Best Samsung TVs Buying Guide: Welcome to What Hi-Fi?'s guide to the best Samsung TVs you can buy in 2023.
Obviously it makes sense to shop around when buying a new TV, but if you've previously owned a Samsung and want to stick with what you know, we're here to help. From monster sets to moderately-sized models, affordable to expensive, Samsung has TVs to suit all tastes, spaces and budgets.
We're expecting Samsung to unveil a new TV or two at CES in January but if you're keen to buy now, here's what to look for when picking out a Samsung TV...
How to choose the best Samsung TV for you
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Before you lay down your cash, there are a few things to consider. 4K and HDR will improve the picture quality drastically, but only when fed compatible content, so check your source. And do remember that no Samsung sets support Dolby Vision – they plump for Samsung's own format, HDR10+.
Samsung was the first to sell 8K sets in the UK, and while there's still no 8K content available, 8K sets are worth considering. This is because they upscale 4K content using Samsung's processing tech, and generally do it very well. As for size, measure where you'll put your TV and see which set will suit your space best. Bigger isn't always better – if it towers over your sofa, you might want to reconsider.
Keen gamers will require a TV with HDMI 2.1. Also worth knowing: Samsung's first QD-OLED TV, featuring a hybrid QLED-OLED panel, is out now. The S95B doesn't come cheap but our expert reviewers raved about its "spectacularly vibrant" picture. Food for though, eh?
Right, now for the fun bit – choosing your next Samsung TV.
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The Samsung S95B is one of the world’s first Quantum Dot OLED TVs (along with the excellent Sony A95K). So if you like the idea of immersing yourself in a brand new TV technology, the Samsung QN65S95B is well worth considering.
While not always the most subtle performer, the S95B QD-OLED delivers thrills aplenty. It's incredibly thin over the vast majority of its rear – just a couple of millimetres deep. It's also displays a wide selection of digital artworks on the screen when not watching TV.
But, why would you not be watching TV when the S95B serves up such phenomenal contrast, delivering the sort of immaculate, ultra deep blacks long associated with the best of the OLED world. Better yet, it offers a level of brightness that we haven’t seen before on any regular OLED TV.
Connectivity is superb, audio quality is pleasant enough, and Samsung has included no less than three built-in voice assistants (Bixby, Google Assistant and Alexa). The new Tizen interface feels a tad cumbersome compared to previous versions, but it's still extremely good.
All in all, the S95B is a brilliant argument for QD-OLED TV technology. If it's within budget, there's very little to disappoint the early adopter.
Read our full Samsung QN65S95B review
While LCD is no longer Samsung’s only TV technology, the brand clearly still puts it at the heart of its TV world. So much so that Samsung’s 2022 flagship LCD TVs are positioned higher in the brand’s range than its new QD-OLED model.
Also, more usefully for the mainstream TV market, Samsung’s ongoing LED backlighting focus sees it prepared to extend its uncompromising LCD approach down to even relatively small screen sizes, such as the 50-inch QE50QN90B.
While a certain type of AV fan will always be drawn to the greater light stability and pixel-level light control you get with OLED TVs, the QE50QN90B’s combination of higher HDR-friendly brightness, peerless (by LCD standards) light controls and impressive image flexibility ensures it has more than enough charms of its own to make a convincing case for itself.
If you don't want to splash out on the S95B above, the more reasonable N90B is the best Samsung TV for you.
Read the full Samsung QE50QN90B review
Samsung’s second generation of Mini LED TVs, as represented here by the QN95B, arrives with the weight of serious expectation on its shoulders. Can it improve on the already high standards we saw in 2021? And does it hold its own against the premium OLED-based opposition? It's a resounding yes on both counts.
The QN95B produces some of the finest picture quality we’ve ever seen from a 4K LCD TV. Colours look even more explosive and rich than they have before on any Samsung QLED TV too, adding up to a huge volume of colour that unlocks the full glories of today’s HDR content.
The set also looks beautiful, with a standalone OneConnect box for connections that can be attached to or detached from the TV as desired. Gaming features are plentiful, sound is decent and the operating system, while less user-friendly than before, is second-to-none for streaming service apps.
So while Samsung’s very impressive S95B QD-OLED TV offers a better picture, on the evidence of the QN95B, it’s easy to see the appeal of Mini LED sets like this one.
Read the full Samsung QE65QN95B review
Samsung’s first crop of Neo QLED TVs arrived in 2021 bringing extra-fine lighting control, better contrast and a more nuanced on-screen image with a solid, three-dimensional depth.
