The Samsung S90F OLED is Samsung's mid-range model in their 2025 OLED lineup, and it sits just below the flagship Samsung S95F OLED and above the Samsung S85F OLED. It replaces the Samsung S90D OLED. It features an improved QD-OLED panel and is powered by Samsung's custom NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor, which is designed to increase the TV's processing speed. It runs the 2025 version of Samsung's proprietary Tizen OS. The TV has 40W 2.1 channel speakers built-in and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos, but as usual for Samsung, there's no support for Dolby Vision HDR or DTS audio formats. We bought and tested the 65-inch model, but it's also available in 42, 48, 55, 77, and 83-inch sizes, although in North America, the two smallest and the biggest sizes use a WOLED panel instead of QD-OLED.
Just like with the S90D, the S90F has both WOLED and QD-OLED panels, and the type of panel you get varies by the TV's size and what region you're in. A QD-OLED panel's performance and overall picture quality are typically better than a traditional WOLED panel, so keep this in mind while shopping. Our review is based on the QD-OLED version of the TV. You can find more information on the S90F's different panel types.
The Samsung S90F handles almost anything you throw at it. In a dedicated home-theater space, it's a standout, pairing true-black OLED contrast with vibrant colors, punchy HDR highlights, and great processing. Its SDR brightness is only decent, but its great reflections handling keeps the picture engaging in rooms with moderate to bright lighting, though it can look a bit washed-out under very bright lights or windows, as its black levels are noticeably raised in that context. Gamers benefit from near-instant pixel response, ultra-low input lag, and a full slate of current-gen gaming features, while the TV's wide viewing angle keeps the image looking consistent for everyone on the couch.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
Incredibly wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
Black levels are raised in rooms with the lights on.
The Samsung S90F truly shines in a dark, cinema-like setup. Its OLED panel delivers inky blacks with zero blooming, while colors stay vibrant and rich, while being virtually free of banding. HDR highlights really pop thanks to the TV's robust peak brightness, and the set's processing delivers strong HDR brightness accuracy and upscaling. Low-quality content smoothing in low-bitrate streams is less convincing, sometimes leaving compression artifacts behind, and the panel's lightning-fast response can introduce mild stutter in slow-panning film and TV scenes. Overall, this is a standout home theater TV.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
Does an outstanding job displaying HDR content at the intended level or brightness.
No Dolby Vision or DTS audio support.
Noticeable stutter due to the TV's fast response time.
The Samsung S90F fares well in brightly lit spaces, but it isn't perfect. Its SDR brightness is decent enough for a good viewing experience in moderately lit rooms, but luckily, the TV's handling of direct reflections really helps it out when dealing with tons of glare; overall, daytime viewing is comfortable on this TV. Colors hold their vibrancy, too, retaining plenty of punch even under ambient light. The catch is that any ambient lights lift the panel's blacks to more of a charcoal gray, softening contrast and sapping some of the TV's signature OLED wow factor.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Black levels are raised in rooms with the lights on.
The Samsung S90F is a very solid pick for sports fans. Your favorite jerseys pop with vivid, saturated color, and the TV's lightning-quick pixel response times keep fast-moving players and balls razor-sharp. The TV's uniformity is great, so you won't spot any dirty screen effect mid-field or on an ice rink. While its SDR brightness is only decent, its great anti-glare coating keeps reflections in check for daytime viewing. Lower resolution broadcasts are upscaled very well, though heavily compressed feeds can still show a few artifacts. Finally, its wide viewing angle means everyone on the couch gets the same clear view of the action.
Incredibly wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
Great gray uniformity with no noticeable dirty screen effect.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
The Samsung S90F is tailor-made for gamers. It drives 4k @ 144Hz, pairing perfectly with today's consoles, and is also a solid choice for all but the most competitive of PC gamers. Lightning-fast pixel response times, ultra-low input lag, and complete VRR support combine for smooth, tear-free gameplay. HDR titles really pop, with lifelike colors and punchy highlights, while SDR games still look rich and vibrant enough for a solid visual experience. Finally, the TV doesn't lose any of its contrast or HDR brightness when in Game Mode, so you can get the lowest input lag possible without any tradeoffs.
