The Samsung Q60C QLED is an entry-level TV in Samsung's 2023 lineup and is the lowest-end model in their QLED, or Quantum Dot LED lineup. It sits below the Samsung Q70C QLED, replacing the Samsung Q60B QLED from 2022. As an entry-level model, it's limited in features as it doesn't have local dimming, HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, or variable refresh rate (VRR) support. Although it runs a slightly simplified version of Samsung's Tizen smart platform, it's still easy to use and has a ton of available apps, so you're sure to find your favorite streaming service.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Q60C QLED is a decent TV overall. It's best suited for watching shows or sports during the day, as it has very good peak brightness in SDR and decent reflection handling. It's okay for watching movies, as dark scenes look good overall thanks to its high native contrast ratio, but it lacks a local dimming feature and can't get bright in HDR, so bright highlights don't stand out. It has low input lag for a responsive gaming or desktop experience, but it's just alright for gaming due to its slow response time.
- High native contrast for deep blacks.
- Incredible black uniformity.
- Bright enough to overcome glare in a moderately-lit room.
- Narrow viewing angle.
- Bad low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is an okay TV for watching shows during the day. It gets bright enough to overcome glare in a moderately-lit room, and thanks to its decent reflection handling, visibility isn't an issue. It has decent upscaling and sharpness processing, which is great if you like to watch older shows. Sadly, it has a sub-par viewing angle, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement, as the image degrades when viewed from the side.
- Bright enough to overcome glare in a moderately-lit room.
- Good selection of streaming apps.
- Narrow viewing angle.
- Bad low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is just okay for watching sports during the day. Visibility in a moderately-lit room isn't an issue, as it gets bright enough to overcome glare and it has decent reflection handling. Sadly, it has a slow response time, so fast action looks blurry, and it's hard to make out fine details. It also has a narrow viewing angle, so it's not a good choice for watching the big game with a large group of friends, as the images fades and looks washed out from the sides.
- Bright enough to overcome glare in a moderately-lit room.
- Good selection of streaming apps.
- Narrow viewing angle.
- Slow response time results in very noticeable motion blur.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is just alright for playing video games. It has very low input lag in Game Mode, ensuring a responsive gaming experience with little delay between your actions and the action on-screen. Sadly, it has a slow response time, and there's a long blur trail behind fast-moving objects. It also lacks any advanced gaming features like VRR, and it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, so you can't take full advantage of the latest consoles.
- High native contrast for deep blacks.
- Incredible black uniformity.
- Low input lag.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve contrast.
- Slow response time results in very noticeable motion blur.
- No advanced gaming features like VRR.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is a decent TV for watching movies. It has a high native contrast ratio and superb black uniformity, so blacks are deep and uniform in dark scenes. It can display a wide color gamut, making colors look vivid and lifelike. On the other hand, it lacks a local dimming feature and has low peak brightness in HDR, so bright highlights don't stand out, and dark areas are washed out in bright scenes. It also has limited processing, so it can't smooth out low-quality content very well, and there's noticeable banding in gradients.
- High native contrast for deep blacks.
- Incredible black uniformity.
- Displays a wide range of colors.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve contrast.
- Low HDR peak brightness.
- Bad low-quality content smoothing.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is an okay TV overall for gaming in HDR. It has a high native contrast ratio, so blacks are deep and uniform in dark scenes. It lacks a local dimming feature, though, and it can't get very bright in HDR, so bright highlights don't stand out. It has a great color gamut, so colors are vibrant and lifelike overall, but again, they're not very bright. Finally, it delivers an alright gaming experience overall, with low input lag for a responsive feel but no advanced gaming features and a slow response time, so motion is blurry.
- High native contrast for deep blacks.
- Incredible black uniformity.
- Low input lag.
- Displays a wide range of colors.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve contrast.
- Slow response time results in very noticeable motion blur.
- No advanced gaming features like VRR.
- Low HDR peak brightness.
The Samsung Q60C QLED is decent for use as a PC monitor. It displays chroma 4:4:4 signals properly, which is essential for clear text from a PC. It has low input lag, so your cursor movements feel responsive, but sadly, it has a slow response time, and motion is blurry. It has very good peak brightness in SDR and can overcome glare in a moderately-lit room, and it has decent gray uniformity, with very little dirty screen effect in the center of the screen. Unfortunately, it has a narrow viewing angle, so the sides of the screen fade and look washed out if you're sitting too close.
- Low input lag.
- Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly for clear text from a PC.
- Narrow viewing angle.
- Slow response time results in very noticeable motion blur.
- No advanced gaming features like VRR.
Changelog
- Updated May 16, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Samsung Q60D QLED in the HDR Brightness section of this review.
- Updated Apr 11, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Samsung DU8000 in the Response Time section of this review.
- Updated Feb 16, 2024: Added mention of the Samsung store online exclusive QE1C variant in the Differences Between Sizes and Variants.
- Updated Sep 11, 2023: We corrected a typo in the introduction and fixed two broken links.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch Samsung Q60C, and it's also available in 32-inch, 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 70-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch sizes. All sizes offer similar picture quality and overall performance.
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. The Samsung QE1C is a Samsung store online exclusive that performs the same, but it's only available in 70-inch and 85-inch sizes. There are also a few international variants of this TV that perform roughly the same. The Samsung Q65C has a slightly better global dimming feature, and the Samsung Q67C has a center-mounted stand.
| Size | US Model |
|---|---|
| 32" | QN32Q60CAFXZA |
| 43" | QN43Q60CAFXZA |
| 50" | QN50Q60CAFXZA |
| 55" | QN55Q60CAFXZA |
| 65" | QN65Q60CAFXZA |
| 70" | QN70Q60CAFXZA |
| 75" | QN75Q60CAFXZA |
| 85" | QN85Q60CAFXZA |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Q60C is a basic entry-level 4k TV with just okay picture quality and few extra features. It's overpriced, and you can get cheaper TVs from budget brands like Hisense and TCL that are just as good and offer a better selection of features, like the Hisense U6/U6H, Hisense U7H, or TCL 5 Series/S555 2022 QLED.
See our recommendations for the best Samsung TVs, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best TVs for movies.
The Samsung Q60C and the Samsung Q60D are essentially the same TV with one difference: the Q60D gets brighter when watching movies or playing games in HDR, so highlights stand out more on it, leading to a more impactful HDR experience. The Q60D also has a faster response time, but it's still slow overall, so fast motion is still blurry.
The Samsung Q60C and the Samsung Q60B are nearly identical. Most of the differences between them are within the margins of individual panels.
The Samsung Q60C and the Sony X80K/X80CK each have strengths over the other. The Samsung has better contrast and black uniformity, so blacks are deeper when viewed in a dark room, and it has better SDR brightness, so it can overcome more glare in a bright room. However, the Sony has a wider viewing angle, so it's the better choice for watching TV as a group. The Sony also has a faster response time, so there is less blur behind quick motion.
The Samsung Q70C is better than the Samsung Q60C. The Q60C has slightly better contrast and vastly better black uniformity but is worse in every other category. The Q70C is also a fully featured gaming TV, with four HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming and support for every VRR technology, while the Q60C is limited to up to 4k @ 60Hz on its four HDMI 2.0 ports, and has no VRR support.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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