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We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
The Samsung QN90A is a great choice for gamers and not just because there’s no danger of the screen burn that can affect OLED sets. It offers a host of features for next-gen consoles, including support for 4K at 120Hz, VRR to reduce tearing and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. Thankfully, Samsung does let you tweak the sound through an EQ if you leave it on the Standard sound mode, however that option will be disabled if you have AI Sound turned on. If you don’t want to use AI and you don’t want to fiddle with the EQ, you can use the Amplify setting to get an uplift in mids at low volumes, which does help alleviate some problems. The Samsung QN90A is one of the most affordable entries in Samsung’s 2021 Neo QLED lineup and the first TV we’ve reviewed to incorporate Mini LED technology. Samsung's Tizen smart TV software looks more or less the same this year, and I’d say that’s a good thing. The software is reliable, offering a broad selection of apps. From the Loki TV series on Disney Plus to any of the best HBO Max shows and movies, you’ll find most of the apps and content you enjoy. Tizen even has a special Apple TV app for enjoying iTunes movies and shows, as well as Apple's original Apple TV Plus shows and Apple Fitness Plus– no separate Apple TV 4K (2021) box needed. LG views this market as prime real estate for its 48-inch and upcoming 42-inch OLEDs. The QE43QN90A, a 2021 TV, is the Samsung’s current champion in this category, and you’d be hard pressed to find many 43-inch TVs as ambitious as this one. DesignWe tested the 55 inch Samsung QN90A, and for the most part, the review is valid for the 65 inch, 75 inch, 85 inch, and 98 inch variants available in North America. There's a 43 inch variant, but it has a lower refresh rate and doesn't support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, so it performs differently than the other models. Also, the 50 inch model has the same features but doesn't use the 'Ultra Viewing Angle' technology. With a modern Samsung soundbar like the HW-Q950A in tow, the TV’s built-in speakers can play a supporting role in your listening. It focuses on boosting the center channel—where you’ll find most dialog placed in film and TV mixes—helping them sound like they're really coming from a character’s mouth. Alone, the TV's audio is pretty tinny. I strongly recommend grabbing a set of speakers or a soundbar, just like with any other TV. What’s more surprising is the TV’s inability to project sound much beyond the confines of its chassis, either to the left and right or, more importantly, forward and out into the room. The result is a delivery that’s neither atmospheric enough, nor engaging enough. The LG C2, which itself is far from a great-sounding TV, is significantly more spacious, exciting and weighty in its delivery, and that’s really saying something.
Accessibility options, including multi-output audio, color inversion and grayscale, caption positioning, and sign language zoom. Speaking of UI overlays, it’s also worth talking a bit more about the Game Bar and GameView features of Tizen. While they certainly can be helpful for console gamers as they confirm the refresh rate of the TV, they’re much more helpful for PC gamers. For example, connecting the QN90A to a PC allows you to control the aspect ratio, however you will need to manually adjust the output of the PC for 21:9 (3840x1600 or (2560x1080) or 32:9 (3840x1080). Some gamers will prefer this format while others will be five with 16:9, but having the option does make a strong case for using the Samsung QN90A as a monitor. One of the reasons the QN90A is a bit more unstable this year is because it’s a bit thinner. Compared to last year, Samsung shaved about half an inch from the depth from the TV which has meant making some compromises on sound quality and stability. That’s not a bad thing if you plan on connecting the TV to an external sound system – like one of Samsung’s Dolby Atmos soundbars – and wall-mounting the TV, but it’s all worth noting.Updated to Test Bench 1.7 with an updated HDR Brightness test that better reflects real world usage. We've also split the console compatibility boxes into separate PS5 Compatibility and Xbox Series X|S Compatibility tests. You can see our full changelog here. It wouldn’t be a smart TV without a dollop of digital assistants: Alexa, Google and Bixby are accounted for. Given the gaming focus, this 43-inch model has the Super UltraWide Game View that stretches the image to 21:9 and 32:9 ratios, useful for PC warriors who want a wider perspective. There’s also Auto Low Latency Mode, which enables your games console to send a signal to the QN90A that will cause it to automatically engage the TV’s Game Mode when a console is connected and turned on. With Game Mode active, the QN90A produced a very low input lag of 9.8ms. Another of the QN90A’s gaming options – Game Motion Plus – smooths motion without increasing the lag, and those that prefer an ultrawide view when gaming can make use of the 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratio options. Multi-View lets you watch multiple sources simultaneously (two screens only), and there are various ‘intelligent’ AI modes such as Adaptive Picture, Adaptive Sound+, Active Voice Amplifier and Adaptive Volume to influence picture and sound through various sensors and microphones.
But speaking of motion processing, it’s worth talking about the new Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ technology that’s used by the Neo Quantum Processor 4K. It’s slightly more judicious in the way it uses judder reduction, but stutter is still an issue because of the way the TV’s native 120Hz refresh rate. Basically, the TV can overprocess some images, giving films a soap opera effect or, worse, making some scenes that have a bit of a natural shaky cam effect look like something from the Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield – it’s non-stop shaking that can really be a turn off. The good news is that you can actually go in and tweak the judder and stutter individually through Samsung’s picture settings and we highly recommend doing so. Available in panel sizes from 43 "to a whopping 98 ", Samsung 's QE-QN90A features HDR and Neo QLED technology, an evolution of the QLED with which other top-of-the-range TVs such as the acclaimed Samsung QE-Q90T are equipped. This means it offers brilliant colours and perfect image clarity. The panel boasts advanced technologies such as Quantum Mini LED, Quantum Matrix Technology and Ultimate UHD Dimming , which adapts the display to the lighting conditions in the room. These advanced features also allow the device to provide a good gaming experience. Extensive Connectivity Quantum Mini LED, Quantum HDR 1500, Quantum Matrix Technology, Wide Viewing Angle, Ultimate UHD Dimming That said, the capability to produce brighter, more color-saturated images is one thing – but knowing when and where to employ that technology is a whole different matter. That’s where the Neo Quantum Processor 4K takes over. Using 16 neural networks, the Neo Quantum Processor 4K analyzes images on a frame-by-frame basis, upscaling the image if it’s coming from a sub-4K resolution using an image database and boosting contrast and color saturation.
When we had the TV fully set up on the stand, with screws fastened as tight as possible, there was still a reasonable amount of wobble to the TV. It wasn’t as bad as the Sony X950H that we lambasted last year for its shakiness, but it’s still much less stable than we’d like. Of course, we can only speak about the 65-inch version of the TV that we had in for testing – the 55-inch TV might be totally fine with its lower weight and center of gravity. LG has been, more or less, the first to integrate gaming tech. But not too far behind is Samsung, and while its TVs don’t boast as wide a breadth of features, their sets are speedy for response times. The reason I mention this for a 43-inch QLED is the recent trend for smaller sizes to serve as bedroom/gaming room screen for gamers looking for every competitive advantage. LG’s OLED TVs are all outfitted with multiple HDMI 2.1 inputs, which makes Samsung’s QLEDs only having the one seem limiting. For example, you can’t have your new console and your eARC-capable soundbar leveraging their top abilities simultaneously, which could grow bothersome over time. It’s a shame that the intelligence of the remote isn’t matched by the new version of the Tizen operating system. Samsung has copied the unpopular decision LG made a few years ago and switched from a pop-up system to a full-screen home menu. Unfortunately, this full-screen Tizen is also regularly quite slow in operation, particularly when the TV’s first switched on, and its layout is rather unintuitive.
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