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Samsung S85F review: two minute review
The Samsung S85F, the company’s entry-level OLED TV for 2025, could easily get overshadowed by its step-up siblings and more premium OLED competition. However, the S85F offers a good range of features and great performance at a more affordable price, with the 65-inch model I tested available for $1,499.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$1,999.99 several months after its release.
One thing to note in this review: I tested the 65-inch Samsung S85F, which in the UK, where I am based, uses a W-OLED panel. In the US, the 55- and 65-inch models instead use a QD-OLED panel.
The S85F boasts a feature list that rivals the best TVs, particularly in terms of smart TV and gaming capabilities. That list also includes AI-based picture enhancement tools such as 4K AI Upscaling and Real Depth Enhancer, as well as an improved Tizen 9.0 smart TV platform.
Picture quality on the S85F comes close to rivaling the best OLED TVs. Colors are vibrant, and it delivers strong contrast with deep blacks and refined shadow detail. Textures are realistic with both 4K and HD sources, giving people and objects a 3D-like quality. Motion does require some setup, but once this is done, the picture is smooth and responsive. Brightness is lower than that of flagship OLEDs such as the Samsung S95F and LG G5, and even mid-range OLEDs like the LG C5, but that’s the one area where it falls short.
The S85F’s two 2-channel, 20W speaker array delivers decent bass and clear speech, and it accurately maps sound effects to the action on screen, but is otherwise just average. Some may find the S85F’s sound fine for day-to-day viewing, but I’d recommend adding one of the best soundbars.
The S85F carries a gaming feature set to match the best gaming TVs, and it has the performance to match. Its four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync, ALLM, and HDR10+ gaming. Samsung’s Gaming Hub has access to tons of cloud gaming apps, and an ultra-low 9.4ms input lag time ensures responsive performance, regardless of the game.
Tizen 9.0, the latest version of Samsung’s smart TV platform, is arguably the best one to date. Navigation is smooth, there are AI-based tools for content recommendation, and there are plenty of settings to adjust the picture. Those settings can be a pain to find at times, but that doesn’t make Tizen 9.0 any less of a success.
The S85F is great value for money. It has a comprehensive list of features, strong performance for gaming and movies, and is affordably priced for an OLED TV. While step-up models such as the Samsung S90F and LG C5 can be had for a bit more money, the S85F is still a great value overall.
Samsung S85F review: Prices & release date
- Release date: May 2025
- 55-inch: $1,399.99 / £1,399.99 / AU$2,499
- 65-inch: $1,999.99 / £2,099.99 / AU$3,299
- 77-inch: $2,799.99 / £2,799.99 / AU$4,999
- 83-inch: $4,499.99 / £3,799.99 / AU$6,999
The Samsung S85F is the entry-level OLED model in Samsung’s 2025 TV lineup, sitting below the mid-range Samsung S90F and flagship Samsung S95F. It is available in sizes ranging from 55 to 83 inches. The 65-inch model I tested launched at $1,999.99 / £2,099.99 / AU$3,299.
All models have dropped in price since launch. At the time of writing, the 65-inch model is selling for as low as $1,499.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$1,999.99, putting it in the same region as its closest rival, the LG B5 (65-inch priced at $1,399.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$2,695). I expect those prices to continue dropping throughout 2025.
Samsung S85F review: Specs
|
Screen type: |
OLED |
|
Refresh rate: |
Up to 120Hz |
|
HDR support: |
HDR10+, HDR10, HLG |
|
Audio support: |
Dolby Atmos |
|
Smart TV: |
Tizen |
|
HDMI ports: |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
|
Built-in tuner (US): |
ATSC 1.0 |
Samsung S85F review: Benchmark results
Samsung S85F review: Features
- NQ4 AI Gen 2 Processor and W-OLED panel
- 4K 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync
- Vision AI tools
US models of the S85F use QD-OLED panels exclusively in the 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes. In every other region, the S85F uses standard W-OLED panels across all sizes. Since I’m in the UK, I tested a 65-inch model with a W-OLED panel.
