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If you're shopping for a new TV, Samsung is one of the top brands we recommend. The company is among the most popular display manufacturers, and the best Samsung TVs provide an excellent balance between picture quality and smart features.
To help narrow your search, our experts have selected the best Samsung TVs you can buy. Our top pick is the Samsung S90D, which uses an OLED panel with quantum dots to deliver high contrast and bright colors. Meanwhile, shoppers looking for a budget-friendly display should consider the Samsung DU7200. It can't match the image quality of Samsung's pricier displays, but it still provides a solid entry-level smart TV experience at an affordable price.
We picked the best Samsung TVs based on a combination of hands-on testing and research informed by more than a decade's worth of experience covering home entertainment products. Our recommendations also include QLED models, an 8K display, and an OLED built with an anti-glare screen.
Our top picks for the best Samsung TVs
Best overall: Samsung S90D OLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best budget model: Samsung DU7200 Crystal LED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best high-end QLED: Samsung QN90D Neo QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best for reducing glare: Samsung S95D OLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best 8K display: Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV - See at Walmart
Best for your wall: Samsung LS03D Frame QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best overall
The S90D is our favorite TV overall. Its QD-OLED panel delivers a high-contrast image with vivid colors, wide viewing angles, and impressive brightness for this class.
- Excellent peak brightness for a midrange OLED
- High color volume with quantum dot technology
- Wide viewing angles so picture doesn't degrade when sitting off center
- Smart TV interface is OK but not the best
- Issue with update notifications
- Dolby Vision isn't supported
When looking at overall value for your money, the S90D is the best Samsung TV we've tested. In fact, it's our pick for the best TV you can buy right now from any brand. The S90D replaces our previous recommendation in this category, the S90C, and this newer model offers a slight boost in brightness while carrying over everything else we loved about that older TV.
Thanks to its QD-OLED panel, the S90D delivers an infinite contrast ratio and better color performance than similarly priced OLEDs from LG and Sony. It also boasts a high 144Hz refresh rate when paired with a PC to enable smooth gameplay.
Like all Samsung TVs, the display supports the HDR10 and HDR10+ high-dynamic-range (HDR) formats, and it looks stunning when playing compatible movies and TV shows. Highlights pop off the screen, and the S90D produces deeper, more precise black levels than any of Samsung's QLED displays. It also has wider viewing angles than a QLED, so you can sit to the side of the TV without any notable loss in image quality.
The S90D is also very bright for a midrange OLED. We measured a peak of around 1,240 nits, which beats the older S90C by around 200 nits. This makes it an excellent fit for movie-watching in a dark home theater and casual TV viewing in a typical living room.
However, the S90D's brightness still can't match the 2,000-nit max of Samsung's top QLEDs, like the QN90D. It also has a glossy screen rather than the anti-glare matte screen found on Samsung's more expensive S95D OLED. Higher brightness and a matte screen are both beneficial for viewers who struggle with reflections in rooms with a lot of light and windows. With that in mind, buyers who have major problems with glare might be better off with the QN90D or S95D.
But, for most people, the S90D is easily the best Samsung TV overall. Its image quality is nearly on par with sets that cost $1,000 more, and it often gets fantastic discounts during sales.
Note: Samsung's 42- 48-, and 83-inch S90D models do not feature quantum dots, so their screens can't match the color performance of other sizes.
Best budget model
The DU7200 is one of Samsung's entry-level 4K TV models. It's a decent budget option for buyers who prefer Samsung, but similarly priced Hisense and TCL TVs deliver much better image quality.
- Low price
- Comes in lots of screen sizes
- Can't match performance of competing TCL and Hisense models
- Missing local dimming and quantum dot color
- Screen's 60Hz refresh rate isn't great for gaming
Samsung's lineup is packed with excellent premium TVs, but its budget displays are often a bit overpriced compared to similar models from brands like TCL, Hisense, Vizio, and Roku. Though you can get better value from one of those companies, Samsung's DU7200 is a decent entry-level pick for anyone who prefers the Samsung brand.
The DU7200 is the successor to our previous pick in this category, the CU7000, and it shares many of the same specifications. It uses a regular LCD panel with an edge-lit LED backlight, but it lacks all the step-up picture quality features you'd find on Samsung's QLED and OLED models.