Incredibly low input lag for a very responsive experience.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
The Samsung S90F's overall brightness is impressive. In HDR, its peaks make highlights sparkle in movies, shows, and games. SDR output is more subdued in comparison, yet it's still strong enough to fend off glare in a moderately lit room, especially with its strong direct reflections handling.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
The Samsung S90F is an OLED, so it has outstanding black levels. Blacks are deep and inky when viewed in a dark room, with no blooming around bright highlights.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
The Samsung S90F has incredibly bright, vibrant, and lifelike colors in both SDR and HDR. It also has great overall color accuracy in SDR, so most people will be pleased with its colors without needing a professional calibration. It's not quite as accurate in HDR; most people will be satisfied, but purists will definitely notice some issues with the TV's white balance and color temperature.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Note: We're in the process of improving our tests related to image processing, but this score should give you a general idea of how a TV performs overall with its image processing capabilities.
The Samsung S90F's processing is quite impressive. It upscales SD and HD feeds very well, so older material, like from DVDs, looks clean. Its HDR brightness accuracy is almost perfect, and there's virtually zero color banding. Low-bitrate smoothing, however, is just decent, as some compression artifacts still sneak through on heavily compressed streams, but it's good enough for a satisfactory viewing experience.
Almost no banding at all in color gradients.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
Does an outstanding job displaying HDR content at the intended level or brightness.
The Samsung S90F feels lightning quick in Game Mode. Near-instant pixel transitions keep fast action razor-sharp, ultra-low input lag makes every control response snappy, and VRR support all but eliminates screen tearing. Unlike some high-end models, this one is limited to 4k @ 144Hz, but it's enough for a quick gaming experience for anyone but the most hardcore PC gamers.
Incredibly low input lag for a very responsive experience.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
We're in the process of fixing the way we evaluate a TV's overall motion handling. This section is currently broken, and the score isn't indicative of how well a TV handles motion overall.
We mentioned the stutter that occurs with 24p content when there's a sudden change in brightness in the 24p Judder section.
We bought and tested the 65-inch Samsung S90F (QD-OLED, QN65S90FAFXZA), and these results are also valid for the 55-inch and 77-inch models that use QD-OLED (FXZA) panels. In North America, the 42-inch, 48-inch, and 83-inch models use a WOLED panel (EXZA) instead. Our results don't apply to any WOLED version of the TV.
Internationally, most model sizes use a WOLED panel, but typically at least one size uses a QD-OLED panel, which can be identified by the last four digits of the long model code in your particular region; if the fourth last digit of the model code is an 'E,' the TV very likely uses a WOLED panel. For example, in the UK the 65-inch model ends with TXXU, so you should end up with a QD-OLED panel if you buy that size.
The TV is also sold with a slightly different model code at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, with a longer warranty.
Size | US Model | Costco Model | Short Model Code | Display Technology (North America) | Maximum Refresh Rate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
42" | QN42S90FAEXZA | - | QN42S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
48" | QN48S90FAEXZA | - | QN48S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
55" | QN55S90FAFXZA | QN55S90FDFXZA | QN55S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
65" | QN65S90FAFXZA | QN65S90FDFXZA | QN65S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
77" | QN77S90FAFXZA | QN77S90FDFXZA | QN77S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
83" | QN83S90FAEXZA | QN83S90FDEXZA | QN83S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2025, as seen on the label.
The Samsung S90F is an excellent TV from Samsung and is one of the best possible picks at its price point. Its immediate competition, the LG C5 OLED, is also excellent this year, as both TVs trade blows, with the C5 having the edge in overall brightness and Dolby Vision support, while Samsung instead has a much more colorful panel. With the C5's HDR10 issues, however, the S90F ends up the clear favorite. If you'd like even more performance, the higher-end Samsung S95F OLED offers a noticeable performance boost at a higher price. There's also the cheaper Samsung S85F OLED, but that model is far dimmer in HDR and is limited to 4k @ 120Hz for gaming, so it's a big downgrade. Overall, the S90F is an amazing choice.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.
The Samsung S90F OLED is a slight upgrade over the Samsung S90D OLED. While they're almost identical, the biggest improvement is the S90F's noticeably brighter SDR brightness and much more accurate HDR brightness. Still, not everything is better, as the S90F's HDR colors are less accurate out of the box than the S90D.
