As good as Samsung’s first attempt at a flagship OLED television is, it’s not perfect. The electronic’s giant has clearly shown that it can make the switch from QLED to OLED seamless, but rest assured that Samsung isn’t the only OLED game in town.
Regardless of the reason, if you are looking for an alternative to the Samsung S95B, you are going to have some outstanding options available to choose from. Models from LG and Sony, in particular, help dominate a list of potential alternatives, all with their own standout features.
Let’s take a look at the best alternatives to the Samsung S95B you can pick today.
- Best Overall: LG C2
- Best Splurge: Sony A95K
- Best Premium: LG G2
- Best Smart TV: Sony A80K
- Best Value: Hisense U8H
- Best QLED: Samsung QN90B
Best Overall: LG C2
- Alexa built-in
- 4K with 120Hz refresh rate
- AI-powered
- Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos
- WiSA Ready
- Cloud Gaming
- Renewed
When it comes to the best OLED televisions overall, the LG C2 has long been at the top of many lists.
Widely considered the best OLED on the market when considering overall quality against price, the LG C2 is going to be an easy alternative recommendation for anyone no longer considering the Samsung S95B. Everything about the LG C2 centers around its excellent Alpha 9 Gen 5 AI Processor 4K, which automatically adjusts screen quality for the best possible picture.
Speaking of picture quality, the LG C2 has one of the best OLED panels on the market when considering its overall brightness, excellent contrast, and deep blacks. Both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos come together to provide an even better picture and with a billion colors available, the 8 million pixels within the LG C2 OLED panel really come alive. Add in LG Game Optimizer mode with VRR and HDMI 2.1, and you have a television that’s as good for games as it is for movies and television shows.
One final highlight of the LG C2 is that it includes LG’s Gallery technology so when the TV is not in use, it can transform by showing contemporary art on the screen.
Check out the LG C2 on Amazon.
Best Splurge: Sony A95K
- Quantum Dot color with QD-OLED panel and XR Triluminos Max
- XR OLED Contrast Pro technology
- Great for PlayStation 5
- HDMI 2.1 120Hz refresh rate
If you’re willing to pay the cost of admission to the Sony A95K party, you’re in for a very good time.
Costing just under $3,000, the A95K is almost double the price at the same 65-inch screen size, but for the money, you are getting a television that is so good for movies, it will make you forget all about going to the theater. Quantum Dot technology on Sony’s QD-OLED panel provides some of the best brightness and saturation available for any television and holds up very well when compared side-by-side to the S95B. Add in XR OLED Contrast Pro technology and you not only have a truly realistic picture, but also very deep blacks and near-perfect brightness levels.
PlayStation 5 owners will also want to take note of the Sony A95K as the two pieces of hardware sync up flawlessly. Input lag is as low as 8.5ms, plus you receive 120 FPS with HDMI 2.1 ports and picture quality improves across all games with Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Switch. When gaming is over, switch to the Google TV interface and find all of your favorite streaming services like Netflix, Peacock, Apple TV and Disney+.
Check out the Sony A95K on Amazon.
Best Premium: LG G2
- Built-in support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay, HomeKit, and more
- Self-lit OLED pixels create a picture quality like no other in our new OLED evo Gallery Edition
- Highest contrast, perfect black and the brightest colors ever seen in an LG OLED
- The latest a9 Gen5 AI Processor 4K, engineered exclusively for LG OLED to automatically adjust your settings to improve picture and sound qualities
- Get in the action the way directors intended with Filmmaker Mode—and enhance every moment with Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos
- NVIDIA G-SYNC, FreeSync Premium and VRR to experience real-time action
- LG Game Optimizer and 4 HDMI 2.1 ports to get you (and keep you) in the action
Stepping up from the LG C2 to the LG G2 makes it hard to envision finding a better picture than the C2, but the LG G2 does exactly that.
