Samsung S85D QN55S85DAEXZA 55"

The Samsung S85D is a 55-inch OLED with best-in-class smart features and a gorgeous design, but its HDR brightness and picture quality scores trail other OLEDs in its price range. You're paying around $1,615 to $1,690 USD for the Samsung ecosystem and that perfect OLED contrast. It's a great pick for smart home enthusiasts and dark-room movie watchers, but home theater purists should check out the LG C5 or TCL QM8K first.

The S85D runs on Samsung's NQ4 AI Gen2 processor, and it shows in the motion handling. Motion Xcelerator 120Hz keeps fast action smooth, and that's a real benefit whether you're watching sports or gaming. The panel itself is a 4K OLED, so contrast is effectively infinite. Blacks are truly black, not dark gray, and that's the OLED party trick that never gets old. Colors are Pantone-validated, which means they're accurate out of the box, not oversaturated to look flashy on a showroom floor.

Regarding the S85D's performance profile, its picture quality and HDR scores sit around the 36th percentile in our database. That's not bad for a mid-range TV, but it's underwhelming for an OLED. The panel doesn't get as bright as Samsung's higher-end OLEDs or even some of the better mini-LED sets from TCL and Hisense. In a bright room, that means HDR highlights won't pop the way they do on pricier sets. In a dark room, though, the infinite contrast does a lot of heavy lifting, and most people will find the picture gorgeous. Just know that you're trading peak brightness for that OLED contrast.

The most direct competitor is LG's C5 series OLED. Both are 55-inch OLEDs with 120Hz panels and similar price tags. The LG generally scores higher on picture quality and HDR in our database, and it supports Dolby Vision, which the Samsung doesn't. But the Samsung wins on smart features and connectivity, and its Tizen platform is snappier than LG's webOS in day-to-day use. If you're deep in the Samsung ecosystem, the S85D makes sense. If you want the best possible picture for the money, the LG is the safer bet.

Then there's the TCL QM8K and Hisense U8 series. These are mini-LED TVs, not OLED, so they can't match the S85D's perfect blacks. But they get much brighter, which matters a lot for HDR content in a bright room. They also cost less. The trade-off is contrast and viewing angles, where OLED wins every time. And if you're willing to spend more, Sony's A95L is the picture quality king, but you'll pay a serious premium for it. The S85D sits in a middle ground that's hard to recommend without knowing exactly what you value.

Pricing on the 55-inch S85D runs between $1,615 and $1,690 USD across the listings we track. That's a lot of money for a 55-inch TV, but it's also the cheapest way into Samsung's OLED lineup. For comparison, LG's C5 series OLED sits in a similar price bracket, and Sony's A95L costs significantly more. The question is whether the S85D's smart features and design justify the price when its HDR performance trails the competition.

Honestly, it depends on your priorities. If you want the best picture quality per dollar, the TCL QM8K and Hisense U8 series deliver more brightness and better HDR for less money, though they're mini-LED, not OLED. If you want OLED specifically and care about smart home integration, the S85D makes a decent case for itself. But you're paying a Samsung premium for features that some competitors offer at lower prices.

Samsung's S85D sits in a weird and wonderful spot in the 2024 OLED lineup. It's the entry point to Samsung's OLED tech, which means you get those perfect blacks and that Pantone-validated color without paying for the flagship S95D's glare-free panel or the extra brightness tricks. For a 55-inch set, that's a compelling pitch. You're getting a genuine OLED panel, a 120Hz refresh rate, and Samsung's Tizen smart platform, all wrapped in a design that's honestly pretty striking with that Contour look.

Who's this for? Someone who wants to step up to OLED for the first time, or someone who cares more about smart home integration and design than squeezing out every last nit of brightness. The smart features here are genuinely best-in-class, and the connectivity is excellent. But if you're a home theater purist who wants the brightest HDR highlights, you'll want to keep reading, because the S85D makes some trade-offs to hit its price point.

What makes this interesting is the tension between its strengths and weaknesses. Our database puts its smart features at the absolute top of the charts, and its connectivity and display quality are strong. But its picture quality and HDR scores land in the bottom half of OLEDs we've tested. That's not a contradiction, it's a design choice. Samsung prioritized the everyday experience over raw HDR punch, and whether that's the right call depends entirely on how you'll use the thing.

If you're a home theater enthusiast who wants the brightest possible HDR highlights, skip the S85D. Its HDR and picture quality scores sit around the 36th percentile in our database, which is underwhelming for an OLED at this price. The LG C5 series offers better picture quality for similar money, and it supports Dolby Vision, which the Samsung lacks. If you watch a lot of Dolby Vision content on Netflix or Disney+, that's a real difference.

You should also skip this if you're on a tighter budget and don't care about OLED. The TCL QM8K and Hisense U8 series deliver more brightness and better HDR for less money, though they're mini-LED panels. They can't match the S85D's perfect blacks, but in a bright living room, that brightness advantage matters more than the contrast difference. And if you're not invested in the Samsung ecosystem, the smart features that make this TV special won't mean much to you.

If you want an OLED TV that doubles as the centerpiece of a smart home, the S85D is a solid pick. Its smart features are genuinely best-in-class, the design is gorgeous, and the OLED contrast will make movies look fantastic in a dark room. Pair it with a soundbar, because the built-in 20W speakers won't do the picture justice. And if you're a gamer, the 120Hz panel and FreeSync support make this a great big-screen gaming display.

But if you're a home theater enthusiast who wants the brightest HDR highlights and the most accurate picture, look elsewhere. The LG C5 offers better picture quality for similar money, and the TCL QM8K delivers more brightness for less. The S85D is a lifestyle TV first and a home theater TV second. That's not a criticism, it's just what it is. Know what you're buying.