The Samsung Q70 is nice information for individuals on some sort of a price range who need the slick design and options of a Samsung however nonetheless worth image high quality. It’s not low-cost by any means, however it’s the least-expensive Samsung QLED TV to function full-array native dimming (FALD), which provides it a wonderful image.Samsung graces its finest LCD TVs with the QLED title, however do not confuse it with LG’s OLED fashions. QLED and OLED are positively not the identical, and in our assessments OLED has all the time overwhelmed QLED. Unfortunately higher-end QLED TVs just like the Q80 and Q90, to not point out Samsung’s 8K fashions, are actually costly, occupying the identical excessive finish of the market as OLED TVs. The Q70, in the meantime, prices lots of much less, making it the very best worth in QLED TVs this yr.
In my comparability assessments in opposition to different FALD-equipped units just like the cheaper Vizio M8 and more-expensive Sony X950G, the Q70 held its personal. Overall picture high quality was wonderful, and whereas black ranges weren’t fairly as deep as some rivals, particularly in excessive dynamic vary (HDR) video, brightness and pop had been nonetheless nice, particularly in vibrant rooms, and the Q70’s shade and video processing had been additionally top-notch.Samsung additionally slathers on the options, extras and design perks. It consists of Ambient Mode — sort of like a screensaver for if you’re not watching TV — a slick cable administration system and a very good Smart TV suite anchored by the Apple TV app and AirPlay, the previous unique to Samsung (for now). On the draw back, the one built-in voice system continues to be Bixby.All informed the Q70 strikes a compelling stability between worth, image high quality and the sorts of options and design you’ll be able to solely get from a Samsung TV. It’s not pretty much as good a price because the TCLs and Vizios of the world, but it surely’s probably not attempting to be.View full gallery
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Slickness by SamsungSamsung TVs all the time go the additional mile in design, feeling and looking a step above many others, and the Q70 is not any exception. There’s nothing distinctive about its front-facing components — commonplace super-thin border and black stand legs — except you rely the truth that the underside fringe of the body (thicker on many TVs) is identical width as the highest and sides. But the again is actually cool, with a modern channel that stretches the size of the TV and permits you to conceal cables, and even run them by means of the legs. View full gallery
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The Q70 boasts Samsung’s Ambient mode, which is designed to point out stuff on the display screen if you’re not watching TV. It’s a cool function should you do not like the massive black rectangle of an inert TV, and might show your photographs, designer artwork, the climate, headlines and even alter backgrounds to match your wall. Samsung retains including to the secure of ambient mode content material, and most of it’s free. The distant is the nicest of any TV, with a small manageable dimension and button rely. Dedicated buttons for Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are new for 2019, and welcome. View full gallery
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Bixby on TV, now hands-freeThe topmost distant key summons Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant and, as you may anticipate, a far cry from Google Assistant on Sony and LG TVs (LG’s 2019 units even have Alexa built-in). Bixby was effective for fundamental instructions like launching apps and altering quantity, and searches like “show me comedies” had been acknowledged, though the checklist of outcomes wasn’t as well-put collectively as Google Assistant’s. It was additionally annoying that merely to see climate outcomes I needed to dive deep right into a permissions part.Bixby is disabled fully inside Netflix. That’s not the case with Google Assistant, for instance, which functioned usually whether or not or not I used to be in Netflix. And should you care about good house integration, Bixby — which ties into Samsung’s SmartIssues universe — cannot work with almost as many gadgets as Google Assistant or Alexa.View full gallery
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New for 2019 you’ll be able to set Bixby to work hands-free, with out having to push a button on the distant. Instead you say “Hey Bixby” and the distant’s mic — wherever it’s, sitting in your espresso desk for instance — “hears” the command and prompts Bixby. It labored effective in my assessments however had bother when the quantity from the TV was too loud or the distant too distant, and total did not appear as delicate as an Alexa speaker. This perform is disabled by default and you’ll flip it on or off within the Bixby settings menu.New for 2019, Samsung TVs additionally work with Alexa and Google Home ($99 at Walmart) audio system, like most different TVs out there as we speak. I did not take a look at this function.View full gallery Apple’s TV app lives in Samsung’s app tray.
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Apple and Samsung, like chocolate and peanut butterAside from Bixby, Samsung’s good TV system is great, with fast responses and loads of apps. I nonetheless like Roku higher total, nonetheless, as a result of it has much more apps and will get options updates rapidly. Roku does not have Apple but, nonetheless.The largest addition for 2019 Samsung good TVs is the flexibility to work with Apple content material and gadgets, specifically the Apple TV app and iPhones, iPads and Mac computer systems through AirPlay. The Apple TV app is welcome should you purchased a whole lot of stuff on iTunes — it permits quick access to your bought TV reveals and films, and allows you to purchase or hire new ones — or should you subscribe to Apple TV channels like HBO or Showtime. Unlike the app on Apple TV packing containers, nonetheless, it may’t present content material from apps like Hulu, Amazon Prime or ESPN. Instead you will must launch these apps individually on the TV.
AirPlay labored effectively in my testing, though it is value noting that it not helps Netflix. I used to be capable of fireplace up my iPhone to share photographs and video to the Q70’s display screen from the Photos app. Screen mirroring additionally labored as anticipated and was capable of play movies on the TV, and management them from the telephone, through Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube and YouTube TV. Mirroring my Mac display screen additionally labored too; the TV confirmed up as an choice on my Mac’s AirPlay menu and I used to be capable of stream video in a browser window. It was a bit choppier on the Samsung than through an Apple TV 4K, nonetheless.Features and connectivityFull-array native dimming units the Q70 aside from cheaper Samsung TVs. This expertise, which improves LCD picture high quality considerably in our expertise, boosts black ranges and distinction by making sure areas of the image dimmer or brighter in response to what’s on the display screen. The step-up Q80 and Q90 have extra dimming zones and a brighter picture than the Q70, in line with Samsung, however the firm does not say precisely what number of zones every has. Those two TVs even have superior viewing angles and anti-reflective screens in comparison with the Q70.Key TV options
Display expertise
LED LCD
LED backlight
Full array with native dimming
Resolution
4K
HDR appropriate
HDR10 and HDR10+
Smart TV
Tizen
Remote
Standard with voice
Like all of Samsung QLED TVs, the Q70’s LCD panel can be augmented by a layer of quantum dots — microscopic nanocrystals that glow a selected wavelength (i.e. shade) when given vitality. The impact is healthier brightness and shade in comparison with non-QD-equipped TVs. The Q70 makes use of a real 120Hz panel, which improves the TVs’ movement efficiency, however as common the “Motion Rate 240” specification is made up (notice that the 49-inch dimension is 60Hz/MR 120).The set helps excessive dynamic vary (HDR) content material within the HDR10 and the HDR10+ codecs. It lacks the Dolby Vision HDR assist discovered on most rivals’ HDR TVs. I’ve seen no proof that one HDR format is inherently “better” than the opposite, so I positively do not think about lack of Dolby Vision a deal-breaker on this TV — as an alternative it is only one extra issue to think about.