Samsung has finally done it, they’ve created the brightest HDR TV I have ever seen, and yes that includes Mini LED. It far exceeded my expectations, and makes last year's S95D look almost dim in comparison. However, there’s more to a TV than brightness, so let’s find out if this is the OLED you’ve been waiting for.
Samsung's new 2025 S95F QD OLED is a major upgrade over the S95D bringing much higher brightness, better color, smoother motion, new AI features, an improved Tizen OS, and an upgraded coating to better handle reflections, while reducing its drawbacks. That said, the S95F is far from perfect, and the choice of a matte coating will be very divisive among buyers as it can reduce the clarity and contrast in favor of eliminating direct reflections.
Disclaimer: This TV was lent to me by Samsung for review, but all opinions are my own. Additionally Home Theater Review may have advertising deals with Samsung.
For this review I used an X-Rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer, Color Checker Display Plus colorimeter, Calman Ultimate, Portrait Displays Video Forge Pro 8K pattern generator, a Sony RX100 VII 1000fps camera, an SM208 Screen Luminance Meter, and a Sony Cinema Line FX3 mirrorless video camera. That's at least $12,000 worth of testing equipment, plus years of display testing experience.
The price for the S95F is similar to 2024.
Above is the Connectivity for this TV. Most importantly it does come with four HDMI 2.1 ports (one of which is eARC).
The unboxing experience doesn’t come without some pain. Unfortunately the S95F is not a screwless design, and this means not only do you have to teeter the display on styrofoam, but you will need multiple people to hold it while someone assembles the heavy base and One Connect Box. Thankfully the software setup is a breeze, but I’m still not a fan of the forced sign in to use apps.
Buyers all around the world come screaming, cash in hand wanting to see the beautiful HDR pop and vibrance that only QD OLED can create due to its RGB subpixel design. Unlike other OLEDs there is no white subpixel which leads to far better color, especially in bright highlights. For you home theater enthusiasts, I've included all my Calman measurements below, where I used professional tools to measure the TV's accuracy.
Rec. 709 Testing
Out of the Box in Film Maker Mode, the Samsung S95F follows the Rec.709 BT.1886 EOTF curve fairly well, but it slightly oversaturated colors, and the white balance was a bit off on my unit.
PC Game Mode has major accuracy issues in SDR out of the box. This can be fixed.
SDR Color Accuracy Test
Color Accuracy in Film Maker Mode for SDR content is solid.
HDR Testing
The default HDR FMM mode is good, but it slightly over brightens highlights.
PC Game Mode has major accuracy issues in HDR out of the box. This can be fixed.
HDR Color Gamut
The S95F has great HDR color coverage out of the box delivering up to nearly 90% BT.2020 UV. This is very good.
HDR Color Accuracy
HDR Color Match results were below expectations showing visible inaccuracies.
The short version: The Samsung S95F looks great, delivers deep saturated HDR imagery, and has good gamma tracking in Filmmaker mode. However, in game mode it has significant inaccuracies that require major changes to fix.
Unbelievably the S95F is the undisputed king of HDR brightness. Not only does it absolutely dunk on last year’s OLEDs, but more impressively it even beats out the Mini LED competition as well. Yes, the S95F has beat Mini LED at its own game, and delivers better overall HDR performance in both dark and bright rooms in real HDR content.
The Samsung S95F is the brightest OLED TV I have tested in window measurements.
The S95F is the brightest TV I have ever measured in real world HDR content.
The Samsung S95F is the brightest TV I have ever measured and should be a top consideration for buyers looking for the best HDR imagery money can buy. When I fired up a game in HDR I was absolutely blown away. From vibrance, to contrast, to highlight detail buyers will be shocked by its performance.
Like all OLEDs the Samsung S95F has over 8,000,000 local dimming zones thanks to its per pixel infinite contrast ratio meaning at least in a dark theater room you can expect to get unbeatable image depth and immersion. As well as pixel perfect star fields that cannot be replicated by Mini LED.
The Samsung S95F has excellent contrast with bright HDR content.
Samsung S95F issues with ambient light raising black levels.
If you're looking for a theater room TV the S95F will undoubtedly be a top contender as the contrast of OLED just can’t be beat. That said the same can not be said about its performance in a bright room. In these conditions contrast suffers greatly due to the inherent properties of QD OLED that cause the screen to light up magenta when hit with ambient light.
Once again we must address the elephant in the room. Samsung has chosen to double down on their matte coating this year, and although they have improved it, it still does come with some trade offs.
On the one hand some buyers may prefer the anti reflective properties of the screen which leads to less distracting glare on the screen, but unfortunately it also comes with some downsides. Small reflections are diffused over a much larger area, and in the case of the S95F which already has issues with ambient light, you lose so much contrast that it looks closer to an LCD in a bright room with the whole screen lighting up magenta.
Samsung S95F matte coating issues & reflection handling.
Even worse this coating leads to slightly worse clarity and overall depth even in a dark room. Buyers will have to make a choice between better picture quality or anti reflective light diffusion when considering the Samsung S95F.
