Samsung’s flagship TV line-up is known for its Quantum Dot technology, which promises over 1 billion vibrant color shades. The letter “Q” is used as shorthand to both represent this Quantum Dot technology, as well as many other features Samsung can attach a sense of proprietary advantage to, including Q|Style, which is a blanket term for their clean cable solution, wide viewing angle, ambient mode, and sleek 360-degree exterior design. We tested the 55-inch version of the Samsung QN55Q6F Smart TV to see if all of its Q’s add up to a quality display worth your investment.
Design: Sleek and streamlined
A 55-inch television represents something of a sweet spot for many homes. It’s a large screen, yet not overpowering. With an ideal viewing distance of between roughly 4 and 7 feet, a 55-inch display does well in both small- and mid-size rooms, including many bedrooms. And what’s nice about a 55-inch television like Samsung’s QN55Q6F in particular, is that it sports many nice features, both physical and digital, to help it better blend into a room’s decor rather than simply standout. The QN55Q6F is impressively thin, with side panels that measure half an inch and curves to a maximum depth of just 2.4 inches at the TV’s rear center. Like many modern displays, the QN55Q6F has a ribbed, textured black surface for its rear backing. A standard VESA mount in a 400mm x 400mm pattern is on the back of the television. Four wall mount adapters are included in the accessories package. Off-center to the right and bottom of the rear panel is the power cable port. A relatively short 5-foot two-prong power cable is included. On the far left rear of the unit is a recessed area with all of the inputs and outputs. From bottom to top, the ports are: ANT IN, EX-LINK, LAN, HDMI IN 1, HDMI IN 2, HDMI IN 3, HDMI IN 4 (ARC), DIGITAL AUTO OUT (OPTICAL), USB (HDD 5V 1A), and USB (5V 0.5A). The key ports to note there are the four HDMI inputs, which are much-needed with today’s wide variety of must-have set-top boxes and consoles all vying for TV time. Fortunately, each of the four HDMI ports offers full HDR support, so you don’t have to worry about which port you plug what device into. The front of the television has small bezels. The two sides and top of the TV have the thinnest of silver borders and interior black panel borders of just a quarter of an inch before the picture is visible. The bottom front of the TV has a little more than a quarter-inch of silver border, but almost no interior black panel border, so it looks like the picture stretches all the way down to the casing. Physically, it’s a good looking TV.
Setup Process: Great packaging and a logical process
Opening the box is a two-step process and requires at least two people. The first step is to clip the plastic straps holding the box together, then lift the box up off the base. The second step is to lift the TV out from the base and place it with the side down on a table surface larger than the TV. In our case, the accessories and paperwork were still in the styrofoam in the top of the box, so keep that in mind in case you don’t see anything besides the TV. In addition to the TV, you get four wall-mount adapters, power cable, Samsung Smart Remote with the required two AA batteries, and user manual and other paperwork, all of which is contained in individual pockets in a bandolier-style holder. The left and right stand legs are separate and individually wrapped for protection. To insert the legs, you’ll need to make sure the bottom of the TV is slightly off the edge of the table with the screen face down. Obviously, you’ll want to exercise caution here so you don’t damage the screen, but we had no issues sliding each leg in as the other person stabilized the TV. Once the legs are in, you can then turn the TV upright and remove the remaining protective film, including the two plastic side guards on the front that help you to maneuver the TV without having to place your hands directly on the screen. This extra protection is a nice touch and is a good example of how well-packaged and -designed the out-of-box experience is in this case. If you’re not mounting this TV on a wall and instead using the included legs to place the TV on a flat surface, there’s a cable channel in each leg. You can run the power cable down the gridline on the back of the TV, then down the leg’s cable channel, making it disappear from the front. You can do the same for one or two other cables, say, one HDMI cable and one optical audio cable, with the other leg, although the channel is unlikely to be big enough to accommodate much else. The included Samsung Smart Remote has a modern, minimalist, and slightly curved design. It’s just over 1.25 inches wide, close to 6.5 inches long, and about .75 inches deep at its deepest point. It already comes paired to the TV, does not require line-of-sight, and has an effective range of up to 20 feet. The remote features standard navigation, home, playback, volume, and channel functions, as well as three unique buttons: Bixby, Color/Number, and Ambient Mode. The Bixby button, which has a microphone icon, allows you to say a command for Samsung’s digital assistant to follow. The Color/Number button allows you to access additional options that are specific to the feature in use. The Ambient Mode button activates functionality that shows images, various visual information, and notifications, even when the TV is not being used. With the two double-A batteries inserted into the remote and the TV’s power plug connected to a power outlet, you’re ready to go. Pressing the Power button on the remote starts the automated setup process. Setup involves installing the SmartThings app from the Samsung Galaxy Store for Samsung Galaxy devices, Google Play store for Android devices, or Apple App Store for iOS devices. The app is meant to connect, automate, and manage all Samsung- and SmartThings-compatible appliances and electronics, including this TV. If you have neither an Android or Apple mobile device, you can also initiate setup from the Samsung Smart Remote. For testing purposes, we followed the preferred SmartThings app setup on our Apple iPhone XS Max. After downloading the SmartThings app and setting up an account, the app automatically discovered the TV, which it identified as the Samsung Q6 Series (55), and prompted to set it up. After a few moments of communication between the phone and TV, we were prompted to select our Wi-Fi network. Once connected, we were prompted to agree to the privacy and service terms and conditions, which we did. We then had to give the TV a name, were prompted to connect HDMI and ANT IN devices to identify them, enter our zip code, and select apps to add to the TV besides the ones already built-in, like Netflix. After that, setup was complete and the TV displayed a row of apps at the bottom of the screen and started playing the free CBSN live streaming news channel. Although we no longer required the app, it not only proved useful in duplicating the remote’s functionality but also was quite handy when having to enter text like user names and passwords for the TV’s built-in apps.
