Samsung S85F (WOLED) vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

For most of the time, let's say in 90% of film scenes, viewers won't see practically any difference between the S85F versions. When small but very strong light points appear on the screen – a lantern in a dark alley, a gunshot, the sun breaking through the clouds – this WOLED panel (like the smaller S85F) performs wonderfully. Our measurements showed peak brightness at around 750 nits. We can confidently state: this is an excellent result that guarantees fantastic HDR effects. The problem arises in a very specific, uncomfortable situation for any OLED. We're talking about the moment when the entire screen has to shine at full power brightly. Examples include a slide with a white background, a ski jump scene, or our test sequences (5) from the movie The Meg. And here, unfortunately, the results diverge quite significantly to the detriment of the WOLED panel variant. Our measurement equipment was able to measure a maximum of about 250 to 300 nits of brightness in such conditions. Just to be clear: the same model on a QD-OLED panel in the same test is almost twice as bright. The second issue: colors. And here we also have to be honest – QD-OLED has a design advantage. Why? It’s simple. QD-OLED creates colors from three components (red, green, and blue) and does not need an additional white subpixel. The WOLED panel we are testing uses this white subpixel mainly to boost overall brightness. The effect is that QD-OLED is able to show a slightly wider color palette, and the colors are a bit "cleaner." But let’s be clear: it’s not that the colors on this WOLED panel are bad! On the contrary, they are actually very good. Coverage of the DCI-P3 film palette at 97% and 71% for the wider BT.2020 palette is still a high standard. We just have to honestly admit that this few percent advantage in color coverage is on the side of QD-OLED technology and may be noticeable in very specific moments.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a really bright TV. On our synthetic measurement charts, we were able to generate a peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This is not only a very good result but even spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always repeat, for our editorial team, measurements and experiences from the content we watch every day—movies and series—are more important. So let's analyze how Xiaomi handles film material. Unfortunately, the result is somewhat mixed. When very bright scenes appear on the screen, the S Pro 2026 truly shows its full potential and can achieve real brightness of 800-1000 nits on bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes— in scenes from the movie Sicario 2, small metallic elements of the helicopter were really bright. The problem is this—and here the story comes full circle back to our assessment of contrast—that in such scenes, we cannot count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too significant; high visibility of details in bright areas should not come at the expense of such a substantial boost in black levels. And even though the HDR effect itself can be striking here, it is important to remember that when very difficult, mixed scenes appear on the screen, we may feel a slight disappointment. Exactly the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding dimming issues in HDR mode. On a positive note, it is worth adding that the S Pro 2026 is equipped with an additional PFS filter (which works similarly to a QLED layer), effectively broadening the color palette coverage. As a result, measurements showed a DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of up to 94%. This gives us the confidence that in most colorful scenes, the image will look rich and appropriately saturated.

When it comes to factory color reproduction, our test sample in SDR mode suffered from a slight deficiency in red and yellow color. This resulted in a subtle yellowish tint visible in the shades of white. However, this is not the biggest problem with the S85F. Similar to the QD-OLED panel variant, the biggest issue with this model is the way it presents HDR content. When we look at the EOTF curve graph, it is easy to see that the television has quite significant problems with overly brightening the image. This causes the final picture in many scenes to become very unnatural.