Above is a video showing clips from an AVForums review of the S95F which displays the differences between the matte coating used on Samsung's S95F vs the glossy coating on the 2025 LG G5 4-layer OLED. Upon viewing it is easy to see how drastic the differences are between the two TVs in terms of ambient light handling.
Samsung S95F subpixel arrangement & matte coating blur.
It’s a shame that Samsung doesn’t offer this TV with both glossy and matte options so all buyers can be happy. Personally I would much prefer a glossy coating for its better image properties, but buyers will have to weigh the pros and cons.
Most Movies and TV shows are still shot in 24 or 30FPS. This means modern TVs will not be taking full advantage of their 120Hz+ panels. Some prefer the original creators intent, but for those who would like to fix judder or add motion clarity to your favorite content, judder control performance is crucial.
Samsung S95F Judder Reduction 10 Issues.
On my unit the S95F did a good job of cleaning up 24p judder in tests, but in real content it had issues. Unfortunately the pre release firmware had some artifacting, but I was told by Samsung this is a bug that they are fixing.
The S95F is one of the best gaming displays of 2025. Not only do you get incredible HDR performance bringing games to life in a way I never thought possible, but the refresh rate has jumped from 144-165Hz. This is crucial for PC gamers.
It may sound like a small jump, but the difference between 165 & 144Hz is massive on PC, so if you're looking for a PC monitor for use in a dark room I would heavily consider the Samsung S95F.
Motion Performance is incredible.
The 28ms of total system latency is excellent for an OLED TV, right next to some of the fastest monitors. When switched to 4K 165Hz, the input lag is very low—in fact, it's the fastest TV I've measured so far, making it a good option for PC gamers.
28ms of total system latency.
I believe the larger S95F is worthy gaming display even for PC users considering the massive image quality improvements over current 32" QD OLED monitors. The S95F is one of the best gaming displays of 2025 and will be loved by many PC and console gamers.
Viewing angles are one of QD OLED’s biggest strengths, and this continues with the S95F. No matter where you sit it has near perfect image quality making it ideal for large theater rooms.
Samsung S95F Viewing Angles.
Unfortunately my particular unit suffered from some banding on grey screens that wouldn’t go away even after manual pixel refreshes. This is the first time I have seen it this aggressively on a QD OLED, and I suspect I just got extremely unlucky.
Grey banding issues.
If you're looking for the cleanest panel with the best viewing angles for a distraction free viewing experience regardless of where you are viewing the screen the S95F will be a serious competitor.
The S95F’s audio is pretty decent but nothing to write home about. If you're investing in this TV, I'd recommend at least a nice soundbar or a full sound system to take full advantage of the display. The timbre and clarity of the audio are pretty good for built-in sound—definitely a step above most TVs—but it won't have the precision of more expensive alternatives.
It has the latest support for enhancements like Q-Symphony, Dolby Atmos, and Active Voice Amplifier so there is plenty of opportunity to expand to a surround system and tweak the settings to make voice come through with higher clarity.
I've heard many people say they love Tizen OS, and it's decent, but I do get frustrated with it occasionally. Sometimes the OS randomly slows down when navigating settings, and it forces you to sign in to use apps. Despite that Tizen OS is packing a ton of features that many buyers will love.
Some features that may entice you include AI Live Translate, the game bar, as well as the new AI frequently used settings update which was a god send for testing. There's also a laundry list of lifestyle features, including far-field mics for either Alexa or Bixby voice control, SmartThings hub functionality and map mode, Samsung Health with work-out tracker, and Karaoke Mode. If you are invested in the Samsung ecosystem - there are many standout features here that keep getting more functional every year.
I think the biggest selling point however, has to be Samsung TV Plus, an app which allows you to stream hundreds of live TV channels for free. I’ve heard many people in my own family who loved this and would have a hard time moving to a TV that doesn’t offer the same free content.
With so many great TVs this year it's going to be hard to make a decision on what's the right one for you, and for many people the S95F may be the OLED you’ve been waiting for.
Samsung S95F Excellent HDR Impact.
It brings big improvements in almost all areas over the S95D, especially in HDR brightness. I will be shocked if any TV can dethrone the S95F in this area, and this combined with the shockingly high nearly 90% HDR BT.2020 color coverage means the S95F on paper may just be the best OLED money can buy.
That said it’s not without its issues, and for me there are two big ones that may lead some buyers to wait until more OLED reviews are released; like the S90F, before making their decision, One QD OLED still struggles with ambient light, and two Samsung has stuck to a matte coating which unfortunately sacrifices clarity and contrast to reduce reflections, and without the choice of a glossy option I feel this was the wrong choice.
Ultimately I suspect this TV, while controversial, will likely be loved by many people who are looking for exactly what this offers, and there's no denying it's one of the best displays money can buy in 2025. If you're after some of the best HDR imagery a display can produce in a light controlled room this year I can recommend the Samsung S95F.
