Samsung’s entry-level 8K QLED TV for 2021, the QN700A, is now available, and with prices starting at just £2500, is one of the most accessible 8K models we've seen.
Often hugely expensive, 8K TVs offer four times the pixel density of their 4K TV siblings. That makes for a stunningly lifelike picture that represents a massive step up from 4K – if you can find any 8K material to watch.
Available in 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch options, the QN700A features a Neo QLED screen with Mini LED backlighting technology. Samsung says the mini LEDs are a fortieth the size of traditional LEDs (they genuinely look like nothing more than sparkly grains of sand), and there's a 'micro layer' that guides the backlight through the quantum dots (which provide the set's colours).
Because mini LEDs are so much smaller, more of them can be packed in to create a higher number of local dimming zones that should result in a lack of light leakage and blooming. Samsung doesn’t publish specific figures on the number of dimming zones but has said there are 1.5-times more on the QN700A than on its conventional LCD TVs.
Sound-wise, the QN700A has eight inbuilt speakers arranged throughout the screen for a 3D, immersive sound that tracks the on-screen action.
To provide so much technology at an affordable price, there are, however, some compromises. Whereas Samsung’s higher-end 8K models are powered by the new ‘Neo Quantum Processor 8K’, the Q700A only gets the ‘Neo Quantum Processor 8K LITE’, indicating it won’t be quite as capable.
The Q700A also lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, so gamers won’t be able to play in 4K@120fps, though it does support AMD FreeSync and VRR to reduce judder and screen tearing. There’s also 'Super Ultrawide GameView' and 'Game Bar', which allow you to use screen ratios such as 21:9 and 32:9 screen ratios and quickly adjust gameplay settings respectively.
On the design side, the QN900A boasts an edge-to-edge 'Infinity Screen' with wide viewing angles and a low profile stand to which the cable-tidying ‘One Connect’ box can be attached.
The Samsung QN700A is now available in Europe in 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes priced at £3499 and £4999 respectively – although the 75-inch model is currently £500 off on Samsung's site. The 55-inch model will be priced at £2499 when it's released at the end of August.
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