Samsung R95H Micro RGB vs XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (85"-98") 144Hz

In terms of brightness the Samsung R95H shows that it is still a high-end TV, although the results are not always as spectacular as one might expect from a flagship Micro RGB model. In synthetic tests the TV can exceed 2400 nits, so it clearly has plenty of headroom. Crucially, it can maintain high brightness even when bright elements occupy a larger portion of the screen. In real cinematic scenes the situation is a little more complex. The R95H most often reaches around 1000–1400 nits, which still delivers a very good, powerful HDR effect. Bright sun, reflections or lights can look genuinely impressive, and the TV has enough power for HDR to be clearly distinguishable from standard SDR.

The problem appears mainly in very dark scenes with single, small light sources. Here the local dimming algorithm prioritises deep black and reducing halo over maximising the brightness of such elements. As a result, small highlights can be noticeably dimmed. Overall HDR therefore performs well, but not without limitations. The R95H has huge brightness headroom, especially in larger and brighter parts of the image, but in difficult dark scenes its capabilities are primarily limited by the way local dimming operates.

Colours

Colours were supposed to be the biggest revolution brought by RGB backlighting, and indeed the R95H shows considerable potential here. The assessment is not, however, as simple as synthetic measurements alone might suggest. On test patterns the TV performs superbly – BT.2020 coverage reaches almost 94%, and DCI-P3 98%, so particularly strongly saturated reds and greens can look truly impressive. The situation shifts somewhat when, instead of test patterns, we start measuring real film scenes. Then BT.2020 coverage falls to about 87%, and DCI-P3 to 93%. It seems that with more complex images the RGB zones are not always able to maintain the same high colour saturation as on simple charts. They remain saturated, but the advantage of the new backlight is no longer as large as the manufacturer’s figures might suggest.

The larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 offer very similar HDR capabilities. Peak brightness reaches around 1000 nits, which for a TV in this price bracket is a very solid result. This is most apparent in bright scenes, where large, strongly lit parts of the picture can look truly impressive. The TV has enough brightness headroom that HDR does not amount to merely a slightly brighter image. Very small points of light appearing on an almost completely black background fare worse. In such cases the local dimming system significantly limits their brightness so as not to illuminate neighbouring parts of the picture and to preserve deep blacks. As a result, small highlights or single lamps do not have the same intensity as in much more expensive models. This, however, is typical behaviour for Mini LED TVs and hard to treat as something unique to Xiaomi.

HDR colours

The issue of colours is similarly close. Although the manufacturer uses the term QLED, the expansion of the colour gamut here is achieved by a PFS phosphor. In our measurements the TV covered around 94% of the DCI-P3 colour space and about 74% of the much more demanding BT.2020. In practice this delivers well-saturated colours in most HDR material and it is hard to point to any obvious shortcomings. Limitations appear mainly with the most saturated shades of green, which the TV is no longer able to reproduce in full.

For assessing factory colour reproduction we naturally chose the Filmmaker mode, the setting that is supposed to be closest to how the picture was intended by the creators. Here, unfortunately, the R95H does not fully exploit the potential of its panel. The biggest problem in SDR concerns the gamma. The image is noticeably brightened across almost the entire range, which makes it lose some depth and look flatter than it should. The white balance itself is also not ideal; as brightness increases there is a red bias and a lack of blue, making the image too warm. This is especially visible in bright elements and skin tones, which can look more "reddish" than they should.

It looks similar in HDR. The EOTF curve is above the reference value for a significant part of the range, so the R95H again brightens the image compared with how it should look. Combined with the inaccurate white balance, this means the colours here are also not as precise as we would expect from a TV of this class. The factory Filmmaker mode is therefore not the R95H's strong suit. At first glance the picture may look impressive because it is bright and highly saturated, but in terms of fidelity to the source material there is still plenty of room for improvement.

In the larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 Film mode performs best, although the factory settings here are not without faults. In SDR the white balance was noticeably warm due to an excess of red. In HDR it was the opposite: there was too much blue and not enough red, which made the image cooler. Moreover, both the gamma response in SDR and the EOTF curve in HDR were slightly above the reference values. In practice this produced a slightly brighter image, particularly in the mid-tones. It was not a major fault, but with more demanding material you could notice that the image was not reproduced entirely as the creators intended.

