Samsung S90H review: the best OLED TV for gaming
Glare-Free OLED gaming with VRR, AMD FreeSync, and Nvidia G-Sync
🏆 Review score: 4/5
🏅 Editor’s Choice Award
✅ Pros
🛡️ Glare Free finish blocks reflections from sunny windows and direct lighting
🔆 1,600 nit peak brightness even without quantum dots
🏇 165Hz Nvidia G-Sync Compatible straight out of the factory
🎮 VRR and AMD FreeSync support for consoles and AMD-powered PCs
🔌 Four HDMI ports for all your gaming devices
🤏 Slim bezel design compared to the Samsung S95H’s unremovable Art Frame
📋 Improved menus for navigation and pop-up setting adjustments
❌ Cons
🔻WOLED downgrade hampers peak brightness and color volume
🎰 Lottery to potentially get a tandem OLED panel on 77- and 83-inch S90H models
The Shortcut Review
The Samsung S90H OLED has ticked up to my first choice for a gaming OLED TV since the Samsung S95H QD-OLED has moved on to become an art-framed living room center piece. It comes in at an approachable $1,799 price (normally $2,699) for a 65-inch screen and has gotten some big upgrades this year. First off, it finally gets the Glare Free finish that’s been exclusive to Samsung’s S95 range, so you can place this TV in a sunny room without worrying about reflections. Secondly, it comes with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility out of the box, so you’ll be able to sync it however you please with an array of Xbox, PlayStation, or PC gaming equipment thanks to its four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Unfortunately, this TV has the big catch of being downgraded to a WOLED panel, which isn’t nearly as colorful or bright as last year’s mostly QD-OLED Samsung S90F – which may have already been WOLED-only in some regions. Without quantum dots, this OLED TV can look a little dim and washed out compared to the growing segment of RGB LED TVs and the very competitive $1,799 (normally $2,499) TCL QM8L SQD-Mini LED TV.
That’s not to say that the picture quality of the Samsung 90H is bad in any way. The TV has a good level of brightness, peaking at 1,600 nits. Colors are vibrant, and you, of course, get true blacks with this OLED screen. But if you want even higher brightness and more colors, look elsewhere to LG C6H, which comes with a guaranteed tandem OLED panel, or TCL’s new line of SQD-Mini LED TVs.
Full Review
🪩 Glare Free at last. Samsung’s Glare Free technology is finally trickling down to the S90H after being an S95-model exclusive feature for years. It lives up to its name, truly eliminating glare and reflections. You can see there are hardly any light reflections, despite shooting these photos in a room with a sunny window to the left and bright overhead lights. The screen looks perfectly matte without graying out any of the true blacks.
📺 OLED HDR Pro. The biggest controversy around the Samsung S90H is that it features a downgraded OLED panel compared to last year’s mostly QD-OLED Samsung S90F – some regions might have already only had a WOLED. This TV’s plain old OLED panel - specifically WOLED, or white OLED – lacks quantum dots to enhance colors and boost brightness. That really translates to duller and off colors, causing Switch 2 games to appear slightly desaturated and Iron Man’s armor to lose the pop of its hotrod red.
The Samsung S90F is by no means dull. Its peak brightness still measures at 1,600 nits by my testing. However, it isn’t as impressive as the 35% brightness increase on the Samsung S95H QD-OLED. Again, the picture quality on the Samsung S90H is fantastic, but putting it next to the exponentially brighter, more colorful, and $200 cheaper TCL QM8L SQD Mini-LED has truly revealed OLED isn’t the be-all and end-all of TVs anymore.
🍄 Bigger screens, better TVs. Now, there’s a chance the Samsung S90H in its larger 77- and 83-inch sizes comes with a far superior tandem OLED panel. I can only say there’s a chance because Samsung doesn’t specifically disclose which panels are used in its OLED TVs. The only way to know after buying the TV is to inspect the pixels with a macro lens on your phone or camera, or measure your TV’s picture with a spectrometer – and make sure the return policy is generous. Alternatively, the LG C6H, which is only available in larger 77- and 83-inch sizes, is guaranteed to have a tandem OLED panel.
🎮 Ultimate Gaming Pack. The Samsung S90H QD-OLED is the ultimate gaming 4K TV of 2026. With four HDMI 2.1 ports, you can expect any gaming device you plug into this TV to be fully supported with a native 165Hz refresh rate, VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. That last one is huge, as G-Sync has been an LG OLED exclusive for the last six years. So you’ll really be able to enjoy true 165Hz gaming on this TV if you have a high-end PC gaming with an Nvidia RTX 5080 or Nvidia RTX 5090 that can handle 4K gaming that fast. Meanwhile, you’ll get VRR’s frame rate smoothing while playing consoles like the PS5 Pro and Nintendo Switch 2.
📐 Traditional design. Personally, I prefer the Samsung S90H OLED to the top flagship Samsung S95H QD-OLED simply because it doesn’t have the latter’s non-removable art frame design. The Samsung S90H simply has a thin bezel that’ll look better in my living room, since I’m not wall-mounting my TV. Unfortunately, the Samsung S90H isn’t as full-featured as the S95H, which can exclusively display Art Store artwork and supports Samsung’s optional Wireless OneConnect Box. Still, those are small sacrifices I’ll take when the Samsung S90H looks better standing on a TV stand in my living room.
📋 Better Menus. Samsung has also made small tweaks to its menus, making navigation a whole lot faster. Firstly, Home, Live, Game Hub, and other individual pages sit in tabs at the very top of the menu, allowing you to quickly switch between them. Menus also don’t seem to ever take up the whole screen anymore. I can easily go into All Settings, like brightness, Live Translate, switch on AI Soccer Mode, or more, without blocking what I’m playing.
🤖 Vision AI Expansion. Samsung has been pushing its Vision AI to do everything from Click to Search, AI karaoke, translated captions, and Copilot services. Now the S90H and all of Samsung’s 2026 TVs combine these disparate parts of Vision AI into one centralized splash screen that displays both topical news and programs to watch. Meanwhile, hitting the Vision AI button while watching anything on Samsung’s free TV service surfaces related content, such as actor/production information and trivia.
Vision AI has also become more intelligent in 2026, and my favorite feature is its ability to find programs after I give it a vague description of what I’m trying to find to watch. I also love how Vision AI can help settle living room debates like “What’s the best Star Wars movie?” and it’ll definitively and correctly choose Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back rather than giving me an indecisive response like they’re all great to different people.
Should you buy the Samsung S90H OLED TV?
✅ Yes, if…
🎮 You want an OLED TV for gaming Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and 165Hz refresh across four HDMI 2.1 ports
☀️ You want a TV that resists glare in a bright or sunny room
💰 You want flagship-level features without the Samsung S95H’s higher prices
📐 You prefer a TV with a traditional thin-bezel design
🤖 You want AI that can do everything from smart searching to settling living room debates
❌ No, if…
🎨 You want the most vibrant, saturated colors possible (get the Samsung S95H QD-OLED or TCL QM8L SQD-Mini LED instead)
💡 You want maximum brightness for the money (get the TCL QM8L SQD-Mini LED instead)
🖼️ You want a TV with a guaranteed better-than-WOLED panel (get the LG C6H instead)
🌈 You’re upgrading from last year’s S90F (get the Samsung S95H QD-OLED instead)
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.