As promised in December, Samsung has launched new Micro RGB TVs that bring the tech way downmarket with two new models that will cost far less than the $30,000, 115-inch MR95F the company released last year. The new models – R95H and R85H – will start at just $1,599.99 and $3,199.99, respectively, and range in size from 55 inches to 85 inches, with a 100-inch model coming later this year.
IGN’s Jacqueline Thomas got some hands-on time with, and snapped pictures of, the new TV at a recent Samsung press briefing. She says they offered “incredible” colors, but that they weren’t super bright. She streamed Cyberpunk 2077 via Xbox Cloud Gaming, and while it was too laggy to enjoy the gameplay, she said the rich colors seemed good for movies, but felt that menus in that game were a bit oversaturated. That wasn’t an issue with the FF3 Pixel Remaster, though, so perhaps it’s not universal.
She also watched Bad Batch, which she thought had really nice blacks that let colors pop, while the color in Alien Earth looked “genuinely amazing.” Still, the TV was on the dim side, she found.
For the uninitiated, Micro RGB is the latest TV technology aimed at unseating OLED as the color and contrast king. Although Jacqueline found the TVs a bit dim, one of the advantages of the tech is supposed to be that it can get brighter without risking burn-in than an OLED. In my own experience with the tech (I saw the 115-inch model at CES earlier this year), I agree, at least with her assessment of the color: Samsung’s Micro RGB panels are vibrant as all-get-out – smartphone pictures, of course, don’t do it justice.
Micro RGB is not a perfect OLED replacement, though – it still uses zoned backlighting, like what you’d see on a Mini LED TV, so you’ll see blooming around edges in very high-contrast scenes. The advantage Micro RGB has over a normal Mini LED is that its LEDs beam red, blue, and green light, rather than white light, which should mean richer colors overall.
To that end, Samsung says all of its Micro RGB TVs can cover 100% of the BT.2020 color space. For reference, various tech outlets’ measurements of IGN’s favorite gaming TV, the Samsung S90F QD-OLED, range between around 80% (Rtings) and 90% (TechRadar). Both models support HDR10+ Advanced and Dolby Atmos sound, and will have four HDMI ports, AirPlay and Google Cast support, Samsung’s One UI OS, and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
Key differences between them includes their refresh rate – the R95H offers a 165Hz variable refresh rate, while the R85H is limited to a piddly 144Hz variable refresh rate. (I kid; it’s not piddly. 144Hz is still great.) The R95H also gets more powerful image processing afforded by Samsung’s Micro RGB AI Engine Pro chip versus the R85H’s Micro RGB AI Engine chip. The pricier model also gets the company’s fancy “Glare Free Technology” anti-glare coating, while the R85H doesn’t. Also, the former gets an adjustable stand that the latter lacks.
The last difference will be in available sizes and prices. The R95H comes in 85-inch ($6,499.99), 75-inch ($4,499.99), and 65-inch ($3,199.99) options, while the R85H features those same sizes at $3,999.99, $2,799.99, and $2,099.99, respectively, but adds a 55-inch model at $1,599.99. None of them are cheap, of course, but remember: you’d have to buy four of the biggest of those to match the price of the 115-inch MR95F. Later this year, Samsung says it will release a 100-inch version of the S95H, but did not reveal pricing.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom’s Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn’t be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.