The S85F features Samsung’s NQ4 AI Gen 2 processor, which has picture enhancements such as 4K AI Upscaling and Real Depth Enhancer. Like all Samsung TVs, there is support for HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range formats, but not Dolby Vision.
A two-channel, 20W speaker array on the S85F supports Dolby Atmos, and there are sound-based AI tools such as Adaptive Sound and Active Voice Amplifier Pro. The S85F also supports Q-Symphony, which enables its speakers to be used in conjunction with compatible Samsung soundbars when connected.
Gaming is well supported on the S85F. The TV’s four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 120Hz, ALLM, HDR10+ gaming, and both AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync. The S85F also features the Samsung Gaming Hub, a portal for cloud-based gaming services.
The S85F features Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform, now on version 9.0. This provides AI tools for picture and sound enhancement, plus other features such as click to search and AI content recommendations. Tizen provides access to pretty much all major streaming apps, such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and, in the UK, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and other major UK-based streaming apps.
Samsung S85F review: Picture quality
- Rich colors
- Strong contrast and shadow detail
- Middling brightness compared to other OLEDs
Measuring the S85F’s peak HDR brightness on a 10% white window pattern, it hit 777 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 818 nits in Standard mode. While that result is lower than mid-range OLED TVs such as the Samsung S90F, it was higher than the LG B5 (668 nits in Movie mode and 637 nits in Standard mode), which uses a similar panel.
The S85F’s fullscreen HDR brightness was just average, topping at 147 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 150 nits in Standard mode. This is again in the same region as the B5 (170 nits in Standard and 131 nits in Filmmaker), but much lower than what you’ll get with recent flagship OLEDs, which average around 300-plus nits on this test.
The S85F does an impressive job upscaling HD-quality movies and TV shows. A stream of Fight Club on Disney+ benefited from upscaled textures and showed good contrast. The same can’t be said for standard-definition content from apps like Samsung TV Plus and YouTube, however.
Color was among the S85F’s strong points. Viewed in the Movie picture mode, a scene from the 4K Blu-ray of Wicked, in which Elphaba stands under a pink tree, revealed vibrant pink flowers and a vivid green hue to Elphaba’s skin. Filmmaker Mode looked more natural, but picture highlights had more punch in Movie mode. A 4K stream of Elemental also demonstrated the S85F’s superb color, particularly in a scene where Ember repairs a broken vase.
Measuring the S85F’s HDR color gamut, it covered 98.1% of the DCI-P3 and 71.5% of the BT.2020 color spaces. While the former is a great result, the latter is lacking compared to other recent OLEDs, which have ranged from 74-81% in our tests.
The S85F exhibited excellent contrast and shadow detail. Watching The Batman, specifically the opening crime scene in Mayor Mitchell’s house, there was a powerful balance between the light areas of torches and lamps and the dark floors and walls. Paintings were still visible on the walls in the darkest points of the scene, and so was Batman’s eye as he turned away from the camera. Shadows here were deep and rich throughout, with no signs of black crush.
Due to the S85F’s limited brightness and glossy screen, darker movies like The Batman were harder to watch in brighter viewing conditions, and were best saved for dim or pitch black viewing.
Black and white scenes from Oppenheimer also demonstrated the S85F’s excellent screen uniformity, displaying a good range of black, white and gray tones evenly across the screen.
Motion handling required some setup on the S85F. For sports, I found Standard mode with judder reduction set to 3-5 and blur redirection set to 2 to be the best settings, resulting in a smooth, but not overly smooth, picture. There was still some ghosting of the ball during a soccer game on Prime Video with these settings, but it was minimal. As for movies, a scene in No Time to Die where a camera pans across a hillside required the same motion settings to reduce judder.