The QN94A (known as the QN90A in the US) was one of Samsung’s top 4K TV for 2021 and is now reduced in price, making it's a great buy. It's bursting with features to match its raw performance, including a full suite of apps and services, not to mention excellent gaming features.
Picture quality is compelling and the sound is decent enough. There’s still no Dolby Vision support (Samsung backs it's own HDR10+ format) but you’ll be getting so much from HDR10 alone that it will hardly be on your mind. A terrific buy at this price.
We tested the QN94A in its 55- and 65-inch sizes. It's also available as a 50-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch model. We've not yet reviewed these versions but you'll see the latest, lowest prices below.
Read the full Samsung QN55QN94A review
Read the full Samsung QN65QN94A review
The 2021-released 50QN90A proves that Samsung’s Mini LED-driven Neo QLED technology is capable of elevating the brand’s TVs to new OLED-challenging performance heights even at a manageable size.
As ever with Samsung TVs, the 50QN90A supports neither Dolby Vision HDR nor Dolby Atmos sound. However, you do get HDR10+, Samsung’s home-grown rival for Dolby Vision.
This set's combination of brightness and contrast does a great job of unlocking the extreme range of the QLED colour system, achieving volumes of saturation that leave almost all rivals feeling muted and flat by comparison.
These talents make the 50QN90A a seriously compelling gaming display, too. It offers an exceptionally low 9.2ms (at 60Hz) input lag time when running in its Game picture mode.
If you a premium picture and sound performance to rival bigger sets at an affordable price point, this 2021 model could fit the bill.
Read the full Samsung QE50QN90A review
The QN900B is Samsung’s flagship TV for 2022 and a What Hi-Fi? Award-winner to boot. A situation it justifies with an 8K resolution, a premium metallic design that features speakers built into its edges, a high-end implementation of Samsung’s Mini LED backlighting technology, and specialist AI-supported picture processing.
Samsung has thrown a confusing spanner in the works once again by making its latest 8K high-end TV even better, by a margin, than its excellent 4K flagship for 2022 (the QN95B above). In fact, the QN900B is a truly spectacular viewing experience that continues what feels like an annual Samsung theme of redefining what we consider LCD TVs to be capable of.
The lack of actual 8K content remains a serious issue, of course, but the QN900B makes 4K look sharper and more detailed than it does from any native 4K TV, putting its extra pixels to good use even in the pre-8K age. It goes brighter than any other TV we've tested, too.
Add the usual Samsung gaming features and streaming smarts, plus a truly gorgeous design, and you've got a TV worthy of serious consideration regardless of whether native 8K content ever materialises.
Read the full Samsung QE75QN900B review
This 2020 model is one of Samsung's cheapest 4K TVs. But fear not, it still boasts the company's core performance and feature set, at a smaller size and a lower price. In short, it's one of the best cheap TVs you can buy today.
Most 43in TVs offer about a tenth of the features of a bigger set, but not this one. The Tizen operating system is identical to that found on pricier sets, with the same winning UI and stacked app selection. It's 4K, naturally, HDR formats are well catered for (with the exception of Dolby Vision, which no Samsung sets support), and it supports Auto Low Latency Mode, which switches the TV to game mode when it detects a gaming signal.
The contrast ratio isn't as impressive as an OLED or QLED TV, of course, but that's to be expected. The blacks are actually surprisingly deep for a TV this affordable, and there's a hefty amount of punch. The TU7100 is a sharp and detailed performer, too, and it handles motion with a good balance of smoothing and authenticity. It's an excellent picture performance for a TV of this size and price, especially now that it is reduced.
Read the full Samsung UE43TU7100 review
How we test the best Samsung TVs
Here at What Hi-Fi? we review hundreds of products every year – and that includes many of the best Samsung TVs. So how do we come to our review verdicts? And why can you trust them?
We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London, Bath and Reading, where our team of expert reviewers do all of our testing. This gives us complete control over the testing process, ensuring consistency.
All products are tested in comparison with rival products in the same price category, and all review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole rather than an individual reviewer, again helping to ensure consistency and avoid any personal preference.
The What Hi-Fi? team has more than 100 years experience of reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics.
From all of our reviews, we choose the best products to feature in our Best Buys. That's why if you take the plunge and buy one of the products recommended below, or on any other Best Buy page, you can be assured you're getting a What Hi-Fi? approved product.
MORE:
Our guide to the Samsung 2022 TV lineup
Our pick of the best Sony TVs: LCD, OLED, HD, 4K HDR
And the best LG TVs: LCD, OLED, 4K HDR