00:00If you're thinking about buying a Samsung OLED TV this year, you might be about to overspend
00:06because the new S95H has some pretty flashy upgrades, but the more affordable S90H also
00:13got a pretty significant glow-up. So the question I'm going to try to answer in today's video,
00:18is the S95H actually worth it or is the S90H the better buy? Let's break it down.
00:30Okay, so I am checking out the S95H here, and I think the most obvious visual difference is this
00:36metallic bezel that Samsung calls the float layer, I guess because it makes it look like the TV is
00:42kind of floating off of the wall. But just based on my observations, I suspect it also was doing
00:48something to kind of accentuate the glare-free effect, but I'll get back to that in just a little bit.
00:54Another pretty big difference for this year's model. Samsung has been phasing out the One Connect
00:59box even on the frame TVs, so instead we're having the four HDMI 2.1 inputs built into the TV.
01:06Optionally, you can add a zero One Connect box to expand from four HDMI 2.1s to eight HDMI 2
01:13.1.
01:14Is that overkill? Perhaps, but that is an exclusive feature to the S95H.
01:20Speaking of exclusivity, glare-free used to be exclusive to the S95H.
01:26Glare-free is kind of this matte treatment to the screen borrowed from the frame series.
01:32It's meant to diffuse ambient light sources, reduce glare, and honestly, Samsung with glare-free has
01:39kind of revolutionized the expectation that OLED is always going to be glossy and ultra-reflective.
01:45But now, glare-free is on the S90H for the first time. Pair that with the same 165Hz refresh rate
01:53you get on the S95H. And I don't know, you guys, those are two specs that matter a lot when
02:00making
02:00a TV purchase. And now you don't necessarily need to get the top-of-the-line option to still get
02:05these
02:05benefits. Perhaps where we will see a difference between the S90H and S95H is in picture performance,
02:14more specifically brightness. We measured Samsung's S95F from 2025 to hit about 2,100 nits peak HDR
02:24brightness in a 10% window. Samsung ran some of its own tests with CalMAN, similar to what we do
02:30in our
02:30benchmarking, and it's measuring the S95H at around 2,800 nits. The S90H's brightness measurement, on the
02:40other hand, just shy of 1,600 nits. And now that will make a pretty big difference for daytime viewing.
02:48However, I would like to put that in context of what we tested on last year's S90F. It hit about
02:541,100 nits in our testing. So assuming that our independent testing of the S90H is in line with
03:01what Samsung has tested, we could be looking at about a 500-nit improvement, which is a pretty
03:07significant boost to brightness year over year. Okay, but all of that was just a snapshot of
03:13picture performance. Keep in mind we can only do so much here in Samsung's controlled environment
03:18versus in our studio. But I want to touch on audio quickly because there is a spec difference that will
03:24probably stand out to you if you're looking at the two models side by side. The S95H has 70 watt
03:30speakers while the S90H only has 40 watt speakers. What does that mean? The S95H will be louder, but
03:39you guys, you know what I'm going to say. If you're getting a TV like this, if you're ever getting
03:43an OLED
03:43TV, you're going to get a sound bar, maybe a sub, maybe surround sound. So ultimately I don't think
03:49that should be a deal breaker for you. But you might want to consider getting Samsung brand speakers,
03:56sound bars, etc., because then you could take advantage of a feature called Q-Symphony. Q-Symphony
04:02is the feature where the TV speakers work with rather than be overwhelmed by your sound bar and rest
04:09of your sound system. Then we have UI totally level playing ground between S95H and S90H. You guys know
04:18Samsung's Tizen hasn't always been my favorite, but this year I'm starting to dig it. It feels very
04:24modernized and I especially like this new menu bar up top here. In fact, we actually do have a
04:30difference. We have the Art Store now on Samsung OLED. Samsung has stopped gatekeeping Art Store on
04:38the frame TVs. It started with the Neo QLED or mini LED rollout and now it's on OLED and I
04:44think it looks
04:45pretty great. Art Store is Samsung's kind of version of turning your TV into a display piece when you're not
04:52watching content. An Art Store membership does, and don't quote me, cost about $100, but if you care
05:00about home aesthetics, I know I do, I find it well worth it and it's just kind of a nice
05:05touch, I would
05:06say, to this OLED, the S95H. I know a lot of you guys are going to disagree, but Art Store
05:13is take it
05:13or leave it. Doesn't matter. You can have a membership or you cannot use it. It's really up to you.
05:20But something I don't love right now is Samsung's TV remote. It has too few buttons, it feels kind of
05:27plasticky and honestly just doesn't match the more refined nature and premium flourishes that we're
05:33getting with the S95H. You get the same exact one with the S90H and even the step down S85H. Is
05:42it a deal
05:43breaker? No, but depending on your priorities when buying a TV, that might be another reason to go S90
05:50over S95. Is the S95H objectively a better TV? Totally. We didn't even dig too deep into accuracy
06:01and color reproduction in this video, but I'm still very confident that this thing is going to end up
06:06on a lot of best picks this year. It's definitely meant to feel like the premium flagship model of
06:12Samsung's OLED TV offerings. But if you're just talking pure value, the S90H is very attractive to
06:19me. Yes, the brightness difference is big, but there's more similar in features than not. So it's
06:25absolutely worth considering, especially if you're hoping for some savings. But now I have an important
06:32question for you guys. Which of these two TVs would you like to see us get into our lab for
06:37testing
06:37first? Either way, be sure to give this a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel for more videos
06:43just like this one. Thanks for watching guys. I will catch you next time.
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