Image Quality: Great color quality regardless of source
For testing purposes, we left the default picture settings, which proved to be a good move. Picture clarity and color saturation were uniformly excellent, regardless of source, be it a 1080i Xfinity cable box or a 4K Netflix stream. However, when we moved the TV to a brighter room with a lot of natural light, we found that the Dynamic picture mode provided a more pleasing display. The darker your room, the more likely you’ll be just fine with the default settings. Our primary test consisted of using the built-in Netflix app to stream content that relies on HDR color compatibility. For this, we chose Cosmos Laundromat, which has scenes in a garden towards the end of its run-time that absolutely burst with color. Needless to say, it looked spectacular on the QN55Q6F. The Q Color really came through. Similarly, we tested a standard 4K show, this time episode 2 of Netflix’s White Rabbit Project. While the show doesn’t support HDR, so there was no extended color contrast or saturation, all of the fine details one would expect from a live-action 4K show were present. We also provided more of a challenge to this TV by using a regular HD Xfinity cable box, one that can only output up to 1080i. Upscaling of the content proved excellent and the colors really popped. It’s like we were watching a much higher quality source than was actually present. Viewing angles were similarly excellent. Although more perceptive viewers might notice some light bleed at certain angles from the edge-lit LED backlighting, in general, there are no bad viewing angles. One important note is that the Motion Rate 240 option is a gimmick. It’s supposed to simulate a doubling of the TV’s native 120Hz refresh rate, but all it ends up doing is creating an eerie soap-opera-like effect for whatever you’re watching. It’s best to keep that unnecessary motion enhancement option off and stick with the TV’s already excellent default.
Audio Quality: Good sound for a TV
Few TVs feature speakers that are in any way a match for external surround sound systems. Such discrete systems can offer a surround sound simulation and deep bass that the built-in speakers on most TVs simply can’t match. The QN55Q6F is no exception. However, with the obvious limitations of a TV’s speakers in mind, the QN55Q6F delivers clear, pleasing sound. You don’t get any surround sound simulation or much, if any bass, but what’s there is definitely serviceable should you not want to add your own sound system. Setting the TV’s volume to 100% and using a sound meter from about 7 feet away, we registered peaks of 77 dBA, which is equivalent to being close up to an alarm clock when the alarm goes off. Even at 100% volume, there was no sound distortion. It doesn’t get super loud even at 100%, but for most room situations it should perform well.
Software: A nice range of options
The QN55Q6F features Samsung’s Smart Hub, which uses its Tizen operating system. It features a simple interface that can sometimes make navigation a bit cumbersome, but the important part is that overall it performs well, with access to plenty of apps and other content, like games. For Apple iPhone and iPad users, the QN55Q6F supports Screen Mirroring and audio output via AirPlay. In our tests, connections were quick and performance was smooth. Finally, there’s Ambient Mode, which lets you use the TV as an art, information, or other display when not in use. In theory, this is a great feature and can have some real practical and aesthetic benefits. In practice, however, we found the interface rather clumsy, particularly when using the Ambient Photo mode, which is supposed to match the color of your walls. We could never really get a good match. With that said, if you’re willing to put in some time learning Ambient Mode’s quirks, it’s a great way to make use of your TV when it’s not being actively used.
Price: Still a good value
Although no longer produced, there is still plenty of inventory available for the QN55Q6F, with typical pricing at just under $900. Despite being a 2018 model, the QN55Q6F is still feature competitive with many newer TVs. If you can get the QN55Q6F for a reasonable price, it still makes for a solid investment with its strong picture quality and HDR/HDR10+ support, although it does not feature Dolby Vision capability. If that latter feature is important you, look elsewhere at its current price point. Based on 12 cents per kWh and five hours of usage per day, the estimated yearly electricity use of the QN55Q6F is 138 kWh. That works out to about $17 per year, which is average for a TV of this size and feature-set.
Samsung QN55Q6F vs. QN55Q60RAFXZA
For other impressive 4K TVs, check out our roundup of The 7 Best 4K Ultra HD TVs.
Although the Samsung QN55Q6F Smart TV is from 2018, it still has a competitive feature-set and excellent overall quality. If you can find this sleek looking TV for a good price, it should make for a fine purchase even against many newer TVs.
