I can’t think of a better time to be in the market for a gaming display. Among the best TVs are countless Mini LED and OLED panels with high refresh rates, low-latency technologies, and superb colour levels. You can add the Samsung S95F OLED to that list of high-calibre gaming TVs; I recently saw it in person for the first time and haven’t stopped thinking about it.
It was in the unlikeliest of settings, too. I was at the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience in Melbourne to preview the new console ahead of its June launch. After some time spent playing Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, I remarked to one of Nintendo’s staffers how good the TVs looked. They weren’t sure what model it was, beyond the subtle Samsung logo printed on the TV’s thin frame.
Then, by pure chance, I bumped into a Samsung representative, who confirmed to me that the TV seen at every corner of Nintendo’s exhibition was the S95F OLED. Anyone nearby would’ve seen my jaw hit the floor, Looney Tunes style.
To contextualise my shock, I’ve been to many game exhibitions and previews before. It’s common practice to see a range of different TVs and monitors, usually bought on the cheap to save costs. To see so many $4,000+ TVs strewn across an expo short-circuited something in my brain.
Clearly, Nintendo and Samsung buddied up as part of some sort of cross-promotion. Alternatively, Nintendo borrowed some of Mario’s many coins to go all-out for its public showcase.
Either way, the result was stunning. GadgetGuy‘s Valens Quinn has previously raved about the S95F, and now I know why from firsthand experience.
Samsung S95F OLED TV flexes its gaming credentials
I spent almost as much time watching other people play games as I did playing them at Nintendo’s hands-on event. To say I was impressed by what I saw would be a grand understatement.
OLED TVs have a wide viewing angle, meaning the brightness and colours maintain accuracy even when viewed from near side-on. As for Samsung’s flagship OLED TV, its deeply saturated colours suited Nintendo’s signature aesthetic to a tee.
Nintendo’s upcoming hardware is the company’s first console to support 4K in addition to a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It meant that seeing Mario powerslide around corners, and Donkey Kong punching through destructible environments, looked a visual treat. There was also the added benefit of a 1:1 response time when using the Switch 2 mouse controls while playing Metroid Prime 4, which also looked fantastic.
Because of the tightly controlled nature of the event, I couldn’t spend time flicking through TV settings to see what was happening under the hood (it’s also why the back of my noggin had to be in every close-up photo). I normally like tinkering with contrast levels and colours, but it was also good to see how the S95F looked out of the box.
Based on an extended session playing Mario Kart World, the colours looked vibrant without being overblown. Sure, Nintendo doesn’t aim for hyper-realism, but it’s still great to see a wide colour palette that doesn’t look like it’s been run through an obnoxious Instagram filter.
At one point, I was filmed for a 7 News story while playing Bananza. Although the footage didn’t make the final cut, it was a good test for the S95F’s anti-glare coating. Even with the camera operator’s bright light pointed at me and the screen, I didn’t notice any harsh reflections and was completely unbothered while playing as my simian king.
I don’t anticipate a film crew documenting my living room gaming sessions, but the brief experience made me a believer in the TV’s anti-glare claims. A direct competitor to the LG G5 OLED series, the Samsung S95F is a more than worthy gaming TV.
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