- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Design
- Picture Quality
- Motion
- Inputs
- Sound Quality
- Smart Features
- Sizes and Variants
- Compared
- Conclusion
- Discussions
Samsung Q7FN/Q7/Q7F QLED 2018
TV REVIEW
The Samsung Q7F is a 2018 4k QLED TV with great picture quality. It can produce saturated highlights in HDR content due to the very wide color gamut. It also has great bright room performance as the whole screen can get very bright and it has excellent reflection handling. Unfortunately, when viewed in a dark room, the local dimming isn't very effective at producing deep blacks and for those with wide seating, the best picture is reserved for directly in-front of the TV.
Note that this is a different TV to the 2017 QLED Q7F. The 2018 Q7FN is also called Q7F or Q7.
- Exceptionally wide color gamut
- Can get very bright to overcome glare
- Excellent low input lag
- Picture quality degrades at an angle
| Design | 9.5 |
| Picture Quality | 8.1 |
| Motion | 8.5 |
| Inputs | 9.3 |
| Sound Quality | 7.0 |
| Smart Features | 7.8 |
Update 6/11/2018: 1440p @ 120 Hz input lag has decreased as of firmware 1103. The review has been updated.
Update 6/8/2018: FreeSync has been tested and the scores have been updated.
Update 5/23/2018: Firmware version 1103 has added Freesync support. We are currently testing it and will update the review shortly.
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Design
The design of the Samsung Q7FN is excellent and up to par with last year's Q7F. It comes along with the OneConnect box incorporating some improvements over last year's design. The cable that connects the box to the TV is very long (195") and it also provides power thus eliminating the need for an extra power cord.
The stand is quite stylish and sturdy and resembles last years Q7F. Although the TV wobbles a little bit as with most center stands, it is well balanced and should please most people.
Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 33.5" x 11.4"
The back is plastic with small grooves and a matte finish. It looks very much like last years' Q7F. There is practically no need for cable management channels due to the OneConnect box, here.
This also facilitates wall mounting, but at the same time requires planning for the placement of the OneConnect box.
The borders of the Samsung QN55Q7FN are very thin with a metal finish. They look nice and are very similar to the 2017 Q7F.
The Samsung Q7F gets warm, but not excessively warm. The heat picture reveals that the TV is warmer towards the bottom of the screen where the LEDs are located. The yellow spot on the lower right side of the image is the OneConnect box that reaches a maximum temperature of 100° F. These temperatures are well within the norm and should not cause any problems.
Picture Quality
The Samsung Q7F 2018 produces great picture quality. It has an excellent native contrast ratio and black uniformity, so it produces deep dark blacks great for dark room viewing. It is edge-lit and has a very limited local dimming feature. It is extremely bright with excellent reflection handling, making it a great choice for bright rooms too. Like all VA panels, it has a narrow viewing angle. It has the widest color gamut ever measured, and exceptional color volume, so HDR movies look very close to what the creator intended. It has limited gradient reproduction, and large areas of similar colors could suffer a bit (this is especially noticeable in shots of the sky).
The contrast on the Samsung Q7FN is superb. It's about 20% higher that the 2017 Q7F. When set in a dark room, the Q7FN can produce deep black scenes.
When measured with local dimming activated, there is almost no change due to poor performance of local dimming.
The local dimming feature on the TV is bad. Performance is very similar to the NU8000. It focuses on the moving highlights, but the rest of the screen is hardly dimmed. It was a bit noticeable when the highlights were at one edge of the screen.
The TV has excellent SDR brightness and outperforms both the Q9FN and the Q8FN, but still falls behind last year's Sonys X930E and Z9D. Edge lighting is more efficient than full array used in both the Q9FN and the Q8FN. We assume that this extra power budget is what makes the Q7FN brighter.
The high brightness values on the 2% and 10% windows will make small highlights stand out in dark scenes.
The great performance in this category makes it a great candidate for anyone looking for a TV for a bright room.
