Tom's Guide Verdict
The improvements from last year’s Samsung S85F OLED to the S85H may be incremental, but after our testing this TV emerges as a massive winner amongst other mid-budget OLEDs. Its visuals, performance, and impressive gaming mode make it worth the premium price, and it should definitely be on your shortlist if you’re looking to buy a new TV in 2026.
Pros
- +
Outstanding picture quality
- +
Lots of picture modes to play around with
- +
AI Soccer Mode is a fun addition ahead of the World Cup
- +
Sleek, minimalist design with thin bezels
- +
Fantastic gaming mode
Cons
- -
No Dolby Vision support
- -
Bezels feel almost too thin during setup
- -
Lackluster sound system
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When I reviewed 2025’s mid-budget Samsung S85F OLED, I said that it transformed me from a Samsung skeptic into a genuine fan. Its successor, the S85H, is really only an incremental upgrade — similar to the differences between LG’s C5 and C6 OLEDs — but I still think it’s worth adding to your 2026 shortlist based on our lab tests and living with this set.
Like the S85F, the S85H brings stunning visuals, speedy performance, and an excellent gaming mode to the table. New additions include a better-performing OS, expanded AI features, and a 48-inch option for those who want a more compact TV. To see how the S85H stacked up against the S85F, I put the newly released OLED through its paces using our in-depth testing process (which you can read about more below in the “How we test TVs” section), and I came away pleased with my experience.
While you could safely buy an S85F at a deep discount and get a similar overall experience, you should still consider the S85H if you want to stay on the cutting edge of Samsung’s current OLED offerings. It’s not a monumental improvement in terms of picture quality and gaming features, but its updated processor will get you sharper streaming content and a bevy of AI optimization features that the S85F doesn’t. It’s a strong candidate to be one of the best OLED TVs of the year.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Price and release date
The Samsung S85H is part of Samsung’s 2026 OLED TV lineup. It launched in April 2026 for $1,999. We reviewed the 65-inch model, but it comes in four other sizes for you to choose from. Here’s a breakdown of your options:
- Samsung S85H OLED (48-inch): $1,099
- Samsung S85H OLED (55-inch): $1,299
- Samsung S85H OLED (65-inch): $1,699
- Samsung S85H OLED (77-inch): $2,399
- Samsung S85H OLED (83-inch): $3,999
These prices are in line with what the Samsung S85F launched at, but one notable change is the addition of a 48-inch model for 2026, which should fit nicely in smaller spaces like a bedroom or home office.
If you don’t want to pay full price for the 55-,65-,75-, or 83-inch models, you could always pick up last year’s S85F OLED. You’ll get a similar experience to the S85H (minus some features), and the 65-inch model is currently sitting at a $1,000 discount on Samsung’s website.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Design
The S85H, like the S85F, has an ultra-thin profile that looks super sleek at just 1.3 inches deep. Setting the TV up felt a little bit precarious — the S85H’s frame felt like it could snap in half if you held it the wrong way — but as long as you’re careful and have a second set of hands to help, it shouldn’t be an issue.
The TV utilizes the same stand setup that the S85F did, and while I generally prefer a central pedestal stand, Samsung’s dual legs work just fine. That’s because they can be placed in more than one configuration, one of them being pretty close to the center of the TV, which makes it compatible with a wider range of furniture.
The downside is that the legs don’t feel that sturdy, which isn’t great at this price point, but I didn’t notice any issues after getting them in place. If you want to avoid that altogether, you can always mount the S85H on the wall using a 300 x 200 mm VESA wall mount.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Ports
Besides a switch from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6E, the Samsung S85H has a nearly identical set of connectivity options to the S85F, which is good considering that the latter came with four HDMI 2.1 ports and was eARC-compatible in case you want to connect one of the best soundbars.
In addition to the HDMI ports, you’ll also find two USB-A ports, as well as an Ethernet port, antenna input, and 3.5mm jack. Unless you’re looking for an ATSC 3.0 tuner, which isn’t present on the S85H, it’s a pretty all-encompassing suite of ports … even if it’s mostly copy/pasted from last year’s model.
How we test TVs
We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subject tests designed to rate the set’s performance.
New for 2026 is an AI Soccer Mode, which optimizes the colors of team jerseys and the pitch, and amplifies both crowd and commentator voices — perfect for the FIFA World Cup.
For our technical tests, we use a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV calibration software to take measurements. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester for determining whether it’s one of the best gaming TVs.
Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer, but usually feature anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV.
For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Performance
To test out the S85H, I watched various films, shows, and YouTube content. I also spent some time playing games on the OLED using a base PlayStation 5 console.
I started with Netflix hits “Beef” Season 2 and “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners”. Both looked wonderful and detailed, boasting a deep range of colors and blacks. Switching over to 4K Ultra Blu-Ray copies of “Blade Runner 2049” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” yielded even better results at much greater detail. “Spider-Man” looked particularly good on the S85H, with its spectacular color palette and animation style popping off the screen in every scene.
The S85H has a wide breadth of picture modes for you to toy around with, including Standard, Eco, Vivid, Filmmaker, and more. Filmmaker is my preferred mode to watch most content in, which gives everything a warmer and cinematic tone that looks its best in a dark room, and is supposedly the closest to how a given piece of media was intended to look.
New for 2026 is an AI Soccer Mode, which optimizes the colors of team jerseys and the pitch, and amplifies both crowd and commentator voices — perfect for the FIFA World Cup. There’s also an option that completely cuts out commentary and prioritizes the ambient sounds of the stadium for a more immersive experience.
