The Samsung S95F OLED TV Delivers A Stunning Picture But Stumbles On AI
The Samsung S95F OLED TV offers gorgeous colors for an enhanced viewing experience. Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailer
I spent over two weeks testing the Samsung S95F OLED TV by watching movies and gaming via both my PlayStation 4 Pro and my Nintendo Switch. I evaluated the panel based on a few factors, most notably design, performance, the Samsung Tizen software and more. Read on to learn more about the TV in my full Samsung S95F OLED TV review.
Amazon Samsung S95F OLED TV
Forbes Vetted
Forbes Vetted ratings are based on thorough evaluations by our editorial team to help you choose the best products with confidence.
Size: 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches | Type: OLED | Resolution: 4K | Refresh rate: 120Hz (165Hz for PCs) | Operating system: Samsung Tizen OS | HDR: HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
Best for: A gorgeous, rich picture that makes movies look stellar
A flexible TV setup, thanks to the One Connect Box
Skip if: You plan to use any of the Vision AI software
Calibrating a TV sounds like too much of a pain
Samsung's panels use what Samsung calls the 'One Connect Box,' which essentially removes the 'brain' and all the peripheral connections, including HDMI and USB-C, from the display and sticks it into an exterior box. It's designed to make mounting the TV on a wall easier: You can set this box on your TV console, but if you prefer to rest your TV on said console, you can also slot it into a spot behind the display itself. Historically, the S95 series required a physical cable connection to function, and so you needed to hide an unsightly cable if you separated the One Connect Box from that slot on the back of the TV.
The new model now removes the physical cable requirement, making it easier to place the One Connect Box anywhere you prefer. Tuck it inside your TV console, or place it across the room entirely for a more flexible home entertainment setup. I'm a fan of this change—I can now reduce or hide the rat's nest of cables around my TV console, and it's one less cable in which my cat can get tangled.
The remote also gets an upgrade, with a new button built for AI. That's how you access AI features like Click to Search, but more on that in a minute. Samsung S95F OLED TV: Performance A Pain To Calibrate, But Worthwhile When You Do
First, make sure you take the time to calibrate this one, and plan to spend a good few minutes tweaking. Compared to the Samsung S95D TV and the Samsung S95C TV, I spent more time focused on getting the details right, which is both a boon and a curse. It's worth the extra effort to get the reds and blues to pop on the display, not just for movies and TV shows, but also for gaming. But that comes with some frustrations, too. A flagship TV shouldn't be so difficult to calibrate, but I actually ended up having to calibrate it twice—once for my movies and again for the gaming mode.
The action sequences in Mad Max: Fury Road kept the orange desert hues without altering the sky ... More blues. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
Once properly calibrated, the TV feels brighter and more vivid than the S95D. One of my favorite moments was watching a cloud of red smoke in Mad Max: Fury Road amid the fleet of dust-covered War Boys vehicles. The cloud took an almost velvety, fluffy texture which is what this particular cloud should look like—and few TVs can really accomplish that, from my experience. It's details like that which made the immersive experience this TV could deliver stand out. It also did a solid job of keeping the orange desert hues accurate without desaturating the sky's light blue colors.
Other areas of colors shone well, particularly in House of the Dragon . I test every panel on one scene in which Rhaenyra and Alicent speak in the Godswood because it's a good way to showcase the different reds and greens. The Godswood tree should show off vibrant red leaves with the surrounding grass being green without feeling oversaturated. Furthermore, Alicent's dress, a lovely shade of burgundy, should reflect that color—it shouldn't match the leaves, which are brighter. The Samsung S95F does a stellar job of making this happen while keeping the velvety texture of Alicent's dress and the leaves' details. I also felt the TV displayed the detail I sought in Rhaenyra's leather outfit, too. Gaming Looks Impressive
One of the biggest standouts when I gamed with the Samsung S95F was Like a Dragon: Ishin! , which uses both nighttime and daytime scenes in the late Edo period of Japan. After calibrating, some of the indoor nighttime scenes were my favorite. Patterns and muted colors on Sakamoto Ryōma's robes looked true to the game developer's intent, and I appreciated that daytime scenes didn't wash out the dusty streets or the bright blue sky.
The Samsung S95F OLED TV keeps action sequences crisp and smooth. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
I also attribute this to the Samsung Gaming Hub settings, which I used to make minor adjustments ahead of my gaming. As usual, you can add crosshairs or tweak shading on the TV. The Hub itself also feels improved. Last year, I experienced pixelation, lag and all other sorts of streaming-related problems. This year, I experienced zero issues on the Samsung S95F—a welcome change to the Samsung Gaming Hub. Samsung S95 OLED TV: Software A Half-Baked Miss For AI
This year, Samsung unveiled Samsung Vision AI, an AI-based software built into Samsung Tizen OS, which, for the most part, otherwise remains unchanged and lovely. In theory, Vision AI should help complete a slew of tasks, including translating languages in real time, helping you find an actor, an object or some other subject on-screen and more.
Note the burgundy color of Alicent's dress and the deep reds of the Godswood tree. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
I truly wanted to love Vision AI—it has so much potential. And, to an extent, Samsung laid the groundwork for the future of AI in not only its own displays, but TVs in general. But, in this current iteration, Vision AI feels half-baked, and it's just not quite there yet. Let me explain with two particular features: Live Translate and Click to Search.