Taking everything great about its younger sibling and making it better, the LG G2 is the company’s flagship model for all the right reasons. Even the frame with its almost bezel-less design is something to behold as it adds LG’s Gallery Edition features for hanging flat against the wall and displaying artwork when not in use.
When you do want to watch television, the Alpha 9 gen 5 AI Processor 4K takes over and enables an outstanding picture. More than 8 million pixels provide incredibly deep blacks without sacrificing any contrast whatsoever. The inclusion of Brightness Booster Max gives the LG G2 another edge over the C2 by going up to 30% bright with an OLED evo panel, LG’s best panel ever.
Finally, AI Sound Pro takes full advantage of the LG G2’s premium offering by adding a 7.1.2 virtual surround sound across two-channel audio. The sound comes in handy when viewing movies with Filmmaker Mode for a real home theater experience.
Check out the LG G2 on Amazon.
Best Smart TV: Sony A80K
- Cognitive Processor XR understands how humans see the real world to deliver intense contrast with deep blacks, high peak brightness, and natural colors
- XR OLED Contrast Pro technology allows you to feel the beauty of OLED with immersive depth and realism, pure black, and lifelike brightness
- Billions of accurate colors and impressive picture quality that is natural and beautiful, enhanced by XR OLED Triluminos Pro
- Input lag as low as 8.5ms and BRAVIA XR exclusive features for the PlayStation 5 – Auto HDR Tone Mapping & Auto Genre Picture Switch
- BRAVIA XR TVs with HDMI 2.1 features such as 4K/120, VRR, and ALLM
- Google TV with Google Assistant organizes your favorite content all in one place
- Stream from Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, HBO Max, Peacock and many more
- Also, stream from your Apple device with AirPlay 2 support
- Enjoy streaming high-quality 4K UHD quality movies included with the BRAVIA CORE app, exclusively on select Sony TVs
When you are looking for the best smart interface for any TV, grab yourself a Sony A80K and its Google TV interface.
Roku, webOS, and Tizen all have their own sets of strengths but Google TV is the current king of the hill. The user-friendly experience on the Sony A80K makes it easy to navigate, discover, and add your favorite streaming services as well as thousands of downloadable apps from the Play Store. More than 700,000 movies and TV episodes are available plus more than 800 channels of live television.
As soon as you are done downloading apps, you’ll turn your focus to the beauty that is the Sony A80K screen. Powered by Sony’s intelligent Cognitive Processor XR, you’ll discover some of the most detailed blacks and natural colors in Sony’s OLED TV lineup. This is even more true when you factor in both XR OLED Contrast Pro Technology, which adds lifelike brightness and XR Triluminos Pro for natural picture quality that looks as if you are capturing live photos.
Last but not least are all of the right features for getting the most out of your PS5 like VRR, 4K at 120Hz and HDMI 2.1. Combined, these features help make sure the Sony A80K is a near complete package.
Check out the Sony A80K on Amazon.
Best Value: Hisense U8H
- Exclusive ULED technologies
- Quantum dot wide color gamut
- Up to 1500 nits peak brightness
- Dolby Vision HDR picture and Dolby Atmos sound
- Native 120Hz refresh rate
While the Hisense name doesn’t carry the same quality cache as Sony or Samsung, writing off the Hisense U8H would be the wrong approach.
For its sub $1,000 price tag, this is a wonderful alternative to the Samsung S95B for those looking to get some similar features without spending hundreds of dollars more. For the price with the U8H, you receive 4K ULED, which is Hisense’s exclusive technology that provides a boost across color, contrast, and brightness. Things with the picture only get better when you factor in the inclusion of Quantum Dot technology which creates over a billion color combinations.
Similar to the Samsung S95B, you get Dolby Atmos included but the Hisense also includes Dolby Vision for a double Dolby dose of realism and sound no matter what you are watching. A 120Hz refresh rate is welcome as is motion smoothing both of which play well with HDMI 2.1 ports. These three features all come together to make the Hisense U8H a relatively inexpensive gaming television that can bring the best out of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
Last but not least is the idea that the Hisense U8H can get over 1,500 nits of peak brightness while the Samsung S95B only achieves a max of 1,300.
