The best Samsung TVs of 2026: Expert tested OLEDs, big-screens, and more

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Samsung is one of the biggest names in TVs, and the company rolls out some of the best-rated sets every year. With updates and refreshes to both the QLED and OLED TV lineups, the brand continues to impress with high-quality picture and sound. And with many Samsung TVs offering some version of the brand's Object Tracking Sound technology, you'll get audio that follows the on-screen action for a more immersive experience while streaming or gaming.

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What is the best Samsung TV right now?

ZDNET staff went hands-on with plenty of Samsung TV models, and our pick for the best Samsung TV overall is the Samsung S90F Its Dolby Atmos and Object Tracking Sound+ add an incredible level of immersion usually only found on high-end sound bars. Plus, a 144Hz maximum refresh rate keeps everything running smoothly, and the anti-glare coating is the best around.

We know everyone has different budgets and needs for their TV, so we built a list that includes a variety of Samsung TVs for any situation.

Also: The best TVs you can buy

The best Samsung TVs of 2026

Why we like it: The Samsung S95F is an impressive OLED TV, offering some of the best picture and audio quality I've seen in my nearly decade-long quest to find the best TVs. I got to check it out in ZDNET's testing lab, and I ran it through its paces with a battery of color accuracy tests, film screenings, and even a bit of console gaming. The S95F handled each beautifully with smooth action during fast-paced scenes and gameplay, crisp details in both color and black-and-white films, and clean audio across pretty much any media you could think to play.

Review: Samsung S95F OLED TV

Who it's for: The S95F is the brand's flagship OLED TV, making it a nearly perfect option for anyone looking to buy one of the best models on the market. It's also a more affordable OLED option than what you can find from LG or Sony, making premium home theater upgrades a bit more accessible to a wider range of customers. But the premium price tag also comes with premium-grade features like object tracking sound, a 165Hz refresh rate, and adaptive audio to suit your space.

Who should look elsewhere: Since the S95F is a premium TV, it is going to be quite expensive even if you find it on sale. Fortunately, Samsung offers a host of budget-friendly and mid-range options with decent picture and audio as well as support for all of the smart features you've come to expect as standard.

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Why we like it: Samsung's The Frame TV is a gallery-inspired model that looks as good as it performs. With a dedicated art slideshow mode, you can create a personal art gallery to show off your favorite artists and pieces or your own photography and digital art. The display has an anti-glare coating for better visibility in harsh overhead lighting, and the bezel can be switched out with different materials and colors to match your decor.

Review: Samsung The Frame

Who it's for: If you're in the market for a TV that doesn't necessarily look like a TV when it's not in use, The Frame is a good choice. With interchangeable bezels, a dedicated art mode, and an anti-glare display, you can easily integrate your new TV into your existing decor or use the TV as a centerpiece for a redecoration project.

Who should look elsewhere: The Frame is an expensive TV, but backs up the high retail price with great features like HDR10 support and integrated voice controls. However, if you're just looking for a decent TV that can handle streaming and occasional gaming, there are more affordable options on this list.

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Why we like it: The Samsung Q90F is available in screen sizes up to 98 inches, making it one of the biggest TVs you can get. And all that screen real estate is backed up by a 165Hz max refresh rate for ultra-smooth action during live sports or fast-paced movies and video games. It also supports both Dolby Atmos and object tracking sound for 3D audio that follows the on-screen action while HDR10 support and AI-assisted upscaling give you better contrast and detailing.

Review: Samsung QN90F QLED TV

Who it's for: If you've got the space, and the cash, for a truly cinema-sized screen, the Samsung Q90F is a great choice with a glare-free display for better visibility and viewing angles, integrated voice controls, and a dedicated gaming dashboard with support for cloud gaming services. It also features a Knox security chip for better protection of your browsing history and personal data.

Who should look elsewhere: The 98-inch version of the Q90F is very expensive, retailing close to $15,000 while the 85-inch is closer to $4,000. The Q90F is also available in a 75-inch model which retails for about $2,500, so you have a few options for more affordable big-screens for upgrading your home theater.