This means the TV lacks quantum dots, so it has a narrower range of colors than a QLED. It's also missing local dimming, so its black levels aren't as deep or uniform across the screen. Likewise, the display is one of the dimmest options in Samsung's lineup. It can technically process HDR10 and HDR10+ signals, but it's not capable of showcasing the full benefits of those formats.
On the plus side, the DU7200 still supports full 4K resolution for a clean, sharp image. It plays standard-dynamic-range (SDR) content in both 4K and high definition just fine, so HD cable channels and all of the best live TV streaming services will look solid.
This is a fine entry-level model for casual viewers who just want a basic smart TV and don't care about paying extra for better picture quality. But keep in mind, if you're willing to go outside Samsung's lineup, you can find TVs with better contrast and color performance, like the Hisense U6HF, for around the same amount.
For more cheap display recommendations from other brands, check out our guides to the best budget TVs and best TVs under $500.
Best high-end QLED
Samsung's premium QN90D QLED offers impressive brightness thanks to its Mini LED backlight. But while it can get brighter than competing OLED sets, its contrast control isn't as precise.
- High brightness with impressive HDR performance
- Excellent color volume with quantum dots
- Viewing angles are solid for a QLED
- Some blooming and vignetting in certain scenes
- Lacks Dolby Vision capabilities
Though we favor Samsung's OLED TVs for their superior black-level performance, the company's QN90D QLED TV is still an excellent high-end display option, especially if you want an extra-bright screen.
The QN90D is part of Samsung's "Neo QLED" series, which means it uses quantum dots for expanded color and a Mini LED backlight with local dimming for improved contrast. The TV's Mini LEDs enable it to produce deep black levels with more precise brightness control than a typical QLED TV that uses regular-sized LEDs.
However, the QN90D's dimming isn't perfect, and it has some flaws that you won't see on an OLED like the S90D. Most notably, some minor blooming (small halos around bright objects) and vignetting (darkening around the edges of bright objects) cropped up in a few isolated scenes during our evaluation. For instance, one test sequence that featured candles burning against a black background had noticeable halos around the flames.
But in exchange for those imperfections, the QN90D offers nearly double the brightness of a typical OLED. We measured a peak of around 2,040 nits. This resulted in a bit more intensity in bright HDR highlights compared to what we saw on the S90D. The QN90D's viewing angles are also solid for a QLED but not quite as good as Samsung's older QN90C from 2023. We noticed a slightly bigger dip in contrast and local dimming performance when seated toward the side of this model.
Ultimately, the S90D's superior contrast presents a bigger advantage in overall image quality than the QN90D's higher brightness, but the QN90D is a great alternative for people who prefer QLED displays over OLEDs. It's best for viewers who want an especially bright display and never want to think twice about burn-in.
Best for reducing glare
Samsung's S95D is the brightest OLED we’ve ever tested. It features a new matte screen that nearly eliminates reflections, making it ideal for rooms that struggle with glare. However, the matte design gives black levels a slightly faded look in direct light.
- The brightest OLED we've tested
- Matte screen significantly reduces glare and reflections
- 144Hz refresh rate for smooth PC gaming
- Slim design with One Connect Box
- Doesn't support Dolby Vision
- Glare-free coating elevates black levels in bright rooms
- Pricey compared to 2023 counterpart
Samsung's S95D OLED uses a matte screen that significantly reduces glare and reflections in rooms with ambient light. The only other notable TVs with matte screens are Samsung's Frame, Hisense's CanvasTV, and TCL's NXTFrame TV, but none of those models can match the S95D's high-end picture performance.
During our testing, the screen filter lived up to its claims, nearly eliminating glare. This makes the S95D uniquely suited for bright rooms where distracting reflections can be problematic.
However, the glare-free coating does cause black levels to look a bit elevated in bright rooms, causing the image to lose some of the inkiness that OLEDs are known for. Black levels are still perfect in a dark room, but perceived contrast does take a hit when watching dim scenes with the lights on.
