Samsung S95B OLED
MSRP $2,999.00
“The Samsung S95B is a really revolutionary TV”
Pros
- High overall brightness
- Excellent color brightness
- Superior Contrast
- Perfect blacks/uniformity
- Great for gaming
Cons
- First-gen technology
- Size limits
There’s a superb likelihood you’ve already heard plenty concerning the Samsung S95B OLED TV — much of it wildly positive, a few of it wildly confusing. I’m here to throw some more weight behind the previous and make clear the latter.
Here’s the short version of this review: The Samsung S95B OLED TV is a wonderful TV and a marvel of engineering. Must you decide to buy it, I believe you’ll find it irresistible for a few years to come back. Nevertheless, you need to also know that the S95B is built on first-generation display technology, and despite the fact that the muse of that technology is well proven, there’ll at all times be a risk involved in buying a first-of-its-kind product. As dangerous tech purchases go, nevertheless, the Samsung S95B OLED TV ranks fairly low.
Now, let me let you know why I really like this TV and why I believe you need to buy it.
Video review
Samsung calls it OLED. It’s QD-OLED
Riley Young/Digital Trends
After years of shunning (read: flagrantly disparaging) the OLED display technology pioneered and monopolized by rival South Korean manufacturer LG, Samsung Electronics finally has an OLED TV. I imagine the explanation Samsung can do this without necessarily eating a large slice of humble pie is that while the S95B is marketed as an OLED TV, it’s actually built on a more recent, let’s call it “OLED-adjacent,” technology called QD-OLED. That’s, there are OLED pixels involved, but there are also quantum dots (QD) involved — importantly, the entire thing is built much in a different way than LG’s version of an OLED TV.
About one thing, there is no such thing as a query: The S95B is a revolutionary TV
This distinction is significant because, despite having a well-known name, Samsung’s S95B OLED TV performs very in a different way than simply about some other TV available on the market — Sony’s A95K QD-OLED TV (which uses a Samsung panel) notwithstanding. It’s in that difference we discover some advantages and a number of lingering questions. About one thing, there is no such thing as a query: The S95B is a revolutionary TV.
Should you feel like digging deeper into the nuts and bolts of how this TV makes an image, you possibly can learn more about QD-OLED here, however the takeaway is that QD-OLED is inherently brighter and, potentially, less liable to burn-in than OLED TVs that use LG’s WRGB OLED panels. The panel technology alone holds plenty of guarantees and, as I’ve experienced, convincingly delivers on just about all of them.
Samsung S95B OLED TV details
While we reviewed the 65-inch model, our review also applies to the 55-inch model.
| 55-inch | QN55S95BAFXZA | $2,199 |
| 65-inch | QN65S95BAFXZA | $2,799 |
Design
Riley Young/Digital Trends
Except for its technical merits, the Samsung S95B is a really attractively designed TV — if a bit flimsy in some areas. The TV’s stand is slim and attractive, yet robust and functional. The front of the TV has almost no front borders to talk of, while the rear of the TV is manufactured from sturdy polycarbonate. The general profile could be very slim and attractive. Nevertheless, the highest fringe of the TV is just malleable enough that it could bend a bit in shipping. I’ve seen it occur a number of times myself, though thankfully the unit I purchased for this review arrived in perfect shape.
One other design point price talking about is Samsung’s recent rechargeable handheld remote control. Sure, you possibly can recharge the distant using a USB-C cable, but you almost certainly won’t have to because it may also get its juice from solar panels lining the back of the distant and from the invisible radio waves circulating around your house. This sort of hands-off power maintenance is just the type of thing I’d wish to see other TV brands pick up.
User interface
Riley Young/Digital Trends
While I’m a fan of Samsung’s recent distant design, I’m less obsessed with recent changes to the Tizen smart TV operating system that the distant controls. On the positive side of things: Tizen supports nearly any app you possibly can possibly wish to use, and the apps themselves are of top quality. The system also permits you to select your voice assistant, be it Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, or Samsung’s own Bixby.
On the entire, though, I’ve found this new edition of Tizen to be a bit more sluggish — I often find myself waiting for the system to react to my clicks. I also think it takes too many clicks to search out and choose the input I would like. Also — and I admit this may increasingly be a much bigger problem for me than most users — I felt prefer it took too many clicks to get through to the TV’s various settings. I’m of the opinion that a TV’s built-in smart TV system should stay out of the best way of my having fun with content on the TV, but I spent way more time than I’d like navigating the TV’s various screens and menus.
Tech spec highlights
Riley Young/Digital Trends
The Samsung S95B is probably the most advanced TVs you possibly can buy, and never simply because it uses the newly designed QD-OLED panel.
The S95B provides 4 full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one in every of which is an eARC port. The chief good thing about those advanced HDMI ports is for those trying to connect a next-gen game console like an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 or, for hard-core gaming enthusiasts, a high-end PC armed with a sophisticated graphics card. Console and PC gamers can expect low input lag with support for variable refresh rate (VRR) as much as 120Hz at 4K resolution.
Riley Young/Digital Trends
With that said, no console or PC is required to enjoy playing top game titles on the S95B, due to the recently launched Samsung Gaming Hub, which supports game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Google Stadia, and Utomik, amongst others. Using these services, it’s possible to play AAA game titles with nothing greater than the S95B TV and a compatible wireless controller.
For HDR video, the S95B supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG but, like all Samsung TVs, doesn’t support Dolby Vision. The TV does support Dolby Atmos sound, nevertheless, and actually, can pass Dolby Atmos sound via a wireless connection to certain Samsung soundbars. Along with this clever wireless audio trick, the S95B supports Samsung’s Q-Symphony sound, which enables the TV’s built-in speakers to work in concert with a Samsung soundbar. In our tests, we’ve found that Q-Symphony sound helped to enhance dialog clarity and, in some cases, enhance the Dolby Atmos surround experience by increasing the perceived height of sound objects.