Check out the Hisense U8H on Amazon.
Best QLED: Samsung QN90B
- Powered by a huge grid of Samsung’s ultra precise Quantum Mini LEDs
- With Quantum HDR 32X and its wide range of vivid shades of color, you’ll discover all the nuances in the latest movies and shows made for High Dynamic Range
- The Neo Quantum Processor 4K uses AI based deep learning to analyze your content and optimize it to full 4K
- You’ve got the best view from every seat. Designed to reduce glare and deliver brilliant color across your screen, Ultra Viewing Angle makes sure you’ve got amazing picture quality, from virtually anywhere in the room
Even as Samsung has turned its focus to QD-OLED for future flagship televisions, its QLED models are still well worth considering. As an alternative to the pricier Samsung S95B, the Samsung QN90B deserves a good look at just under $1,600.
As a QLED television, Samsung packed the screen with Mini LEDs as part of its Quantum Matrix technology that provides excellent color and contrast. Colors look even better with Quantum HDR 32X which brings everything on the screen to life with vivid color correction which shines through in movies.
The Neo Quantum Processor not only uses deep learning to analyze and provide the best possible 4K content but it does the same to help upscale non-4K content all the way to 4K quality. Watching a 4K program from anywhere on a sofa is going to be welcomed with the QN90B’s excellent success rate at reducing glares even with an ultra-wide viewing angle.
No matter where you sit, Object Tracking Sound+ puts the speakers behind the screen, so wherever a sound on the screen appears, that’s exactly where you will hear the sound emanate from.
Check out the Samsung QN90B on Amazon.
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What to Know Before Buying an Alternative to the Samsung S95B
Before you buy any alternative to the Samsung S95B, it’s important to know what you are looking for and why. First and foremost, you’re likely looking for similar OLED panel quality but with different features or potentially, a lower price tag. There is no question that the S95B is Samsung’s best panel ever but OLED has been around for Sony and LG for a while now so they have had years of learnings to lean on and improve their own televisions.
The LG C2, in particular, has for the last two years been widely considered the best OLED panel on the market. Now, with OLED evo, LG has upped its game even more so it’s something to consider in terms of getting 30% stronger brightness. As brightness is one of the S95B’s biggest calling cards, comparing the two televisions side-by-side might help you lean in one direction or another.
The same goes for sound; Samsung’s object tracking technology versus LG’s virtual surround sound are two competing technologies and there are lots of opinions on which one is better. Most importantly is for gamers who might otherwise want to skip the Samsung S95B in favor of a Sony television like the A95K that integrates in the best possible way with the PlayStation 5.
Using an Alternative to the Samsung S95B: What It’s Like
Using the Samsung S95B is a welcome addition to the Samsung TV lineup as it really isn’t a stretch to say it’s one of the best televisions they have ever made. However, the same can be said for the LG C2 and G2 as they are the two best televisions LG has ever made and likely the same argument applies to the Sony A95K. These are all really great televisions and will no doubt give you the best picture you have ever owned.
What does matter and can often be quickly overlooked in favor of OLED panel discussions is the smart operating system. Samsung’s Tizen system is not for everyone and it might be a factor in which TV you purchase. Sony’s switch to Google TV is going to be the easiest pickup-and-go solution for most people and dare it said that it’s also the most user-friendly. LG’s webOS system is somewhere in the middle but if you want to keep things simple, a non-Samsung S95B alternative is what you need.
The same can be said for the price as you want to make sure you are not spending too much on features you don’t need. This very much applies to the Sony A95K as it’s a big investment for most people who won’t be able to tell much of a panel difference between it and the LG C2, which is half the price.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock.com.