In addition to its impressive reflection handling, the S95D is the brightest OLED TV we've ever tested. We measured a peak of around 1,700 nits, about 500 nits more than the cheaper S90D. That's a decent increase, and it can make color and specular highlights (like explosions) pop with a bit more intensity. However, we think the cheaper S90D's brightness capabilities are sufficient for most use cases.
Like the S90D, the S95D supports up to a 144Hz refresh to get incredibly smooth gameplay when hooked to a PC. The S95D does have a more high-end design than the cheaper S90 series, using a separate One Connect Box to house all its HDMI ports. This gives it a uniformly thin profile of just 0.4 inches all the way down.
If you're specifically looking for a high-end, glare-free experience, the S95D is the best Samsung TV to get.
Read our Samsung S95D 4K TV review and our S95D vs. S95C comparison.
Best 8K display
Though the benefits of 8K resolution are hard to see, there's no denying how incredible the QN900C looks, especially if you get an extra-large model.
- 8K panel provides high pixel density
- Incredible peak brightness for excellent HDR performance
- Benefits of 8K upscaling are subtle
- There’s virtually no native 8K content to watch
The QN900 series is the pinnacle of Samsung's QLED TV lineup. It's an 8K TV, which means it boasts four times the total number of pixels as a 4K display, and it uses the company's most advanced Mini LED backlight. The results are undeniably impressive, even if we still think 8K resolution is unnecessary for most people.
During our testing, the QN900C peaked at nearly 2,300 nits, making it one of Samsung's brightest TVs. High-dynamic-range highlights sparkle, allowing HDR content that's graded with peaks beyond 1,000 nits to come through with extra punch.
The TV's local dimming also works exceptionally well to keep black levels deep with minimal blooming. Samsung's OLED models still have an edge here, but the QN900C comes closer to OLED quality in a dark room than any other Samsung QLED we've tested. Viewing angles are also great for an LCD-based display, with only small shifts in color and contrast when viewing from the side.
But while the TV's 8K resolution means it has the potential to provide a sharper image than even the best 4K TVs, there really isn't any 8K content to play. Outside a few YouTube videos, any movies or shows you can watch right now are limited to 4K or HD resolution. This means the TV will simply upscale those videos to 8K. The QN900's upscaling looks good, but we don't think the resolution bump is worth the extra money for most people.
The perks of 8K resolution are particularly hard to see on displays that are 65 inches or smaller. Instead, 8K benefits are more noticeable on sizes 75 inches and up since 8K's higher pixel density can give images a cleaner appearance on larger screens.
The QN900C is one of Samsung's best-looking QLED TVs, but it's not a huge leap over much cheaper 4K models. Despite having a lower resolution, we think Samsung's OLED TVs provide better overall picture quality thanks to their superior contrast. However, if you're set on purchasing an 8K TV, this is the Samsung model to get.
A newer edition of this TV, the QN900D, is available too. It also performed great during our tests but doesn't provide a big step up from the QN900C. Since the QN900C usually costs less than the QN900D, we still recommend it as the better buy.
Best for your wall
Samsung's Frame TV can be mounted flush against your wall like a hanging piece of art. It also features a matte screen to make it look more like canvas, and you can purchase optional magnetic frame bezels in different colors and designs.
- Art-frame bezel design with matte-finish screen
- Mounts flush on wall
- QLED panel for wide color support
- Limited brightness and contrast compared to most competing QLED TVs
- You're paying for design over picture quality
Samsung's Frame TV is an excellent choice for anyone planning to wall mount their display. The unique TV is built to look like a piece of art hanging in your living room.
The Frame has a black border by default, but you can pay extra to get different bezel colors for the exact picture-frame look you want. Options include white, brown, teak, red, beige, and more. The add-on bezels magnetically snap onto the display for simple installation.
Like Samsung's S95 series, the Frame TV uses an external One Connect Box to house its video ports, which enables the panel to maintain a one-inch profile from top to bottom. When paired with the included slim-fit wall mount, the TV can be hung flush on your wall, just like a framed work of art.
The display uses a matte finish that's similar but not identical to the one used on Samsung's flagship S95D OLED. This finish helps prevent reflections and gives the screen a more canvas-like appearance. When you're not watching TV, you can have it enter "Art Mode," which will cycle through various paintings and photographs you can pull from Samsung's Art Store (subscription required) or a USB drive. A built-in motion sensor can even toggle the Art Mode to activate when people are in the room.