Picture quality
Riley Young/Digital Trends
It’s the colour brightness that actually sets this TV apart.
In a nutshell: The Samsung S95B’s picture quality is superb and, in some ways, can only be rivaled by Sony’s way more expensive A95K QD-OLED TV, making it a uniquely attractive option for enthusiasts who want the very best. The one downside is that it’s only available in 55- and 65-inch options.
Certainly one of the important thing takeaways here is that the S95B can get brighter than nearly some other OLED TV available on the market. And never just pure white brightness, which might tip the meter at nearly 1200 nits in HDR or around 500 nits in SDR — each very impressive numbers — actually, it’s the colour brightness that actually sets this TV apart.
Since the QD-OLED technology within the S95B doesn’t use a white subpixel like most competing OLED TVs, it’s capable of produce colours with higher brightness than competing OLED TVs, and it’s that color brightness that actually grabs you once you watch this TV. Just as I experienced with the Sony A95K a number of months ago, the colour produced by QD-OLED is remarkably vivid and enjoyable. Red and yellow colours, especially, are unlike anything I’ve seen on a TV before.
Riley Young/Digital Trends
The TV’s brightness is equally matched by its ability to supply pure blacks which, as I’ve previously reported, is the explanation why OLED-based TVs have higher contrast than LED/LCD TVs, despite the fact that they don’t get as vibrant as LED/LCD TVs,
From 4K Blu-rays to 4K streams on Netflix, Disney +, and HBO Max, in SDR or HDR, the S95B looks terrific. Certainly one of the areas through which I’d wish to see some improvement, nevertheless, is within the handling of low-bit depth content.
It will not be perfect, nevertheless it is rattling close.
If you stream a YouTube video, for instance, that doesn’t have as much color information within the stream, the S95B doesn’t do as strong a job cleansing up that picture as many competing TVs do. I’m unsure why that’s because, generally, premium Samsung TVs do well on this area. This may very well be a slight annoyance for some folks watching SDR content on cable or satellite, not since the image looks especially poor by itself merit, but once you jump from a high-quality Disney + or Netflix Stream or Blu-ray disc right down to cable or satellite content, the difference in picture quality will be jolting.
I used to be simply dazzled by how striking the S95B looks
The opposite picture quality element I wish to hone in on is motion. OLED technology offers nearly instantaneous pixel response time, which inherently comes with some benefits and drawbacks. On the positive side, it isn’t liable to smearing or blurring like LCD-based TVs are. On the negative side, that instantaneous pixel response time and lack of natural blurring could cause a kind of stuttering/almost flashing effect when you’ve got slow panning wide shots, primarily in movies, but additionally seen in some games and TV shows. This effect will be mitigated somewhat by turning up the S95B’s motion smoothing settings, but care have to be taken to not overdo it and convey on the soap-opera effect.
With that said, at NO time was I ever distracted by motion performance while watching this TV. I used to be simply dazzled by how striking the S95B looks. It will not be perfect, nevertheless it is rattling close.
Sound quality
Given how thin the S95B is, I used to be expecting to be let down by its onboard sound, but I wound up being pleasantly surprised. The S95B offers a strong, full sound with loads of dialog clarity and a surprising amount of bass given motion sequences and unexpected punch. I’d still advise getting a soundbar, but know that the S95B’s onboard sound is much better than the overwhelming majority of TVs produced today.
Caveats?
Riley Young/Digital Trends
Given the S95B is built on first-generation technology, I understand why some is likely to be reluctant to purchase it, but on condition that the TV is built on two long-standing technologies — OLED and quantum dots — that are simply fused together in a recent way, I see no reasons to doubt the TV’s longevity.
I also wish to acknowledge that there’s some uncertainty across the S95B’s brightness potential given recent firmware updates issued by Samsung. Apparently, a recent firmware update issued by Samsung reduces the potential brightness of the TV when set to the “Movie” picture preset. This was not the case during my evaluation and I’ve not yet been capable of test the TV for the reason that allegations were issued. This review will likely be updated once we’ve learned more and had a likelihood to re-test the S95B OLED TV.
The identical goes for a way the S95B handles tone mapping for HDR video games. Presently, it seems its tone mapping can’t be defeated, which might make the HDR calibration feature built into the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 a bit difficult to get dialed in properly — it’s easy to wind up with a washed-out picture if care will not be taken.
Our take
The Samsung S95B OLED is a fabulous TV that helps bridge the gap between the improved brightest afforded by LED/LCD TVs and the proper blacks and better contrast made possible by OLED TVs. For nearly all uses, it is just spectacular.
Is there a greater alternative?
For individuals who need an especially vibrant TV, a top-tier QLED TV could also be more suitable. For individuals who prefer OLED, nevertheless, the S95B is the most effective deals available. The one competing QD-OLED TV available on the market is the Sony A95K, and while the Sony set has some picture processing benefits, it’s also way more expensive. For most folk, the S95B will simply make higher sense.
How long will it last?
Though QD-OLED technology is in its first iteration, signs point to the S95B being a secure investment for long-term enjoyment.
Must you buy it?
Yes. If the sizes available (55- and 65-inch) suit you and you wish a few of the very best picture quality available, the S95B is bound to thrill.
Warranty
Samsung offers a one-year manufacturer’s warranty on the S95B. For those concerned about burn-in risk, consider that Dell offers a 5-year warranty on its 34-inch curved QD-OLED monitor (AW3423DW) which uses the very same panel technology. In other words: Burn-in, while possible, is unlikely.
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