The Samsung S90F OLED is Samsung's mid-range model in their 2025 OLED lineup, and it sits just below the flagship Samsung S95F OLED and above the Samsung S85F OLED. It replaces the Samsung S90D OLED. It features an improved QD-OLED panel and is powered by Samsung's custom NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor, which is designed to increase the TV's processing speed. It runs the 2025 version of Samsung's proprietary Tizen OS. The TV has 40W 2.1 channel speakers built-in and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos, but as usual for Samsung, there's no support for Dolby Vision HDR or DTS audio formats. We bought and tested the 65-inch model, but it's also available in 42, 48, 55, 77, and 83-inch sizes, although in North America, the two smallest and the biggest sizes use a WOLED panel instead of QD-OLED.
Just like with the S90D, the S90F has both WOLED and QD-OLED panels, and the type of panel you get varies by the TV's size and what region you're in. A QD-OLED panel's performance and overall picture quality are typically better than a traditional WOLED panel, so keep this in mind while shopping. Our review is based on the QD-OLED version of the TV. You can find more information on the S90F's different panel types.
Our Verdict
The Samsung S90F handles almost anything you throw at it. In a dedicated home-theater space, it's a standout, pairing true-black OLED contrast with vibrant colors, punchy HDR highlights, and great processing. Its SDR brightness is only decent, but its great reflections handling keeps the picture engaging in rooms with moderate to bright lighting, though it can look a bit washed-out under very bright lights or windows, as its black levels are noticeably raised in that context. Gamers benefit from near-instant pixel response, ultra-low input lag, and a full slate of current-gen gaming features, while the TV's wide viewing angle keeps the image looking consistent for everyone on the couch.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
Incredibly wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
Black levels are raised in rooms with the lights on.
The Samsung S90F truly shines in a dark, cinema-like setup. Its OLED panel delivers inky blacks with zero blooming, while colors stay vibrant and rich, while being virtually free of banding. HDR highlights really pop thanks to the TV's robust peak brightness, and the set's processing delivers strong HDR brightness accuracy and upscaling. Low-quality content smoothing in low-bitrate streams is less convincing, sometimes leaving compression artifacts behind, and the panel's lightning-fast response time can introduce visible stutter in slow-panning shots. Overall, this is a standout home theater TV.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
Does an outstanding job displaying HDR content at the intended level or brightness.
No Dolby Vision or DTS audio support.
Very noticeable stutter due to the TV's fast response time.
The Samsung S90F fares well in brightly lit spaces, but it isn't perfect. Its SDR brightness is decent enough for a good viewing experience in moderately lit rooms, but luckily, the TV's handling of direct reflections really helps it out when dealing with tons of glare; overall, daytime viewing is comfortable on this TV. Colors hold their vibrancy, too, retaining plenty of punch even under ambient light. The catch is that any ambient lights lift the panel's blacks to more of a charcoal gray, softening contrast and sapping some of the TV's signature OLED wow factor.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Black levels are raised in rooms with the lights on.
The Samsung S90F is a very solid pick for sports fans. Your favorite jerseys pop with vivid, saturated color, and the TV's lightning-quick pixel response times and clean transitions keep fast-moving players and balls razor-sharp. The TV's uniformity is great, so you won't spot any dirty screen effect mid-field or on an ice rink. While its SDR brightness is only decent, its great anti-glare coating keeps reflections in check for daytime viewing. Lower resolution broadcasts are upscaled very well, though heavily compressed feeds can still show a few artifacts. Finally, its wide viewing angle means everyone on the couch gets the same clear view of the action.
Incredibly wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
Great gray uniformity with no noticeable dirty screen effect.
Great reflection handling means it handles glare in a well-lit room.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
No transition artifacts.
The Samsung S90F is tailor-made for gamers. It drives 4k @ 144Hz, pairing perfectly with today's consoles, and is also a solid choice for all but the most competitive of PC gamers. Lightning-fast pixel response times, ultra-low input lag, and complete VRR support combine for smooth, tear-free gameplay. HDR titles really pop, with lifelike colors and punchy highlights, while SDR games still look rich and vibrant enough for a solid visual experience. Finally, the TV doesn't lose any of its contrast or HDR brightness when in Game Mode, so you can get the lowest input lag possible without any tradeoffs.
Incredibly low input lag for a very responsive experience.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
The Samsung S90F's overall brightness is impressive. In HDR, its peaks make highlights sparkle in movies, shows, and games. SDR output is more subdued in comparison, yet it's still strong enough to fend off glare in a moderately lit room, especially with its strong direct reflections handling.
Impressive HDR peak brightness means highlights really pop.
The Samsung S90F is an OLED, so it has outstanding black levels. Blacks are deep and inky when viewed in a dark room, with no blooming around bright highlights.
Perfect blacks in a dark room with no blooming around bright highlights.
The Samsung S90F has incredibly bright, vibrant, and lifelike colors in both SDR and HDR. It also has great overall color accuracy in SDR, so most people will be pleased with its colors without needing a professional calibration. It's not quite as accurate in HDR; most people will be satisfied, but purists will definitely notice some issues with the TV's white balance and color temperature.
Colors are very vibrant, bright, lifelike, and mostly accurate.
The Samsung S90F OLED has good motion handling when watching all types of content. The TV doesn't have any judder or micro-judder from all sources except 25p content being delivered via a 60p signal, which leads to very choppy motion if you're using an older device to watch certain European content. There are no transition artifacts at all, so fast-paced scenes and sports are free from ghosting and unintended intermediate colors, leading to incredibly clear motion. Unfortunately, there's apparent stutter during slow panning shots, but this is the case for any OLED display.
No transition artifacts.
