Samsung Q60T QLED TV review

Two minute review

The Samsung Q60T QLED launched in 2020 and occupied an important spot in Samsung’s TV line-up at the time as the brand’s cheapest QLED TV—we referred to it as the worst best Samsung TV of that year. Of course, in 2021, the Samsung Q60A swooped in at an even cheaper price. 

As the Samsung Q60T is a fraction of the cost of Samsung’s higher-end sets, it's still a decent choice if you’re looking for QLED tech and a crisp, 4K resolution in a reliable display.

It does come with drawbacks. You’ll get a drop in processing power compared to its predecessor, the Samsung Q60R. It also has a Quantum Processor Lite chip instead of the Quantum Processor 4K used in most QLED models. 

Its edge lighting, which illuminates the picture from the sides rather than behind the panel, means there are issues with consistency of brightness, off-axis viewing, and the strength of HDR objects. You’re also going to have to swallow some mild motion blur in exchange for the Q60T’s low price.

However, upscaling HD pictures to 4K is a strength of this TV, and HD images are free of distasteful video noise, even if Samsung’s processing can lead to a slightly flat picture in order to achieve this.

Audio can be pretty muddy. Although an Amplify sound mode for accentuating dialogue helps matters, as does eARC (enhanced audio return channel) compatibility for lossless audio passthrough to external audio hardware. Take a look at our best soundbar guide and best surround sound systems guide as you'll need something to plug the Samsung Q60T into. Once you do, you won’t have a problem with the sound.

Samsung is a TV brand that tends to hit minimum bars on all metrics, and the Q60T is a good example of a set with compromises across the board, but which still meets a benchmark for acceptable watching. And for the price, that’s not a bad sell.

If your budget can stretch, read out best Samsung TV guide for our top picks from Samsung's range of displays. Otherwise, read on to find out more in our Samsung Q60T review.

Samsung Q60T: availability and price

• The Samsung Q60T QLED starts at $529 / £599
• A Q65T variant has a silver finish

The Samsung Q60T QLED starts at $529 / £599 for a 43-inch size, going up to $649 / £699 for the 50-inch, $699 / £899 for the 55-inch, $799 / £999 for the 58-inch, $949 / £1,199 for the 65-inch,  $1,499 / £1,699 for the 75-inch, and $2,199 / £2,199 for the massive 85-inch model.

If you’re shopping from Australia, you can get a 55-inch model for AU$1,495, a 65-inch model for AU$1,895, or a 75-inch model for AU$2,895.

There’s a generous mix of sizing options. There’s also a Q65T variant, which has silver finish rather than the Q60T’s standard black finish, but that’s the only difference.

The price of the Samsung Q60T QLED makes it cheaper than the TV its replacing, the Q60R, which you can compare in our Samsung Q60R review. It's also cheaper than the TV it was replaced by, the Samsung Q60A QLED—2021's entry-level 4K QLED.

But when it first entered the market, it was similar in price to the competition. Take a look at our Hisense H8G review for a 4K TV we think is a little better than the Samsung Q60T and also has a budget-friendly price tag.

Read our Samsung The Frame TV (2020) review for a TV that came out in the same year. It's more expensive, starting at $999 / £1,199 / AU$1,559 for the 43-inch, but it's got a brilliant design.

Samsung Q60T: design

• HDMI 2.1 and eARC support
• 60Hz panel only
• Easy assembly

The Samsung Q60T offers a pretty standard design, with black plastic casing, a thin bezel, and an elegantly curved rear. It’s similar in appearance to Samsung’s 7000 or 8000 series, which is apt given that the Q60 is a transitional set between Samsung’s LED and QLED ranges.

The back of the set contains a good selection of ports, including two USB inputs, satellite, AIR/CABLE, and ethernet. There are three HDMI inputs, though only two are within easy reach of the sides of the set; the third will be entirely out of reach if the TV is wall-mounted, which is something to consider if you’ll need access to all three.

One of these is an HDMI 2.1 port, too, although it’s not overly useful in this specific set.

HDMI 2.1 is a cable standard that enables 4K/120Hz and 8K/60Hz video passthrough, but given that the Q60T is a 4K TV with a 60Hz panel, neither of those capabilities applies here. You are getting eARC support, though.

The Q60T is mounted on two feet—rather than a central stand, which are very easy to insert, without even a need for screws.

As is the custom for Samsung QLEDs, you get two remotes: one standard rubber-button affair with a full numerical keypad, and a slimmed-down version with just the major buttons. Note that you will get dedicated buttons for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Rakuten TV on both models.

