SAMSUNG QN80F vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

QN80F is quite a bright screen – in synthetic tests, it reached nearly 1000 nits, which allows for reasonable expectations of HDR content. And indeed, in many scenes, the TV can truly shine. Sequences with a lot of light – like shots from the movie Life of Pi or wide, bright surfaces in The Meg – look impressive. Brightness stays around 700 nits, which provides a solid effect, enough to feel the true "HDR magic." Unfortunately, not every scene looks this good. In content with small, bright details on a dark background, like in Sicario 2, the TV can struggle – it can significantly dim individual elements, sometimes to the point where they disappear from the image. This is a result of the limited number of dimming zones, forcing the device into compromises: either stick to inky blacks or sacrifice some detail. QN80F usually chooses the former. As a consolation, it offers quite decent coverage of a wide color palette – DCI-P3 at 93%. It's not the highest score on the market, but it's more than enough for most content on streaming platforms.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a very bright television. On our synthetic measurement patterns, we were able to achieve peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This result is not only very good but quite spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always say, our editorial team values measurements and the viewing experience of content that people watch on a daily basis – from movies to series. So let’s analyse how Xiaomi performs with film material. The result is, unfortunately, quite mixed. When very bright scenes appear on screen, the S Pro 2026 truly shows its full capabilities and can achieve a real 800-1000 nits on bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes – in scenes from the movie Sicario 2, small metallic parts of the helicopter were really vivid. The problem is – and here the story comes full circle, returning to our contrast assessment – that in such scenes, we can’t count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too significant; the high visibility of details in bright sections should not come at the expense of such a substantial drop in blacks. And even though the HDR effect can create a stunning impression here, it’s important to remember that when very challenging, mixed scenes appear on screen, we may feel a slight disappointment. Precisely the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding issues with dimming in HDR mode. As a consolation, it’s worth adding that the S Pro 2026 is equipped with an additional PFS filter (similar in function to a QLED layer), which effectively broadens the colour gamut coverage. As a result, measurements showed DCI-P3 coverage reaching 94%. This gives us confidence that in most colourful scenes, the image will look rich and properly saturated.

We always test TVs in the best available factory mode – for the Samsung QN80F, this is the Filmmaker mode, and indeed, it provides the settings closest to the creators' intentions. However, this doesn’t mean everything looks perfect. In SDR content, the biggest issue was an unbalanced white balance – slight deficiencies in green and a noticeable excess of red led to noticeable colour errors, and one could say the screen had a pinkish hue. This was clearly visible in the colour checker test, where colours “escaped” outside their target fields – to such an extent that a sensitive viewer's eye could catch it even without the help of a meter.

In HDR content, the white balance was much better, but another issue arose – brightness management. The EOTF curve caused an overly bright image most of the time, which affected the perception of contrast and made the screen slightly “flicker” during dynamic changes in light. We’ve already discussed this in the paragraphs about black levels and HDR. Fortunately, Samsung offers users plenty of options. The QN80F features a rich set of calibration options, including a 20-point white balance – which is why we decided to check what this TV is really capable of after a proper calibration.

Of course, all our measurements were conducted in "Film" mode, which is typically the best and most faithful choice we get straight after taking the TV out of the box. And to put it bluntly: while this is the best mode, it is still very far from perfect. Above all, the TV has a clear tendency to give the picture a cool, blueish tint – this is due to poorly set colour balance. Additionally, there is the issue of how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness straight out of the box, which results in an over-saturated image. These two flaws contribute to really significant colourimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they could double exceed our expected error scale of "10" (i.e. reaching values close to 20). Just to remind you – the threshold of perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 mean that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

After conducting a thorough calibration, it was possible to bring most image parameters to a really good level. The white balance in both SDR and HDR presents itself almost perfectly – the image is natural, neutral, and free from the previously noticeable redness. Colours have gained depth, and the overall visual experience has become more pleasant and cohesive. It was also possible to partially manage brightness, which in the factory version could cause issues. The EOTF chart shows that the television performs much better with brightness after calibration – there is no longer excessive dimming of certain elements. In films, it can still be noticed that the QN80F has a tendency to slightly brighten the smallest bright details – this is already a consequence of the device's construction and the limited number of dimming zones. In short: not everything can be overcome, but what was possible has been improved. After calibration, the QN80F makes a really good impression, looking simply more mature and professional.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration process? We must admit that after calibration, the TV becomes a really enjoyable device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the charts, in HD (SDR) material, both white balance and gamma values have been brought to nearly perfection. Most importantly, colourimetric errors have become practically invisible to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply a great TV that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of joy from viewing. However, it is worth noting clearly – our efforts did little to help in 4K HDR mode. Despite the calibration, the TV still interprets the image quite strongly in its "own way," which is clearly evident in the measurement of the EOTF curve (brightness tracking). It's a bit of a shame because it shows that the problem lies not with the panel itself, but with the software. Poorly refined image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, rule this TV out for many more discerning users.