Live Translate translates languages in real time using AI, but only works for live broadcasts—and it needs to have the captions offered. I can't use it on any streaming service or Samsung TV Plus (or at least I couldn't get it to work), which feels like a miss. I assume plenty of red tape prevents Samsung from using it on, say, Hulu or HBO Max, and so credit is still due for the brand trying to bring an ambitious AI language software to life.
Additionally, Samsung offers a Click to Search feature, which should tell me who's on screen and share what to watch next. It's great for suggesting a few more content options, but it feels too constrained by its design. I didn't learn more about any actors because no names showed up on my TV screen. This feature has the potential to help me find a shirt I liked on an actor, or to help me find a dupe for a cooking show recipe, as examples. But it can't do that—yet.
You can use the gaming menu to make some adjustments, including adding a virtual aim point, adjust ... More settings and more. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
It's also available only on Samsung TV Plus, cable and broadcast TV. This is worth noting, since Nielsen reports that streaming surpassed traditional TV platforms for the first time in May of this year. With streaming only growing in popularity, Vision AI needs to account for these users moving forward. I do suspect Samsung is hard at work on building these frameworks, and these features may roll out in the coming months and years. That said, it's also not the first panel to introduce an 'X-ray' feature: Amazon Prime beat Samsung to the punch and, as of right now, Amazon's X-ray feature is better.
Samsung also introduced Circle to Search (not to be confused with Click to Search) on its mobile gaming platforms at Samsung Unpacked last week. It's a similar premise: You circle something on-screen, and it 'searches' the web for you. For gamers, you can find walkthroughs and more with this software; the brand is clearly shifting to make AI more friendly to the gaming community. At the moment, though, any kind of AI-based search is available only on mobile platforms, and not Vision AI—and that's a darn shame. Of all the ways Click to Search could help me, using Vision AI to find a The Legend of Zelda: The Echoes Of Wisdom temple walkthrough would be a boon. Samsung S95 OLED TV: Verdict For The Most Part, A Great TV
If you're looking for one of the best TVs of the year, the Samsung 95F nails almost everything it offers. Colors are gorgeous, contrast is strong and the TV itself offers plenty of perks for viewers that make it the best TV I've tested all year. Take time to calibrate it, and it makes darker shows like The Last Of Us and moody scenes from House of the Dragon stand out. It's fairly pricey, but it's well worth the investment.
But if you're planning on buying a TV based on AI integrations, Vision AI may disappoint you. I applaud Samsung for launching an ambitious AI software, but it still remains to be seen if Samsung can grow this software into something bolder and bigger than what it currently is. This is a lovely TV, with a gorgeous picture. Ultimately, though, I'd love to see Samsung step up to the challenge and enhance Vision AI. How I Tested The Samsung S95F OLED TV
I spent over two weeks with the Samsung S95F OLED TV. I first calibrated the TV and then began testing it across movies and TV shows to get a sense of the display performance. In particular, I tested the TV across the following action movies to review how the display handles action sequences, color saturation and viewing angles. Mad Max: Fury Road
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
I also tested across plenty of TV shows, both animated and live action, to learn more about the TV's overall performance. I always test across the same scenes in the same TV shows to understand how a TV handles color changes, sudden light fluctuations and more. This way, my time testing TVs is standardized across all panels. In particular, I tested across the following shows: House of the Dragon
Arcane
Modern Family
Archer
I reviewed the gaming features on the TV, playing for a minimum of ten hours across multiple games, including The Legend of Zelda: The Echoes of Wisdom , Stardew Valley , Like A Dragon: Ishin!, Don't Starve , Mass Effect: Andromeda and more. I tested on two different consoles: the PlayStation 4 Pro and the Nintendo Switch. Additionally, I used Samsung's game streaming service, Samsung Gaming Hub, to play Batman: Arkham Knight . This way, I could see how the game streaming service played AAA titles with intense action sequences.
I also dove deep into the software, noting changes and updates to the Samsung Tizen OS. I reviewed the features Samsung announced with its new Vision AI software and put it to use during real-world settings. I also reviewed the audio as the panel stood, with no soundbar connected, to ensure that the TV provided decent audio quality. Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted team has published hundreds of tech and electronic guides that leverage our hands-on testing and research, including TV stories for all of your video needs like outdoor TVs , gaming TVs and more. Consumer tech and electronics editor Rebecca Isaacs has been involved in tech journalism for over six years. In her time testing TVs, she focuses on aspects of interest to everyone, from casual, occasional viewers to serious gamers who want to enjoy every single detail on-screen.
has been involved in tech journalism for over six years. In her time testing TVs, she focuses on aspects of interest to everyone, from casual, occasional viewers to serious gamers who want to enjoy every single detail on-screen. Isaacs covers many of the latest panel launches as well as providing in-depth reviews, including the LG OLED Evo G4 TV , the LG OLED Evo G3 TV , the Samsung OLED S95C TV , the Roku Plus Series TV and more.
, the , the , the and more. Additionally, Isaacs has traveled from coast to coast to get hands-on testing with some of the latest TV launches. She has also interviewed countless TV and home entertainment experts. In some circumstances, she has partaken in demos in which the top screens have been physically removed to review the displays' inner workings, all the way down to the processors and dimming zones to help learn about the inner workings of TV.
The story was edited by Forbes Vetted commerce editor Christine Colby. She has over five years of experience with product reviews and recommendations. She recently covered the best robotic pool cleaners and spearheaded testing of patio umbrellas.
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