Samsung S90F Review: Best OLED TV Value for the Money

Samsung S90F: Saving Costs in the Right Places

When we lifted our 65-inch test sample of the Samsung S90F out of the box, it was noticeable: apart from the TV, a remote control, and two small plastic feet, there isn't much in the packaging. The small feet reveal where the manufacturer made cuts: they feel somewhat cheap and unstable – especially for our model with its 165-centimeter diagonal. At least Samsung includes a plastic cover that can be attached between the centrally placed stand surfaces, lending the device stability. From typical TV viewing distance, only those with good eyes can spot the difference from the premium metal stand of the Samsung S95F.

Thinner Than the Top Model

Viewed from the side, the Samsung S90F is a feast for the eyes. The OLED display is just 4 millimeters thick – and thus even thinner than the edge of the flagship S95F. While the S95F maintains its form factor across the entire back of the screen because it relocates connections and technology to the so-called One Connect Box, the S90F carries its technology backpack on its rear.

Brilliant Picture with Rich Colors

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And there's quite a lot technically packed into the S90F. Let's start with the most spectacular aspect – picture quality. Samsung uses its in-house QD-OLED technology in the S90F. This is considered particularly bright and color-rich. Why? Instead of using color filters like models with LG's W-OLED technology, Samsung employs so-called Quantum Dots as color converters. These absorb less light, allowing TVs with QD-OLED to forgo white extra pixels (the "W" in W-OLED stands for "white") for image brightening and thus display rich colors even at maximum brightness. Laboratory testing confirmed this: the S90F displays HDR content at a blazing 1,444 candelas per square meter (cd/m²), nearly 500 cd/m² brighter than its predecessor, the Samsung S90D. This screen performance corresponds to the maximum dynamic range of nearly all current HDR productions. Therefore, the absence of Dolby Vision – that HDR standard which adapts image dynamics to panel capabilities for lower-brightness TVs – plays virtually no role in practice. If the material contains even brighter highlights, the S90F skillfully scales them down to its level. Even in the darkest scenes, brightness transitions remain flawless. In rare cases, Samsung's proprietary image enhancer HDR10+ intervenes. It works similarly to Dolby Vision but is only used in a few titles, such as from Amazon Prime Video and some games.

Also Suitable for Bright Rooms

With its blazing maximum brightness, the Samsung is ideal for bright rooms, even though the matte display of the S95F is even better suited for daytime use, as it disperses incoming light rather than reflecting it like a mirror. Nevertheless: the glossy screen of the S90F is excellently anti-reflective and offers an undiminished high contrast, even with light incidence. However, what applies to all OLED TVs also applies to the S90F: the perfect black of OLED pixels is best enjoyed in darkened environments. These simply remain switched off during black image content, creating an enormously three-dimensional image impression.

The colors are also a delight. The S90F displays the complete palette – both in the standard color space SDR and in the HDR color space DCI-P3. The latter is particularly widespread in current film and series productions, as found on Netflix & Co. And naturally, the S90F displays content in razor-sharp 4K, meaning 3840x2160 pixels. When the image is delivered at lower resolution, such as via Full HD Blu-rays (1920x1080 pixels) or (HD) TV feed (usually 1280x720 pixels), the TV upscales the action to 4K (so-called upscaling). In doing so, the TV analyzes the image and fills in the missing pixels with estimated values to make the picture appear larger and sharper. In testing, the S90F did this so well that we had to look twice at the Blu-ray case of "The Dark Knight Rises" to make sure the source material wasn't in native 4K but in Full HD.

Smooth Motion Out of the Box

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The image processor does an equally good job with motion smoothing. Even though Samsung doesn't quite match the perfection of Sony and Panasonic – with motion sharpness activated out of the box, camera pans and fast movements on screen look wonderfully fluid and form few double contours. This isn't easy, as the TV artificially calculates intermediate frames to display the action on the display more smoothly. Stutter-free playback isn't the norm, especially for cinema films, as these are still shot at 24 frames per second. For the image on the 100 Hertz-strong Samsung to look smooth and fluid, the TV must upscale moving content from the original 24 frames per second to 100 frames per second. In doing so, it calculates 76 intermediate frames – three additional ones for each existing frame.

