MacFormat UK – September 2019

APPLE CHOICE Apple TV hardware

It pretty much

looks and

works exactly

like it does on

Apple’s own

hardware

82 | MACFORMAT | SEPTEMBER 2019

Samsung QE65Q90R

Apple TV finds a home from home on this 65-inch set

£3,799 FROM Samsung, samsung.co.uk FEATURES 65-inch QLED display with 4K Ultra HD

(3,840 x 2,160 pixels) and HDR, Smart TV features inc. Apple TV and AirPlay 2

It’s a heck of a lot of

money for a TV, but

once you’ve seen it

in action, your credit

card will practically beg

to be used – and the

Apple TV integration

is so slick it feels like

a natural extension to

both Samsung’s smart

TV know-how, and to the

whole Apple ecosystem.

Paul says...

macformat.com @macformat

W

hen Apple revealed the new Apple

TV app in May, it did so with a

flourish. Not only would the app

appear on Mac, iOS and Apple TV hardware

• but also on smart TVs made by LG, Samsung
  and Sony. That list looks set to grow.
  One of the first Apple TV-enabled sets you
  can buy is this: the Samsung QE65Q90R, a
  65-inch 4K HDR QLED flagship that has
  AirPlay 2 onboard too. It’s also achingly
  expensive at £3,799 – but that’s a small price to
  pay given its picture and sound quality, and
  the sheer range of smart TV features it offers.
  The QE65Q90R itself is a sight to behold:
  incredibly thin (33.9mm at its thickest point)
  with narrow bezels around the edges of the
  display and a single central foot – from the
  front it looks like an iMac on steroids. One of
  the reasons the TV is so skinny is that it also
  comes with a separate media box, which
  houses almost all of the connectivity options
  you’re likely to need including four HDMI
  ports, three USB ports, aerial and satellite
  sockets, and an Ethernet port for direct
  connection to your broadband router. Or
  you can use the built-in Wi-Fi, of course.
  Inside, the QE65Q90R is stuffed with
  Samsung’s latest TV tech, including a
  Quantum Processor 4K for the very best
  picture quality, 4K AI upscaling for lower-res
  sources (such as DVD or sandard definition
  TV broadcasts), plus Quantum HDR –
  Samsung’s proprietary High Dynamic Range
  technology. It also crams downward-firing
  speakers in there – although home cinema fans
  will probably want to go the whole shebang
  and team the TV with a full-on surround

sound system, or, at the very least, a dedicated

soundbar such as the Sonos Beam (see the

Apple TV accessories round-up on p86).

The QE65Q90R also comes with a stylish

Smart Remote which has a central 4-way

cursor control (resembling the one on the old

Apple TV remote) for navigating the smart

TV’s menu options, as well as up/down volume

controls, a dedicated Netflix button and more.

You’ll also find more conventional buttons for

changing TV channels, swapping sources and

so on under the metallised cover.

One of the things that makes this TV such

a delight to use is its slick operating system,

which can not only be controlled via the remote

but also by using Bixby, Samsung’s answer to

Siri. The QE65Q90R also works with Amazon

Alexa and Google Home, and offers integration

with Samsung’s own range of SmartThings

smart home accessories.

Whichever method you use to control the

TV, getting to the Apple TV app is quick and

easy – it sits alongside all the

other smart TV apps you’d

expect, such as BBC iPlayer,

Now TV and Google Play

Movies & TV and it pretty

much looks and works

exactly like it does on Apple’s

own Apple TV hardware –

The bulk of the TV’s connectivity

options can be found on an off-board media

box, which houses a Ethernet connection, too.

The QE65Q90R is 65-inch big, yet incredibly slim –

and packs some mightily impressive tech, too.