The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is the entry-level QLED in Samsung's 2022 lineup. It sits below the Samsung Q70/Q70B QLED, and it replaces the Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED from 2021. It uses quantum dot technology to display a wide range of colors, but it's limited in features as it doesn't have local dimming, HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, or variable refresh rate (VRR) support, which most of the higher-end QLED models have. However, it still comes with the Tizen smart platform, which is easy to use and has a ton of apps available to download. It has a few added features compared to past versions, like the support for Google Duo if you connect a compatible webcam to make video calls. It's been replaced by the Samsung Q60C QLED in 2023, but there are no significant changes in the new model.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Q60B is decent overall. It's good for watching movies in dark rooms as it displays deep blacks and has incredible black uniformity, but it lacks a local dimming feature so dark scenes are washed out when bright highlights are present. It's also good for watching TV shows or sports in bright rooms as it has great SDR peak brightness and decent reflection handling, but it has a narrow viewing angle so the image won't stay consistent when you watch content from the sides. It's decent for gaming due to its low input lag, but it doesn't have any extra gaming features such as VRR or HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. Finally, it's good for watching HDR content thanks to its great dark room performance, but bright highlights don't pop due to the lack of local dimming and its low HDR peak brightness.
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High native contrast for deep blacks.
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Incredible black uniformity.
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No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Great SDR peak brightness.
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Lacks a local dimming feature.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Poor low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60B is satisfactory for watching TV shows in bright rooms. It has great SDR peak brightness, so glare won't be an issue even in bright rooms, and the reflection handling is decent. It upscales 720p and 1080p content without issue, and the Tizen platform makes it easy to stream your favorite shows. Sadly, it has a narrow viewing angle, meaning it's not ideal for watching shows in a wide seating area as the image isn't consistent for people watching the TV from the sides.
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No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Great SDR peak brightness.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Poor low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60B is adequate for watching sports. You can easily stream your sports using the Tizen smart platform, and if you watch games from cable boxes it upscales lower-resolution content well. It's also good for well-lit rooms as it has a good SDR peak brightness and decent reflection handling. Sadly, fast-moving objects look blurry due to the TV's slow response time. Also, it has a narrow viewing angle, so the image looks washed out from the sides, so it's not ideal for watching sports in a large seating area.
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No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Great SDR peak brightness.
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No stutter with 60 fps content.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Noticeable motion blur.
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Poor low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60B is decent for gaming. It has low input lag for a responsive feel, and it looks good in dark rooms thanks to its high native contrast and incredible black uniformity. However, it has a slow response time which results in visible motion blur with fast-moving objects, and it doesn't support any variable refresh rate technology to reduce screen tearing.
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High native contrast for deep blacks.
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Incredible black uniformity.
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No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
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Great SDR peak brightness.
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Low input lag.
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No stutter with 60 fps content.
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Noticeable motion blur.
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Limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.
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No VRR support.
The Samsung Q60B is decent for watching HDR movies. It looks great in dark rooms because it has a high native contrast ratio that results in deep blacks, and the black uniformity is incredible. It displays a wide range of colors in HDR, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature, and its HDR peak brightness is limited, so highlights don't pop. Also, it has banding with shades of similar colors that can get distracting.
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High native contrast for deep blacks.
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Incredible black uniformity.
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Displays a wide range of colors.
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Lacks a local dimming feature.
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Low HDR peak brightness
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Poor low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60B is good for HDR gaming,. Its dark room performance is good because it displays deep blacks with minimal blooming. However, HDR content looks unremarkable as the TV doesn't have a local dimming feature to help make bright highlights pop. It doesn't have many gaming features either such as variable refresh rate support (VRR), HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, or a high refresh rate, so it's limited when it comes to playing recent games on modern consoles. Its response time is especially poor in dark scene transitions, so they have noticeable smearing. Thankfully it has a low input lag so controller or mouse inputs feel responsive.
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High native contrast for deep blacks.
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Incredible black uniformity.
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Low input lag.
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Displays a wide range of colors.
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No stutter with 60 fps content.
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Lacks a local dimming feature.
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Noticeable motion blur.
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No VRR support.
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Low HDR peak brightness
The Samsung Q60B is decent to use as a PC monitor. It displays clear text due to it outputting proper chroma 4:4:4 with any input, and it has low input lag in PC Mode so mouse inputs feel responsive. It performs well in bright rooms with its decent reflection handling, and it gets bright enough in SDR to fight glare. Sadly, it has a narrow viewing angle so the edges of the screen look washed out if you sit too close to the panel.
