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Samsung is one of the biggest TV makers on the planet. Obviously a big reason for that is the fact that Samsung Display exists, and makes some of the best displays available today. Because Samsung is such a big company, it does sell a wide variety of TVs, and honestly, we can very easily find a good TV for just about every person and every need.
Samsung sells TVs that are OLED, QLED, LED, LCD and even QD-OLED now. With prices ranging from just a couple hundred bucks to well over $5,000. And there are TVs for every need. So in this list, we are helping you decide on which TV you should be buying. We have experience with a lot of these TVs, and obviously will prefer the QD-OLED models over everything else, but we know pricing can be a factory, which is why our best overall TV option here is the S90C. This is an OLED TV, that is not super pricey. Prices for the S90C start at $1,197, which is quite competitive for OLED. Find out what our other best picks for the best Samsung TVs are.
Best Overall
Samsung S90C
The Samsung S90C is the current overall best TV that the company makes. This is an OLED TV and actually replaces the S95B that was the best overall for all of 2022. In our experience with this TV, we believe that this is the best TV you can buy for any brand. The OLED panel here is just so good, which you would expect from Samsung if you’ve used their smartphones. They are constantly coming out with the best mobile OLED displays, and it’s good to see them finally adding them into their TVs.
Samsung’s S90C does support HDR, but we’re looking at HDR10 and HDR10+ here, the same as their other TV models. No Dolby Vision support here, and that’s because Samsung is supporting an open source version instead. Either way, high-dynamic range on the S90C looks purely incredible. Since it is an OLED panel, it is able to produce those inky blacks that we all love, and still have true-to-life colors, even better than most of its QLED TVs.
On the audio front, the speakers here are actually really good. Which is surprisingly for a TV that is so thin. Normally, sound is the last thing on a TV makers list of things to do. But Samsung has included some great sounding speakers that also use Dolby Atmos, so you can get the best experience possible.
For the gamers out there, this is also a really great TV to pick up. Samsung has included its Gaming Hub inside the S90C, which gives you tons of games to play, without buying a console. NVIDIA GeForce Now runs really well on the Samsung S90C, and gets up and running pretty quickly. Samsung also supports other cloud gaming services like Amazon Luna, and Xbox Game Pass.
Those that do have a console, you’ll have a great gaming experience here too. As the Samsung S90C does in fact have HDMI 2.1 available, giving you support for variable refresh rate, auto low latency mode, and even gaming at up to 144Hz. But you can get 4K120 as well for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Which really unlocks a whole new world of gameplay on the latest generation of consoles.
Samsung does offer the S90C in three sizes: 55-, 65- and 75-inch. Prices start at $1,297. We’d recommend the 65-inch version, since it is a good middle ground, and gives you a great sized TV to put in your living room or even your bedroom.
Honorable mention: Samsung QN90C
The Samsung QN90C is our honorable mention for the best overall Samsung TV, because it includes a Pantone-validated screen. What does that mean? Well, that means that the QN90C is going to have the most color accurate display possible. This is going to give you excellent life-like images, and since this is a Neo QLED TV, it also has that mini LED backlight. Making this a brighter TV overall.
So why didn’t this make it into our best overall TV? Well, the main reason is Neo QLED. OLED is still the far superior display technology right now, and given the price, the Samsung S90C is still a better option, unless you need/want a very color-accurate display.
The Samsung QN90C comes in multiple sizes: 43-, 50-, 55-, 75- and 85-inches. And it starts at $997.
Best Budget TV
Samsung CU7000
The Samsung CU7000 is our pick for the best budget TV from Samsung, because it’s a good TV, that is cheap, but not so cheap that it’s a bad TV. Samsung makes the CU7000 available in a slew of sizes, and this starts at just 43-inches. Going up to 75-inches. And prices start as low as $299.
A lot of the TVs on this list are going to be OLED or QLED TVs, but the CU7000 is a Crystal UHD TV. Which means it is using a LED panel here. But don’t let that deter you, Samsung is a display company, and thus is making some of the best LED panels on the planet. One of those is included in the CU7000 here. Taking a look at the CU7000, in my experience it’s one of the best looking TVs in this price range.
This LED panel is able to provide crisp detailing, bright colors, sharp contrast and support for HDR10+. It does not have Dolby Vision, like all of Samsung’s TVs, and that is because Samsung is focused on making the open-source HDR10+ the industry standard instead.