Detail was one of the S85F’s other picture quality strengths. Almost everything I watched looked crisp and refined, taking on a realistic look without being too sharp. This gave people and objects a 3D-like quality, something helped along by the TV’s Real Depth Enhancer feature.
- Picture quality score: 4.5 / 5
Samsung S85F review: Sound quality
- Two-channel, 20W speaker array
- Good accuracy and solid bass
- Narrow soundstage
The S85F has a two-channel, 20W speaker system with Dolby Atmos support. There are two audio presets, Standard and Amplify, along with AI sound tools such as Adaptive Sound and Voice Amplifier Pro, both of which analyze the viewing environment and content on screen to adapt the sound.
Despite having a limited two-channel sound system, the S85F demonstrated solid bass. In the Batmobile/Penguin car chase from The Batman, it delivered the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine and the crunch of collisions with good impact and weight. The Object Tracking Sound (OTS) Lite system also did a great job of connecting sound with the action on screen, accurately mapping swerving tires, bullet sprays and blaring car horns. Speech was generally clear throughout my testing.
The S85F’s soundstage felt very narrow, however, with sound effects never really extending beyond the screen. While the S85F’s sound will be fine for day-to-day viewing, it deserves a soundbar to match its picture quality.
- Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5
Samsung S85F review: Design
- Sleek design with trim frame
- Wide and narrow support feet options
- SolarCell remote
Like many Samsung TVs, the S85F has an appealing design, with its extra-slim build and bezel-less screen giving it a sleek, modern look. Its rear panel even has a navy/gray color that helps differentiate it from other TVs on the market.
There are wide and narrow installation options for the TV’s support feet. Wide is perfect for accommodating a soundbar, and the narrow position is for those who have a particularly small TV stand.
The S85F comes with Samsung’s SolarCell remote, which features both a USB-C port and a solar cell on the rear as charging options. A new addition is the AI button, which provides access to Vision AI settings, such as click to search when pressed. If you’re in the UK, you’ll get Samsung’s older remote with a numeric keypad as well.
Samsung S85F review: Smart TV & menus
- Tizen 9.0 platform
- Responsive performance and clean layout
- Some settings are buried in menus
Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform has gone through several big changes over the last few years, and the new Tizen 9.0 is the best version to date. A quick menu provides easy access to settings such as picture mode, brightness, and sound output. There are also four useful hubs: Home, for streaming apps and content recommendations; Game, for gaming apps and settings; Daily+, for lifestyle apps such as office and health; and Ambient, which gives access to artwork, photos and videos that can be displayed in a low power mode.
Tizen 9.0 offers AI content recommendations based on your watch history, and its Samsung TV Plus app houses hundreds of free channels. For UK users, Samsung TV Plus serves as an alternative to Freeview. There is the option to create custom profiles for different users as well.
Tizen 9.0 may be a marked improvement over previous versions, but it’s still not perfect. While there are plenty of settings to adjust the picture, these can be tough to navigate. For instance, I was frustrated to find that settings I regularly use, such as Motion, were buried deep in sub-menus.
Tizen doesn’t quite beat LG’s webOS as the best smart TV platform, but it comes in a very close second.
- Smart TV & menus score: 4.5 / 5
Samsung S85F review: Gaming
- Four HDMI 2.1 ports
- 4K 120Hz, FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync
- 9.4ms input lag time
The S85F carries a near-full stock of gaming features across its four HDMI 2.1 ports. These include support for 4K 120Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync (the latter a first for Samsung TVs), HDR10+ gaming and ALLM.
Samsung’s Gaming Hub offers cloud-based gaming services such as Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Luna, along with gaming-related content. It also allows for quick access to connected gaming devices such as consoles.
With an ultra-low 9.4ms measured input lag, gaming performance on the S85F is smooth and responsive. In even the most chaotic battle sequences in Battlefield V, I found it was snappy and responded to my inputs quickly with no signs of stutter or screen tearing.
