Samsung S90FA QN55S90FAFXZA 55"

The smart platform is a real strength, hitting the 77th percentile, but the picture quality is a letdown at the 37th percentile. You get a 144Hz panel for gaming and perfect OLED blacks, yet the HDR brightness just doesn't compete. It's a capable TV with a glaring weakness in the one area that matters most.

The NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor is doing the heavy lifting for upscaling, and the Motion Xcelerator 144Hz panel is a solid spec for PC gamers. But the numbers tell a story of a display that's good, not great. Gaming performance sits in the 69th percentile, which is respectable, and audio with Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X lands in the 68th percentile. The real letdown is the HDR and overall picture quality, both falling behind most of the competition. You'll get that OLED pop in dark scenes, but don't expect it to be a brightness king.

Stacked against the LG C4 Series, the Samsung's picture quality and HDR scores are a clear step down, even though both are OLEDs. The LG typically leads in those categories. The Hisense H4 Series is a budget contender that won't touch the Samsung's smart features or gaming refresh rate, but might surprise you on value. The Sony K65XR80M2 is the one to watch, as Sony's processing often pushes picture quality into a higher tier, which is exactly where this Samsung struggles. If pure image accuracy is your goal, the Sony is likely the safer bet.

We don't have a current price to pin down the value proposition, which makes this tough. Without a number to anchor to, it's impossible to say if this is a hidden gem or a pass. The performance scores suggest it needs to be priced aggressively against competitors to make sense. If it's anywhere near the cost of a top-tier OLED, the middling picture quality scores will be a dealbreaker.

The Samsung S90FA lands in a weird spot. Its smart features are a genuine bright spot, sitting in the 77th percentile, which means Tizen here is snappier and more capable than most TVs we track. But the core picture quality and HDR performance both hover around the 37th percentile, which is a real head-scratcher for an OLED at this level. You're getting that perfect infinite contrast OLED is known for, but the brightness and processing don't seem to push it into top-tier territory based on our data.

Picture quality purists should look elsewhere. If you're buying an OLED for the absolute best HDR impact and most accurate out-of-the-box image, the 37th percentile scores in both picture and HDR are a red flag. You'd be much happier with a higher-ranked OLED from LG or Sony. This set is for someone who values a zippy smart interface and high refresh rate gaming over reference-level visuals.

The Samsung S90FA is a TV with a split personality. It nails the smart TV experience and offers a genuinely high-end gaming refresh rate, but it stumbles on the fundamentals of picture and HDR quality. For an OLED, that's a tough pill to swallow. Unless the price is shockingly low, you're probably better off looking at competitors that deliver a more balanced, top-tier visual experience.