Samsung S85D vs XIAOMI A PRO 2025

Brightness is an important factor in televisions, and the S85D offers a level similar to older OLED models. While it’s not outstanding in this area, it comes at a very competitive price. With peak brightness at 600 nits, HDR content looks sharp, delivering a hint of cinematic quality at home. Like many budget OLEDs, though, very bright, full-screen scenes—such as the final shot in The Meg—may cause the brightness to drop by nearly half, which is noticeable compared to pricier models. However, with 99% DCI-P3 colour coverage, the S85D delivers vibrant, accurate colours.

In the HDR category, the Xiaomi A Pro performs poorly overall. Under ideal conditions, it achieves a brightness level of around 250 nits, which is underwhelming. However, many competing models offer similar or even lower brightness levels. Such limited brightness is insufficient to fully showcase the potential of HDR content. In practical terms, the image lacks the depth and intensity expected from high-quality HDR. Instead, the visuals resemble standard dynamic range (SDR), with scenes that should display striking brightness and contrast appearing flat and uninspiring. That said, for its price, the television offers solid DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage at 92%, made possible by its quantum dot (QLED) technology. This ensures vibrant and saturated colours, making it an appealing choice for gamers and movie enthusiasts seeking richer hues and improved colour reproduction compared to standard models.

The Filmmaker mode on the Samsung S85D offers the best factory settings, but it is not free from flaws, particularly noticeable in colour reproduction. The white balance chart for HD and HDR content shows clear issues – both red and blue are significantly weakened, leading to a dominance of green. The result is an unnatural yellowish glow that can affect the perception of realistic scenes. The Colour Checker test also highlights issues, with colour samples deviating from expected values – for HD materials, colours tend to be too saturated, with a noticeable shift towards green, as seen in the white balance chart. In contrast, for 4K HDR content, colours appear too dull and lack depth, diminishing the attractiveness and naturalness of the image. This effect is particularly noticeable in delicate scenes where colour precision plays a key role, which can be disappointing for discerning viewers who expect faithful reproduction of details and colour intensity.

When it comes to brightness, the gamma chart for HD content produces positives, but there is a noticeable spike at the end, exceeding a value of 2.4. Although this is not a major problem in most scenes, in more demanding sequences it can affect the clarity of bright details. For 4K content, the problematic aspect is the EOTF curve, responsible for delivering brightness. The initial part of the chart shows a small spike. This phenomenon can result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest areas of the image, leading to loss of detail in very bright scenes.

Although the Samsung S85D’s factory settings are reasonable, especially in Filmmaker mode, it is worth considering a manual adjustment of settings to improve some imperfections, particularly in colour reproduction.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 performs best in movie mode for colour reproduction straight out of the box, though it is not without its flaws. An analysis of the white balance shows negative green values, causing distortions in white tones. At full white, there are noticeable deviations, and the high-contrast image leads to poor tonal transitions in red, negatively impacting the overall colour quality. Before calibration, the image often displays a pink hue in its scenery.

The gamma contrast graph falls below the 2.4 mark, indicating an overemphasis on darker tones and a lack of prominence in lighter areas. Additionally, the EOTF curve shows a sharp rise early on, which can result in lost detail in bright scenes and an oversaturated appearance. These issues suggest that further calibration is needed to balance the colour reproduction and enhance the overall image.

Factory colour settings on the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 are average, and while this is common in televisions of its class, users seeking accurate colour representation may need to adjust the settings. After proper calibration, the TV delivers a more natural and vibrant palette, aligning better with cinematic standards. For those prioritising precise colour reproduction, professional calibration will significantly improve image quality.

After calibration, Filmmaker mode on the Samsung S85D truly stands out. White balance adjustments across all content types yield significantly more natural colour reproduction. In the Colour Checker test, colour reproduction errors are minimal and well within acceptable limits, reflecting precise and true-to-life hues. Factory settings fell short in this regard, but now colours appear realistic, as though accurately rendered according to the creators’ intent. This marks a substantial improvement over previous generations, where colours often appeared distorted or overly saturated.

Brightness also benefits from calibration, becoming sharper and more refined. The Gamma, already fairly consistent, is now even more stable, delivering a deeper and more natural image. Adjustments to the EOTF curve enhance detail visibility in darker areas and improve contrast balance. With these refinements, the television provides a nearly reference-quality image, greatly enriching the experience of movies and HDR content.

After calibration, the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 TV shows significant improvement. The white balance is the most noticeable change, with previous errors corrected in HD and 4K content. Most deviations are now minimal, falling within an acceptable range, resulting in a more balanced and natural colour representation that enhances viewing comfort.

