Samsung QN90A QLED Smart TV Review: It’s A TV That Can Do It All!
November 22, 2021It is just as capable s its price tag would suggest, but is that enough to make your part with RM13k?
Type: Smart TV
Display: QLED 4K
Dimensions: 1446.3 x 891.4 x 285.4 mm (With Stand)
Weight: 24.4kg
Operating System: TizenOS
Features: Adaptive Picture, AI Upscaling, Ambient Mode+, 120Hz refresh rate, Voice Amplifier
Remote Options: Solar Remote or Use smartphone as remote (SmartThings)
Price: RM13,199.00
Rating: 9/10
Samsung is at the forefront of smart tv technology, and our review unit, the 65-inch QN90A Neo QLED 4K (2021) television is a prime example of this notion. It’s part of the company’s premium line of devices and the price tag shows it. At RM13,199.00 it’s considerably more expansive than a regular 4K TV of a similar screen size.
There’s a reason for the substantial price disparity. Without getting too technical, the QN90A employs nano-sized quantum dot Mini LED tech that is able to display a far greater color volume than a regular LED TV. That means that colors appear more vibrant, which results in content appearing richer and more immersive.
The Neo line uses Quantum Matrix Technology that controls these mini-LEDs for better color control accuracy. This makes sure that your content remains clear and sharp regardless of how dark a scene is. Such content when watched on regular TVs look either washed out or almost completely dark.
With the QN90A, the system works out how to produce an output that retains the original level of detail. Action scenes, especially those shot in low lighting conditions, look incredibly better on this than traditional TVs, but we’ll delve deeper into this a little later. Let’s start with the setup process and work our way to the overall user experience.
The Initial Setup
The QN90A is a very slim QLED TV. It measures 1446.3 x 891.4 x 285.4 mm with the included stand. Without one, the side profile is just 26.9mm, which is wafer thin compared to regular 4K TVs. Though it may seem daunting to setup a 65-inch TV on your own, I found the contrary to be true.
The TV itself weighs a mere 24.4kg without a stand. Technically, you should be able to set it up on your own, but we would advise against it. Having an extra set of hands will make the unboxing and setup process less nerve-wracking. Due to the large diameter but extremely thin side profile, you could easily lose your grip and drop it.
When unboxing the QN90A, you and your buddy should gently lift each side out of the packaging, while keeping in mind not to rest your hands on the TV screen itself. Exerting such pressure will not do the screen’s structural integrity any favors.
QN90A vs Standard LED TV
If you choose to affix it to a stand, lay the TV on a flat surface while remembering to ensure that the screen is kept protected against objects that could scratch its surface. Then push the stand into the socket and install the 3 included screws. That’s it, your TV is now ready to be placed on its designated table/cabinet.
However, if you’ve chosen the wall mounted option, you’ll need to ensure the wall mount brackets are firmly in place before readying to mount the TV. Ensure that everything lines up accordingly, before attempting to rest the QNA90A on said mount. It’s would be prudent for one person to remain supporting the TV’s weight while you make certain that the anchor points are securely fastened.
On the back, its input ports consist of 2 USB, 4 HDMI, 1 Lan, 1 Composite (AV) and 1 antenna connections. To prevent scuff marks on the rear panel, it would be wise to connect the power plug, your gaming console, DVR box or other entertainment systems to the TV before mounting the unit to the wall.
The QN90A runs TizenOS, which is Samsung’s homebrewed operating system. If you’ve used a recent Samsung smart TV, the experience should be very similar. For the picture quality setting, we suggest that you leave it on Intelligent Mode. This allows the TV to compensate for the lighting in the room and adjust the output accordingly.
But that’s not all that it does, Intelligent mode also includes Active Voice Amplifier and Adaptive Volume. This ensures that conversations taking place in any scene is given a higher priority than everything else. The TV will also adjust the volume to make sure that sound quality isn’t hampered by ambient noises.
The experience can be elevated further through the use of a soundbar. Samsung’s Q-Symphony system is supposed to help deliver an even more immersive experience with a connected speaker system. However, we are unable to verify this during our review period due to the lack of a compatible soundbar system.
