Samsung S90F OLED TV review: Unreal value for money

Samsung got serious about the OLED TV market a few years ago and since then, it has launched new models every single year that take its OLED TV lineup from strength to strength. Last year's S90D was a tough act to follow, but the company has delivered significant improvements with this year's contender, the S90F.

The S90F is Samsung's mid-range OLED TV for 2025, it's one of the best we've seen yet, but there may be some discrepancies based on what size you get and what region you're buying it in. Our Samsung S90F dives deep into every detail you must know before buying this TV.

Samsung generally markets the S90F as a QD-OLED TV but it also ships the same TV in some sizes and in select regions with a WOLED panel as well. This was also the case with last year's S90D. It's because there's no Samsung QD-OLED panel in 42-inch, 48-inch, and 83-inch sizes, so those sizes of the TV will always be WOLED no matter where you purchase it.

Our video review provides the codes that you need to check to be absolutely sure that the S90F you buy will come with the QD-OLED display. It's objectively the better display technology with higher brightness. Our Samsung S90F review was done on a QD-OLED model.

Samsung has really simplified the setup process for its new TVs. You can have it up and running within minutes of unboxing the S90F. If placing on a tabletop, the feet snap into place without any resistance, while cosmetic parts of the stand provide an elevated look. Everything feels nicely put together and durable.

The S90F has a modern yet functional design. Moulded plastic at the back houses its back panel and electronics bay. The pedestal feet snap into place easily, no screws required. It doesn't have any of the trappings of the flagship models, rather, Samsung has focused on tuning out the noise and delivering a great viewing experience at a very attractive price point.

The Samsung S90F excels in this department. Its color performance is great right out of the box, making it an absolute treat to watch movies on. Samsung has done an incredible job of fusing its OLED and quantum dot tech to deliver exceptional picture quality. It's hard not to be blown away by it, given its 1,700 nits of peak brightness which is the highest among TVs in this price range.

The QD-OLED panel is the one to get, as the WOLED variants find it bit more difficult to handle scenes where color brightness needs to be spot on. The WOLED panels tend to do well in contrast given the nature of its OLED technology, but the best package overall is delivered by the QD-OLED variants.

You're also going to become a fan of this TV if you like high, impactful HDR scenes. They effectively come alive on the S90F, the ones that are graded to showcase highlights in a dynamic fashion. Those scenes appear punchy and vibrant. It's hard to imagine another TV coming close to the S90F, at least in this price tag.

Gamers will appreciate the S90F's 144Hz refresh rate, the crisp and clean picture with vibrant colors, contrast, and brightness. It's the perfect combination.

The S90F is powered by Samsung's Tizen software, like all of its other TVs, so it's going to feel very familiar if you've owned a Samsung TV already. All of the apps for your favorite streaming services are available, in addition to Samsung TV Plus, the company's free TV streaming channel.

Bixby and Alexa are built-in, and a new Daily Board feature provides useful information or artwork when the screen is not being used. SmartThings is integrated as well, allowing for the TV to be used as a dashboard for your smart home.

Samsung's Gaming Hub is included as well, allowing you to play console-free games from leading cloud streaming services like Xbox and GeForce Now.

The Tizen One UI software has been improved in this latest model. It feels snappier and a lot more intuitive. An effort seems to have been made to ensure that the menus are not as disrupting to the viewing experience as they have been in the past.

Software enhancements have been made to provide users with a smoother gaming experience, and we've been impressed by this feature during our tests. The Game Bar has also received a UI facelift, which makes it many features easier to access.

Samsung has equipped the S90F with its latest NQ4 AI Gen3 processor. It empowers a variety of features, including the most important 4K upscaling functionality that lets the TV bump up any non-4K content to 4K using its advanced AI algorithms. We came away impressive with the processor's ability to upscale content, even from standard definition, and the feature is so polished that the upscaled video rarely ever feels like it has gone through an enhancement process.

The 2025 TV lineup also brings Vision AI to the mix, it's a suite of AI features that Samsung has launched for its TVs. The remote also has a dedicated Vision AI button now. It can bring up information about the content you're watching, such as the name of the cast members, what brands they're wearing in the scene, or what other movies they've done. The Click to Search feature also lets you search for anything that you see on the screen.

As always, the S90F joins the long list of Samsung TVs that have support for HDR10 and HDR10+ Adaptive, but the company has decided against providing support for Dolby Vision. The 2.1 channel audio system of this device has 40W of power and we found it to be good enough.

There's decent clarity for the dialogue but it could feel muffled if there's a bass heavy track. The speakers sound as good as TV speakers can, but you can considerably upgrade the audio experience by linking the TV up with a soundbar.

It's easy to be impressed by this TV. With prices starting at just $1,299, you can't beat the fact that it provides exceptional value for money. The display panel is exceptional and provides incredible color accuracy and brightness that you rarely find in this price range. The software is polished, AI upscaling features better than ever, and the gaming features as powerful as ever.

The only takeaway is that you try and get the QD-OLED variant, if possible. Some markets may only get the WOLED variants across all sizes, but most will have that QD-OLED and WOLED mix. Follow the instructions in our video to figure out what your region gets. If you can get the QD-OLED variant, absolutely buy the Samsung S90F.