Just like in the SDR brightness, the performance of Samsung Q7FN in HDR is remarkable and certainly better than last year's Q7F. Bright highlights in HDR content will be shown quite bright, and at times within the 1000-4000 cd/m² level they're intended to be.
The gray uniformity of the Samsung Q7F is good. The borders are darker than the rest of the screen, but the center remains relatively clear. This avoids any disturbing dirty screen effects and sport viewing and game playing should not have any issues.
Dark scene uniformity is very good. It is hard to notice any cloudiness.
The viewing angle is disappointing but typical for a VA panel. It is worse than the 2017 Q7F, but it doesn't differ a lot from the 2018 Samsung family, even though it presents a slight improvement in the black levels
The black uniformity of the Q7FN is remarkable and certainly a major improvement over last year's Q7F. There is very little clouding around the test cross that is hardly noticeable.
The standard deviation is higher when local dimming is set to high and clouding is a little more obvious. This happens because of the way local dimming works. We must set the backlight to higher levels to reach a luminance of 100 at the center of the test cross. This causes more blooming in general, and explains the higher measurement than the native black uniformity.
The Samsung Q7 handles reflections in the same excellent way the Q7F does. The glossy screen finish along with the anti-reflection coating work well in diffusing most of reflections. The TV is a good choice for a bright room.
Out of the box, colors are good with the 'Movie' picture mode and most people won't notice the difference. White balance is high, gamma is very high and doesn't track our target.
Update 04/12/2019: This TV was incorrectly measured with Brightness +2, instead of at 0. This only has a small impact on the results (slightly dimmer dark scenes below about 30 IRE) and so we don't plan to retest it.
The color management system wasn't very effective at correcting color accuracy. Most of the corrections were done on the white balance, which in turn corrected some of the color accuracy. After calibration, the gamma follows our target 2.2 almost perfectly, and white balance is almost perfect.
Calibration had to be done with a 100% window, as the local dimming feature was interfering with our calibration.
For most people, setting the gamma to +2 with the 'warm 2' color temperature will be good enough.
See our recommended settings here.
Native 4k content is displayed perfectly without any issues. The artifacts seen in the 2017 Q7F are no longer present thanks to the new sub-pixel structure.
The 2018 Q7F has an impressive color gamut. It covers practically the entire P3 color space, and has the best Rec 2020 coverage of any TV we have reviewed. HDR content will look very close to what the creator intended.
The color gamut is even wider than the Q8FN. This is not due to panel variance as the two are definitely not the same panel, as shown by the difference in the Q7FN and Q8FN pixel photos.
The EOTF curve follows our input stimulus nearly perfectly, and it has a slightly smoother roll off at the TV's peak brightness, so there will be less clipping in bright scenes. The PC and Game EOTFs approximately follow our input stimulus, which is good.
We don't expect VA panels to experience permanent image retention, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.
Motion
The 2018 Q7F has great motion handling. There is very little motion trail, and only a little persistence blur, most people won't notice it. It has an excellent response time, very similar to the higher end Q8FN although not as good as last year's model. The TV is not flicker-free, and the backlight changes depending on interpolation settings. Like other Samsung TVs we have reviewed recently, it is inconsistent at removing judder when watching 24p content played from a 60i source.
The 2018 Q7 has an excellent response time. There is a bit of overshoot in the 0-20%,0-80% and 20-80% transitions, but this shouldn't cause any issues. It is a bit worse than last year's Q7F but nearly identical to the Q8FN. There is very little blur due to response time, most of the blur in the photo is due to persistence.
The Samsung Q7FN uses PWM to dim the backlight. There is visible flicker at all backlight settings. At low backlight settings the flicker becomes more apparent.
The 2018 model has a 240Hz flicker, which is a marked improvement over the 120Hz backlight on the 2017 version. People sensitive to flicker could consider the Q8FN instead which has a much less noticeable 480Hz flicker.
The backlight changes depending on the motion processing options enabled, as shown here.