120 Frames Per Second for Gaming

During gaming, intermediate frame calculation is disabled. This has two reasons. First, gaming PCs and consoles can already deliver 120 frames, making artificially calculated intermediate frames unnecessary. Second, calculating intermediate frames takes time, sometimes 50 to 100 milliseconds – which can be literally deadly for gamers. The S90F is far from these values: with game mode activated, the S90F delayed inputs by an imperceptible 9.3 milliseconds in testing. Superb!

Best Picture Settings for the Samsung S90F

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently on everyone's lips. It even influences the picture on the Samsung S90F out of the box, as the standard setting after initial installation is "AI-optimized." The result? A very bright but somewhat cool and over-sharpened image. As an alternative, "AI-adjustment" mode can be activated – depending on ambient lighting.

Picture Mode: Those who want to see films and series as the director intended must select Filmmaker Mode. To access picture settings for the first time, you must first deactivate the AI-optimized picture. To do this, press the gear button on the remote control and navigate via All Settings to Advanced Functions and deactivate AI mode. Now Eco mode is active, which Samsung normally ships its TVs in. Only now can you select the underlying Filmmaker Mode. With this, the Samsung displays colors naturally and brightness gradations correctly. For HDR films, the Samsung remains in the preselected Filmmaker mode and automatically adjusts brightness curve, contrast, and color space correctly.

Expert Settings: In the expert settings submenu, numerous options for image optimization can be found – two particularly worth mentioning: Under Picture Sharpness Settings, automatic image enhancement can be activated. This reduces stuttering and image noise, which minimizes disturbing graininess particularly in older films. Important details like film grain or skin textures are largely preserved. Those who prefer manual control can use the slider for judder reduction under Custom – up to a value of 7, the smoothing remains pleasantly unobtrusive without appearing artificial. The Peak Brightness setting allows regulation of image luminosity – Medium is ideal for TV and films, while Maximum is recommended for HDR content. Those who additionally activate HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping with HDR brighten dark image areas. Nevertheless, Static generally delivers more natural results. For balanced color reproduction, it's also recommended: Color Tone set to Warm 1 for SDR content, Warm 2 for HDR.

General and Privacy: In the General and Privacy menu, under Power and Energy Saving and then Brightness Optimization, adaptive adjustment to ambient light can be switched on or off – a real help for consistently pleasant brightness. Directly below, maximum brightness for dark environments can be manually adjusted. With the preset value of 8, brightness was already perfect out of the box.

The Samsung S90F Sounds Surprisingly Good

No matter how good the picture is, crackling or rattling sound ruins even the greatest film enjoyment. Although the S90F lacks visible speakers unlike the superbly sounding S95F, the Samsung TV produced an impressively voluminous sound from its two downward-facing speakers in testing. Only voices come across somewhat flat. Changing the sound mode from Standard to Amplify makes voices more audible. However, they then tend to distort, so it's better to leave the TV in Standard mode. Those who want to significantly improve their TV sound with little effort can get a soundbar. And those who opt for a Samsung sound bar like the HW-Q995GD can have the TV produce sounds via "Q-Symphony" simultaneously with the Samsung soundbar.

Sound Calibration Available

Those who wish can extract maximum performance from the TV's sound using sound calibration, which optimizes audio output based on room acoustics.

All Important Connections

Soundbars can typically be operated via an HDMI port with audio output (eARC, enhanced Audio Return Channel), which brings us to the connections:

HDMI: The S90F has four of these connection types, one equipped with eARC technology that also transmits surround sound including the 3D variant Dolby Atmos. All four HDMI ports support the fast HDMI 2.1 standard. This makes the TV well-equipped for gamers and home cinema fans, including 4K at 120 Hertz, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), plus AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync.

Digital Output: The optical connection forwards audio signals to older receivers or soundbars – it's also suitable for wireless headphones with appropriate base station.

USB: Two USB ports enable playback of common image, music, and video formats. A USB hard drive for recording TV programs or a webcam for video telephony can also be connected. However, the Samsung doesn't play DTS audio tracks.

Network: The TV can be connected to the internet via LAN cable or wirelessly via Wi-Fi. Current routers deliver sufficient speed even for 4K streams – provided the internet line cooperates.

TV Reception: For television reception, the S90D offers connections for cable, antenna, and satellite. The dual tuner for satellite allows watching one program while simultaneously recording another. This also works for antenna and cable, though the single connection suffices here.

The only downside: a classic headphone jack is nowhere to be found, as with many current Samsung TVs. However, the Bluetooth function convinces – two headphones can be paired simultaneously.