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Why we like it: The Samsung Q7F is one of the brand's more budget-friendly options, retailing for around $500 if you pick up the 65-inch model. And just because it's more affordable, that doesn't mean you have to skimp on smart features like integrated voice controls, 4K upscaling, and Bluetooth connectivity for setting up custom home audio equipment.

Who it's for: The Q7F is available in sizes ranging from 43 to 98 inches, with each size retailing at a fairly reasonable price while still offering plenty of extra features. It also includes integrated Samsung Knox security for better online privacy and data protection. And with access to thousands of streaming apps, you can turn your living room into the ultimate entertainment space without having to spend a fortune.

Who should look elsewhere: While the Samsung Q7F is a decent TV for the price, and a perfectly suitable model for most people who are just looking for a decent screen for streaming, it does fall a bit short when it comes to picture and audio quality. So if you're looking for something a bit more impressive and have the cash to spare, you may be better off with the Samsung S95F OLED.

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Best Samsung TV	Price	HDR	Audio
Samsung S95F	$2,400	HDR10+	Dolby Atmos, Object Tracking Sound+
Samsung The Frame	$1,200	HDR10+	Object Tracking Sound Lite
Samsung QN90F	$1,600	Quantum HDR+	Dolby Atmos, Object Tracking Sound+
Samsung Q7F	$500	Quantum HDR	Object Tracking Sound Lite

*Lowest price at the time of writing. Please note that prices may vary based on retailer and available promotions, sales, or discounts.

The biggest reason to choose Samsung over other manufacturers like LG or Sony is simply quality. TVs like the S90C and S90D are at the top of their class. Samsung is a versatile brand, with options that range from high-end to value focused. No matter what type of TV you need, all of Samsung's options offer quality for the money.

Samsung has been making reliable TVs for decades. In a television landscape that sees flashy new models roll out annually, many customers report being perfectly happy with their Samsung sets for many years.

If you're a gamer, you'll appreciate the Samsung Gaming Hub, found on newer sets like the S90C. The Gaming Hub gives you access to cloud-based services like Luna so you can game without a console.

Once you've hammered out a budget and made sure the new TV will fit in your space, the most crucial factor to consider is how you will use your set. Have you cut the cord and moved exclusively to streaming? Choose a model with a preloaded suite of popular apps and the ability to mirror your mobile device screens.

Are you a console gamer? Samsung offers dedicated gaming modes for reducing input lag and response times and toggling VRR technology like FreeSync and G-Sync on or off.

Buy this best Samsung TV...	If you need...
Samsung S95F	A high-end OLED TV for upgrading your home theater with the best picture and sound.
Samsung The Frame	A gallery-inspired TV that will complement your decor.
Samsung QN90F	A premium-grade Samsung TV that offers excellent picture quality at larger screen sizes.
Samsung Q7F	A budget-friendly Samsung TV that gives you a good balance between price and features.

While shopping for a Samsung TV, there are a few factors to keep in mind to help you stay on-budget and get the most value for your money:

Price: Samsung has a wide range of televisions available, from basic and budget-friendly to premium-grade OLEDs. We've included a variety of Samsung TVs at different price points to fit different budgets.
Picture and audio quality: While Samsung doesn't include support for Dolby Vision HDR on their televisions, they do offer Dolby Atmos for virtual surround sound or Dolby Digital for enhanced audio. Samsung also uses a proprietary HDR codec to enhance detailing, color, and contrast for images. Each TV featured on this list has been ensured to support at least basic HDR10 and Dolby Digital audio.
Connectivity: A new TV, Samsung or not, isn't worth much if you can't do anything with it. Each product on this list has been tested and researched to ensure that they offer HDMI, USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity for setting up game consoles and playback devices as well as for screen sharing from mobile devices and downloading streaming apps.

While researching and testing each Samsung TV featured on this list, I and other ZDNET experts kept these criteria in mind:

Reasons to upgrade: Each Samsung TV on this list was chosen because it offered enough new and unique features over the previous generation of products to warrant a possible upgrade.
Smart features: People have come to expect smart features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and virtual assistants as-standard in their new TVs. Each Samsung TV that was chosen offers a suite of features from hands-free voice controls to screen calibration and free TV channels.
Screen sizes: It's important to get the right sized screen for your space to avoid making the room feel like an endless void due to a too-small TV or cramped and uncomfortable from one that's too large.