The Q7FN has an optional black BFI mode. This is enabled by setting Auto Motion Plus to Custom, and enabling LED Clear Motion. This changes the backlight to a 60 Hz flicker, even in game mode. Changing the flicker frequency will help reduce stutter but people sensitive to flicker might notice it more.
The backlight changes depending on the motion processing options enabled, as shown here.
The QN55Q7FN is able to interpolate lower frame rate content up to 120Hz. The Samsung Q7F does a good job interpolating with few artifacts, but the accuracy does decrease with medium amounts of motion, and the TV stops interpolating in scenes with heavy motion.
The backlight changes depending on the motion processing options enabled, as shown here.
There is some stutter on the Q7FN, due to the fast response time. This is especially noticeable with 24p Blu-ray movies. If this bothers you, motion interpolation or BFI can help reduce the perceived stutter.
The Samsung Q7FN is able to remove 24p judder from most sources. It is inconsistent with 24p content played at 60i from a cable box.
To enable the judder removal on the Q7FN for 24p content played from a Blu-ray, set 'Auto Motion Plus' to Custom with both sliders set to '0'.
The backlight changes depending on the motion processing options enabled, as shown here.
The TV does not yet support any of the Variable Refresh Rate technologies like AMD's Freesync 2. This was tested with an Xbox One S and on a PC with a Radeon RX 580.
Update 05/23/2018: Firmware version 1103 has added Freesync support. We are currently testing it and will update the review shortly.
Update 06/08/2018: FreeSync has been tested and the score has been updated. FreeSync was supported from our Xbox One S and our Radeon RX 580 GPU, in 1080p, 1440p and 4k resolutions. FreeSync is activated by enabling the TV's Game mode and FreeSync settings; PC mode is not required. We tested in Ultimate mode because it has the widest range, and we only recommend Basic mode when you experience problems with Ultimate.
Inputs
The Samsung Q7 2018 has excellent low input lag. Like the other 2018 QLEDs, it can interpolate low frame rate games up to either 60Hz or 120Hz. Unlike other TVs, it is able to interpolate without adding significant input lag. It supports 1440p @ 120 Hz, great for Xbox One S / X gaming. It supports chroma 4:4:4 for use as a PC monitor, but colors are washed out in 4:4:4 with a 1440p @ 120Hz resolution, like all Samsung TVs we have tested. PC Mode doesn't work with a 24Hz input signal but this is an uncommon setup and shouldn't be an issue for most people.
1440p @ 120 Hz: 10.0 ms
Excellent low input lag across all resolutions and refresh rates, as long as Game Mode is activated. Outside of Game Mode, input lag is high, but not terrible.
High-end 2018 Samsung TVs like the Q7FN and NU8000 can interpolate lower frame rate games up to 60 Hz or 120Hz without adding much input lag. When interpolating up to 60Hz (With the 'Judder' slider set to 10 and the 'Blur' slider at 0, input lag is 21.7 ms, which is still very low. When interpolating up to 120 Hz (with both sliders at 10), input lag is 27.5 ms.
The Q7FN supports the new Auto Low Latency Mode. When connected to a supported device (like the Xbox One or PS4), the TV will automatically switch to game mode when a game is detected.
Update 06/08/2018: The input lag with VRR has been tested and added to the review.
Update 06/11/2018: 1440p @ 120 Hz performance has improved as of firmware version 1103. The 1440p @ 120 Hz input lag is now 10.0 ms, down from 24.8 ms.
The 2018 Q7F QLED TV supports most common resolutions without issue.
For use as a PC monitor, it is necessary to enable HDMI UHD Color from the External Device Manager for the port used, and the input label must be set to PC. This is required for the TV to support chroma 4:4:4.
In 1440p @ 120 Hz, chroma 4:4:4 is displayed but the colors are not displayed properly, same as the Q8FN.
For the audio return channel to work correctly, Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) must be enabled.
Like other Samsung TVs we have tested this year, DTS passthrough is not supported on the Audio Return Channel or through optical.
