advantage in this area over the vast majority of LCD TVs.

The exquisite degree of light control the OLED760 provides, albeit within a constrained light range, feeds into its colour performance. There’s never any trouble with significant colour striping or posterisation with HDR feeds, and shading even in the most vibrant areas remains present enough to avoid the flat and cartoonish look such areas can exhibit with lesser TVs.

Philips has very much learned over recent years how to cater for a range of picture quality tastes, and this underrated talent continues even with a TV as affordable as the OLED760.

A Filmmaker Mode is provided and works very nicely for people who want an accurate but relatively flat, ‘laid back’ picture that thrives on subtlety and nuance. Philips’s default Crystal Clear setting, though, is also on hand to deliver an eye-catching demonstration of how intense and vibrant the OLED760 can look, despite the OLED panel’s limited brightness.

While this default setting initially feels a bit too strong and aggressive, especially if you’ve watched the Filmmaker Mode first, it’s surprising how much its extra vibrancy starts to grow on you as you tune into it. Especially as it’s actually much more consistent, balanced, nuanced and faithful to the feel of the original source material than some of Philips’ previous default picture presets have been.

There’s a relatively simple way to take the edge off this mode’s most aggressive instincts, too, if you really can’t tune into them, in the shape of a Colour Content Adaptation setting. Just switching this to Balanced from its default (in Crystal Clear Mode) Vibrant setting can calm the picture down without losing too much of that enjoyable extra brightness and punch that the Crystal Clear mode is designed to provide.

It’s worth adding, too, that the OLED760 provides an HDR Movie preset that gives you (with minimal tinkering) an image that feels nicely positioned between the relatively dark, subdued Filmmaker Mode and the exuberance of the Crystal Clear mode.

The OLED760 effortlessly adapts its talent for subtlety and finesse to SDR content too, as well as, finally, delivering a crisp, clean, responsive gaming performance that’s way better than we’d expect from such an affordable 65-inch OLED TV. Not least because it also largely avoids (especially with 120Hz sources) the slight motion inconsistencies and flaws noted during video playback.

Sound quality

The OLED760’s trend of punching above its price weight continues with its audio. It can get surprisingly loud for a TV with such a thin (at the outer edges, anyway) chassis, but at the same time, it manages to retain excellent levels of detail and clarity even when pushed to volume levels that would have many TVs’ speakers crumbling.

These details are well placed, too, creating an effective sense of 3D space with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X mixes that includes making dialogue sound locked to the screen.

The sound also projects forward quite nicely, and there’s nothing harsh or thin about even the most trebly details. At the other end of the frequency spectrum, meanwhile, the OLED760 manages to deliver a pretty solid bass showing, despite the slenderness of so much of its bodywork.

The midrange sounds spacious too, with enough headroom to cope with substantial sound mix expansions during action scenes without starting to sound thin or boxed in.

The movie world’s most bonkers bass drops and sustained rumbles can instigate a little humming interference from the TV’s chassis, and/or cause the stereo drivers to succumb to some minor and short-lived booming interference.

The auto calibration system doesn't make as much difference to the TV’s sound profile as we would like, and we also find we have to add an audio delay of around 30ms to our sources to stop the OLED760 suffering from the occasional lip-sync slippage.

Overall, though, as with its pictures, the OLED760’s audio strengths easily overwhelm its weaknesses – though, as ever, a dedicated sound system is highly recommended.

Verdict

While we’ve seen one or two previous OLED TVs venture down into the same sort of price territory the OLED760 occupies, no similarly affordable 65-inch OLED TV before it has delivered anything like the same level of features and performance that this Philips set does.

As such, it’s a potential value-driven game changer, the likes of which we were starting to think the OLED TV world would never give us.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the TCL 65C7K

Also consider the LG OLED55C5

Read our Samsung S90F review

Best OLED TVs: the 3 Award-winning sets our experts recommend

Sometimes an Adventure in AV can involve a short trip into our TV's settings menu to discover something new. Other times it involves physically trekking halfway around the world.

In my case, it's the latter, as I kicked off my year in Las Vegas, Nevada, scouting out the latest innovations in the world of home cinema at CES 2026.

As expected, the show was nothing short of overwhelming, with countless new releases and announcements that will shape the AV landscape for the year to come.

While the RGB Mini LED TVs and new OLED sets stole the show, two specific demonstrations stood out, as they will remain relevant well beyond the end of 2026.

