Samsung just launched a new Micro RGB TV. Its colors are stunning, but there are still reasons to buy an OLED instead.

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Micro RGB is being positioned as the next big thing in TV technology. Its main selling point is its enhanced color, which is a step above even the best OLED, QLED, and Mini LED sets. Samsung was one of the first brands to release a Micro RGB TV last year with its giant 115-inch MR95F. That massive display cost an equally massive $30,000. And now, the brand is ready to bring Micro RGB to the masses with a much more affordable model: the R95H.

The R95H is available for a starting price of $3,200, with sizes ranging from 65 to 85 inches. Though still positioned as a flagship model, that's rather reasonable for a high-end display with such new tech. But as one of the first consumer-friendly Micro RGB sets to hit the market, the R95H has a lot to prove. Does it offer a proper showcase of what Micro RGB is all about? To find out, I visited Samsung's New Jersey headquarters, where I got an early hands-on look at the R95H in action.

Based on my initial testing, the R95H does deliver exceptional color performance. In fact, it has the widest color gamut I've ever measured on a TV. But, while the TV's color is impressive, that's only one part of good picture quality. In other areas — like brightness, contrast, and viewing angles — the R95H still falls short of other high-end sets, including Samsung's own flagship S95H OLED.

To be clear, my impressions here are based on initial testing, so this isn't meant to be a final review. I plan to revisit the R95H to conduct a more in-depth evaluation with additional impressions soon. But based on what I've seen so far, the R95H is both promising and a bit underwhelming. It's a good TV with standout color, but I don't think it's the OLED killer some were hoping for.

The TV has a handsome, glare-free design

The R95H is available in 65-, 75-, and 85-inch screen sizes, with prices ranging from $3,200 to $6,500. Those are reasonable launch prices for a TV that uses new display technology. In fact, that's a bit less than Samsung is charging for its latest high-end OLED, the S95H, which costs $3,400 in a 65-inch screen.

All three sizes use Samsung's new Micro RGB panel technology and support refresh rates up to 165Hz. Four HDMI 2.1 ports are built into the panel, which is great to see on a premium TV. The R95H also supports an optional wireless One Connect Box, which adds four more HDMI 2.1 ports for users who want a cleaner installation and more flexible hookup options.

From a design perspective, the R95H looks every bit like a modern flagship Samsung TV. It uses the company's "Infinity Air" pedestal stand, which features a sleek, mirror-like finish. The bezels are thin all around with a minimal border, helping the screen feel more immersive, and the panel itself is fairly slim at around 1.2 inches thick.

Like other high-end Samsung TVs, the R95H uses the company's latest glare-free screen technology. This tech uses a matte-like finish to reduce reflections, and it works remarkably well. If you're placing your TV in a room with a lot of light that's tricky to control, this can be a genuinely game-changing benefit. Reflections are one of the biggest issues that can get in the way of watching TV during the day, and Samsung's solution remains one of the most effective I've seen.

That said, I'm still a bit torn about the overall look of the glare-free finish. Though it reduces reflections, it can also make black levels appear slightly lighter in bright rooms, lowering perceived contrast. Some viewers will love this approach, while others may prefer the richer black levels of a glossy panel.

The TV also includes Samsung's SolarCell remote, which has a clean, minimalist shape and doesn't require batteries. Instead, the SolarCell remote is charged by sunlight or indoor lighting. I do wish the remote were backlit like some TCL and Hisense models, but never having to worry about batteries is definitely convenient.

The R95H delivers stunning color, but other areas aren't quite as impressive

When it comes to image quality, the R95H is an impressive display and a solid showcase for what Micro RGB tech is all about. While traditional LED, QLED, and Mini LED TVs use a white or blue backlight with a color filter or quantum dots, Micro RGB TVs use individual red, green, and blue LEDs in their backlight. This allows the backlight itself to produce color. In theory, this enables a Micro RGB display to deliver a purer, wider range of colors than other TV technologies, including OLED.

Other brands are also introducing similar types of RGB backlights. Hisense is marketing its tech as RGB Mini LED, while Sony is calling its tech True RGB. For its part, Samsung says there's more to its Micro RGB terminology than just branding. It says the actual LEDs it uses are smaller than those in RGB Mini LED TVs, which helps achieve more precise color and contrast control.

This could also minimize an issue that some RGB-backlit TVs are prone to: crosstalk. Since these TVs use colored lights, that light can sometimes bleed into neighboring parts of the image where it doesn't belong. For example, a bright red object against a white background could tint the surrounding white area red. To prevent this during tricky scenes, some RGB-backlit TVs go so far as to revert to a white or blue backlight, which negates the benefit they're supposed to have in the first place.

Samsung says the R95H does not behave like that and only uses its RGB backlight. In my limited testing time, I didn't see any obvious signs of crosstalk, though I'll need more time with varied content to make a full judgment.

Using a colorimeter with Calman software and test patterns from a Portrait Displays G1 pattern generator, I measured around 91% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut in the TV's Filmmaker HDR mode. That's the widest BT.2020 coverage I've ever measured on a TV, and it's clear evidence that Samsung's Micro RGB tech offers a genuine advancement.

At the same time, however, it's important to keep that result in perspective. Most movies and TV shows don't actually need to display such an expansive color range. So while having access to that wider gamut is certainly a benefit, it's more of a forward-looking advantage than something that radically enhances the look of most content right now.

