Samsung Neo QLED QN70F / QN74F / QN77F vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

The QN70F is a television that can pleasantly surprise when it comes to brightness. In ideal testing conditions, it reaches up to 800 nits, which – for this price range – is a really solid figure. Of course, this result comes from measurement charts, so we decided to check how it performs in practice, with real films. Here, the television somewhat tempers its capabilities. In most tested scenes – for example, in "The Meg" – the actual HDR brightness hovered around 500 nits. This is still a decent result, allowing for enjoyment of HDR effects, although it is far from perfect. On the other hand, we have a QLED screen with a layer of quantum dots, which means very good colour reproduction capabilities. The colours are vibrant and saturated. The QN70F covers about 94% of the DCI-P3 colour space, and in the wider BT.2020 palette, it exceeds 75%, so in this respect, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Philips PQS9000 is a moderately bright TV. In our HDR scenes it reached roughly 450 to just over 500 nits. That's enough to notice a difference compared with SDR. Reflections of the sun, lamps or flares have a bit more sparkle than on basic TVs, whose brightness often tops out around 300 nits. However, it is not a level at which bright elements make a particularly strong impression. The biggest limitation remains contrast. Without local dimming, when the TV brightens a bright object it also raises the black level around it. There is therefore no clear separation of strong highlights from a dark background, and it is that contrast that can show what HDR can do. The PQS9000 offers more than the cheapest models, but despite decent brightness the effect remains fairly basic.

Colours

Philips deserves praise for the colours. Although the manufacturer calls this model QLED, in reality a PFS phosphor is used here instead of quantum dots. That choice does not prevent the TV from achieving good results. On both test patterns and in measurements of film scenes we recorded about 94% coverage of DCI-P3 and 75% of BT.2020. For this class of TV that is really good. In practice this means that the vast majority of colours used in HDR films and series will have appropriate saturation. Vibrant green or intense red are not much of an issue and add appeal to the picture. Limitations are easier to notice in some games and in rarer content that use the most saturated shades of the wide BT.2020 gamut. In such situations, displays with wider colour coverage, such as SQD or RGB LED, can show more. In its price bracket, however, the PQS9000 has nothing to be ashamed of.

We tested the QN70F in its best default picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. I must admit that in this particular test unit, the factory settings performed quite well. The image was calm, natural, and despite minor deviations – pleasant to watch. The biggest flaw was a slight dominance of red in the white balance, which caused a slight pinkish hue across the entire scene. However, this was not a glaring defect – rather subtle and only noticeable when directly compared to a properly calibrated screen. A somewhat larger issue arose in the brightness characteristic. The television tends to underestimate the brightness of parts of the image that should be displayed more brightly. As a result, some details can appear slightly muted – not so much lost completely, but not resonating as clearly as they should. Nonetheless, as far as televisions in this category and in these settings are concerned – we consider the result a good starting point for further calibration.

Unfortunately, the factory picture settings for Film mode on the PQS9000 need refinement. In SDR the most noticeable problem is an excess of red in the white balance, which makes whites, greys and skin tones too warm, sometimes even slightly pinkish. On top of that the gamma runs below the reference across most of the range. The TV therefore brightens midtones and highlights, making the overall image look flatter than it should.

In HDR the white balance itself is much better. Apart from minor deviations the RGB components track closely, so there is no pronounced colour cast as in SDR. However, the EOTF curve shows a slight brightening of parts of the image, and the biggest issue appears in measurements of the wide colour gamut. Many hues deviate significantly from the target, with errors reaching levels of 8–9. The good gamut coverage we praised earlier therefore does not mean the TV hits specific colours equally well. It can display a wide colour range, but out of the box it does not use it very precisely.

After calibration, the QN70F shows that it can offer a truly high level of colour reproduction. The white balance was nearly perfectly aligned, and the values in the Color Checker test dropped below level 3 – meaning below the threshold at which the average eye can perceive differences. The image looks natural, and the colours are faithfully rendered, without excessive saturation or the coolness known from factory settings. It must be admitted that Samsung provides very extensive calibration options – not only for enthusiasts but also for professionals. The QN70F takes advantage of this potential and, after proper adjustment, can come close to significantly more expensive models in terms of colour accuracy. The only thing that can still be nitpicked is the brightness characteristic. There is still a tendency to lighten the smallest areas of the image – particularly those that should remain darker. However, this is a design feature of this model, not a calibration error. Despite this, the final effect definitely deserves recognition.

Calibration brought a significant improvement, especially in SDR material. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the previous colour cast, and the Color Checker measurements now look really very good. Colours are much closer to what should be on screen, so with ordinary TV or SDR films we can be satisfied with the outcome. Unfortunately HDR somewhat spoils that result. On the one hand it is limited by the panel itself, because calibration won't improve contrast or replace local dimming. On the other hand there remain colour errors that we couldn't correct because the CMS settings, that is the colour management controls, were greyed out and inactive. That costs Philips points with us. The white balance can be fine‑tuned, but without access to wide‑gamut adjustments it's not possible to order HDR colours equally well. It's a shame, because the SDR results show the potential is there, but we weren't allowed to make full use of it everywhere.