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Great SDR peak brightness.
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Low input lag.
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Displays clear text with any signal.
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Narrow viewing angle.
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Limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.
- 7.2 Mixed Usage
- 7.1 TV Shows
- 7.0 Sports
- 7.3 Video Games
- 7.3 HDR Movies
- 7.5 HDR Gaming
- 7.1 PC Monitor
- Updated May 17, 2023: We bought and tested the Samsung Q60C QLED and added a few relevant comparisons below.
- Updated May 08, 2023: We've updated the text in the review to reflect our latest test methodology updates.
- Updated Apr 28, 2023: We've added a mention of the newly-reviewed Samsung CU8000 in the Low-Quality Content Smoothing section of this review.
- Updated Apr 28, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.11. With this update, we've added a new Upscaling: Sharpness Processing test and revamped our Blooming test so the scores and picture better match the real world experience. With this change, it was necessary to remove the Black Crush test. Finally, we've updated our usage scores to better align our scores with user expectations.
- Updated Apr 03, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for four months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 24, 2023: We bought and tested the Sony X75K. We've added a few relevant comparisons between the two models below.
- Updated Feb 16, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 16, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.10. With this update we've revamped our Gradient testing, added a new test for Low Quality Content Smoothing, and expanded our Audio Passthrough testing.
- Updated Dec 12, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.9, modifying our Contrast testing and splitting our local dimming testing into multiple sections covering Blooming, Black Crush, and Lighting Zone Transitions. You can see our full changelog here.
- Updated Dec 01, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.8, adding a new box for PQ EOTF tracking and updating our Color Volume and Color Gamut tests to better reflect real world usage. You can see our full changelog here.
- Updated Nov 17, 2022: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 25, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.7 with an updated HDR Brightness test that better reflects real world usage. We've also split the console compatibility boxes into separate PS5 Compatibility and Xbox Series X|S Compatibility tests. You can see our full changelog here.
- Updated May 09, 2022: Review published.
- Updated May 04, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65-inch Samsung Q60B, which is also available in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 60-inch, 70-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch sizes. The review is valid for all sizes. Note that with Samsung TVs, the six letters after the short model code (AFXZA in this case) vary between specific retailers and regions and even between different retailers. It's also known as the Samsung Q60BD at certain retailers.
Samsung's lineup is different in Europe, so the Samsung Q60B is slightly different, and the review isn't valid for it. The European Samsung Q65 is a closer equivalent.
| Size | US Model |
|---|---|
| 43" | QN43Q60BAFXZA |
| 50" | QN50Q60BAFXZA |
| 55" | QN55Q60BAFXZA |
| 60" | QN60Q60BAFXZA |
| 65" | QN65Q60BAFXZA |
| 70" | QN70Q60BAFXZA |
| 75" | QN75Q60BAFXZA |
| 85" | QN85Q60BAFXZA |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2022, and you can see the label here.
Compared To Other TVs
The Samsung Q60B is a decent entry-level QLED that improves in a few areas compared to its predecessor, the Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED. It's a good choice for watching movies in dark rooms, and it gets bright if you want to use it in a well-lit room. However, it's limited on features and has disappointing motion handling. You can get cheaper TVs that are just as good, or better TVs in the same price range, from budget brands like Hisense and TCL, such as the Hisense U6H, Hisense U7H, or TCL 5 Series/S555 2022 QLED.
Also see our recommendations for the best Samsung TVs, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best TVs for movies.
The Samsung Q60C QLED and the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED are nearly identical. Most of the differences between them are within the margins of individual panels.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is extremely similar to its predecessor, the Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED. The Q60B is slightly better in a few areas, like the contrast and black uniformity, so it's better for dark room viewing, and it has improved out-of-the-box accuracy. The updated version of Tizen on the Q60B has a few more features like the support for Google Assistant, Bixby, and Alexa voice assistant features. On the other hand, the Q60A has a quicker response time.