Sound quality is quite good here too, again for the price. The internal speakers on this CU7000 uses Samsung’s Object Tracking Sound Lite technology, and that is able to create a virtual 3D audio and a more immersive viewing experience for movies, shows and more. It unfortunately, does not have Dolby Atmos, and if you’re someone that really wants Dolby Atmos, you’ll want to pick up a soundbar for that.
Samsung’s CU7000 has all of the smart features you’d expect in 2023. This includes having support for the three major voice assistants: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Samsung’s Bixby. This is actually a really nice thing to have, as you can choose which one you want to use, or choose not to use any of them. On the TV, I actually prefer to use Google Assistant, because it just works the best in my experience.
Honorable mention: Samsung CU8000
The Samsung CU8000 has been named as our honorable mention for the best budget Samsung TV, because it’s a slight upgrade over the CU7000, but for a lot of people, it’s not worth the higher price. Both models are 2023 models too.
CU8000 sports a Crystal UHD panel, which means that it is an LED panel. It’s a good looking TV, but definitely not as good as a QLED or OLED, that are also on this list. Samsung does have 4K upscaling here, which actually looks really good on this TV. That is also thanks to the Crystal Processor that Samsung has included. The CU8000 is still very slim, making it easy to put virtually anywhere.
Samsung sells the CU8000 in a variety of sizes, including 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inches. And prices start as low as $388.
Best OLED TV
Samsung S95C
The new Samsung S95C is one of the first QD-OLED TVs on the market from Samsung, and because of that, it is one of the more expensive TVs on this list. Samsung does offer the S95C in three sizes: 55-, 65-, and 75-inch and it starts at $1,897. Here, we’d recommend the 65-inch or 75-inch, so you can really get the most out of this stunning QD-OLED panel.
Firstly, we need to explain what QD-OLED actually is. It stands for Quantum Dot Organic Light Emitting Diode. So what does this mean for TV watchers on their couch? Well, basically, QD-OLED is going to be brighter than normal OLED, and also more colorful. Making it a viable upgrade from regular OLED. It’s still a fairly new technology, and thus why it’s still more expensive.
Since this is a QD-OLED TV, it does make it the best looking picture that you can buy on a Samsung TV right now. The colors and brightness on the S95C are stunning, and you’ll definitely fall in love with them when you see them in person. It’s pretty mind-blowing to say the least.
In some ways, the S95C is better than our best overall pick, the S90C. Since it does deliver a 30% increase in peak brightness, coming in at a max of 1,360 nits. Which is going to give you spectacular highlights and colors. So why did we choose the S90C as our best overall TV? It comes down to price. The S90C is about a third cheaper, and still has a brilliant looking OLED panel. And those that want a high-performing OLED TV should buy the S95C.
Samsung’s S95C does offer a pretty slim and sleek profile, which makes it easy to put it in any room, no matter how you’ve decorated it. It’s a stunning TV on each side profile. Whether you’re looking at the front, the sides, or even the back. Just purely stunning. Though most of the time you’ll be looking at the front of the TV, obviously.
Best QLED TV
Samsung QN90B
While OLED is still the superior display panel technology, for a number of reasons, QLED is still a great choice. The biggest reasons to choose QLED over OLED come down to price and brightness. And that’s what you get here with the Samsung QN90B. This is part of Samsung’s “Neo QLED” series, which basically means it’s a QLED display, and uses mini LED backlighting.
Neo QLED is going to give you those dark blacks and true-to-life colors, while also being very bright, thanks to that mini LED backlight. One of the major advantages that Neo QLED and QLED in general have over OLED is screen burn-in. QLED does not have that issue, which makes it a better buy for a lot of people.
Since Neo QLED has that mini LED backlight, it makes the QN90B a great choice for living rooms that have a lot of ambient light. Making it easier to see the scenes in your favorite shows, especially if they are darker scenes. Not to mention the fact that the Samsung QN90B has some of the best off-axis image quality we’ve ever seen on this type of TV.
Those that are worried about OLED burn-in should definitely take a look at the QN90B, not only is it cheaper, but it won’t have burn-in issues either. This particular model is one of Samsung’s most popular, and comes in six sizes. Those sizes include: 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 83-inches. For this TV, we’d recommend a 65- or 75-inch size for living rooms, or a 43-inch if you’re looking to use this in an office as a monitor of sorts. Which it is really great for. Pricing on the Samsung QN90B starts at $1,197.