The first showed Dolby Vision 2, and although it didn't launch at CES specifically, I now have a much clearer picture of what it is actually capable of.

It was initially revealed at IFA 2025; but it was shrouded in mystery and confusion, and every TV manufacturer I quizzed on the subject seemed almost as confused as I was.

The second demo was for HDR10+ Advanced, which I had a sneak peek at during a trip to Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, back in October of 2025.

The Samsung team offered somewhat of a more complete answer, though they showed me simulated footage rather than actual working HDR10+ Advanced, so I had to take their word for the claimed performance upgrade.

The good news is that both Dolby and Samsung had major presences at CES 2026, and each showed their new respective dynamic HDR formats working in action. So I now have a much clearer picture of what the future of HDR will look like.

I'll start with Dolby, which showed me three examples of Dolby Vision 2 running on a beta-software build on a high-end, mid-range, and entry-level TV.

They all appeared to be bright and punchy Mini LED TVs, and while Dolby wouldn't specify the brand, the primary launch partner for Dolby Vision 2 is Hisense; I'll let you connect the dots there.

Dolby's demonstration truly wowed me. It showed an intense boost to brightness that transforms dark content to dig out detail that I presumed was simply lost to shadows indefinitely. It had regular Dolby Vision TVs set up alongside the Dolby Vision 2 versions in some instances, and the differences were practically night and day.

Digging up more detail in the dark areas did not come at the cost of lifted black levels, however, as it still looked natural to my eyes, and (most importantly) Dolby assured me that the system can recognise what is intentionally meant to be shadow details and not over-brighten those sections.

Dolby stressed how closely it works with directors and editors to ensure that their work is presented in a true-to-life manner.

There is a more advanced set of metadata underpinning Dolby Vision 2, which comes straight from the creatives themselves. And it results in enhanced brightness (and more) without the loss of detail and authenticity.

The need for this brightness-boosting version of Dolby Vision is rooted in the launch of super-bright Mini LED and RGB Mini LED TVs, which can far surpass the capabilities of the current version of Dolby Vision; this makes the super-bright TVs that we've seen crop up over the past couple of years even more compelling, as there is now a feature that can properly take advantage of their specifications.

Not to be outdone, Samsung showed a live demo running its new HDR10+ Advanced format on beta software, running on the new R95H RGB Mini LED TV.

Once again, the results were impressive, especially as Samsung had a “normal” HDR10+ TV running alongside the demo of the new format. Colours seemed more vibrant while remaining natural and balanced, and there was unquestionably more depth and contrast to the image.

There also seemed to be more in the way of detail levels, although (much like Dolby Vision 2), this was most noticeable in dark sequences.

Samsung also assured us that creator-derived metadata would underpin the changes coming to HDR10+ Advanced, which means that authenticity was also at the top of its priority list.

Furthermore, both companies dug deeper into Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+'s ability to handle motion. Traditionally, HDR formats haven't really played much of a part in motion processing; however, both Dolby and Samsung make a good point on this.

The (frankly tragic) reality is that most people out there will never open their TVs' settings menu. Some because they don't know how the settings work, others because they fear permanently messing up their TV by adjusting the wrong settings.

I sympathise. A TV settings menu can be daunting to the less technically inclined; and Dolby and Samsung's answer is simply to handle the motion processing themselves.

It's a bold move, and we'll need to test it more to confirm our feelings, but both formats showed promising signs during the demonstrations I attended.

Dolby in particular stood out with its Authentic Motion system, which can dynamically shift motion processing based on the content.

Therefore, minimal motion-processing can be applied during slower scenes, such as conversations, whereas fast-paced action scenes or panning shots can be aided by a pinch more.

It never looked unnatural or oversmoothed to my eyes, and it could solve the conundrum of judder being visible when using a TV's most accurate and authentic picture mode (in which motion processing is often switched off).

I will certainly need to do a lot more testing with both of these HDR formats to come to a conclusive opinion, but the good news is that both looked to be working as intended during CES.

This left me with a sense of hope for the future of HDR; it could be a bright and smooth year for the picture technology.

Samsung has already confirmed that HDR10+ Advanced will be coming to its mid-range and premium models sometime this year, and Amazon Prime Video will be the first service to offer select titles with the standard included soon.

Hisense, TCL and Philips TVs will launch with Dolby Vision 2 this year, and Dolby Vision 2 Max should also be supported on the higher-tier models within each of these manufacturers' lineups.

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