Perfect Streaming TV

With its smart functions, the Samsung S95F doesn't differ from other manufacturer models – good! The operating system brings an almost complete app offering that leaves hardly any wishes unfulfilled. All known streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and Sky are available, as are broadcaster media libraries and music services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Under the designation TV Plus, Samsung also provides comprehensive free streaming offerings that bundle content from media libraries and various platforms. The user interface is clearly structured: at the bottom edge of the start screen are all installed apps, supplemented by shortcuts to connected devices and live TV. This enables seamless switching between linear television, streaming, and gaming. Above, the S90F displays the most recently used source and personalized recommendations, with further content suggestions from numerous genres following below. A search function and voice commands are available for even more comfortable control. Users can choose between Amazon Alexa and Samsung's own voice assistant Bixby. The latter now also understands follow-up questions and reacts particularly precisely to TV-specific commands.

Many Sensible Extras

On the start screen of the Samsung S90F, there's a vertical menu bar on the far left with various themed worlds. The Game point leads directly to the Gaming Hub, where not only connected game consoles and PCs are integrated but also cloud gaming services like GeForce Now and Xbox. With a standard Bluetooth controller, the TV can be upgraded to a full-fledged game console. One level up is the Daily+ menu item, through which network functions can be controlled. Using the SmartThings app, the S90F connects with other smart devices in the household, such as camera doorbells or smart lighting. In the Workspace area, the TV can be used for remote access to PCs or cloud services like Microsoft OneDrive. The menu bar also integrates Ambient Mode, which shows decorative pictures as digital wallpaper when the TV isn't in use. Alternatively, the so-called Daily Board can be activated in the main menu under Advanced Functions. In this mode, the TV displays information like weather data, music recommendations, or personal notes alongside a background image in standby. Practical: thanks to user recognition, the S90F automatically registers whether someone is present and completely switches to standby when absent – a function that reduces electricity costs. Even though these additional functions convince in everyday life, they weren't factored into the test evaluation.

Small, Handy Remote Control

The verdict on the Samsung S95S remote control is quite different – it has a major influence on operating comfort and therefore plays an important role in overall evaluation. Although at first glance it doesn't look like the accessory of a high-quality premium TV – it's too compact, too light, and optically rather plain – it convinces completely in practical use. The remote control lies comfortably in hand, the few buttons are logically arranged, easy to feel, and offer precise pressure points. The volume and channel change rockers are particularly well-executed: they're ideally accessible – whether with left or right thumb: pressing one mutes the sound, the other brings up the program preview. Additionally, battery changes are a thing of the past. Inside is a so-called Supercap – an energy storage that, while offering less capacity than a battery, can be fully charged and discharged about a hundred times more frequently according to Samsung. Even better: a solar cell on the back is sufficient even in low ambient light to permanently supply the remote control with power. If necessary, the whole thing can be easily charged via USB-C cable. The reduced number of buttons does mean that some functions can't be accessed directly but rather via the on-screen menu. Thanks to clear structure and helpful explanations, navigation there is pleasantly simple – significantly more comfortable than leafing through an overloaded remote control with dozens of buttons. Supporting this are connection assistants, troubleshooting tips, and the complete operating manual directly in the menu – a well-thought-out operating concept that convinced us in (test) everyday life.

Who Should Buy the Samsung S90F?

Perfect for:

• Movie enthusiasts wanting OLED picture quality without flagship prices
• Gamers needing low input lag and 120Hz support
• Bright living rooms benefiting from high peak brightness
• Streaming fans with multiple service subscriptions
• Those wanting comprehensive smart home integration
• Anyone upgrading from HD or Full HD TVs (excellent upscaling)

Skip if:

• You need Dolby Vision support (only HDR10/HDR10+ here)
• You want the absolute best anti-glare performance (S95F better)
• You require a premium metal stand
• You have an extremely bright room with direct sunlight (matte display better)
• Budget is extremely tight (consider smaller sizes)

Available Sizes

Samsung offers the S90F in six different sizes – the technology remains at the same high level:

• 42" (107cm) - Ideal for ~2m viewing distance
• 48" (121cm) - Ideal for ~2.5m viewing distance
• 55" (140cm) - Ideal for ~3m viewing distance
• 65" (164cm) - Ideal for 3.5-4m viewing distance (tested)
• 77" (195cm) - Ideal for ~4.5m viewing distance
• 83" (211cm) - Ideal for 5m+ viewing distance