Of course, we conducted all our measurements in "Film" mode, which is usually the best and most accurate choice you get straight out of the box. And we have to say it bluntly: even though this is the best mode, it is still very far from ideal. First of all, the television has a clear tendency to give the image a cool, bluish tint – this is due to a poorly set white balance. Additionally, there is a problem with how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness right after being taken out of the box, which results in an overly bright image. These two flaws contribute to really huge colorimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they were able to exceed our expected error scale of "10" (meaning values close to 20). For reference – 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 calibrating in Filmmaker mode, we managed to eliminate most of the unwanted effects. In SDR content, the television performs exemplary, and its color reproduction errors do not exceed a value of 2, which is an excellent result. A bit worse, although still very good, are the HDR quality contents. While we were able to eliminate a significant unnaturalness in the image caused by too high a positioning of the EOTF curve, the most discerning observers may notice that it is not perfectly aligned. It runs slightly below the reference curve, which would suggest that the S85F has slight issues showing all the details in the image. We must point out right away that it is highly unlikely that an average viewer would notice any shortcomings in the image. The final effect after calibration is rated as exemplary.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration treatment? We must admit that after calibration, the television becomes a really pleasant device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the graphs, we managed to bring both white balance and gamma values to nearly perfection in HD (SDR) material. Most importantly, the colorimetric errors have become practically invisible to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply a great television that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of enjoyment while watching. However, it is worth noting clearly – our efforts helped little in 4K HDR mode. Despite calibration, the television still interprets the image rather strongly "in its own way," which is clearly seen in the measurement of the EOTF curve (luminance tracking). It's a bit of a shame, because this shows that the problem lies not in the panel itself, but in the software. Underdeveloped image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, disqualify this television for many more discerning users.

The processing of tonal transitions (gradients) in the S85F is at a high level. The television effectively handles posterization (the "stepping" effect of colors), even with heavily compressed materials, such as from streaming services. However, using this feature requires making a certain compromise. We noticed that the noise reduction algorithm is quite aggressive – even at the lowest setting, it can eliminate natural film grain, which for many viewers is part of the film's aesthetics. The "Standard" setting seems to be the golden mean, not causing visible loss of important details, so we can recommend it. However, we advise against using the "High" level, which removes not only noise but also desired details, such as texture or structure of objects on the screen.

The scaling (upscaling) process of lower resolution content works very well in the S85F. The image is sharp and clear. The only minor imperfection we observed is occasional, slight aliasing on the edges. The television also still exhibits characteristics typical of this manufacturer, such as active "overscan" (slight magnification of the image). This should be kept in mind, especially when watching older materials, as it may result in a minimal cropping of the original frame.

Let's start with the issue we addressed in the previous paragraph: can a TV even fix the problem of poor tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically, yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Color Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is selected – yielded absolutely no real results. So we have a feature that, in practice, only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling the image 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 big issue here. The problem is that the TV simply displays a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to upscale the signal to a higher resolution looks simply poor and lacks any "smart" enhancement. There is no denying it – the whole digital image processing is the true Achilles' heel of this model.

The S85F is a model with impressive speed. The use of a 120 Hz OLED panel ensures that dynamic scenes, both in games and during sports broadcasts, meet expectations: smoothly, sharply, and without loss of clarity. A key role here is played by the instantaneous pixel response time, which is a natural advantage of OLED technology. Transitions between frames are instantaneous, and the image remains clear even during the fastest camera movements. Moving objects, like a ball on the field or a car in a chase scene, are clear and devoid of the characteristic motion blur typical of LCD panels (the so-called "tail").

On paper, the specification of the S Pro 2026 looks impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, capable of displaying images up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are amazing results, but what interested us the most, in the context of everyday use, was how the television handles motion blur and how the image looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used today by consoles like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and it is desired by sports fans. Generally speaking, the panel "holds up." The matrix is fast enough to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at native 120Hz fluidity are shown correctly. As for the software, the television is equipped with a motion smoothing system, but with a key caveat – it only works for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it is mainly suitable for classic television, movies, and series. Thanks to this, we can adjust the fluidity of the image to our own preferences – from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach to setting the slider to "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is, on paper, an almost ideal proposition. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full suite of features: ALLM, VRR, and, crucially, the ability to work in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please owners of powerful PCs. The TV also has something akin to a gaming panel – and while it’s hard to call it a full-fledged "Game Bar," 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.

However, our biggest issue with this model concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles gaming in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well. Due to the poorly implemented HGiG function (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 image incorrectly, with burnt-out details in bright areas. Another major problem is the Dolby Vision mode for gaming. While it does work, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (All our latency measurements can be checked in the paragraph below). In summary: generally, it’s a really good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually adjust the brightness bar on the console "by eye," completely ignoring the instructions from the console's pictogram.