That said, you still have the ability to keep it on manual mode, where you can tweak the various preferences to achieve your desired output levels. Unless you’re experienced in this area, it’s best not to mess about with the picture attributes. You could potentially worsen the overall look and in turn ruin the entire experience.
Once you’ve connected the TV to either WiFi or an ethernet cable, it is ready for use. At the time of writing, the QN90A supports several apps including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV and HBO GO. However, Disney+ is absent from the list of apps and there’s no clear way of installing it.
Design
The TV has extremely thin bezels, which lend a continuous look to the entire screen. The aesthetics conforms to Samsung’s ultra slim TVs which include The Frame. When hung correctly on a wall, it is able to sit relatively flush, providing for a frame-like look. Though the back has a softer greyish (sand black) look, the front features a distinguished glossy black hue.
User Experience
Samsung’s QNA90A is supplied with a minimalist solar remote. It has a UBS-C port at the bottom but the company says that the solar panel on its rear can generate electricity from any light source including indoor lighting. It’s very easy to use, especially the circular navigation keys. They allow you to flip through movie titles quickly with just the right amount of control.
In the middle of the ring is the “OK” button. These are the only ones that aren’t labeled. While they may seem self-explanatory to the younger crowd, the older folks may not catch on that quickly. The remote’s buttons are slightly soft to touch and have just the right amount of surface coarseness.
They offer a tactile response when pressed, which feels more premium than that of a standard remote. Despite having very few buttons, it still has enough to allow you to use voice commands, multi-view and quick launch keys for your favorite streaming services. With that said, through the use of the SmartThings app, you could delegate its job to your smartphone.
Once you’ve enrolled your smartphone in the list of smart appliances, the TV recognizes this and labels it as such and lists it with other gadgets that are part of the SmartThings ecosystem. This grants you the same functionality as that of the remote. However, in our case the experience was a little glitchy due to compatibility issues.
The SmartThings app on our smartphone couldn’t play nicely with the TV, which resulted in constant app crashes. If Samsung manages to fix said glitches, it would be far more convenient than sharing a remote with the entire family.
The QN90A lets you cast and mirror content from your smartphone. Just tap your NFC enabled smartphone on the side of the QN90A and it should recognize the gesture and begin mirroring what’s on your device. The casting function, which is similar in operation to Google’s Chromecast lets you handoff streaming content from your phone to the TV.
However, in our test it only seemed to work for YouTube. The Netflix app recognized the function but was unable to receive the content. The same is true for the other streaming services. We hope this issue is resolved quickly because having the ability to browse and content on your smartphone trounces the functionality of any TV remote.
The TV’s user interface is fairly simple to use and the remote lets you navigate past the various menus with relative ease. Most of the time you’ll be using the scroll keys to scroll through the various movies. That said, searching for what you want within an app can be a little cumbersome. You’ll need to use the navigation keys to select individual letters, hence our appreciation for Chromecast support.
Besides casting, you can use the multi-view function to divide the screen into two. This arrangement allows you to continue watching your content on one side of the screen while the other mirrors what’s happening on your phone screen. It’s a very interesting use of the dual screen layout for sports fans.
Picture Quality
To truly appreciate this TV, we need to understand the technology that gives it these impressive properties. What is QLED? It stands for Quantum Light Emitting Diode. Basically, it consists of the same LCD display and array of LED backlight that’s available in traditional smart TVs. But the clear distinction here is use of the word “Quantum”.
Quantum dots are nanoparticles with semiconductor properties that emit a certain color when hit with a light source. The size of these particles dictates the wavelength of light it emits, which give it its color. Large dots appear reddish while progressively smaller ones give off a greener hue.
Now, these Quantum dots sit in front of the LED backlight that illuminates the LCD panel. As the light passes through the LCD, the Quantum dots light up as well, effectively functioning as a color filter that enhances the overall picture quality. The end result is a more saturated range of colors than what traditional LED TVs can muster.
