The Samsung Q70/Q70R QLED is a great 4k TV from the brand's 2019 QLED lineup. Its VA panel boasts an outstanding contrast ratio and excellent black uniformity, so it's well-suited to dark room viewing, but it also has impressive peak brightness, so it's great for well-lit rooms too. It has full-array local dimming and a wide color gamut, which helps to produce vivid colors and bring out highlights in HDR content. Its motion handling is amazing, with a fast response time and an optional Black Frame Insertion feature to further reduce blur. Additionally, it supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. However, like most VA panels, it has poor viewing angles, so it's not the best for wide seating arrangements since the image loses accuracy when viewed from the side.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Q70R is a great TV for mixed usage. It can deliver excellent picture quality, with saturated colors and impressive motion handling. The wide color gamut and high peak brightness make highlights in HDR content pop, and the low input lag and FreeSync support should please most gamers. Unfortunately, it has poor viewing angles, but that's to be expected with VA panels. It performs well in both dark and bright rooms, as the TV is capable of displaying deep, uniform blacks and gets bright enough to overcome glare.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Great response time.
- Can display deep, uniform blacks in a dark room.
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle.
The Samsung Q70R is an excellent TV for watching movies. It can display deep, uniform blacks thanks to its high contrast ratio and local dimming feature. It can also remove 24p judder from any source and displays 4k and 1080p content without issues. Despite having a fast response time, you shouldn't notice much stutter.
- Can display deep, uniform blacks in a dark room.
- Local dimming feature.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle.
The Samsung Q70R is good for watching TV shows. It has decent reflection handling and gets bright enough to combat glare, so it's suitable for watching TV during the day. Unfortunately, it has poor viewing angles, so the image quickly degrades when viewed from an angle. That said, it upscales cable content well and has great smart features to help you find your favorite streaming channel.
- Bright enough to combat glare.
- Great app selection and easy-to-use interface.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle.
The Samsung Q70R is a good TV if you enjoy watching sports. It has a great response time and fast-moving objects look crisp. It can get quite bright, so glare shouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately, the viewing angles are poor, so it's less suitable for watching the big game with a large group, as the image degrades when viewed from the side.
- Great response time.
- Bright enough to combat glare.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle.
- Slight dirty screen effect.
The Samsung Q70R is an excellent TV for playing video games. The fast response time and high refresh rate keep the image clear with minimal motion blur, and it has a low input lag. Its outstanding contrast ratio can produce deep blacks, so it's great for dark room gaming. It also has gaming-specific features like FreeSync to prevent screen tearing.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Great response time.
- Native FreeSync support.
- Not G-SYNC compatible.
The Samsung Q70R is an impressive TV for watching movies in HDR. Thanks to its wide color gamut, good HDR peak brightness, and high contrast ratio, it does a good job of bringing out highlights and displaying vivid colors in HDR. Sadly, although this TV supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, it doesn't support Dolby Vision.
- Can display deep, uniform blacks in a dark room.
- Local dimming feature.
- Good brightness in HDR.
- No Dolby Vision support.
The Samsung Q70R is an impressive TV for HDR gaming. It has a low input lag and a fast response time, so it can display fast-moving content with minimal motion blur. While it's not the brightest in HDR, it delivers a great HDR gaming experience thanks to its exceptionally high contrast ratio, wide color gamut, and high refresh rate.
- Good brightness in HDR.
- Native FreeSync support.
- Excellent motion handling and low input lag.
- Not G-SYNC compatible.
The Samsung Q70R is a very good choice for use as a PC monitor. The TV has a low input lag and can display proper chroma 4:4:4, so text appears clear. Since it uses a VA panel, there's no risk of permanent burn-in with a static user interface always being in the same spot. If your computer has an AMD graphics card, you can take advantage of FreeSync support when gaming. However, it has poor viewing angles, so the edges of the screen look washed out when sitting up close.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Great response time.
- Displays proper chroma 4:4:4.
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 14, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Aug 02, 2019: We retested the Q70R with the latest firmware. The SDR Peak Brightness, HDR Peak Brightness, and Input Lag measurements and scores have been updated, and it is no longer skipping frames in PC mode with a 120Hz signal.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (QN55Q70RA) version, FA01/QRQ70. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (QN65Q70RA), the 75" version (QN75Q70RA), and the 82" version (QN82Q70RA). Most of our results should also be valid for the 49" Q70R (QN49Q70R), but it has some differences that are noted in the table below.
Update 05/31/2019: There's a minor variant of the Samsung Q70R, known as the Samsung Q7DR. In Canada, it's a Best Buy exclusive, and in the U.S., it's a warehouse model (Sam's Club, Costco). The only difference appears to be the speakers, which increase from 40W to 60W, but we don't know for sure, as there's some conflicting information.
Update 05/29/2019: Samsung has added an 85" model to the lineup.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Q70R doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | US | Canada | UK | Variant | Refresh rate | FreeSync |
| 49" | QN49Q70RA | QN49Q70RAFXZA | QN49Q70RAFXZC | QE49Q70RATXXU | QN49Q7DR | 60Hz | No |
| 55" | QN55Q70RA | QN55Q70RAFXZA | QN55Q70RAFXZC | QE55Q70RATXXU | QN55Q7DR | 120Hz | Yes |
| 65" | QN65Q70RA | QN65Q70RAFXZA | QN65Q70RAFXZC | QE65Q70RATXXU | QN65Q7DR | 120Hz | Yes |
| 75" | QN75Q70RA | QN75Q70RAFXZA | QN75Q70RAFXZC | QE75Q70RATXXU | QN75Q7DR | 120Hz | Yes |
| 82" | QN82Q70RA | QN82Q70RAFXZA | QN82Q70RAFXZC | N/A | QN82Q7DR | 120Hz | Yes |
| 85" | QN85Q70RA | QN85Q70RAFXZA | QN85Q70RAFXZC | N/A | QN85Q7DR | 120Hz | Yes |
The 55" Samsung Q70R we tested was manufactured in Feb. 2019.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Q70R is an impressive TV that delivers an excellent performance in many usages. See our recommendations for the best TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best HDR gaming TVs.
The Samsung Q70R is much better than the Samsung Q60R. The Q70R supports local dimming and has better black uniformity, which allows it to deliver a better dark room performance. The Q70R can get brighter, which is great if you have a bright room. Finally, the Samsung Q70R has better reflection handling, and it's more suitable if your room has many light sources.
The Samsung Q70T directly replaces the Samsung Q70R from 2019. The Q70T is a bit of a step down, as it doesn't perform as well and lacks a local dimming feature, which the Q70R has. The Q70T also has a slower response time, leading to more motion blur, and it has a significantly lower peak brightness. The Q70T doesn't feel as well-built as the Q70R, but you get eARC support on the Q70T, and it has a lower input lag.
The Samsung Q70R is a better TV than the Samsung Q60T. The Q70R looks and feels more premium and well-made, has full-array local dimming, is better for HDR content due to its higher HDR peak brightness and slightly wider color gamut, and has a smoother smart interface. The Q70R also supports VRR, while the Q60T doesn't. On the other hand, the Q60T has more accurate colors out of the box and supports Samsung's new dual-LED technology for improved contrast, though its contrast performance is similar to the Q70R.
The Samsung Q80R is better than the Samsung Q70R. The Q80R can handle reflections slightly better and has a wider viewing angle thanks to the 'Ultra Viewing Angle' layer. Its local dimming is better than the Q70R and significantly helps improve dark room performance. The Q70R, on the other hand, has a higher native contrast ratio and can deliver deeper and more uniform blacks, even though its local dimming isn't as effective.
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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