The Samsung Q70/Q70A QLED is better overall than the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED. The Q70A has more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, a 120Hz panel, and VRR support, all of which the Q60B doesn't have. Also, the Q70A has a much better response time for better motion handling. The Q70A also gets brighter in SDR, so it's better for well-lit rooms.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED and the Sony X80K are different types of entry-level TVs, although the Q60B is more versatile. The Samsung is better for bright and dark rooms because it gets brighter and it has a better contrast for deeper blacks. On the other hand, the Sony is better for wide seating areas because it has a wider viewing angle, and it also has better motion handling thanks to its quicker response time.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED and the Samsung AU8000 are both decent TVs, but the Q60B is slightly more polished overall. It displays a wider range of colors, and it has much better out-of-the-box accuracy. It also has higher peak brightness, but the AU8000 has better reflection handling. The Q60B is better for dark rooms as it has a higher native contrast and improved black uniformity. In terms of smart features, they both have Tizen, but the Q60B has a few extra features that the AU8000 doesn't have, like the support for different voice assistant features.
The Sony X85K is better than the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED. If you're a gamer, you'll enjoy the Sony TV's features, like the HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support, which the Samsung TV doesn't have. The Sony is also a better choice if you want to use it in a well-lit room as it gets slightly brighter and has better reflection handling.
The Samsung QN85B QLED is much better overall than the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED, but they're different types of TVs. The QN85B is a high-end TV with Mini LED backlighting that allows it to get very bright, and it has a local dimming feature that delivers deep blacks. It also has more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support to reduce screen tearing. The QN85B has a wider viewing angle that makes it a better choice for wide seating areas. However, the Q60B is an entry-level TV with a different panel type with less blooming around bright objects.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is better than the Sony X75K, especially if you're watching in a dark room. Although they both lack a local dimming feature to improve contrast, the Samsung has a much higher native contrast ratio, so blacks are deeper and more uniform. The Samsung also gets brighter, especially in SDR, so it can handle more glare in a bright room. Finally, the Samsung has a much wider color gamut, so HDR content looks more vivid and lifelike.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is a newer version of the Samsung Q60/Q60T QLED that's very similar overall. The picture quality is very similar between both, and any differences are hard to tell, but the biggest change is with the included Tizen smart platform. The Q60B has a newer version that feels better and has a full-screen page to control your apps, and the remote doesn't need disposable batteries like the remote with the Q60T.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is better overall than the Samsung CU8000. It has better contrast, gets brighter in SDR and HDR, has much better PQ EOTF tracking and color accuracy, and far superior black uniformity, although this can vary between units. The CU8000 does have much better low-quality content smoothing, however, so if you watch a lot of low-quality content it could be a better option.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED is much better than the LG NANO75 2022. The Samsung has significantly better contrast and black uniformity, so it looks way better in a dark room. The Samsung also gets significantly brighter, so it can better overcome glare in a bright room, and HDR content looks more impactful as highlights stand out better.
The Sony X85J is better overall than the Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED and has a few more features. The Sony is better for gaming because it has a 120Hz panel with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support, while the Samsung is limited to a 60Hz panel without HDMI 2.1 bandwidth or VRR support. The Sony also has better motion handling, but other than that, the picture quality between both TVs is very similar overall.
Test Results
The Samsung Q60B is a simple TV, but it looks nice. It's entirely made of gray plastic with thin borders, so it'll look good in any setup.
After four months on our accelerated longevity test, the SDR peak brightness of the TV has decreased by more than 10% when testing on a small 10% window, and by more than 6% on a full screen image. Color uniformity hasn't been affected.
The stand has wide-set plastic feet which support the TV well, but there's still a bit of wobble from front to back. Because the stand is so wide, you'll need a big table to place it on. You can adjust the height if you need to put a soundbar in front, but some thicker soundbars still block the screen.
Footprint of the 65-inch TV: 42.5" x 10.8".
- Height in lower position: 1.45" (to the bezel) and 1.92" (to the screen)
- Height in raised position: 2.44" (to the bezel) and 2.91" (to the screen)
The back of the TV is brushed gray-tone plastic. There are tracks along the back to help route the cables to the inputs for cable management, and the feet have clips to help route the cables behind the feet. Sadly, the inputs are recessed into the TV, so they're hard to reach if you wall-mount the TV with a fixed bracket, so a mounting arm is recommended.
The Samsung Q60B has decent build quality. It's fairly stable on the stand, and even if there's a bit of wobble from front to back, it's not an issue once you place your TV on a table. It's a lightweight TV made entirely of plastic, and the back panel flexes significantly near the mounting holes and the inputs.