Latest news on TVs

At CES, we saw dozens of new and high-tech TVs that we can't wait to reach the market. A big theme for the show was RGB backlighting, which we think will completely replace LED displays in the near future. The LG W6 Wallpaper was undoubtedly the belle of the ball at CES 2026, showcasing an almost mind-bogglingly thin design measuring just 9mm. It achieves this by removing many of the bulky internal components that make up a high-end OLED TV and placing them in a wireless Zero Connect Box.

The Samsung S95H was named a Best of CES award for home theater, thanks to its 35% higher brightness, an all-metal design, and the ability to safely display static artwork from the Art Store without burn-in.

The best way to find the ideal TV size for your space is to measure the distance in inches from where your TV will be placed to where you will be sitting. Divide that distance in half. For example, if your couch is 120 inches, or 10 feet, from where your new TV will be, the ideal screen size for your room would be around 60 inches.

You can go a bit bigger or smaller depending on what sizes are available from each brand and what your budget allows. There is such a thing as a TV that is too big or too small. A screen that is too large will overwhelm your space and could even cause motion sickness, while a screen that is entirely too small will make your room feel like a huge cavern and force everyone to crowd around in order to see.

In short, marketing.

Unlike OLED, or organic light emitting diode, the term "QLED" is a marketing gimmick rather than an acronym for a specific piece of technology. The "Q" in QLED stands for "quantum," which is a marketing term to get you interested in the TV rather than an indication of actual quantum TV tech -- whatever that would be.

A QLED television from Samsung or another brand like Hisense really just uses a regular LED panel to create an image while a fancy processing chip uses proprietary software to boost color, brightness, and contrast.

In contrast, an OLED television uses a special LED panel where each individual pixel is represented by a single LED bulb with its own power source. By allowing individual LED lights to be switched off completely, an OLED television is capable of true blacks that make brighter colors pop and enhance contrast. They also use an organic substrate which is activated by an electrical current to produce colors. This substrate is very expensive and difficult to produce, which is why OLED TVs are much more expensive than their LED and QLED counterparts.

If you aren't running your Samsung TV 24/7, you can reasonably expect it to last at least five years. You can extend the life of your Samsung TV by ensuring that the operating system and firmware are up to date via automatic updates.

Unfortunately, the era of TVs lasting decades, barring any mechanical issues, is long over. Almost all new televisions are internet-enabled, there will eventually come a point where older TVs are no longer able to support new firmware updates or new versions of streaming apps. This means that you'll almost be forced to buy a new TV every 10 or so years, especially if you've cut the cord. The average TV lifespan will give you plenty of time to save up for when the time comes to upgrade.

Yes. Along with a variety of screen sizes available, Samsung TVs like the QN90C and S95C include the Samsung Gaming Hub. The Hub gives you access to cloud gaming services like Nvidia GeForce NOW and Xbox Game Pass, as well as lowered input response times, support for VRR technology like AMD FreeSync, and enhanced contrast. You'll also get multiple HDMI inputs for connecting more than one console, as well as an RF connection for some retro consoles like the SNES.

Latest updates

In our February update, we removed an outdated pick and also included news on TVs from CES.

Other Samsung TVs we've tested

The Terrace outdoor TV from Samsung is a great way to transform your outdoor entertaining spaces. With both partial and full-sun models, you'll be able to place your new TV just about anywhere and still get an excellent picture. The robust weather proofing ensures that moisture, dirt, and even insects stay out of delicate electronics.

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The Samsung DU9000 is one of the largest TVs the brand has to offer, maxing out at an impressive 98 inches for a viewing experience as close as you can get to a movie theater in the comfort of your own home.

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Looking for more ways to optimize your home theater experience? Check out how to disable motion interpolation on your TV, and how to mirror your Android phone to your TV in three easy ways.

TV Models Reviewed and Compared

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