And though the TV is basically unmatched in color, the same can't be said for other picture-quality areas. Take brightness, for example. I measured a peak of around 1,600 nits on a 10% HDR window. This was with the TV in Filmmaker mode and with any auto-brightness adjustment features off. That's enough to deliver solid HDR performance, but it's lower than I expected for a flagship TV.

For comparison's sake, TCL's midrange QM7K delivers 1,700 nits of peak brightness and is often on sale for $900. Of course, the R95H outperforms the QM7K in other areas, but it's a bit surprising that the R95H isn't brighter. Even Samsung's own S95H OLED can reach 2,780 nits, which is substantially brighter.

Now, I wasn't able to measure brightness across every mode and pattern size during my testing session, so it's possible the TV can reach higher numbers in certain cases with some adjustments. I'll take additional measurements when I get more hands-on time with the TV to see if there are ways to improve its brightness.

But while dimmer than I'd like, that doesn't mean the R95H's HDR performance is weak. Far from it. In actual viewing, the TV still delivered a great HDR image with gorgeous colors, good local dimming, and solid overall contrast. In challenging test scenes I use from Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," the R95H handled itself well and only showed minor backlight issues. Black levels were controlled well, and the image maintained good depth.

A candlelit test scene also showed good contrast performance, though I could see a slight hint of blooming when moving off-angle. That's not unusual for a premium LED-based TV, but it is a reminder that this set still can't match OLED's pixel-level contrast control.

Color, of course, is where the R95H most clearly separates itself. "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Aquaman" both looked excellent here, with vibrant, bold hues that appeared rich and intense without crossing over into oversaturation.

Another strength is gradient handling. Smooth gradients are essential for avoiding color banding, especially in darker material. Here, the R95H impressed me. I didn't see distracting banding in any of the content I watched, including my usual "Ex Machina" test sequence, which features harsh red lighting that can trip up many displays.

The scene looked very smooth on the R95H, but it also revealed one of Micro RGB's limitations compared to OLED: viewing angles. When I moved off to the side, the red tones shifted toward orange. So even though this display can outperform OLED in color gamut, it still falls behind in off-axis consistency.

This is really the take-home message of the R95H's picture quality. It reaches a new level in one aspect of image performance, and that deserves recognition. But premium TVs aren't judged by a single metric. And while the R95H is certainly very good overall, it doesn't appear to match Samsung's own OLEDs enough in other key areas to make its case feel obvious.

To that point, I also got hands-on with Samsung's new S95H and S90H OLED TVs during my visit to the brand's New Jersey headquarters, and though the R95H looked great, I couldn't help but be more drawn to those OLEDs.

The Tizen smart TV platform has been streamlined

Samsung's Tizen smart TV system remains perfectly decent, even if it's not my favorite. I continue to prefer platforms like Google TV and Roku, which I find a bit more intuitive. Still, Tizen gets the job done, and anyone already invested in Samsung's ecosystem should feel right at home.

The interface has been tweaked for 2026, with various sections now housed in a horizontal menu at the top of the screen rather than a vertical menu on the left. Content recommendations are also less in-your-face. This all makes navigation feel simpler and cleaner, but it also gives the homepage a more sparse, almost bare-bones appearance. Some users might appreciate this less cluttered presentation, while others may find it a little empty.

Voice control is supported through Bixby or Amazon Alexa, and you can use either the included remote or the TV's built-in microphones for hands-free commands. Samsung's Gaming Hub is also integrated, supporting cloud services like Xbox Game Pass.

Like Samsung's QLED lineup, the R95H offers access to the Art Store, which lets the TV display classic and contemporary artwork. A subscription is required for the full catalog, but Samsung includes a rotating selection of 30 free pieces each month. That's a nice bonus for users who want the TV to double as a decor piece in their living room.

Microsoft Copilot AI is built in as well, offering chatbot-style functions. This is one of those nice-to-have features that I don't find all that necessary. Sure, it's cool that you can ask your TV to plan a trip or answer complex questions, but I can already do that on my phone or computer.

All told, the R95H's smart features are solid and in line with what I'd expect from a high-end Samsung TV. There's nothing here that feels like a dramatic differentiator, but there doesn't need to be.

Should you buy the Samsung R95H?

Based on my initial testing, the Samsung R95H is a good TV and a solid debut for an affordable Micro RGB. It does indeed push color performance to a new level, and that alone makes it a worthy premium display that's among the top Samsung TVs available

But excellent image quality is about more than just color. And on that front, the R95H falls behind some of the very best TVs on the market. Its brightness is decent, but not impressive for a flagship. Its local dimming, contrast, and viewing angles are all good for an LED-based TV, but still not at the level of an OLED.

That leaves the R95H in an awkward position. It proves that Micro RGB has real promise, but it doesn't yet make the case for why buyers should choose this technology over similarly priced OLEDs, including Samsung's own S95H, which is brighter, has higher contrast, and wider viewing angles. The R95H does have better color performance, but the best OLED TVs are no slouch in that regard.

To be fair, this is still a first-look evaluation based on early testing, and I plan to revisit the R95H with a more in-depth review in the near future. My opinion could shift once I've had more time to live with the TV and dig deeper into its performance. A lot will also hinge on how Samsung's Micro RGB tech stacks up against competing RGB-backlit TVs from other brands.

For now, the R95H is an impressive achievement in TV color performance, but based on what I've seen so far, I'd still rather buy one of the brand's OLEDs.