While the Frame's unique design is its main selling point, the TV also benefits from using a QLED panel, albeit without all the bells and whistles that Samsung's best QLEDs have. The Frame can't hit the same peak brightness levels as our high-end picks, and it lacks local dimming for precise contrast control.
We don't recommend this TV for anyone focused on picture quality, but it still delivers a nice enough image for casual viewing. The Frame is really geared toward people who want the best Samsung TV that can double as an attractive design piece to hang in a living room, and in that sense, it excels.
This version of the Frame isn't a major upgrade over the previous model that launched in 2022, but it's usually sold for around the same price as the older set. If you happen to find the 2022 Frame model in stock for less money, it's still a good buy, but otherwise, we recommend snagging this newer edition.
Note: The 32-inch Frame TV features a Full-HD 1080p screen rather than a 4K panel.
How we test Samsung TVs
Our picks for the best Samsung TVs are based on a combination of hands-on testing and research informed by more than a decade's worth of experience covering the home entertainment market. Our expert testing consists of several key evaluation points that we use to judge a TV's overall performance and value, including HDR quality, brightness, color gamut coverage, contrast, local dimming performance (if applicable), viewing angles, navigation speed, design, and price.
When measuring a TV's brightness and evaluating other technical picture quality attributes, we use an X-Rite iDisplay Plus colorimeter with test patterns on the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc.
However, test patterns only show one part of the equation, so we rely on real-world content to see how Samsung's TVs look when watching typical programs in bright and dark rooms. Our demo material is selected to feature scenes that show off black levels, highlights, color fidelity, and fine details with 4K Ultra HD, high definition (HD), and standard definition (SD) material. We also use various sources, including streaming services, cable channels, and a 4K Blu-ray player.
General usability and design are also considered. We get a feel for living with a TV for a few weeks while using its basic functions and smart TV features. If a TV has slow navigation or is missing key functions, that impacts our assessment, but we place expectations for each model within the context of its price range.
For more details on our testing methodology, check out our breakdown of how we review tech products.
Samsung TV FAQs
When will Samsung's 2025 TV models be available?
Samsung unveiled its latest TV lineup at CES in January 2025. The collection includes new OLED and QLED models that promise brighter images, faster refresh rates, and bigger screen sizes. The brand is also emphasizing AI-powered smart features and audio-visual optimizations that it calls "Vision AI." Specific pricing and release dates for Samsung's 2025 TVs have not been confirmed, but the company typically starts selling its new TV models in the spring.
However, Samsung's 2024 TV models will continue to be available for most of the year, and we expect them to be a lot less expensive than their 2025 counterparts. With that in mind, we'll continue to recommend 2024 Samsung TVs while they remain the best value.
What kind of TVs does Samsung make?
Samsung's TV lineup can be divided into three categories: OLED, QLED, and Crystal UHD.
Samsung's OLED TVs use organic light-emitting diode panels with self-illuminating pixels. This means they don't need a backlight and can produce perfect black levels and an infinite contrast ratio. Most Samsung OLEDs also use quantum dots, which gives them an expanded color range. On the downside, in extreme cases, OLED TVs are susceptible to burn-in, and even the best models can't get quite as bright as top QLED TVs.
Samsung's QLED TVs use LCD (liquid crystal display) panels with LED backlights and quantum dots. They can't produce the pixel-level contrast and deep black levels of an OLED, but the best models can get brighter, and there's no risk of burn-in. Top Samsung QLEDs, branded as Neo QLED, also incorporate Mini LEDs with full-array local dimming, which enables them to get a lot closer to the contrast performance of an OLED.
For more details on how OLED and QLED TVs stack up, check out our full QLED vs. OLED comparison.
Finally, Samsung's Crystal UHD TVs use entry-level LCD panels with LED backlights. These displays lack the color, brightness, and contrast capabilities of Samsung's OLED and QLED sets. This series is meant for casual buyers who just want a basic smart TV and don't care about advanced picture quality.
All of Samsung's displays are available in multiple sizes, often ranging from as small as 32 inches to as large as 98 inches. For recommendations at various screen sizes, check out our size-specific guides:
Are Samsung TVs better than LG TVs?
