Samsung M Series TVs Are Not ‘Mini LED’ as Advertised, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Samsung has misrepresented its M Series “Mini LED” televisions in that the products do not contain the advanced backlighting display technology of true mini LED TVs and thus cannot deliver the advertised picture quality. 

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The 40-page lawsuit against Samsung Electronics America states that, within the television industry and among tech reviewers and independent product testers, “mini LED” is defined by the use of backlighting comprised of hundreds or thousands of tiny light-emitting diodes (LEDs) divided into independently controlled “dimming zones,” which provide more precise backlight control. Per the case, retailers tout mini LED televisions as a “step up” from standard LED TVs, and consumers understand the term to mean that the TV comes with an improved backlight that can “brighten one part of the screen while keeping another part dark,” providing “brighter highlights, deeper blacks, and stronger contrast.” 

Although Samsung touts its 2026 M70H, M80H and M90H Series televisions as “Mini LED,” the class action lawsuit charges that this representation is false given that the products lack the hardware required for a mini LED TV. The case alleges that the TVs are equipped with an ordinary LED backlight, apparently the same as can be found in Samsung’s entry-level Crystal UHD TVs, which the company does not advertise as “Mini LED.” 

“In substance, they are standard LED televisions sold under a Mini LED name,” the case summarizes. 

More broadly, the Samsung M Series televisions at issue do not deliver the picture quality—including “3X brighter highlights” and “2X deeper blacks”—promised by the company, the case says. According to the suit, independent testing of the M70H and M80H models found that the TVs do not have local dimming, with the M70H model exhibiting “limited contrast and brightness” and the M80H model providing “washed-out dark scenes, low contrast, disappointing peak brightness, and dull HDR highlights.” 

According to the complaint, Samsung, in “tiny print at the bottom of one advertisement,” admits that the supposedly “supreme mini LED dimming” capability of the TVs at issue is “software-based,” meaning it is not full-array, hardware-based dimming as consumers are led to believe. 

“That admission confirms the problem,” the lawsuit says, explaining that zone-based dimming is a hardware function that requires separately wired groups of LEDs and control circuitry, with software responsible only for operating the hardware that actually exists inside a television. 

“On a television with a single, undivided backlight, software can adjust the picture signal or turn the entire backlight up and down together, but it cannot make one part of the screen bright while another part stays dark, because there are no separate lighting zones for it to control,” the complaint reads. “Calling that software ‘Mini LED Dimming’ does not give the television Mini LED hardware, and the fine print does not cure Samsung’s headline claim that the television is a Mini LED television.” 

Had Samsung truthfully advertised the M Series TVs at issue—that is, disclosed that they had no local dimming and cannot brighten and darken separate parts of the screen—consumers would not have bought the products, or would have paid less for them, the lawsuit alleges.

The Samsung lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who bought a new Samsung M70H, M80H or M90H Series television at any time between January 1, 2026 and the present. 

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