In terms of gamma, the drop has been largely addressed, leading to a more consistent rendering of tones across various scenes. However, the EOTF curve still hasn't seen substantial improvement, as there is limited control over dynamic tone mapping. This limitation means that some details may still be lost in bright scenes, affecting the perception of certain materials.

Despite these minor issues, the overall picture quality is improved after calibration. The enhanced white balance and reduced gamma issues provide a more realistic and enjoyable viewing experience. While further adjustments could enhance the image even more, the TV now showcases its potential, meeting the expectations of many users.

Samsung S85D performs excellently in image scaling and smoothing tonal transitions. Like other Samsung models, the TV offers three noise reduction modes: off, standard, and high. While it improves gradation well, it unfortunately also removes film grain, which many viewers desire to give the image a cinematic character. Grain often adds authenticity and a certain rawness to films, which is lost after smoothing. Removing grain can make the image look too sterile and smoothed out, which takes away some of the charm of the original film material. As for image scaling, the Samsung S85D handles lower resolution content perfectly – the model in the photo and the branches in the background are shown correctly, without significant jagged edge issues. The only noticeable drawback is the presence of overscan, which can sometimes cut off parts of the image, which may not be to everyone's taste.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 handles tonal transitions effectively, especially when dealing with lower-quality materials. Thanks to its advanced digital processing, the colour contour removal feature performs surprisingly well. Setting this option to "Medium" provides the best balance, enhancing the smoothness of tonal transitions while avoiding excessive smoothing of other image elements, like film grain.

In the case of a tested frame featuring a model with numerous branches in the background, the TV demonstrated its digital processing strengths. Adding artificial sharpness clarified the model’s details, particularly enhancing the hair's definition. However, around the branches, subtle contours emerged due to digital intervention. While this adds detail to the overall image, excessive sharpness can sometimes cause certain elements to appear unnaturally highlighted.

As expected from an OLED television, the Samsung S85D offers excellent motion fluidity. Equipped with a 120 Hz panel and a fast response time, the television delivers very smooth playback of dynamic scenes without visible blurring. For movie enthusiasts, there is a feature called "Image Clarity Settings," which allows you to adjust motion fluidity to individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction increases the sharpness of fast-moving objects, while judder reduction smooths out motion, eliminating the "stuttering" effect. This allows every user to set the appropriate level of clarity that best suits their taste, from a more cinematic effect to clearer, smoother movements.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 features a motion smoothing option known as "Motion Smoothing," which is designed mainly for film viewing. It allows users to adjust the effect to either a more cinematic, film-like appearance with visible frames or a smoother, theatrical image. This feature will likely satisfy movie lovers. However, gamers and sports enthusiasts might be disappointed. The TV uses a 60 Hz refresh rate panel, typical for this price range, which doesn’t offer exceptional motion handling. Our "Ufo" test revealed some motion blur, so those seeking sharper moving images may find it lacking in this regard.

The Samsung S85D is an excellent choice for gamers due to its many modern features that facilitate and enhance gameplay. The TV has four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing you to connect the latest consoles without worrying about image quality or frame rate limitations. This means support for 4K resolution at 120 Hz, which is ideal for modern titles. Additionally, the Samsung S85D has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) function that automatically switches to low latency mode when it detects a gaming device. This way, you don't have to manually switch settings—the TV takes care of ensuring a quick response time, which is crucial in games where every second counts.

The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature and G-Sync support are further elements that make gameplay smoother. VRR adjusts the refresh rate to match the frame rate generated by the console or PC, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering. This is particularly useful in dynamic games where the frame rate can fluctuate. Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that Samsung has introduced with gamers in mind, and it's worth appreciating. Thanks to it, the image in games becomes smoother—30 frames per second looks like 45, and 60 Hz gains fluidity, approximating a 90 Hz effect. Meanwhile, there is no significant increase in input lag, which remains below 25 ms, distinguishing this feature from others available on the market. Gamers can enjoy smoother visuals without worrying about a decline in responsiveness.

Samsung has also taken care of something extra—the TV has a built-in Xbox Game Pass app, which means you can play in the cloud without the need for a console. This is a great solution for those who want to enjoy gaming without investing in additional hardware. All you need is internet access, and you have a vast library of games at your fingertips. This makes the Samsung S85D a great choice for both casual gamers and more advanced ones.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 includes several gamer-friendly features, such as the Game Bar, which sets itself apart from the typical dashboards seen in other brands. This feature allows quick access to game-related settings, making it convenient during intense gaming sessions. The TV also supports Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), automatically switching to a game-optimised mode to reduce signal delays. However, it lacks HDMI 2.1 support, limiting compatibility with the latest gaming consoles that require higher bandwidth. Additionally, it does not support features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or G-Sync, which are becoming essential for gamers seeking smoother visuals and reduced tearing. While the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 has some useful features, there are better options in this price range offering more advanced gaming solutions.