After much speculation and hype, Samsung has finally released most of the details of its 2018 TV range - including initial pricing.
For the most part it looks like a promising step forward from Samsung’s inconsistent 2017 range - especially in its introduction of a new 8K model with ‘micro dimming’ technology, and in the way it uses direct LED lighting with local dimming in a few of its new 4K sets.
Samsung is also notably more competitive on price with its 2018 premium ‘QLED’ range than it was with 2017’s equivalent sets.
While the information below is all confirmed for the US market, I should stress that there are still a few potential international variations in the NU mid-range series. I’ll update this article when I’ve had final confirmation of where those regional differences may occur - though in truth the differences likely won’t be very profound; probably just range numbers shifting up or down by a series or two.
It is also likely that Samsung will add some ‘budget’ NU models a little later on in the year. When details are confirmed on these, I will, again, update this article accordingly.
The new QLED models
I’ve provided an in-depth look at the key new features of 2018’s QLED TVs in this separate article. So to keep things simple I’ll stick here to just a basic breakdown of the key differences between each new QLED series.
Q9SN series
Screen sizes (prices): 85-inch ($TBC, but likely tens of thousands of dollars)
8K resolution with direct LED lighting and new ‘micro-dimming’ precision light control system offering thousands of dimming zones. Likely won’t go on sale until the second half of the year.
My first impressions of the Q9SN series in action can be found here.
Q9FN series
Screen sizes (prices): 75-inch ($5,999.99), 65-inch ($3,799.99/£3,799), 55-inch (£2,799, Europe only)
4K Resolution with direct LED lighting and local dimming (hundreds of zones - likely 450-500). Brightness is claimed to reach 2000 nit peaks on this flagship model - and it’s nice to find a 55-inch model included in the flagship range this year, even if this 55-inch model is not currently scheduled to launch in the US.
The Q9FN also delivers a 60W, 4.2-channel sound system.
My full review of the 65Q9FN can be found here.
Q8FN series
Screen sizes (prices): 75-inch ($4,799.99), 65-inch ($2,999.99), 55-inch ($2,199.99)
4K resolution. In the US these will use direct LED lighting and local dimming, but with significantly less dimming zones than the Q9FN. Sound output drops to 40W in a 4.1-channel configuration.
In Europe, the Q8FN TVs will appear with edge LED lighting and less brightness than you get with the Q9FN.
A petition has been started to try and persuade Samsung to put direct lighting in the European Q8FN too, as reported here.
Q8CN series (Europe only)
Screen sizes (prices): 65-inch, 55-inch
4K resolution TV with edge LED lighting and local dimming. Essentially a curved version of the European Q8FN.
Q7CN series (US only)
Screen sizes (prices): 65-inch ($2,699.99), 55-inch ($1,999.99)
Curved 4K resolution TVs with edge LED lighting and local dimming. Peak brightness is still 1500 nits. These are the most premium curved TVs in the Samsung US range.
Q7FN series
Screen sizes (prices): 75-inch ($3,999.99), 65-inch ($2,599.99), 55-inch ($1,899.99)
4K Resolution TV with edge LED lighting and local dimming. Essentially flat versions of the US Q7CN models.
Q6FN series
Screen sizes (prices): 82-inch ($4,499.99), 75-inch ($3,499.99), 65-inch ($2,199.99), 55-inch ($1,499), 49-inch ($TBC)
4K resolution TV with edge LED lighting. They only carry ‘frame’ dimming rather than local dimming, though, meaning greatly reduced contrast. Peak brightness is down to around 1000 nits, too.
It’s also worth noting that while sound output remains rated at the same 40W level as the Q7 series, it’s here only delivered in a 2.1-channel configuration.
The Q6FNs are also the only QLED models in 2018 not to benefit from Samsung’s ultra-thin ‘invisible connection’ design feature. Plus they feature a more basic stand design, and don’t support the ‘gapless’ wall support available for the other 2018 QLEDs.
NU RANGE
All of the NU series of TVs for 2018 use ‘standard’ LED technologies rather than the Samsung’s metal-clad Quantum Dots found in the QLED models. This means they can’t deliver such extreme levels of brightness and color. It’s worth noting, too, that unlike the Q9FN and (US) Q8FN models, none of the NU models use contrast-friendly direct LED lighting, where the LEDs sit behind the screen. They’re all edge-lit. The pay-off with the NU models, of course, is that they’re significantly cheaper than Samsung’s QLED models.
NU8500 series
Screen sizes (prices): 65-inch ($1,799.99), 55-inch ($1,299.99)
The NU8500 series are curved 4K models capable of supporting HDR. In fact, as with all of Samsung’s QLED sets, the NU8500 will support Samsung’s new HDR10+ platform (with its dynamic metadata) as well as the industry standard HDR10 platform.
The NU8500 series uses Samsung’s (pre-QLED) Dynamic Crystal color technology to deliver a wider color gamut than you get from typical LCD TVs. Its edge LED system features local dimming, where separate segments of the lights can output different amounts of brightness to suit the picture. Though it won’t do this with as much precision as a TV with direct LED lighting and local dimming.
The NU8500s also maintain the same smart engine as Samsung’s QLED models (including, in the US, the Bixby voice assistant system), and still support Samsung’s new Auto Game Mode feature.
Their premium stand design features a new cable-tidying system that sees cables routed through the back of the stand’s support ‘neck’.
NU8000 series
Screen sizes (prices): 82-inch ($3,999.99), 75-inch ($3,499.99), 65-inch ($1,699.99), 55-inch ($1,199.99), 49-inch ($999.99)
This series is essentially the flat screen equivalent of the NU8500 series. As such, the only thing it lacks is the auto depth enhancement processing you get with all of Samsung’s curved TVs.
NU7300 series
Screen sizes (prices): 65-inch ($1,399.99), 55-inch ($799.99)
It's back to a curved screen design for this step-down series. There’s an immediate aesthetic difference between this series and the also-curved NU8500, though, since the NU7300 sets use a pair of feet tucked under each corner of the screen rather than the centrally connected stand of the NU8500s.
There’s still an attempt to keep cables tidy, though, via a channel built into the rear of the left mounting ‘foot’.
The NU7300s lose the Dynamic Crystal color system used on the NU8x00s, instead getting Samsung’s narrower spectrum PurColor engine. They also don’t appear to have any local dimming applied to their edge LED lighting systems, instead only being able to dim or boost all the LEDs together.
Smart features are broadly similar to those of the NU8x00s, but there isn’t any support for the Bixby voice assistant or the more expensive NU models’ Automatic Game Mode.
Note, too, that the NU7300s only have a 20W 2-channel sound system compared with the 40W of the NU8x00s, and only have three HDMIs versus the NU8x00s four.
NU7100 series
Screen sizes (prices): 75-inch ($2,399.99), 65-inch ($1,099.99), 55-inch ($899.99), 50-inch ($749.99)
These are essentially flat versions of the NU7100s.
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Samsung 2018 QLED TVs: Full Details Finally Revealed
Samsung Q9FN 2018 Flagship TV First Impressions