The Samsung S95F OLED is better than the Samsung S90F OLED. The S95F is brighter in HDR, especially in SDR; it really excels in standard dynamic range. The S95F is more accurate in HDR out of the box, supports 4k @ 165Hz for PC gamers, and comes with the versatile One Connect box. Finally, its matte coating handles direct reflections far better than the S90F.
The LG C5 OLED and the Samsung S90F OLED trade blows. They're about equally as bright in most HDR content, although the S90F is far brighter in Game Mode. In SDR, however, the C5 is way brighter. The S90F does handle direct reflections better, but the C5's black levels barely raise in bright environments, while the S90F's blacks become charcoal gray in the same context. The S90F's QD-OLED panel is far more colorful than the C5's WOLED panel, which is expected. They're about equally as good for gaming, although the C5's Dolby Vision support does give it the slight edge for Xbox gamers. Unfortunately, the C5's HDR10 issues make the S90F the clear choice for now.
The Samsung S90F OLED is better than the Samsung S85F OLED. The S90F offers a much more immersive viewing experience due to its far brighter HDR highlights and better HDR color volume, while also being brighter in SDR. Plus, the S90F is the better option for PC gamers due to its 4k @ 144Hz support, while the S85F is limited to 4k @ 120Hz.
The Samsung S90F has impressive HDR brightness, and highlights really pop out in dark and moderately lit scenes. The TV is noticeably dimmer during scenes with large areas of brightness, but it's in line with most other OLEDs. Overall, it still provides an impactful HDR experience during these entirely bright scenes.
Our results above are with the TV set to Filmmaker Mode, with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Static' and 'Contrast Enhancer' disabled. Below are the results with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Active,' which significantly increases the TV's luminance but makes the image less accurate.
And here are the results with 'Contrast Enhancer' set to 'High':
The TV is a bit dimmer in its dedicated gaming mode when very bright small highlights are on screen, but otherwise, the TV looks mostly just as bright in Game Mode as in Filmmaker Mode.
Our results above are with the TV set to Game Mode with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Static' and 'Game HDR' set to 'Basic.' Below are the results with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Active,' which significantly increases the TV's luminance, but makes the image less accurate.
And here are the results with 'Game HDR' set to 'Advanced,' which brightens up the image even more, again at the cost of accuracy:
The TV has decent SDR brightness. Small bright areas in dark and moderately lit scenes have great brightness, but large bright areas in well-lit scenes are dimmer. Still, overall, it's bright enough to overcome glare when watched in well-lit rooms.
The Samsung S90F is an OLED and doesn't have a backlight, so its self-lit pixels give it the same performance as a TV with perfect local dimming and no zone transitions. We still film the zone transition video on the TV so you can see how it compares to an option with local dimming.
The TV has superb color volume in SDR. Like almost any TV, it has full coverage of the most commonly used Rec.709 color space, but it also has nearly perfect coverage of the wider DCI-P3 color space. Its coverage of the widest BT.2020 color space is great, and it really excels when displaying lighter shades. Overall, it's a fantastic TV to watch the odd SDR content that's mastered in these wider color spaces, or if you like punchier colors by forcing Rec.709/sRGB content into a wider color space.
Volume ΔE³ | DCI-P3 Coverage | BT.2020 Coverage |
---|---|---|
L10 | 99.24% | 83.83% |
L20 | 99.36% | 83.49% |
L30 | 99.28% | 83.06% |
L40 | 96.24% | 81.97% |
L50 | 95.46% | 82.50% |
L60 | 97.61% | 82.88% |
L70 | 98.88% | 75.05% |
L80 | 99.36% | 74.17% |
L90 | 99.71% | 76.83% |
L100 | 99.80% | 88.64% |
Total | 98.11% | 79.55% |
This TV has fantastic color volume in HDR. It displays dark, saturated colors perfectly, thanks to its nearly infinite contrast ratio. It also displays bright colors with impact, as they aren't washed out at all.