Best mid-range QLED TV
Samsung QN85B
This is another Neo QLED TV from Samsung, but it is cheaper than the QN90B. The QN85B is a good amount cheaper, because this is the 2022 model, while the QN90B is the 2023 model. This also means that it is not quite as bright as the other Neo QLED TVs out there, but it does still have the mini LED backlight, and has great HDR performance. So those that want to save a bit of cash on a Neo QLED TV should look no further.
The Samsung QN85B is not available in quite as many sizes. It does come in four sizes: 55-, 65-, 75- and 85-inch. So it’s going to be great to put in a living room, but not necessarily in an office as a monitor. Pricing here does start at $1,397.
As you might expect on a TV that is Neo QLED, the black levels are quite strong, and the colors are pretty close to real life colors. Making this a really impressive TV to watch movies on. In addition to that, it also has solid viewing angles. And that’s not something you see a lot from other QLED TVs.
Like all of Samsung’s other TVs, the QN85B does also run Tizen. And while it was short-lived on smartphones and its smartwatches, it has found a home on its TVs, and works really well. Tizen is actually one of my more favored TV operating systems out there, because it just works. Samsung’s TVs do have access to all of your favorite apps, including Netflix, Hulu, Max and more. Samsung has also added support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and of course Bixby. You can choose which one to use, or not to use any of them at all.
Samsung is providing you with Dolby Atmos audio here on the QN85B, with top channel speakers. Which is going to help make your home theater complete, without needing to buy another soundbar. I’ve listened to the QN85B and the sound coming out of this TV is absolutely incredible, especially when you factor in just how thin this TV is. You really don’t need to pair a soundbar with this one.
Best Small TV
Samsung Q60C
Not every TV needs to be a big screen TV, and Samsung makes a pretty good small screen TV in the Q60C. This is going to be a great TV to put into a bedroom, a dorm, or even in an office as a monitor. Since it is offered in sizes as small as 32-inches. While still being a QLED TV.
This is a 4K QLED TV from Samsung, so as you can expect, the display quality here is really impressive. When I saw the Q60C in person, I was quite impressed that you could get such a great quality TV panel in such a small size. I was this close to buying one as a monitor at my desk, but decided to keep my ultrawide monitor instead.
Color accuracy is quite good here, it’s similar to the other QLEDs on this list, however it’s not quite as bright. A big reason for that is because of the fact that this TV does not have a mini LED backlight. Hence why this is QLED and not Neo QLED. There is a dual LED backlight system here that features both warm and cool LEDs that match what you are watching. This helps with the better color accuracy here, as well as reduced light leakage.
Samsung’s Tizen operating system is built-in here, and as I’ve mentioned on other TVs on this list, it’s really quite good. Tizen gives you easy access to all of your favorite streaming apps. These include Netflix, Max, Hulu, discovery+, Disney+ and much more. Samsung has also included support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and its own Bixby digital assistants.
One of the main reasons why this is such a good TV for a dorm, is gaming. Samsung has a number of gaming features on the Q60C, which includes the Game Bar 3.0. This is a dedicated gaming menu that will pop up on-screen and lets you make real time adjustments until they are just right. It will show you things like your input lag and lets you tinker with your fps, HDR and wireless headset settings, without leaving the game. Which is really useful, letting you stay in the game for a longer time. It does also feature Auto Low Latency Mode, but unfortunately, it does not have HDMI 2.1 included here for 4K120 gaming.
Best Outdoor TV
Samsung The Terrace
Samsung is one of those companies that will make just about anything, and that includes The Terrace TV. This is an outdoor TV from Samsung that has been optimized for things like rain, snow and sunlight. Making it one of the best TVs you can put on your patio.
The Terrace comes in three sizes: 55-, 65- and 75-inches, and it starts at $3,299. It’s not a cheap TV by any means, and part of that is due to the fact that this TV does need to be weatherproof. Not something that is common with other TVs to be quite honest.
Surprisingly, despite the fact this TV is meant to be outside, it does have a pretty good viewing experience. This is a QLED TV, so that part isn’t all that surprising, to be honest. And because of the nature of it being an outdoor TV, it does get extremely bright, and also has a pretty high contrast ratio. The only downside to the viewing experience is going to be viewing angles. If you aren’t sitting in the middle or close to it, the viewing angles won’t be all that great, unfortunately. Which is sad for a TV that is this price, but remember it is IP55 rated.