Samsung S85F review: Value
- Competitively priced for an entry-level OLED
- Strong features and performance for price
- Better value in US due to QD-OLED panel
I’ve seen the 65-inch S85F I tested selling for $1,499.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$1,999.99. While this is good value for an OLED TV of this size in the UK and Australia, it’s even better value in the US, since that size uses a QD-OLED panel that can potentially provide even better performance.
The S85F is competitively priced with its main rival, the LG B5, which costs $1,399.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$2,695 for the 65-inch model. I expect these two will compete on price for the remainder of the year, particularly during Black Friday.
The step-up Samsung S90F (which also uses a QD-OLED panel in the 65-inch size in both the US and the UK) is available for $1,699.99 / £2,099.99 / AU$4,295, meaning it’s a good value. And at $1,699.99 / £2,099.99 / AU$4,295, the LG C5, LG’s mid-range OLED, is priced the same as the S90F. For a bit more money, both these models offer better performance, with higher picture brightness.
Should you buy the Samsung S85F?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Features |
A strong array of features for both gaming and smart TV |
5/5 |
|
Picture quality |
Excellent color and contrast plus realistic textures, but lacks brightness of more premium OLEDs |
4.5/5 |
|
Sound quality |
Solid bass performance and accurate mapping, but a narrow soundstage |
3.5/5 |
|
Design |
Slim, sleek design with two-position stand gives TV a more premium look than its price would suggest |
4.5/5 |
|
Smart TV and menus |
Best iteration of Tizen to date, with useful menus and settings and smooth performance, but some settings are buried in menus |
4.5/5 |
|
Gaming |
4K 120Hz and full VRR support plus ultra-responsive performance and Samsung Gaming Hub |
5/5 |
|
Value |
A great value TV that has all the features and performance most people will want |
4.5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Samsung S85F |
LG B5 |
LG C5 |
Samsung S90F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Price (65-inch) |
$1,999.99 / £2,099.99 / AU$3,299 |
$1,999.99 / £2,499 / AU$3,299 |
$2,699 / £2,699 / AU$4,299 |
$2,499 / £2,699 / AU$4,299 |
|
Screen type |
OLED (QD-OLED on 55- and 65-inch models in the US) |
OLED |
OLED |
QD-OLED (65-inch only) |
|
Refresh rate |
120Hz |
120Hz |
144Hz |
144Hz |
|
HDR support |
HDR10+/HDR10/HLG |
Dolby Vision/HDR10/HLG |
Dolby Vision/HDR10/HLG |
HDR10+/HDR10/HLG |
|
Smart TV |
Tizen |
webOS 25 |
webOS25 |
Tizen |
|
HDMI ports |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
How I tested the Samsung S85F
- Tested in our testing room in varying lighting conditions
- Tested using HDR and SDR sources
- Measurements taken using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software
Before conducting my testing, I spent some time casually viewing the S85F to establish its best picture modes, settling on a mix of Filmmaker Mode and Movie mode, with Standard for sports.
I conducted subjective testing by watching reference SDR (DVD, Blu-ray) and HDR (4K Blu-ray and streaming) sources to test the S85F’s picture quality, focusing on color, contrast, textures, upscaling, shadow detail and motion handling.
For 4K Blu-rays and other discs, I used a Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player, and I also used an Xbox Series X to analyze gaming performance.
I next conducted objective testing, taking measurements using specialized equipment: a Klein K-10 A colorimeter, with a Jeti Spectraval 1501 used to profile it and a Murideo 8K Six G Metal test pattern generator, with Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software to record the results.
I measured the S85F’s HDR and SDR brightness on 1-100% white window patterns, focusing on 10% (peak) and 100% (fullscreen) brightness.
Next, I measured the S85F’s color and grayscale accuracy, looking for a Delta-E (the margin for error between the test pattern and what’s displayed on screen) average below 3. I also measured the S85F’s DCI-P3 and BT.2020 HDR color gamut coverage.
Finally, I measured the S85F’s input lag using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag tester.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
