Roku launches its inaugural OLED television into a competitive market, delivering an affordable option that struggles to match the brightness and colour performance of established favourites like LG and Samsung, according to early reviews.
Roku’s first OLED television arrives into a crowded field, and early testing suggests that the company has entered the category with an affordable, competent set rather than an outright class leader. In Tom’s Guide’s hands-on comparison, the Roku Pro Series OLED is being measured against the LG C6 and Samsung S90H, two more established models that sit higher up their respective ranges and currently cost substantially more. That price gap is central to the story: the 55-inch Roku is listed at $999, while the LG and Samsung sets are both around $1,499.
The early measurements point to a mixed debut. In Tom’s Guide’s testing, the Roku panel delivered 331 nits of SDR brightness and 574 nits of HDR brightness in the chosen picture modes, alongside a Delta-E score of 2.3 and Rec. 2020 coverage of 70.7 per cent. By contrast, the LG C6 and Samsung S90H both produced stronger HDR output, with Delta-E readings of 1.6 and wider colour coverage. The result is that Roku’s set can look lively in the right conditions, particularly because OLED’s perfect black levels help small bright elements stand out, but it does not match the overall punch of the brighter rivals.
That said, the comparison is not entirely straightforward. Tom’s Guide notes that the Roku was evaluated in a different mode because it does not offer Filmmaker mode, while the other two sets were tested under stricter reference settings. Even so, the broader pattern remains clear: the Roku appears closer to an entry-level OLED than to a mid-range benchmark. It performs respectably in SDR for everyday viewing, but HDR films, games and streaming content should show more intensity and colour volume on the LG and Samsung models.
The broader market context also matters. Tom’s Guide has separately named the LG C6 as its best TV overall, praising its OLED fundamentals, wide viewing angles and support for Dolby Vision, while RTINGS says the LG C6 has the edge over the Samsung S90H for home cinema thanks to brighter HDR and stronger processing, though both are strong gaming displays. Samsung’s set counters with a matte anti-glare screen and, according to comparison sites, broadly similar gaming features. Against that backdrop, Roku’s first OLED looks like a value play: promising for buyers who want the Roku interface and OLED contrast at a lower entry price, but still some way from the more accomplished picture performance of the category leaders.
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