If you notice strange colour transitions or unwanted artefacts while watching lower quality materials – for example from YouTube – it's worth checking the settings and enabling the noise reduction feature. In our opinion, the best setting is at the 'medium' level – it effectively smooths out problematic colour transitions without overly blurring the entire image. However, it's important to know one thing: this option tends to remove film grain. If someone values preserving that effect (e.g., in older films), it's better to simply turn it off – regardless of the level, the grain always disappears.

Regarding resolution scaling (also known as upscaling), Samsung – as usual – performs very well in this area. The QN80F doesn't quite match the top models costing tens of thousands, but for its price class, it performs impressively. Materials of very poor quality (e.g., from SD television or older video files) are noticeably improved and look surprisingly decent. The only noticeable downside is the typical Samsung issue with overscan – which is a slight cropping of the image edges at very low resolutions, such as 576p.

Let's start with the issue we raised in the previous paragraph: can a TV even fix the problem of terrible tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Colour Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is chosen – yielded absolutely no real results. So we are dealing with a feature that practically only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 handles this task very poorly. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight image cropping) is not a major issue here. The problem is that the TV simply shows a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to boost the signal to a higher resolution looks simply dull and lacks any "intelligent" enhancement. There's no denying it – the entire digital image processing is the true Achilles' heel of this model.

QN80F is truly a “fast” TV. The panel used offers a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, which in practice means that the screen keeps up with the action – whether we’re watching a movie, playing games, or browsing dynamic content online. The image doesn’t stutter, isn’t overly blurred, and everything simply looks smooth and pleasing to the eye. Of course, the manufacturer hasn’t forgotten about cinema fans – in the settings, we find an option to adjust motion smoothness, allowing us to tailor the effect to our own preferences. You can leave a more “frame-y” look (for those who enjoy the classic film vibe) or crank up the smoothness to a higher level to achieve a theatrical smoothing effect. Importantly, the choice is ours. Watching movies and playing on the QN80F is just plain fun.

On paper, the specifications of the S Pro 2026 look impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, capable of displaying images at up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are incredible results, but what we were most interested in, in the context of everyday use, was how the TV handles motion blur and how the picture looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used today by consoles such as the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and it is desirable for sports fans. Generally, the panel "holds up". The matrix is quick enough to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at a native smoothness of 120 Hz are rendered correctly. When it comes to software, the TV is equipped with motion smoothing technology, but with a key caveat – it only works for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it's mainly suitable for traditional TV, movies, and series. With it, we can adjust the smoothness of the picture to our own preferences – ranging from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach, to setting the slider at "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

Samsung QN80F is a television that delivers on almost every front when it comes to gaming. It features a 144 Hz panel, four fully-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, support for gamers with variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM), and even one of the best-designed gamebars on the market. The icing on the cake is the motion smoother which – uniquely in the world – works in games without significantly increasing input lag. Sounds like an almost perfect gaming TV? And indeed, it is almost that.

[UPDATE] We have updated our Samsung TV tests from the 2025 model year due to the release of firmware version 1131, which restored the crucial gaming feature HGiG.

As usual, Samsung doesn’t support Dolby Vision in games, but that’s no longer surprising. However, what is much more surprising is that... the HGIG feature has disappeared – meaning the system that allows the console (e.g., PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X) to accurately match HDR tone mapping to the capabilities of the television. In the latest firmware update for the 2025 models, this option simply vanished. It looks more like a bug than a deliberate move, but it must be honestly noted that at the time of writing the review, the HGIG feature is simply absent.

And it’s precisely because of this one absence that the QN80F goes from being an almost perfect gaming television to a “nearly” perfect device. What a shame – because everything else indicated that Samsung could once again set the bar very high in this generation.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is on paper an almost perfect proposition. It has been equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, which allow us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full suite of features: ALLM, VRR, and, crucially, the ability to operate in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please owners of powerful PCs. The TV also has something resembling a gamer panel – and while it’s hard to call it a full-fledged "Gamebar," it does its job by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it covers a relatively large part of the screen.

The biggest problem we have with this model, however, concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles games in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well. Due to the poorly implemented HGiG feature (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), during the initial HDR calibration on the console, it’s very easy to "blow out" the image. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the picture incorrectly, with burnt-out details in bright areas. Another significant issue is the Dolby Vision mode for games. While it works, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (You can check all our lag measurements in the paragraph below). In summary: Generally, this is a really very good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually set the brightness slider on the console "by eye," completely ignoring the tips from the console's pictogram.