The TV has mediocre overall contrast. Its native contrast ratio is good, but it doesn't have local dimming to help improve it further. Therefore blacks look very good in a dark room, but dark scenes look washed out when bright highlights are present due to the lack of local dimming.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature, so there's no blooming around bright objects or subtitles in dark scenes. But as the TV can't brighten highlights without impacting the rest of the image, dark scenes look washed out.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature, so it can't adjust the backlight of individual zones to brighten up highlights without impacting the rest of the image. But this means that there's no distracting flicker or brightness changes as bright highlights move between zones.
Switching to Game Mode doesn't make any noticeable difference in dark scene performance.
The HDR peak brightness is unremarkable. Highlights don't stand out, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to help make bright objects pop.
These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point, with the following settings:
- Picture Mode: Movie
- Picture Mode: Movie
- Contrast: Max
- Color Temperature: Warm 2
Enabling Game Mode has no noticeable impact on the HDR brightness of the TV.
These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point, with the following settings:
- Picture Mode: Game Mode
- Brightness: Max
- Contrast: Max
- Color Gamut: Auto
- Color Temperature: Warm 2
The Samsung Q60BD has remarkable PQ EOTF Tracking. Its near-blacks are fantastic, and for the majority of HDR content the TV's brightness is as its creator intended. The Q60B is not as accurate for content mastered at 4000 nits, but as most HDR content is mastered at 1000 nits this isn't an issue, and 4000 nit mastering tracking is still very good. The TV clips everything above its peak brightness however, resulting in a loss of fine detail.
The Samsung Q60B QLED has a great SDR peak brightness. It's enough to fight glare in well-lit rooms, and there's no variation in brightness between different scenes. It's brighter than most comparable models, including the Sony X75K.
These measurements are after calibration with the following settings:
- Picture Mode: Movie
- Backlight: Max
- Gamma: 2.2
- Color Tone: Warm 2
The HDR color gamut is very good. It has excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, which is used in most HDR content, and the TV's tone mapping is great. However, it's not future-proof because it has limited coverage of the Rec. 2020 color space, which more content will start to use, and its Rec. 2020 tone mapping with green and cyan is off.
The Samsung Q60BD has a decent color volume. In the more common DCI-P3 color space the TV can display bright colors well, and it can display darker colors albeit with certain limitations due to its incomplete color gamut. Some of its colors, such as blues and greens, are inaccurately portrayed when compared to an ideal TV. The TV's color volume struggles in the Rec. 2020 color space, which is not ideal as content moves towards it in the future.
The Samsung Q60B has incredible pre-calibration accuracy. Nearly all colors are spot-on with their target, and the color temperature is close to the 6500K target. However, bright whites are a bit off, and gamma doesn't follow the 2.2 target as most scenes are too bright, especially really bright ones.
The accuracy after calibration is fantastic. It doesn't improve the color accuracy or temperature as these were already fantastic, but the white balance accuracy is now closer to reference, and gamma is significantly improved. This is an easy TV to calibrate.
You can see our full calibration settings here.
The Samsung Q60B TV has okay gray uniformity. The edges of the screen are darker than the rest, which you'll notice when using it as a PC monitor, and there's color variations throughout. There's also a bit of dirty screen effect in the center.
The black uniformity is incredible. There's only a bit of clouding towards the edges of the screen, and there's minimal blooming around the center cross. Dark scenes look great on this TV, but sadly it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve it when bright highlights are present.
The Samsung Q60B has decent reflection handling. You won't have issues using it in rooms with a few lamps and pot lights around, but it struggles when there's a bright window.
The TV's HDR gradient handling is alright. There's bad banding in bright greens, and noticeable banding in lighter grays, dark reds, and bright blues.
The TV has poor low-quality content smoothing; there's noticeable macro-blocking in dark areas when watching content from low-quality sources. If this matters to you, check out the Samsung CU8000.
This TV has good sharpness processing with low-resolution or low-bitrate content. The image is sharp and clear, with no over-sharpening, and fine details are easy to make out. Oddly, there's very little noticeable difference between the processing capabilities of different Samsung TVs, as this TV looks very similar to high-end Samsung models like the Samsung QN95B QLED and the Samsung QN900B 8k QLED. Even with different settings, picture modes, and intelligent options, the sharpness processing appears to be nearly identical.
The optimal sharpness settings for low-resolution or low-bitrate content, with no over-sharpening, are as follows:
- Sharpness: 5
- Picture Clarity: Off
The Samsung Q60B uses a BGR subpixel layout, which doesn't impact the image quality, but it makes text look blurry in some applications that don't support the BGR layout, which is important if you want to use it as a PC monitor. You can read more about it here.
