Samsung QN990F Neo QLED hands-on review: the first wireless 8K TV
Wireless 8K gaming looks sharp and feels smooth
Pros
✅ 🛜 Wireless One Connect Box makes connecting your consoles and other device seamless
✅ 📶 30-foot wireless signal that works through TV cabinets and walls
✅ 🪞 Glare-Free technology eliminates any reflections without making the screen matte
✅ 📺 8K AI Upscaller makes lower resolution streaming and gaming look tack sharp
✅ 🎮 Gaming over wireless looks smooth and feels responsive
Cons
❌ 🤑 8K TV pricing is still expensive, 65-inch TVs start at $5,499
❌ 🚶🏻♂️ Wireless setup limits 8K gaming to 60Hz
Samsung 8K TVs have impressed me since they first debuted with thin panels, impressive speakers, and, of course, gob-smacking resolution. The Samsung QN990F Neo QLED, however, is a whole other level of awesome now that it is the first wireless 8K TV. The TV comes with a new Wireless One Connect Box that’s smaller than the PlayStation 2 Slim or any Blu-Ray player. This type of setup lets you simply wall mount this TV with only one power cable, while you can have all your consoles, Blu-Ray players, and other devices hooked up 30 feet away in a discreet cabinet or a totally different room.
Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box is truly impressive. It’s absolutely tiny, and it only needs a small USB-C adapter for power. What’s more, I was able to wirelessly play PS5 Pro games like Spider-Man 2 with more sharpness than I saw on a 4K TV, all with the same responsiveness and smoothness wired into a display. I’m even more excited to get this TV in for review so I can hook it up to a Nvidia RTX 5090 for real 8K gaming.
🛜 There are no strings on me. Easily, the biggest change in the Samsung QN990F Neo QLED is its Wireless One Connect Box – which it also shares with the Samsung Frame Pro. There are no inputs at all on the TV, aside from the power cable, so all your consoles and Blu-Ray players go to a breakout box with four HDMI 2.1 ports. This wireless box can transmit up to 4K 144Hz or 8K 60Hz signal up to 30 feet away. Samsung also said the wireless signal can work through a TV cabinet and even possibly a wall, depending on what it’s made of.
🫰 Easy setup. Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box is easily the smallest I’ve seen. It’s far smaller than the LG M5 OLED Evo’s Zero Connect Box and looks absolutely tiny next to the PS5 Pro. What’s even more impressive is this Wireless One Connect Box just needs a USB-C charger instead of some massive power supply.
🪞Glare-Free. Like the Samsung QN90F Neo QLED, this TV features Samsung’s new Glare-Free technology. As its name suggests, the new finish virtually eliminates glare and reflections to the point that the screen almost has a matte finish. However, unlike a matte display, it doesn’t cause the display to wash out contrast or colors.
📺 8K AI upscaling. This TV comes with a new NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor that adds a load of AI features, the most important of which is the 8K AI Upscaling Pro. The dearth of 8K content is still small, this new 8K AI upscaler promises to transform 4K, HD, and even standard-definition content into a 4,320p picture. I only got to stream some movies on Samsung TV Plus, but I can say it definitely helped make them look better on the QN990F Neo QLED’s huge screen size and resolution.
👾 8K gaming, finally? The 8K AI upscaling also did a fantastic job of making Spider-Man 2 look even sharper on the QN990F Neo QLED. The Wireless One Connect Box didn’t add any perceptible lag either. Web slinging and landing combos on enemies felt just as smooth and precise as plugging the console directly into the TV. Of course, the thing I’m most excited to test in a full review is plugging in the Nvidia RTX 5090 for some true 8K gaming.
🎥 The last 8K TV. If you’re looking for a new cutting-edge 8K TV, the Samsung QN990F Neo QLED is it. LG dropped out of the 8K race this year, and Sony released its last 8K TV in 2022, so Samsung is the only company making new super high-resolution screens.
