Samsung QE1C 4K QLED review

The new QE1C is so slim it makes a runway model look positively chunky. With its "air-slim" design, it's like they've sucked out all the excess bulkiness from the TV. And forget about those clunky borders around the screen that you usually get to see on tellies that cost similar money – they've been banished. When you plonk this beauty on your wall or set it up on stands, it doesn't look like an installation – it looks like it grew there.

While the material used is mostly all plastic there’s that sense of typical Samsung build quality you get to see on the higher end models. It feels sturdy and well built and Samsung hasn’t cheaped out on anything in this department. Even the stands are plastic but with Samsung’s simple slide and lock design it takes away the complication of fiddling around with a screwdriver. On top of that, the telly looks stunning on the stand!

The QE1C runs on the refreshed Tizen OS that’s now a lot cleaner and extremely intuitive thanks to its tile-style layout. Thankfully Samsung hasn’t cluttered the OS with unnecessary apps either. You get the essentials pre-loaded, and for everything else, there's app casting so you can mirror content from your trusty mobile to the big screen effortlessly. 

And the voice control game is strong with this one too. They've roped in Alexa and Google Voice Assistant, so you can boss your TV around with voice commands. But wait, there's more! Bixby, Samsung's own AI assistant, is also available to take things up a notch allowing more info and control at your disposal.

The QE1C employs an 8-bit FRC VA ELED QLED panel and if that sounds like alphabet soup to you, it translates to vibrant, punchy colours and sharp contrast – exactly what you want for a top-notch viewing experience. But what sets it apart is that dual LED backlighting tech. You've got these white and slightly yellowish LEDs working their magic, and it's all about precision – giving you the perfect balance in colour tone.That’s the theory at least.

We streamed The Witcher on Netflix to look for the typical banding that you can often notice in lesser panels but found none. The panel generally favours a cooler tone and the FilmMaker mode improves the overall tonality a bit. The QE1C handles dark scenes incredibly well and with great detail too but switch to some HDR content like The Grand Tour or All Quiet on the Western Front and that’s where you’re left wanting a bit more. Why? Simply because the panel isn’t bright enough! This results in a noticeable difference in detail and crispness which is quite surprising because the models that sit higher in the QE series don’t exhibit this in such an obvious way. So while it may support the latest HDR standards, it is unfortunately let down by the innate lack of brightness that is required for the essential ‘pop’ and detail you get to see on HDR content especially on say an OLED panel. 

If you’re a gamer it is important to note that it is a 50Hz panel and with that being said you get Samsung’s Auto Low Latency Mode and interestingly HGIG support as well, but again the brightness level here matters just as much. The audio quality is decent from the 20W speakers and the telly comes with Q-Symphony support that allows your soundbar and telly to make noise in tandem.

When we were made aware of the initial ₹70,000 price tag, we were a bit skeptical about the package as a whole. The main downer being the lack of brightness to support proper HDR. The ₹10,000 price cut doesn’t seem to be that big an incentive if you are big on viewing HDR content and like that extra pop and brightness in your entertainment. Apart from this we don’t really have a lot to complain about here. The upscaling of lower res content is great, the black levels and details in similar scenes are amazing and the UI is intuitive and simple to use. You also get the solar remote that is offered with the higher end panels of Samsung. But the rising popularity and the widespread adoption of HDR content should make you think about where you invest your ₹60K.