The sleeker remote appears to be made of lower-grade materials than the remotes on some other QLEDs, though, with a cheap-feeling plastic casing. The IR sensor also isn’t as responsive as we’d hope, with an occasional delay in the TV tracking inputs and a narrow directional beam—meaning you need to point the remote at the set pretty much head-on.

The Q60T isn't overly heavy, even at the 65-inch size reviewed here (22.6kg), although all models but the smallest 43-inch size will probably need two people to lift them safely.

Samsung Q60T: smart TV (OS)

• Slick and comprehensive smart platform
• Disney Plus included
• Choice of Alexa or Bixby voice assistants

Samsung’s Tizen OS made a proud return on its 2020 sets, offering a sleek and largely well-organized interface. 

Tizen is similar to webOS in that it displays an overlay of horizontally-arranged app icons when you hit the home button, with key apps like Netflix and Amazon listed first, before the likes of YouTube or web browser applications. When you hook up a games console, too, Tizen will register the hardware (i.e. Xbox, PlayStation) with its own dedicated icon that you can place wherever you like in this row.

We found that we preferred to turn off HDMI-CEC in the TV’s external hardware settings, as this automatically turns on connected games consoles when the TV comes on, but it may be a useful function for some.

Tizen has brilliant app support, too, All the major players are here, with Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV Plus, and even Disney Plus on show.

Disney Plus doesn’t come built-in, however, so you’ll need to head to Samsung’s app store to download it separately, and then head to the home bar to place it where you wish. It’s not a very straightforward process, but if you don’t see Disney Plus at startup, don’t worry—it’s very much available.

Samsung has snuck some small ads into its home row, although these are only ever for linked services like Disney Plus, Samsung TV Plus, or Alexa. It’s possibly a slippery slope, though – and having any ads on the user interface of paid hardware is a bit of a slap in the face.

While the interface is largely clean, scrolling down will show you the Samsung TV Plus section, which can feel a bit cluttered, with some rows offering free content and some offering available paid-for content from other streaming apps. That said, it’s worth checking it out to see what you can get for free, especially if you’re looking for kids TV or sports channels.

New Samsung TVs also support AirPlay 2 for easy casting from Apple devices, and you can select either Amazon Alexa or Bixby as an AI assistant for voice navigation. Alexa is generally smarter, but Samsung has a comprehensive list of Bixby voice commands in the settings for those wishing to look for it.

Samsung Q60T: picture quality

• Edge lighting
• Mild motion blur
• Not bright enough for true HDR

The main difference you’ll find from the Samsung Q60R—the TV the Q60T is replacing—is in the processor. While the Q60R had a Quantum Processor 4K, the Q60T features a Quantum Processor Lite.

That’s because Samsung shuffled its 2020 TV range, saving the best performance for its 8K TV models and pushing the 4K TVs down to the bottom of the pecking order.

What does this mean materially for the Q60T? Not that much. You’re still getting great upscaling from HD, even on the Q60T’s larger screen sizes (like the 65-inch mode reviewed here). Watching the US sitcom Community, the HD footage looked suitably detailed on the Q60T’s 4K panel. HD content isn’t indistinguishable from native 4K, and there’s a slightly ‘flat’ effect with HD images that comes from the process Samsung uses to smooth over video noise, but these aren’t so noticeable as to ruin the viewing experience.

You’re also getting Samsung’s Wide Viewing Angle technology, which launched in 2019 on its higher-end sets, and has since trickled down to more affordable QLEDs. This ensures that images still largely hold up in terms of color and contrast when viewed from the side—although the edge lighting here means images aren’t lit consistently in all directions, and we found that a 45-degree angle still wasn’t ideal.

The Q60T’s panel does seem to be heavy on blue light, with blues and greens tending to come out stronger (and more accurately) than reds or browns. When we reviewed Samsung’s The Frame (2020) earlier in the year, we found that this tended to cause darker skin tones to take on a reddish tint, and this is also the case on the Q60T. 

When making the move to native 4K/HDR, things certainly get more exciting. There’s a noticeable increase in the range of colors available, though there’s still a kind of flatness to the picture, with individual objects or areas lacking the brightness needed to make them stand out from the rest of the image.

Ang Lee’s Life of Pi (4K Blu-ray) proved a great choice for the Q60T, with the set’s panel able to vividly show the bright blues of the Piscine Molitor swimming pool, and the comparative lightness of the film’s earlier scenes. The skin tone issue is apparent here, though, with Irrfan Khan’s face seeming to match the color of the wooden cabinets in his kitchen.

