The Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED is a mid-range LED TV. It replaces the popular Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED from 2020. However, it's not one of Samsung's best-performing TVs anymore because it sits below the Neo QLED models in their 2021 lineup. It's also different from past Samsung TVs because it uses an IPS-like panel that has wide viewing angles, which comes at the cost of a low contrast ratio. It has a local dimming feature to improve the dark room performance, but it performs terribly, and it's not a good choice for use in dark rooms. It comes with Tizen OS as its built-in smart platform, which is easy to use and has a bunch of apps available to download. It also has many gaming features that Samsung is known for, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, variable refresh rate (VRR) support, and a 120Hz panel.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Q80A is a good TV for most uses. It's great for watching TV shows and sports because it has wide viewing angles, great for wide seating areas. It also gets bright enough to fight glare in a well-lit room. It's good for SDR or HDR gaming as it has variable refresh rate (VRR) support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for high-frame-rate gaming. However, it doesn't perform well in dark rooms because of its low contrast ratio and mediocre local dimming. It's also only decent for watching movies, and the local dimming causes blooming around bright objects.
- High brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Wide viewing angles.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray.
- Mediocre local dimming feature.
The Samsung Q80A is decent for watching movies. It doesn't have any issues upscaling lower-resolution content, and it removes 24p judder from any source, which helps with the appearance of motion in movies. Sadly, though, it has an IPS-like panel with a low contrast ratio, and its local dimming feature is mediocre, so blacks look gray in the dark with blooming around bright objects.
- Upscales lower-resolution content without any issues.
- Automatically removes 24p judder.
- Low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray.
- Mediocre local dimming feature.
The Samsung Q80A is great for watching TV shows. You won't have any issues watching shows in bright rooms because it has good reflection handling, and it gets bright enough to fight glare. It also has wide viewing angles if you want to watch content with the entire family in a wide seating arrangement. Lastly, it doesn't have any problem upscaling low-resolution content from SD and HD channels.
- Upscales lower-resolution content without any issues.
- High brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Our unit has uniformity issues.
The Samsung Q80A is great for watching sports. Fast-moving objects in sports look smooth thanks to the quick response time. It has wide viewing angles if you want to use it in a wide seating area as everyone will see an accurate image, and it gets bright enough to fight glare if you have a few lights around. Sadly, our unit has some uniformity issues that get distracting in sports with large areas of bright colors, like hockey or basketball.
- Good reflection handling.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- Our unit has uniformity issues.
The Samsung Q80A is good for playing video games. It has many gaming-friendly features as you can play 4k games up to 120 fps from the PS5 and Xbox Series X thanks to the HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It also has a quick response time for smooth motion, low input lag, and VRR support to reduce screen tearing. Sadly, it's not a good choice for dark room gaming as its IPS-like panel has a low contrast ratio, so blacks look gray.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Very low input lag.
- Low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray.
- Mediocre local dimming feature.
The Samsung Q80A is decent for watching HDR movies, but it's not ideal. It displays a wide color gamut and has great HDR peak brightness, so highlights pop and colors are vivid. However, it has limited dark room performance as it has a low native contrast ratio, and the local dimming feature fails to improve the picture quality in dark scenes. There's also blooming around bright objects, which could get distracting.
- High brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Displays wide color gamut.
- Low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray.
- Mediocre local dimming feature.
The Samsung Q80A is good for HDR gaming, mainly thanks to its good gaming performance. It has gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support, meaning you can take full advantage of the newest gaming consoles. Even though it displays a wide HDR color gamut and has great peak brightness, HDR content doesn't look the best in dark rooms. It has a mediocre contrast ratio, and the local dimming feature causes blooming around bright objects.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Displays wide color gamut.
- Low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray.
- Mediocre local dimming feature.
The Samsung Q80A is excellent to use as a PC monitor. It performs well in a bright room because it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling. It also has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate at the edges if you sit close or need to use it in a meeting room with a wide seating area. Additionally, text looks sharp because it displays chroma 4:4:4 with most signals, which helps with text clarity.
- High brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Very low input lag.
- Displays proper chroma 4:4:4.
- Our unit has uniformity issues.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55 inch Samsung Q80A variant, and for the most part, the results are also valid for the 65 inch and the 75 inch models in North America. The 50 inch and 85 inch variants have VA panels, so they perform differently. The Costco version is known as the Q8BA and the Q8DA, depending on the size. There are similar models available outside the United States that aren't exactly like this one, and because Samsung's European lineup is slightly different, the results only apply to the North American Q80A.
| Size | Panel Type | US Model | Short Model Code | Refresh Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50" | VA | QN50Q80AAFXZA | QN50Q80A | 60Hz |
| 55" | ADS | QN55Q80AAFXZA | QN55Q80A | 120Hz |
| 65" | ADS | QN65Q80AAFXZA | QN65Q80A | 120Hz |
| 75" | ADS | QN75Q80AAFXZA | QN75Q80A | 120Hz |
| 85" | VA | QN85Q80AAFXZA | QN85Q80A | 120Hz |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or their Samsung Q80A doesn't correspond to the review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between units.
Our unit of the Q80A was manufactured in February 2021; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Q80A is a good overall TV, but it has some drawbacks. It's a step down from its predecessor, the Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED, since its ADS panel has a low contrast ratio, bad black uniformity, and mediocre local dimming. If you aren't going to take advantage of its gaming features, there are cheaper or similarly-priced options with better dark room performance, like the Sony X90J or Hisense U8G.
Also see our recommendations for the best Samsung TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for watching sports.
The Sony X90J and the Samsung Q80A are quite different because they don't use the same panel type. The Sony uses a VA panel with a much higher contrast ratio, making it better suited for dark rooms, and the Samsung uses an IPS-like panel with much wider viewing angles. They both have a full-array local dimming feature, but the Sony's performs better because it doesn't cause uniformity issues like the Samsung's. On the flip side, the Samsung has a wider color gamut and gets brighter overall. It also has lower input lag and it supports FreeSync, which the Sony doesn't.
The Samsung Q80A and the Samsung Q80B are very similar overall, but there are a few differences. The Q80A gets brighter in HDR to deliver a more impactful HDR experience, but the Q80B performs better in dark rooms because there's less blooming around bright objects, although its local dimming feature is still mediocre. However, the local dimming in Game Mode is better on the Q80B than the Q80A. Also, the Q80B has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its HDMI ports, as opposed to just one on the Q80A, meaning you can connect multiple HDMI 2.1 devices.
The Samsung Q80A and the Samsung Q70A are good TVs with different panel types. The Q80A has an ADS panel, which has much wider viewing angles. It also gets significantly brighter in HDR, so highlights stand out the way they should. However, the Q70A has a VA panel with a much better contrast ratio and improved black uniformity. Even though the Q80A has a full-array local dimming feature, which the Q70A doesn't have, the Q70A is better for dark room viewing due to its higher contrast.
The Samsung Q80A replaces the Samsung Q80T in name, but they use different panel types and have different strengths and weaknesses. The QN80A has an ADS panel that has wider viewing angles. It also gets much brighter, especially in HDR in Game Mode. On the other hand, the Q80T has a VA panel with a much better contrast ratio and better local dimming for an improved dark room experience. The Q80T also has much better reflection handling.
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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