Samsung and LG both make some of our favorite TVs, and it's difficult to say that one brand is better than the other. Instead, they both have pros and cons depending on your needs and which specific TV models you're looking at.
Regarding LCD-based models, the best Samsung TVs are branded as QLED, while LG's are branded as QNED. There are some differences in the panel technology each uses, but they're similar in overall capabilities. Samsung's high-end QLEDs, however, have traditionally had an edge over LG's best QNEDs thanks to their higher brightness and better local dimming. Though this remains true in 2025, recent LG models, like the QNED 90T, are getting closer to matching the performance of Samsung's QLEDs.
Both companies also sell some of the best OLED TVs, and the competition gets tougher here. Most of Samsung's OLEDs use quantum dots, which gives them an edge in color performance over LG's OLEDs. But LG's top OLEDs, the G3 and G4, use Micro Lens Array technology to boost peak brightness. LG also has more OLED models and sizes, with options for more budgets.
No matter what type of TV you get, it's important to remember that LG's mid- and high-end displays support Dolby Vision, while Samsung's support the competing HDR10+ format. Both high-dynamic-range formats offer similar capabilities, with scene-by-scene guidance for displaying contrast and color, but Dolby Vision is used on more streaming services and 4K Blu-ray discs.
What smart TV interface does Samsung use?
Samsung uses a proprietary smart TV interface built using the Tizen operating system (OS). Unlike other interfaces such as Roku OS, Android TV, Fire TV, or Google TV, Samsung's Tizen platform is not available on smart TV models or streaming devices from other brands.
For many years, Samsung's Tizen OS featured a pop-up screen that displayed apps across a horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen, but Samsung updated its interface in 2022. Now, Samsung smart TVs use a full-screen homepage that organizes your favorite services and presents you with content recommendations. There's also a Gaming Hub section that lets you access cloud services like Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna.
Samsung's smart TV interface works well across its lineup of TVs and offers access to all of the best streaming services, but it's not the smoothest OS we've used. Even high-end models, like the QN90D and S90D, are prone to hiccups and slight lag when navigating menus and content libraries.
Most buyers should be satisfied with Samsung's smart TV performance, and no major services or features are missing. But if you prefer a different interface with slightly snappier navigation, we recommend checking out our guide to the best streaming devices for other options.
For display recommendations that use other systems, check out our full guide to the best smart TVs.
Are Samsung TVs prone to burn-in?
Samsung's QLED and Crystal UHD TVs are not susceptible to burn-in, but the company's OLED models can experience this issue in extreme cases. Burn-in occurs if a static image is left on an OLED screen for hours on end — the CNN or ESPN logo in the corner, for example — which can cause a faint, ghostly image to get stuck on the screen.
Though Samsung OLED buyers should be aware of this risk, OLED TVs have built-in measures to prevent burn-in, including automatic pixel-shift modes and pixel-refreshers. Publications like Rtings have done long-term tests with many OLED TVs, including Samsung's models, and while results do show that burn-in is possible, the tests show that people with regular viewing habits don't need to worry about it.
As long as you don't plan on watching cable news channels all day long, burn-in shouldn't be a factor when deciding whether to buy an OLED TV. But if you tend to watch just one cable channel for several hours daily, you're better off getting one of Samsung's QLED or Crystal UHD models so you don't have to think twice about burn-in.
Do Samsung TVs support Dolby Vision?
Even the best Samsung TVs lack Dolby Vision support. However, they do support a similar format called HDR10+. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are both dynamic metadata high-dynamic-range formats. This means that compatible content can be encoded with specific instructions that tell your TV how to handle HDR contrast and color on a scene-by-scene basis.
This is in contrast to the standard HDR10 format, a static metadata format that can only include one set of instructions for an entire video rather than scene-by-scene details. In practice, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ can deliver a more refined HDR experience with video quality that better matches the specific capabilities of your TV. However, these benefits over standard HDR10 are often very subtle.
Though Dolby Vision and HDR10+ offer similar capabilities, Dolby Vision is supported on more streaming services and 4K Blu-ray discs, which makes it the more desirable of the two formats.
Check out our HDR TV guide for more information about how these formats stack up.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