There's currently a bug with the 'Auto' Color Space setting, and it's not working properly. These results are with it set to 'Auto,' but due to the bug, the measured yellow luminance is too low. While it's possible to compensate for this bug, doing so reduces the color space considerably, so we left it alone.
The Samsung S90F is incredibly accurate even without a full calibration. Gamma is extremely close to the 2.2 target, although dark and moderately lit scenes appear slightly brighter than they should, while very bright scenes are instead too dark. We can see that portrayed in the TV's white balance, as all colors are overrepresented in mid-grays. Color temperature is fantastic, and there are no truly noticeable color errors.
The calibration process is quick and easy on this TV, even if it's not really needed since it's already so accurate out of the box. After calibration, it's nearly perfect in SDR, with no noticeable issues.
See our full calibration settings.
The Samsung S90F has decent HDR accuracy before calibration, but it has some issues with its white balance and color temperature. Blues and reds are overrepresented in brighter grays, and the TV is a bit too cold overall. Its color accuracy is very good, but there are some mapping errors throughout, especially in grays.
The Samsung S90F's EOTF tracking is outstanding overall, but it's not perfect, although almost. Blacks and near-blacks are displayed perfectly, but shadow details are a bit raised. Mid-tones and bright highlights fare better with no significant issues. There's a sharp roll-off near the TV's peak brightness, which means the TV prefers hitting the highest peak brightness possible over preserving gradation in bright areas.
This TV does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels. Fine details and hard-coded text are hard to make out, but most content looks great overall. Unfortunately, just like with the Samsung S95F OLED, it applies edge enhancement to all content, even with the Sharpness slider set to '0.' This is present in all picture modes, but it's slightly better in Filmmaker Mode.
The Samsung S90F has exceptional HDR native gradient handling. There is no banding in any colors except bright greens, and even then, it's barely noticeable unless you specifically look for it.
This TV has very low input lag when set into Game Mode, which ensures a responsive gaming experience. It's a bit higher outside of Game Mode, so navigating menus on external devices feels a bit sluggish, but not excessively so. It supports a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz at both 1080p and 4k resolutions.
The TV supports most common resolutions up to 4k @ 144Hz. Chroma 4:4:4 signals are displayed properly with all supported resolutions when the TV's input label is set to 'PC' with Input Signal Plus enabled, which is important for text clarity.
The Samsung S90F supports all three types of variable refresh rate (VRR) technology to reduce screen tearing. It works well across a very wide refresh rate range and supports sources with Low-Frame-Compensation (LFC). This ensures you get a more consistently tear-free gaming experience, even when your games can't keep up and the frame rate drops very low.
Like all OLEDs, the TV's CAD at its maximum refresh rate of 144Hz is fantastic. Pixels transition to their target RGB level almost instantly with no noticeable overshoot, so fast motion is very sharp. The slight dip in the CAD charts is caused by the TV's refresh cycle and isn't noticeable.
Dropping down to sources with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, like a console, has no noticeable impact on the TV's motion handling. Fast motion is clear, with no noticeable overshoot or motion artifacts. The slight dip in the CAD charts is caused by the TV's refresh cycle and isn't noticeable.
Due to the sample-and-hold nature of OLED TVs, there's noticeable persistence blur when gaming at 60Hz, but the CAD is still extremely good. Pixels transition very quickly, with no noticeable motion artifacts. The slight dip in the CAD charts is caused by the TV's refresh cycle and isn't noticeable.
The Samsung S90F is fully compatible with everything the base PS5 offers, like 1440p @ 120Hz and 4k @ 120Hz, as well as HDMI Forum VRR. It doesn't support 8k signals from the PS5 Pro, though. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to Game Mode to get the lowest input lag.
The Samsung S90F is almost fully compatible with everything the Xbox Series X|S offers, including 1440p @ 120Hz, 4k @ 120Hz, HDMI Forum VRR, and FreeSync Premium Pro. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to Game Mode to get the lowest input lag. Unfortunately, Dolby Vision isn't supported on the TV, so gaming in Dolby Vision isn't possible.
Unfortunately, due to the nearly instantaneous pixel response time of the TV, there's noticeable stutter in all content, especially in shots with slow camera movement.
