XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (85"-98") 144Hz vs Samsung R85H / R86H

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.

When it comes to brightness, the R85H performs really respectably. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can exceed 1000 nits. These are not, of course, levels on a par with the pricier Mini-LEDs, but they are more than enough for watching films and TV shows in HDR, and the effect can already be quite noticeable. The problem reappears in more demanding scenes where there is a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly limit its brightness so as not to light up too large a portion of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights fell even to around 200 to 250 nits, so it is clear that a small number of zones combined with the particular behaviour of the algorithm has consequences here. Fortunately, this is not something that disturbs viewing all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. It's just that with very small points of light you shouldn't expect an effect as strong as on TVs with many more zones or on OLEDs.

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.

In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed acceptably in SDR, but a few things stood out immediately in the measurements. In the white balance red increased with rising brightness while blue decreased. As a result the brighter parts of the picture had a slightly too warm tint. Gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, which left most of the image a little too bright. The combination of these two effects also showed up in the colours, with errors growing particularly in the brighter and more saturated samples. It did not look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we had expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our sample fared noticeably better. The white balance was much more even and, over most of the range, the individual components stayed close together. Only in the very brightest areas did red start to be lacking, causing white to shift subtly. The EOTF curve, by contrast, looked very good and followed the target luminance levels across almost the entire range. That does not mean HDR colours were perfect. The Colour Checker still showed some deviations, especially for some of the more saturated hues, but the errors were clearly smaller than in SDR.

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.

After calibration the R85H shows it has genuinely substantial capabilities in colour reproduction. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance could be brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target value across most of the range. This also translated into very low errors on the Colour Checker, so there is really little to pick fault with. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some things can no longer be corrected as well. At the highest brightness levels the character of the backlight begins to make itself felt and the individual components of the white balance start to drift apart. The same applies to the most saturated colours, which do not always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations the overall image is much more accurate than with the factory settings, and the biggest difference is definitely seen in SDR. There is, however, one thing calibration cannot fix. With heavily saturated elements the colour can slightly bleed onto adjacent bright areas of the image. It is easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a faint tint of a neighbouring colour. It does not appear in every scene, but when the material is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than a matter of picture settings.

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.

In the R85H image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but when it comes to upscaling lower-quality material the TV’s behaviour is very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, because the manufacturer has dealt with this aspect quite well for years. Lower-resolution content is displayed cleanly, edges do not become excessively soft, and the TV does not try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply well balanced, and with regular broadcasts or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung in this class. There remains only a minor drawback in the form of overscan, which cannot be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate matter is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterisation and somewhat tidy up heavily compressed footage, but it is worth emphasising that it does this relatively aggressively. At stronger noise reduction settings it begins to remove not only compression artefacts but also fine details and the natural film grain. It is therefore best used only when the material truly needs it.

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.

The R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just bear in mind that the extra hertz above 120 are mainly used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as any particular advantage. For films and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets you set motion anywhere from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit worse. Because it's a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds this isn't very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more pronounced the smearing becomes. This is a typical trait of this type of panel and it's easiest to notice in dark shots.

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.

Samsung has been steadily expanding its gaming features for several years, and the R85H really doesn't miss anything important here. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so we can easily take advantage of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with HDR properly set on the console, games retain the correct brightness and we don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the picture. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung does not support on any of its TVs. The Game Bar is also very useful — a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. We can quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or change key picture settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio and Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 frames per second. Of course this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting addition for some people.