Though QLED and OLED panels offer similarly vivid, eye-popping colors, the former is better at maintaining these results at peak brightness compared to the latter. This, Samsung says allows TVs like the QN90A to provide great picture quality regardless of the ambient lighting or the lack of it.
I can confidently agree to this. The level of detail both in color and resolution make for a truly immersive movie watching experience. The 120Hz refresh rate makes action sequences appear more life-like. And because the display is constantly compensating for what’s going on, every scene, regardless of how dark it is, appears clear as day.
With regular LED TVs, darker scenes are not as enjoyable to watch. It seems as though a cloak is placed over certain areas. This is a non-issue with a QLED display. But it isn’t perfect because the results aren’t always good, especially for non-optimized content.
That said, when placed side by side with a traditional Samsung LED TV, the QN90A is far superior in every way. The color recreation and sharpness offer a sense of realism that makes content enjoyable to watch. I found myself binge-watching TV shows and movies I didn’t care much for, solely for this reason.
I cared less for the actual content than the picture quality. The QN90A makes sub-par movies more enjoyable to watch because scenes are prettier and there’s more to see than ever before. Adding to this is the presence of the Neo Quantum Processor 4K. Its job is to spruce up content to make it easier on the eyes and when possible, upscales the resolution to full 4K.
As clever as it may be, it doesn’t always hit the mark because there are still instances where picture quality and resolution don’t look as great as that of actual 4K content. The chip and its AI technology aren’t miracle workers, so temper your expectations.
On the upside, the QN90A’s picture quality remains constant regardless of the viewing angle. It doesn’t matter where you sit, the output will look the same to you as it is for those who are perched up directly in front of it. The screen is also coated with an anti-reflection layer that reduces glare that is associated with glossy displays.
Gaming Experience
The 120Hz refresh rate makes gaming sessions just that much more realistic. Games appear stutter-free and more immersive. In addition to this, there’s also a Game Bar feature. It’s an on-screen menu that lets you adjust screen ratio, input lag check, FPS, HDR settings and several others.
It works with gaming consoles to create truly enjoyable sessions. For example, in Dirt Rally 2.0, the dust that is kicked up when a car flies past bends, sticks to the screen with amazingly realistic results. The same is true of the lens flare effect that appears as the sun begins to beat down on you. This coupled with the buttery-smooth frame rate creates a great gaming experience.
If you choose to game on this TV, make sure that your console is capable of outputting content at 4K resolution. This will allow you to get the most out of the experience. Theoretically, you could connect your gaming PC to it and play more graphically demanding titles. The QN90A should be able to offer similarly immersive gaming sessions without skipping a beat.
SmartThings & Ambient Mode
SmartThings allows you to connect and view all connected smart appliances. It will allow you to see what’s happening throughout your home by watching your TV. But Samsung needs to work on getting these smart devices including smartphones to talk properly with the QN90A. It needs a little more spit and polish to achieve the intended effect.
When the TV is not in use, it can be turned into a mood booster system. When in ambient mode, the QN90A can play a variety of relaxing sounds and effects while displaying calming scenes. This can set the mood for some much-needed r&r or casual conversations with guests. There are various options ambient options to choose from.
They ranging from the plethora of presets to that of your own personal albums. While doing this, it can also provide various information, which includes that of the weather. These features seem almost limitless, which makes it difficult to decide to choose just one option.
Should You Buy This?
This isn’t your regular idiot box. It’s a TV that produces stunning imagery and is able to compensate for less than stellar productions. Whatever you watch appears far more lifelike than that of a traditional LED TV. SmartThings support allows you to view and control your smart home from a centralized location, which lets you keep tabs on what’s going on from the comfort of your living room.
The price tag may be difficult for many people to digest, including myself. But when you consider the picture quality, AI upscaling, 120Hz refresh rate, intuitive UI, SmartThings, Game Bar and adaptive sound support, you come to realize what you’re paying for. This is a TV meant for people who want to experience stunning video clarity and an immersive acoustic experience just short of visiting a movie theater.