Some motion blur is apparent here, too. Images of a monkey moving through branches, or schoolchildren shoving each other in a playground, looked a bit messy visually, with frames appearing to merge slightly as the processor tried to track fast-moving objects. Even a man crouching down at the edge of a swimming pool showed a small hint of judder—and while Samsung’s Quantum Processor Lite manages to keep a handle on these issues, and stop them being as problematic as on the Hisense U8QF, they are noticeable, and detract from the experience.

HDR colors are subdued, likely due to the mid-range processor and edge-lighting. Greys and browns tend to merge with similar tones, without much nuance, which is a shame in colorful films such as Life of Pi.

Watching Netflix’s High Score gaming documentary (in 4K/HDR) shows the Q60T at its best, thanks to the doc’s mix of static interviews (i.e. not much motion) and bright animations. However, the fact that the Q60T only comes into its own with such a specific range of content only serves to highlight its shortcomings elsewhere.

For better HDR performance, you’ll want at least 1,000 nits, if not more—but the Q60T doesn’t get near that benchmark. For truly bright HDR sets from Samsung, check out our Samsung Q80T QLED TV review and our Samsung Q95T 4K QLED TV (QE65Q95T) review.

Samsung Q60T: audio performance

• Mediocre sound quality
• Muddy mids
• eARC passthrough for lossless audio

There’s not much to say about the Q60T’s audio performance. It features pretty standard 20W built-in speakers, which will do the job for everyday content but leave a lot to be desired when it comes to action-packed films or orchestral soundtracks.

Samsung QLEDs come with a mix of sound modes that you can try out. There’s Standard, which is the default setting, and Adaptive, which adjusts automatically to the onscreen content. There’s also an Amplify mode that emphasizes dialogue. 

When watching an ocean storm rage in Life of Pi, we felt it necessary to use Amplify to ensure that the dialogue could be heard over the chaotic weather – and while the setting works perfectly well, and the audio is general audible, the need for Amplify stems from a lack of clear separation between lows, mids and highs. It’s a far cry from the OTS audio systems of the Q90T or Q950TS, which give a real sense of depth, width and verticality to the sound.

Through the single HDMI 2.1 port, though, you do get eARC, for lossless audio passthrough to a soundbar or external audio setup—and the Q60T is a set that’s crying out for ramped-up audio.

Verdict

We like that the Samsung Q60T QLED TV is incredibly easy to set-up with feet inserts that don’t require screws, and most models in the range are relatively light, so it won’t be a burden to lift. Although the Q60T’s audio leaves a lot to be desired, its eARC support means you can get lossless audio out of any external audio kit, so you'll need a soundbar or a home audio setup.

Of course, if you're a true cinephile you'll be disappointed. Edge-lighting means brightness is inconsistent and fails to get HDR objects really popping. The Samsung Q60T also suffers from some mild screen judder, and has a max 60Hz refresh rate rather than the 120Hz of higher-end sets.

There are plenty of better TVs out there. But the Samsung Q60T QLED TV might be worth your time if you're looking for a cheap QLED without the QLED price—especially considering this model is now a few years old, so you might be able to pick it up for cheaper than the retail price.

Also consider...

If our Samsung Q60T QLED TV review has you considering what other TV options are out there, check out our pick of three solid alternatives below.

Samsung Q80T QLED TV
For a big boost in performance, check out the Samsung Q80T QLED TV. Granted it's not the cheapest QLED TV, but it's well worth the bump up in price from the Q60T. We found it had bright peaky HDR, gorgeous definition and a wide color gamut. It's also aimed more at gamers and mainstream viewers than the home cinema crowd.
Read our full Samsung Q80T QLED TV review

Sony X900H/XH90 4K HDR TV
If you want a boost in performance from another brand, take a look at the Sony X900H/XH90 4K HDR TV. Its picture quality is fantastic in the right circumstances and it’s simple to use. It has a quicker response time than the Samsung Q60T and with HDMI 2.1 it's a good TV for gamers.
Read our full Sony X900H/XH90 4K HDR TV review

Hisense H8G
If you're looking for a similarly-priced TV, then the Hisense H8G is better than the Samsung Q60T in most respects. For starters, it's got a quicker response time. It's also easy to use and boasts Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision HDR at a good price.
Read our full Hisense H8G review

• First reviewed in 2020.