Sound Quality
The sound of the Samsung Q7FN is decent. This TV gets moderately loud and produces clear and intelligible dialogs. However, it may not be loud enough for large and noisy environments and it doesn't have a deep and thumpy bass. For a better sound, dedicated speakers or soundbars are recommended.
The frequency response is decent. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 70Hz, which is above-average. This means this TV won't produce any low rumbling sounds or thumps, but will have a decent punch to its bass. The response above the TV's LFE is quite well-balanced, suggesting clear and intelligible dialogs. However, since the TV doesn't have a room correction system, it wasn't able to remove the modes of our test room around 200Hz. Additionally, this TV gets moderately loud, but may not be loud enough for large and noisy environments.
Smart Features
The Samsung 2018 Q7F QLED TV runs the latest version of Samsung's Smart Hub. It has an easy to use, intuitive layout, and there were some minor performance issues during our testing. There is a good assortment of built-in apps, and many more are available in the app store, but not as many as the Sony or LG content store.
Like all Samsung TVs, the Samsung Q7FN has ads across the main interface bar, as well as suggested content in the content store. They are not always there, but they can't be completely disabled.
During our testing the ads displayed intermittently so we were unable to photograph them, but they look like the ones on the Q8FN. The ads we saw were targeted, while watching a car show we were shown Mitsubishi ads.
The remote is the same as the one included with the Q8FN and NU8000. It doesn't have a lot of buttons, for most things the remote has to be used to navigate the menu or use the Bixby Voice Assistant.
The new Bixby assistant works well. It can change inputs, open apps, and answer basic questions, for example, "How's the weather for the next week?". It is more limited than the LG voice assistant, and it can't search within apps or do wider searches across a variety of sources.
The Samsung remote app is very basic. The official SmartThings app is only available for Samsung phones. For other phones a third party app must be used. The SmartThings app can work as a replacement remote, and has some more advanced features. It can cast the TV's content to your phone, as well as working for voice control. On the 2018 QLEDs, it can control the new Ambient mode.
Update 06/05/2018: The Samsung SmartThings app is available on the Google Play Store for Android phones, with some features exclusively available on Samsung phones.
Differences between Sizes and Variants
We tested the 55" (QN55Q7FN) version AA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (QN65Q7FN) and 75" version (QN75Q7FN).
The warehouse variant of the 2018 Q7F is known as the Q75FN. The stand is black instead of chrome, and depending on the specific warehouse model it might have a simpler remote. We don't expect any other differences and our review should still be valid.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Q7FN doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | Model Short | US | Warehouse Model | Canada | UK |
| 55" | QN55Q7FN | QN55Q7 | QN55Q7FNAFXZA | QN55Q75FNFXZA | QN55Q7FNAFXZC | QE55Q7FNATXXU |
| 65" | QN65Q7FN | QN65Q7 | QN65Q7FNAFXZA | QN65Q75FNFXZA | QN65Q7FNAFXZC | QE65Q7FNATXXU |
| 75" | QN75Q7FN | QN75Q7 | QN75Q7FNAFXZA | QN75Q75FNFXZA | QN75Q7FNAFXZC | QE75Q7FNATXXU |
Compared to other TVs
The Samsung Q7FN is a powerful, versatile TV with great performance for pretty much everyone, but at a very premium price. While it is a great TV, there are some better alternatives depending on your needs. See our recommendations for the best flatscreen TVs and the best smart TVs.
The Sony X900F is slightly better than the Samsung 2018 Q7FN QLED TV. The X900F has a much better full array local dimming feature that improves dark room performance. The Samsung Q7FN has less input lag for gaming, and supports new gaming features like auto low latency mode and has a variable refresh rate when connected with a supported device.
The Samsung Q7FN is a bit better than the Samsung Q6FN for most people. While overall performance is similar, the Samsung Q7FN has a better anti-reflective coating that is better for overcoming glare in a bright room. The Q7FN uses the external One Connect box for all of its input. If space is a concern, some people may prefer the simpler installation of the Q6FN with all of the inputs on the TV.