The Samsung Q60B has a disappointing response time. Motion looks blurry, and as its response time is particularly slow with dark transitions there's noticeable black smearing with dark objects.
The Samsung Q60BD uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to dim the backlight at all brightness levels. It flickers at 480Hz Movie mode, which can be distracting if you're sensitive to the flicker, and it drops down to 120Hz in the 'Dynamic', 'Standard', 'Filmmaker', and 'Game' modes, or with Picture Clarity enabled. This lower flicker causes image duplication with 60 fps content and can cause headaches if you're sensitive to it.
There's an optional feature to introduce backlight strobing to reduce persistence blur, more commonly known as Black Frame Insertion (BFI). It flickers at 60Hz when enabled, but the timing is off, resulting in noticeable image duplication. This feature also reduces the panel's brightness.
There's a motion interpolation feature to bring lower-frame-rate content up to 60 fps. It doesn't look good as even slight movement causes artifacts, and there's haloing around fast-moving objects. When there's too much on-screen movement the interpolation stops altogether, so content jarringly drops back down to a lower frame rate.
Due to the slow response time the TV's performance regarding stutter is good. Its stutter performance is fantastic for 60 fps content, so slow panning shots in games or sports look great. For 24 fps content, like movies, its performance is decent; good enough for a pleasant movie watching experience but stutter is noticeable if you're sensitive to it.
The Samsung Q60B removes judder from native 24p sources like native apps and Blu-ray players. It partially removes judder from 60p sources like cable boxes, but it doesn't get rid of it completely.
The Samsung Q60B doesn't have variable refresh rate support.
The Samsung Q60B has low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. All these results are in Game Mode where applicable, except for 1440p @ 60Hz, which was done in PC Mode because 1440p doesn't scale properly in Game Mode. You can also enable the motion interpolation feature in Game Mode, and while it increases the input lag it's fine for slower titles.
The Samsung Q60B supports all common resolutions up to 4k @ 60Hz. It displays proper chroma 4:4:4 with any signal, which is important for reading clear text, but you need to make sure you're in PC Mode with 1440p signals since the image doesn't properly scale in Game Mode.
As the Samsung Q60B has HDMI 2.0 bandwidth and no VRR support, it has limited compatibility with the advanced gaming features of the PS5. The Auto Low Latency Mode automatically switches the TV into Game Mode when you play a game from a compatible device, and you don't need to change any settings.
As the Samsung Q60B has HDMI 2.0 bandwidth and no VRR support, it has limited compatibility with the advanced gaming features of the Xbox Series X and S. The Auto Low Latency Mode automatically switches the TV into Game Mode when you play a game from a compatible device, and you don't need to change any settings.
The TV doesn't support ATSC 3.0, meaning you can't use it to watch over-the-air 4k channels in the US. Although some retailers advertise it as having HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, it's limited to HDMI 2.0. If you want a similar TV with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, then look into the Sony X85K.
The Samsung Q60BD has eARC support, allowing you to passthrough lossless Dolby Atmos audio to a compatible receiver. However, as it doesn't support any DTS or DTS:X signals and many Blu-rays use this audio format, you'll need to connect your Blu-ray directly to your receiver to get the best sound experience.
The Samsung Q60B has mediocre speakers. It's well-balanced at moderate listening levels, which is great for dialogue, but it doesn't get loud and doesn't produce any bass. Like for most TVs, get a soundbar or a dedicated surround sound setup for the best sound possible.
The distortion handling is disappointing. It has more distortion at moderate levels than at its max level, but it doesn't get loud anyways, and the difference isn't that audible.
The TV comes with the same Tizen smart interface as higher-end models, but with fewer features. It doesn't have a room correction feature or Intelligent Mode settings, but it's user-friendly and navigating through the menus feels smooth and easy.
Sadly, there are ads throughout the interface, and there's no way to disable them.
The Samsung app store has an impressive selection of apps in its app store, with apps for all major streaming services. It's also compatible with Google Duo, allowing you to make video calls if you connect a compatible webcam.
The included remote is slightly redesigned compared to the 2021 remote that came with the Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED. It's flat and has an extra quick-access button to open popular streaming apps. The manufacturer advertises it as not having a battery, but there's still an internal power supply that you can recharge via the solar panel on the back, or with a USB-C cable. The built-in mic is compatible with Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant, and you can ask it to open apps, switch inputs, and change certain settings like the peak brightness.