The R95H responds very well to calibration. In SDR we managed to set the white balance and gamma almost perfectly, and colour errors fell to a very low level. The difference compared with the factory settings is therefore substantial and after calibration the picture looks noticeably more natural. In HDR we can also make considerable improvements, particularly in terms of white balance and overall colour accuracy. The issue of managing brightness and colour saturation is somewhat different, though. At a certain point we run up against limitations inherent in the RGB backlight and local dimming. Individual zones must control both the brightness and the colour of the light simultaneously, so in more demanding scenes it is not always possible to achieve exactly the same saturation and brightness that the TV shows on simple test patterns. Calibration simply cannot completely overcome that. Despite this, after calibration the R95H delivers accurate image reproduction, and most of the errors we saw on the factory settings can be effectively eliminated.

After calibration we mainly managed to even out the white balance, so colours look much more natural in both SDR and HDR. We also improved the gamma response, so the SDR picture is no longer unnecessarily brightened and holds closer to the reference values. The only major issue remaining is in HDR. Xiaomi still manages brightness a little too aggressively and renders some scenes brighter than it should. It looks better on larger sizes than on the 55–75 inch models, but the EOTF curve still runs slightly above the reference. In practice HDR is therefore slightly brightened, even though colour reproduction after calibration is already very good.

The Samsung R95H uses the new Micro RGB AI Processor, but in practice we didn't notice a big leap compared with the NQ4 AI Gen2 or Gen3 chips found in Samsung's other TVs. The upscaling itself still performs very well. The image is smoothed appropriately, yet retains plenty of sharpness and does not look overly soft. That's definitely one of Samsung's stronger points. It's a pity that with very low-resolution material you still can't completely disable overscan.

The processor also handles colour gradation well and can effectively smooth unwanted posterization. The noise reduction function is really effective, but you need to use it with care. At higher settings it can start to interfere quite heavily with the image and even remove natural film grain. For that reason it's best used only when the source material is actually heavily compressed.

The larger Xiaomi S Mini 2026 variants also use the MT5896 processor and perform similarly in terms of digital image processing. Upscaling is not one of this model's strengths. Low-resolution content is upscaled to 4K in a fairly basic way, and there is not as effective retrieval of fine detail as in more refined televisions. The 85 and 98 inch versions do include a feature intended to reduce posterisation, but its effectiveness is very limited. After switching it on it is hard to notice any real improvement, so the TV still does little to address visible banding between colours.

Samsung R95H has a 165 Hz panel, so its motion handling is really good. At 120 Hz, for example when gaming on a console or watching sport, motion blur is minimal, and when connected to a PC you can use the full 165 Hz and further improve motion clarity. However, bear in mind it is still a VA panel, so it does not respond as instantly as OLED. You may sometimes notice a faint trail behind a moving object, but from a normal viewing distance this is unlikely to be bothersome. For films and TV shows you can also use the adjustable motion smoothing. You can keep the more cinematic 24 fps look or gradually smooth the motion if you prefer a smoother picture. Samsung gives plenty of flexibility here, so you can easily choose a setting to suit your own preferences.

The biggest difference between the various sizes of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 concerns the panel's refresh rate. The 55 to 75-inch variants use a 60 Hz panel, which in practice results in noticeably less smooth motion than the larger versions. This is most apparent when watching sport, fast-paced scenes or gaming, where the picture is not as smooth and sharp in motion.

In terms of gaming the Samsung R95H is almost a complete TV. When you connect a PS5 or Xbox Series X you can use 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, and the TV also works correctly with HGiG. The only larger omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung simply does not support, as with its other televisions. There is also the Game Bar, already seen on other Samsung models, which lets you quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or HDR format and change the most important settings without leaving the game. You can also brighten darker parts of the picture or change the screen aspect ratio.

Samsung also offers Game Motion Plus, a motion-smoothing function developed specifically for games. It makes most sense in titles running at 30 fps, where it can noticeably improve smoothness and make camera movement feel much more pleasant. You should remember, though, that this comes at the cost of higher input lag (about 60 ms), so it is probably not the best choice for online or more fast-paced games. It's also worth mentioning the Gaming Hub, which lets you run some games directly from the cloud without connecting a console. In terms of gamer-focused features, it is therefore hard to find any major shortcomings in the R95H.

Unfortunately, the smaller versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 have a significant limitation for gamers: a 60 Hz panel. In 4K we are therefore limited to 60 fps and cannot fully take advantage of the PS5 or Xbox Series X. It is possible to run 120 Hz, but only after dropping the resolution to 1080p or 1440p. Apart from that, it’s all fairly sensible. The TV supports ALLM and automatically switches to game mode when it detects a console. There is also a Game Bar that lets you quickly check the most important gaming settings. Our biggest reservation concerns HGiG. The HDR calibration screens on the PS5 and Xbox do not match the TV’s actual capabilities. If you set HDR exactly according to them, some of the brightest elements may simply be blown out.