The software on The Terrace is basically the same as any other TV on this list. That includes having Tizen built-in, with tons of streaming apps. This means that you can sit on the patio watching College Football on YouTube TV with this TV. It also has Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Bixby included. Of course, our favorite is the Google Assistant here, because it just works so much better at everything.
For gamers, this could be the ultimate TV. You can go outside and touch grass, and start playing Spider-Man on the PlayStation 5 at 4K120. That’s right, The Terrace does support 4K120 on both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. It also supports variable refresh rate, making this a pretty impressive gaming experience. I only wish I had a patio big enough to justify buying one for myself.
Best 8K TV
Samsung QN900C
The Samsung QN900C is arguably the best 8K TV you can buy from any brand right now. Samsung is really the only one pushing 8K TV right now, and this one is a beauty. It’s another Neo QLED TV, which means it does have that mini LED backlight, making it nice and bright, while also having a ton of pixels.
To really appreciate 8K resolution, you need to see it on a larger screen. And for that reason, Samsung only offers the QN900C in three sizes. Those are 65-, 75- and 85-inches. Pricing does start at $4,997. So this is not a cheap TV, but it is one that you can keep for the next decade or longer. So think of it as an investment over anything else. We’d recommend buying the 75-inch or 85-inch model, since the benefits of 8K aren’t really seen unless the display is 75-inches or larger.
Just to put things in perspective, an 8K TV like this one has over 33 million pixels, and has a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320. That’s a whole lot of pixels, and it just makes everything look so much better. Surprisingly, viewing angles are quite decent on this 8K TV, which is not something we can always say. On top of that, it is one of the brightest TVs on the market today, with a peak brightness of 2,300 nits.
In our experience, local dimming has worked extremely well on the QN900C. Providing the viewer with exceptional black levels, with minimal blooming. This is one of the few areas where a Samsung OLED TV would have an edge. However, the QN900C comes closer to OLED than any of Samsung’s other QLED offerings right now. Part of this is due to the many more pixels included in this TV.
Samsung claims that this TV is the “greatest of all time”, we’re not quite sure we’d call it the GOAT from our experience, but it is pretty close. Perhaps the best TV you can purchase today, but that might change in a few months (with CES 2024 coming up). It’s not just the stunning display panel that makes Samsung think this TV is the GOAT however.
Samsung’s incredible Gaming Hub is included on this TV. It makes it super easy to jump into different cloud gaming services like NVIDIA GeForce Now, Amazon Luna and Xbox Game Pass. It’s incredible how fast you can turn on the TV and jump into a game on any of these services. The combination of the QN900C and Samsung’s Gaming Hub has me rethinking whether I’ll ever buy another gaming console.
This is a bigger TV, but it is still razor thin, making it incredible that Samsung was able to include such incredible Dolby Atmos-capable speakers here. Just sitting in front of the QN900C, you’ll be blown away both visually and aurally.
Best Budget 8K TV
Samsung QN800A
When thinking about “budget 8K TVs” it sounds a bit strange, since 8K TVs are still so very expensive, but they are here, and the Samsung QN800A is one of them. Prices start at $2,497 for this TV, and it is available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch models. Making it significantly cheaper than the QN900C.
This TV was released in 2021, which is why it is so much cheaper. And that also means that it might be tougher to find one in the coming months.
The 8K display on the QN800A is pretty incredible. It does have fantastic peak brightness in SDR as well as HDR, and the 8K resolution does make text and images crisp and clear. But there is a downside here, and that comes from local dimming. Unfortunately, the local dimming does cause blooming around bright objects. This is going to be more noticeable with a dark or black background. The contrast ratio is also lower than most other VA panel TVs, in our experience. It is still a really great TV to take a look at, especially if you’re looking to make the jump over to 8K resolution.
Tizen is running on this Samsung QN800A 8K TV, which does give you a pretty great experience. It is one of my more favored TV operating systems. All of them kind of suck in their own way, but Tizen does a lot right, including making it super easy to access your favorite apps. It even has support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and of course Bixby. So you can control your new QN800A 8K TV with your favorite assistant. Of course, our favorite is the Google Assistant, but to each their own.
Finally, the QN800A has a feature that every next-gen gamer is going to love. And that is HDMI 2.1 on all four HDMI ports. What this means is that those with a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X can now play games in 4K resolution at 120fps. And once you’ve experienced that type of gaming, it’s hard to go back to something like the Nintendo Switch, or even just playing the PS5 at 4K60.