In practice, I thought this mode worked pretty well, but it oversaturates the screen in my opinion, especially when watching in a dark room. Still, the brightening of the field made it way easier to follow the action, and the audio adjustments did up the immersion factor a bit. I’m not sure I would use it to watch every game due to the overly vivid color saturation, but it’s a worthwhile feature that soccer fans should definitely check out.
Like the S85F, the S85H’s Game Mode is a huge highlight. Turning it on significantly reduces input lag and allows you to turn on helpful features like VRR, mini map zooming, aim reticles, and more. Playing through Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and 007 First Light was a treat — both were shown in stunning detail and color thanks to the S85H’s capabilities, and the former was even able to hit a buttery smooth 120 frames per second.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Test results
Similarly-priced TVs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Samsung S85H | Samsung S85F | LG B6 OLED | Samsung S90F |
SDR Brightness (10%, in nits) | 470 | 633 | 253 | 520 |
Delta-E (lower is better) | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.04 | 1.1 |
Rec. 709 Gamut Coverage | 99.9% | 113% | 98.8% | 100% |
HDR Brightness (10%, in nits) | 770 | 943 | 695 | 1,231 |
UHDA-P3 Gamut Coverage | 97.5% | 99.9% | 97.2% | 100% |
Rec. 2020 Gamut Coverage | 72.9% | 89.7% | 72.4% | 89% |
Input latency (in milliseconds) | 9.2 | 9.3 | 12.9/8.9 | 9.1 |
The Samsung S85H is a high performer amongst its competition in just about every category. While our test results show that it’s actually not as bright as its predecessor, the S85F, in either SDR or HDR brightness, it still beats the LG B6 OLED and gets very close to the SDR brightness of Samsung’s higher-tier S90F.
The S85H is also great for gaming thanks to its 9.2ms of input latency, which stacks up well against similarly-priced competition
When we measured the TV’s color accuracy (Delta-E) we saw that the S85H is a decent step up from the S85F. (Remember, the lower the number, the more accurate it is.) While not as accurate as the LG B6 (1.04) and Samsung S90F (1.1), the S85H is on par with both, and the difference between them shouldn’t be noticeable to the naked eye.
The S85H is also great for gaming thanks to its 9.2ms of input latency, which stacks up well against similarly-priced competition (the lower the result, the less lag-time there is between controller inputs and their on-screen responses). Combined with its SDR/HDR brightness, the S85H is a very balanced OLED that lends itself nicely to both gaming and watching content. However, if you do want to upgrade to the Samsung S90F OLED, you’ll get some clear gains in performance, including a class-leading 1,231 nits in peak HDR brightness, better color accuracy, and slightly better input latency performance.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Audio
I didn’t really notice any difference between the audio performance of the S85F and S85H. Unfortunately, neither is great. This is a common issue with stock TV speakers, which is why I always recommend picking up one of the best soundbars to balance out your setup, and if you get a Samsung soundbar, you can use the brand’s Q-Symphony feature that synchronizes your TV’s audio with the soundbar, making for a more immersive experience.
The S85H’s speakers aren’t terrible, but they do sound muffled in general. I had to crank up the volume pretty high to hear anything clearly, but I didn’t notice any crackling or buzzing within the speakers themselves. So, I think you can safely jack the volume up on this TV without doing damage (still, soundbars are the way to go).
The TV does have an AI Amplify mode for audio, which is meant to make spoken dialogue sound clearer. It worked okay in some instances, but in others, it sounded tinny and washed out all other sounds within a given scene. Your mileage may vary, however, so if you’re watching something with subpar sound mixing, you should give it a try.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Interface and apps
Samsung’s Tizen OS has never been my favorite — I prefer the simplicity of Roku’s interface — but the S85H’s interface has received a welcome upgrade in the form of One UI Tizen 2026. It doesn’t perform noticeably faster, but the home screen is more polished and organized, and more AI features have been integrated into the UI, like better personalized content recommendations. Samsung is now promising up to seven years of OS upgrades as well, which is a nice change.
The issues I had with the S85F are improved upon here, thanks to the more intuitive menu navigation pathing. Changing picture modes and swapping between apps feels more natural and less confusing. All in all, One UI Tizen 2026 feels more like “Tizen 2025.5” than a massive upgrade, but I’m happy with the quality-of-life updates that are here.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Remote
The S85H’s remote remains unchanged from the S85F, and I’m totally okay with that. I’m a big fan of Samsung’s streamlined, solar-powered remotes, and there’s not much that needs changing, in my opinion. It has everything you need to navigate the TV’s updated Tizen OS, including dedicated buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Samsung TV Plus, and picture settings.
The only downside is that it’s pretty small, so you’ll have to take care not to lose it between your couch cushions. Maybe in the next iteration, Samsung can include a remote finder — otherwise, not having to swap in fresh batteries all the time remains an awesome perk.
Samsung S85H OLED TV review: Verdict
The S85H delivers great performance, picture quality, and an excellent gaming mode for the price. Its minimalist design will appeal to many, and the new AI Soccer Mode will be a massive asset to soccer … sorry, football fans everywhere. You could save a nice chunk of change by getting last year’s model, but if you want the best that Samsung currently has to offer at this price, the S85H is the way to go.
If you’re looking for an alternative pick, the closest match that we’ve tested is the LG B6 OLED. The S85H beats it in both SDR and HDR brightness, but the B6 is more color accurate, and in my opinion, has a more full-featured gaming mode. If you want to splurge on an upgrade pick, the Samsung S90H would be a great choice, offering way better HDR brightness performance and overall color accuracy. You could really shell out and go for the flagship model, the S95H, if money is no object.
All in all, if you’re in the market for a new OLED but want to maintain a modest budget, the Samsung S85H is a strong choice even with its few shortcomings.
