What is it? Samsung's latest and greatest QLED TV models come in two sizes - 65 and 75 inches - and are the premium releases from its latest TV range. I was lent a 65-inch setup and soundbar for two weeks, which was the perfect fit for my midsized lounge room. It's a large but surprisingly skinny television with a solid stand that is loaded with impressive features.
How does it work? If you're a stickler for picture quality, holy wow, this is the TV for you. I sampled a bunch of stuff on this and it all looked sublime: Netflix film Annihilation at 4K was superb, as was recent PS4 hit God of War and my go-to for TV testing, Grand Theft Auto V. But the best test is always a 4K blu ray copy of Planet Earth II - and the greens, the blues, the blacks and the whites looked simply sensational. Samsung says this is because its "inorganic Quantum Dot technology ... ensures that colour remains pure at high brightness across both light and dark scenes". That's some pretty techy jargon but I give it two solid thumbs up, dude.
What's its best feature? Two things stood out to me in my fortnight's trial. Firstly, I loved the ability to use voice control to change channels - even if my Kiwi accent occasionally tuned it to channel "10" instead of "two". And I loved the TV's always-on wallpaper mode. Not only did the TV match the colour of the walls in our lounge, but it also told me the time. If I owned one of these bad boys, I'd definitely be investing in a wall mount and saying goodbye to my ancient clock.
And what's the worst? These TVs are big, and clearly take some setting up. It took two Samsung experts about an hour to get this and an accompanying soundbar up and running. So find yourself a tech-savvy friend and set aside a solid afternoon if you're getting one delivered. You'll also want to tune that always-on display to your liking: it can display weather reports, news and, apparently, traffic updates.
So how much are they? You may want to sit down because Samsung's Q9F range isn't cheap. The 65-inch retails for $7999, while the 75-inch sits around the $14,999 mark. You can also pair it with the HW-N650 soundbar at $899, but I found the sub and soundbar set couldn't match my home theatre system. The TV? Colour me impressed.
