Review: Samsung QN900B

Nobody needs an 8K TV in 2022. The vast majority of us aren’t even watching 4K resolution content all of the time, unless you pay for upgraded streaming (and even then, the bitrate sucks compared to a HD Blu-ray disc). Most high-quality 8K content online is just demo videos.

The reason you buy a TV like the Samsung QN900B—the company’s flagship 8K LED TV for 2022 —is to be absolutely positive that your neighbor won’t have something prettier in their living room. After a few weeks with it set up in mine, I’m pretty sure you won’t find a better screen in your neighborhood, no matter how many gates and gold toilets there are.

You’ll be hard-pressed to push the TV as hard as it can go with current available content, but that’s not really the point. It’s so overpowered that it doesn’t care what you feed it. The QN900B has gorgeous color, excellent processing, and sleek design. If you’re tired of keeping up with the Joneses and want to become Indiana, this is the model to buy.

The first thing I love about the QN900B is the center pedestal mount. I’ve been begging more TV makers to use this design, and I’m happy to see Samsung employ it here. The bezels around the TV are thin, and the overall design feels robust and was easy to mount.

Photograph: Samsung

A small One Connect box sits on the back of the mount and supplies the TV with power and HDMI signal but allows you to mount it flat on the wall without annoying multi-cable runs—a nice touch. You also get Samsung’s slim, solar-powered remote, so you’ll never need to search a drawer for AAA batteries.

The TV has perforated edges around the outside, presumably to vent heat, and they lend a very professional feel that helps differentiate it from more affordable models—something that the buyer of this TV probably wants, for all the extra cash.

The main reason to buy a TV with this many pixels is the processing. 8K TVs are able to upscale and manipulate whatever picture you feed them into near window-like clarity. There were multiple times when watching this quantum dot, mini-LED-enabled TV that I felt like I could literally stick my head through the screen and into the scene beyond.

Various neural processors and advanced display technology pair together inside the QN900B, with the TV delivering insane color accuracy, astonishing highlights, and extremely smooth action when watching sports.

Photograph: Samsung

I watched my usual weekend Formula One race with friends on this thing, and the group commented on just how gorgeous the Ferrari red and Mercedes silver looked flying around Belgium. Sports with green fields also look awesome, with the processing keying in on what you’re watching and allowing for crystal clear action.

Those with brighter living rooms and big families will enjoy that it comes with a solid anti-glare coating and sports a very wide viewing angle, making it a decent splurge purchase for their home.

Gamers will like that it can do 4K at 120 Hz (the max you can do with a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X), and up to 144 Hz with PCs. You won’t get the same black levels or refresh rate that you’ll get with other expensive gaming options like LG or Sony OLED models, but the brightness and coloring of this display can’t be matched for simpler games like Stardew Valley.

The TV is a decent option for people who refuse to buy a soundbar, thanks to a simulated Dolby Atmos experience on board. I prefer to use all modern TVs with a soundbar or A/V speaker system (seriously, it makes a huge difference), and Samsung clearly anticipates most high-end buyers will have outboard sound, with an HDMI ARC port included on the back panel.

I used that port to power a Samsung Q990B soundbar and was impressed that the Samsung TV's own speakers worked with the soundbar to fill my room with sound—a nice Samsung-to-Samsung integration that feels akin to Sonos or Apple. One thing all soundbar owners will like is that this TV is high enough above the stand that even thicker soundbars will fit comfortably below the screen.

The user interface is the only part of the TV that leaves anything to be desired. You’ll find everything OK, but the response time in menus felt clunky, and I still can’t figure out a way to add apps to the home screen. Instead, I’m left searching for Plex and Paramount Plus (two apps Samsung has and that I have installed) every time I want to launch them. That’s annoying. If I bought this TV, I’d probably get a high-end streaming device like a Roku Ultra. Still, it has all the apps you'll need, and I'm sure you'd get used to it after more time than I had in my review period. 

The reality is, small user-interface issues don't get in the way of the sheer beauty of this screen. When watching literally anything, from dark vintage films to the brightest Marvel hits, it just looks fantastic. And that, not the onboard software, is why folks will buy this. Would I buy this TV if I had the money? I'm not sure. It's really nice, but I think you can get a picture nearly this good for a few thousand less. Then again, a TV like this—which is offered at up to 85 inches—isn't made for those who care about money (like, at all). If only the best will do, have at it.