Samsung QN70F offers a distortion reduction feature that enhances the smoothness of tonal transitions. In "Standard" mode, it works quite well – it smooths out problematic transitions without significantly interfering with the structure of the image. Film grain is somewhat reduced, but details such as texture and skin structure remain visible. The "High" mode is much more aggressive. The smoothing is stronger, but it comes at the cost of a noticeable loss of detail. Therefore, in practice, we recommend sticking with the "Standard" setting or completely turning this function off. The improvement in gradation may be less spectacular, but the image retains more naturalness.

When it comes to scaling low-quality content, the QN70F performs very well. Tests with lower resolution images were really very good. Despite slight edge ringing, everything looks clean and clear, even if the original content was very poor. It’s just a pity that the television has an issue with overscan, which cannot be completely turned off. As a result, images with very low resolution may be slightly cropped, which is mainly noticeable on subtitles or interfaces.

Digital picture processing in the Philips PQS9000 performs well, though we have a few reservations. The "Distortion Reduction" function helps to smooth tonal transitions in lower-quality material, but it works rather unevenly. It can improve one part of the image, only to seem to lose its effect a moment later, still in the same scene, and show banding between shades again. A plus is that it doesn't remove film grain or fine noise, so the image retains its texture. We found the 'Medium' setting worked best and we recommend it. The upscaling to 4K itself is acceptable, although the image is very soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, which may leave some viewers feeling the picture lacks definition. In that case, it's worth slightly increasing the sharpness in the TV's menu, as this will make edges appear more defined. However, don't overdo the sharpening slider, otherwise artificial halos may appear instead of an improvement.

The QN70F is a television with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself places it among the top when it comes to image fluidity. Whether we are watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing on a console – the picture looks very good. There is no sense of stuttering, choppiness, or the typical "tearing" associated with weaker models during fast motion. Samsung also allows you to adjust the fluidity to your own preferences. In the picture clarity settings, we find options such as blur reduction and judder reduction – each of which we can adjust independently. This is especially useful when watching content with a lower frame rate and wanting to give it a smoother, more theatrical character – or conversely, to maintain the natural cinematic "feel" of 24 frames.

In terms of motion handling the Philips PQS9000 performs exceptionally well for an LCD TV. It's not just the 144 Hz refresh rate, but above all how quickly the panel itself responds. At 120 Hz there are virtually no typical trailing smears behind moving objects. What is particularly pleasing is that this also applies to darker scenes, where many VA panels clearly struggle. Here motion remains clear and, in this respect, Philips pleasantly surprised us.

The "Motion Styles" feature lets you adjust how motion is displayed. It includes two sliders: "Smoothness" and "Blur Reduction", allowing you to tailor the effect to the content you're watching and your own preferences. Our suggested settings are shown in the photo. Treat them as a starting point and try to find the level of smoothing that suits you best.

Samsung QN70F is truly a solid choice for gamers. Here we have as many as four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which means full support for gaming in 4K at a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Additionally, we have all the essential features we expect today: automatic game mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), and a very well-designed, intuitive Game Bar that provides information on mode, resolution, and frame rate. Also noteworthy is the Game Motion Plus feature, which allows for the addition of artificial frames to games running at 60 fps or lower. It works surprisingly well and improves the smoothness of gameplay in many titles – especially those where consoles struggle to maintain a stable frame rate – without significant lag.

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

Unfortunately, there are also some drawbacks. The lack of support for Dolby Vision mode is not surprising – that is a standard at Samsung. But the absence of the HGiG feature is much more disappointing. What's worse, it was removed by a software update, which may come as a shock to users who previously relied on it. Without HGiG, it is impossible to manually set the maximum HDR brightness from the console, resulting in some games appearing slightly washed out – especially if the television misinterprets the tonal range. Why did Samsung, a brand that has set the standards for gaming features for years, choose to take such a step? It's hard to say. At the time of writing this review, the tested television was running on software version 1110 – and to be honest, if you care about full support for gamers, it’s better to temporarily refrain from updates.

Gaming features

In terms of gaming features, the Philips PQS9000 has a lot to offer. Four HDMI 2.1 ports let you connect several devices without having to choose which one gets the full-capability port. Consoles can use 120 Hz at Full HD, 1440p and 4K, while a PC can also make use of 144 Hz at 4K or 240 Hz if you drop to Full HD. There's also VRR, which matches the refresh rate to the frame rate and prevents screen tearing. Its range is 48 to 240 Hz, with the upper limit applying in Full HD mode.

ALLM is present, so the TV automatically switches to game mode, and HGiG works properly, which is useful when setting HDR on a console. There's also a Game Bar for quick access to settings and signal information. The list even includes Dolby Vision gaming, but it's hard to enjoy this option because of very high input lag. Aside from that caveat, the feature set is really solid.