Removes judder from most content.
No micro-judder in scenes with complex motion.
Perfect lighting zone transitions.
Very noticeable stutter due to the TV's fast response time.
The Samsung S90F feels lightning quick in Game Mode. Near-instant pixel transitions keep fast action razor-sharp, ultra-low input lag makes every control response snappy, and VRR support all but eliminates screen tearing. Unlike some high-end models, this one is limited to 4k @ 144Hz, but it's enough for a quick gaming experience for anyone but the most hardcore PC gamers.
Incredibly low input lag for a very responsive experience.
Nearly instantaneous pixel transitions for no noticeable blur behind fast motion.
Note: We're in the process of improving our tests related to image processing, but this score should give you a general idea of how a TV performs overall with its image processing capabilities.
The Samsung S90F's processing is quite impressive. It upscales SD and HD feeds very well, so older material, like from DVDs, looks clean. Its HDR brightness accuracy is almost perfect, and there's virtually zero color banding. Low-bitrate smoothing, however, is just decent, as some compression artifacts still sneak through on heavily compressed streams, but it's good enough for a satisfactory viewing experience.
Almost no banding at all in color gradients.
Does a great job upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or cable TV channels.
Does an outstanding job displaying HDR content at the intended level or brightness.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 11, 2026:
We added text to our new Cinematic Motion Handling performance usage and our new Transition Artifacts and Stutter Reduction Via Interpolation test sections after converting the review to TV 2.2.
- Updated Mar 10, 2026: This review has been updated to TV 2.2. We've added new sections for Transition Artifacts and Stutter Reduction Via Interpolation, and updated the way we test Stutter. Additionally, we removed the 'Broken' disclaimer from our Motion Handling usage.
- Updated Jan 20, 2026: We added text to the new Micro-Judder section and refreshed the text in the updated Judder and Response Time Stutter sections after converting the review to TV 2.1.
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Updated Dec 08, 2025:
We retested the TV's HGIG support on firmware 1133 and confirmed that it now works correctly again. The text in the HDR Brightness in Game Mode and PQ EOTF Tracking sections has been updated to reflect this.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch Samsung S90F (QD-OLED, QN65S90FAFXZA), and these results are also valid for the 55-inch and 77-inch models that use QD-OLED (FXZA) panels. In North America, the 42-inch, 48-inch, and 83-inch models use a WOLED panel (EXZA) instead. Our results don't apply to any WOLED version of the TV.
Internationally, most model sizes use a WOLED panel, but typically at least one size uses a QD-OLED panel, which can be identified by the last four digits of the long model code in your particular region; if the fourth last digit of the model code is an 'E,' the TV very likely uses a WOLED panel. For example, in the UK the 65-inch model ends with TXXU, so you should end up with a QD-OLED panel if you buy that size.
The TV is also sold with a slightly different model code at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, with a longer warranty.
| Size | US Model | Costco Model | Short Model Code | Display Technology (North America) | Maximum Refresh Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42" | QN42S90FAEXZA | - | QN42S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
| 48" | QN48S90FAEXZA | - | QN48S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
| 55" | QN55S90FAFXZA | QN55S90FDFXZA | QN55S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
| 65" | QN65S90FAFXZA | QN65S90FDFXZA | QN65S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
| 77" | QN77S90FAFXZA | QN77S90FDFXZA | QN77S90F | QD-OLED | 144Hz |
| 83" | QN83S90FAEXZA | QN83S90FDEXZA | QN83S90F | WOLED | 144Hz |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2025, as seen on the label.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung S90F is an excellent TV from Samsung and is one of the best possible picks at its price point. Its immediate competition, the LG C5 OLED, is also excellent this year, as both TVs trade blows, with the C5 having the edge in overall brightness and Dolby Vision support, while Samsung instead has a much more colorful panel. With the C5's HDR10 issues, however, the S90F ends up the clear favorite. If you'd like even more performance, the higher-end Samsung S95F OLED offers a noticeable performance boost at a higher price. There's also the cheaper Samsung S85F OLED, but that model is far dimmer in HDR and is limited to 4k @ 120Hz for gaming, so it's a big downgrade. Overall, the S90F is an amazing choice.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.
The LG C5 OLED and the Samsung S90F OLED trade blows. They're about equally as bright in most HDR content, although the S90F is a bit brighter in Game Mode. In SDR, however, the C5 is way brighter. The S90F does handle direct reflections better, but the C5's black levels barely raise in bright environments, while the S90F's blacks become charcoal gray in the same context. The S90F's QD-OLED panel is far more colorful than the C5's WOLED panel, which is expected. They're about equally as good for gaming, although the C5's Dolby Vision support does give it the slight edge for Xbox gamers.
The Samsung S95F OLED is better than the Samsung S90F OLED. The S95F is brighter in HDR, especially in SDR; it really excels in standard dynamic range. The S95F is more accurate in HDR out of the box, supports 4k @ 165Hz for PC gamers, and comes with the versatile One Connect box. Finally, its matte coating handles direct reflections far better than the S90F.
The Samsung S90F OLED is a slight upgrade over the Samsung S90D OLED. While they're almost identical, the biggest improvement is the S90F's noticeably brighter SDR brightness and much more accurate HDR brightness. Still, not everything is better, as the S90F's HDR colors are less accurate out of the box than the S90D.
The Samsung S90F OLED is better than the Samsung S85F OLED. The S90F offers a much more immersive viewing experience due to its far brighter HDR highlights and better HDR color volume, while also being brighter in SDR. Plus, the S90F is the better option for PC gamers due to its 4k @ 144Hz support, while the S85F is limited to 4k @ 120Hz.
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.
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