The TV automatically removes judder from all sources when watching movies or shows that are in 24p, even if they're in a 60Hz signal, which helps with the appearance of motion in movies and shows. Unfortunately, the TV occasionally stutters with 24p content when there's a sudden change in brightness from one scene to the next, as explained by HDTVTest.
The TV has a nearly instantaneous response time, resulting in incredibly clear motion with almost no blur behind fast-moving objects when watching content. There's no noticeable overshoot or other artifacts. The slight dip in the response time charts is caused by the TV's refresh cycle, though it's not noticeable.
This TV doesn't have a traditional backlight and doesn't use pulse-width modulation (PWM) to dim each pixel, but it's not completely flicker-free. There's a slight dip in brightness that corresponds to the TV's refresh rate. This differs from the PWM flicker on TVs with LED backlights and occurs on every OLED we've tested. It's not noticeable, and most people won't be bothered by this, but it can still bother people who are extra sensitive to flicker.
The TV has an optional black frame insertion (BFI) feature that reduces the appearance of persistence blur caused by the TV's nearly instantaneous response time. It can only insert black frames at a 60Hz refresh rate, so this feature is not available at 120Hz or 144Hz.
This TV has an optional motion interpolation feature. It's effective at improving the overall appearance of motion, but there are noticeable artifacts in just about any content, including slower scenes that most TVs have no issue with.
The TV does a disappointing job of displaying deep blacks in a bright room. Blacks look increasingly gray as your room becomes brighter, so the image looks washed out, and you lose the impactful picture quality this OLED has in a dark room.
The TV does an exceptional job with total reflected light. Its glossy screen finish significantly reduces the intensity of indirect reflections. However, due to the lack of a polarizer, the TV has a purple tint to it in a well-lit room.
The TV has very good color saturation in a bright room. Mid-luminance and high-luminance colors retain their saturation very well, but low-luminance colors lose some of their saturation in a well-lit room. Fortunately, you still get very saturated colors in a bright room overall, since its color volume is so impressive to begin with.
The Samsung S90F uses a unique subpixel structure. Instead of having all three subpixels in a row, each pixel forms a triangle, with the larger green subpixel at the top. This leads to color fringing; on a bright window on a Windows PC, you might notice a green fringe at the top since that's where the green subpixel is. Similarly, there's a purple fringe at the bottom of bright windows, as that's where the red and blue subpixels are. Furthermore, with this subpixel arrangement, text has just okay clarity on a PC, as Windows ClearType settings aren't designed for this subpixel structure and can't correct for it.
The TV uses quantum dots to achieve high color peaks with excellent separation between blues, greens, and reds. This gives the TV great color purity and allows it to display an incredibly wide range of colors.
The Samsung S90F supports the full 48Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 on all four HDMI ports. This allows you to take full advantage of multiple high-bandwidth devices, like if you own both current-gen consoles and a high-end gaming PC. Unfortunately, Samsung still doesn't support Dolby Vision and instead supports HDR10+, which is similar but not as widely supported.
The Samsung S90F supports many audio formats, including all Dolby Digital options. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DTS formats, which is disappointing, as many Blu-rays use DTS for their lossless audio tracks. Dolby Digital+ passthrough is also limited to 5.1 channels instead of the full 7.1 support. It's unclear if this is a bug or an intentional decision by Samsung to limit support, but the other Samsung TVs we've tested in 2025, like the Samsung S95F OLED, the Samsung S85F OLED, and the Samsung QN90F, have the same limitation.
Like all Samsung TVs, the Samsung S90F doesn't support Dolby Vision, but it does support the similar HDR10+.
The Samsung S90F has a very premium design and looks incredible, and it's nearly identical to the Samsung S90D OLED it replaces. It's extremely thin, with a slim, uniform profile that looks great in any room.
The back of the TV is basically the same as the Samsung S90D OLED. The central panel housing the inputs is made of smooth plastic, with included clips that you can use to help with cable management.
The TV has an okay frequency response. There's a bit of bass, but it's not very impactful, and you're best off pairing the TV with a soundbar if you want thump and rumble. The TV speakers aren't very loud, but they provide a balanced sound profile at most volume levels, making dialogue easy to understand. However, the sound profile does become unbalanced at maximum volume.