The Samsung Q7FN is better than the Samsung NU8000. The Samsung Q7FN has much better reflection handling so you can easily place it in a bright room with many windows. The Q7FN performs better in HDR as it can get brighter and has a wider color gamut that allows it to display rich and saturated colors with highlights that pop. Finally, the Samsung Q7FN has a slightly better black frame insertion feature which helps clear the image from motion blur.
The Samsung Q8FN is a bit better than the Samsung Q7FN for most users, unless you want a cleaner wall mount installation with the One Connect box. The two TVs offer nearly identical picture quality, but the Samsung Q8FN has a better local dimming feature.
The 2018 Samsung Q7FN is better than the 2017 Samsung Q7F. The Q7FN is a lot brighter than the Q7F with all types of content, and the Q7FN has better black uniformity, good for dark room viewing. The Q7FN supports some new gaming-oriented technologies, including auto low latency mode and a variable refresh rate.
The Samsung Q9FN is better than the Samsung Q7FN. The Samsung Q9FN has much better local dimming performance and a higher contrast ratio and black uniformity that improve picture quality. This becomes more apparent when you watch movies in a dark room. The Samsung Q7FN has better gray uniformity, which is great if you watch sports.
The LG B8 is significantly better than the Samsung Q7FN if burn-in isn't a concern. The LG B8 is an OLED TV with perfect blacks and amazing dark room performance. The LG has better viewing angles and the image remains good when viewed from the side. The LG B8 also has better reflection handling in case you have many small light sources where you watch TV. The Samsung Q7FN has lower input lag, supports FreeSync, and is great if you play video games. Finally, the Samsung Q7FN can get brighter, so it's a better choice if you have a very bright room.
The LG C8 is much better than the Samsung Q7FN. The LG C8 has perfect blacks due to its emissive OLED technology, and this improves picture quality and looks great in a dark room. It has better viewing angles and better reflection handling so you can move around while watching your favorite TV show. The Samsung Q7FN, on the other hand, can get much brighter and can fight bright room glare better. Because of its VA panel, it does not have the risk of permanent burn-in. Finally, the Samsung Q7FN has a lower input lag and is very responsive if you play video games.
These two TVs have different types of panels. The LG SK9000 has an IPS panel and is a better choice if you're going to watch TV from the side, as it has wider viewing angles. If you will be sitting straight in front, the Samsung Q7FN can get brighter to fight bright room glare and can display deeper and more uniform blacks in a dark room, thanks to the higher contrast ratio and better black uniformity. The Q7FN has better gray uniformity and it's a little better for watching sports.
The Samsung Q70/Q70R QLED is slightly better than the Samsung Q7FN. The Q70R has a full array local dimming and higher native contrast ratio, which is great for watching movies and HDR movies, and it can display judder-free movies from any source. The Samsung Q7FN can get brighter in SDR, which is excellent if you have a very bright room, and it can also handle reflections better. Finally, the Samsung Q7FN has a wider color gamut and better color volume, which is great for HDR enthusiasts.
The Samsung Q7FN is better than the Samsung Q60R. The Samsung Q7FN can get brighter and can handle reflections better, so it's suitable for brighter rooms. Also, the Q7FN has a local dimming feature that helps dark room performance. In HDR, the Q7FN can get brighter and can display a wider color gamut and better color volume, which is great for HDR enthusiasts. The Samsung Q60R has slightly lower input lag, which is great for video games, a faster response time, which is great for sports, and can display judder-free movies from any source.
The Samsung Q80R is better than the Samsung Q7FN. The Q80R has a full array local dimming that significantly boosts dark room performance, and thanks to the 'Ultra Viewing Angle' technology the image remains accurate for wider angles. The Q80R can display judder-free movies from any source and also has lower input lag, which is great for playing video games. The Samsung Q7FN can handle reflections a little better, and this is great if your room has many lights. It also has a wider color gamut.
The Samsung Q7FN and the Samsung Q7CN both have very similar performance. The Q7CN is the curved version of the Q7FN. Most of the differences between them can be attributed just to panel variance.
Conclusion
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