Samsung is getting ready to roll out a new version of its HDR (high dynamic range) format, and it’s called HDR10+ Advanced. Think of it as an upgrade to the current HDR10+ standard that aims to make your TV content look better—whether you’re watching a movie, playing a cloud-based game, or catching a live sports event.

The new format is expected to launch with Samsung’s 2026 TVs, and Amazon Prime Video has already signed on to support it. While Dolby has recently introduced two levels of its Dolby Vision 2 standard, Samsung is keeping things simpler. HDR10+ Advanced will offer one unified feature set across all compatible devices—no “basic” or “premium” versions to keep track of.

Here’s what HDR10+ Advanced brings to the table, and why it matters.

HDR10+ Advanced introduces six key features. Each is designed to help TVs adapt more intelligently to the content you’re watching and the environment you’re watching it in.

1. HDR10+ Bright: This feature is all about handling brightness and contrast more effectively. It gives TVs extra metadata—basically, more detailed instructions—so they can better interpret the brightness range of a video. That means more consistent image quality, especially on high-end Samsung TVs that can hit peak brightness levels between 4000 and 5000 nits. If you watch HDR content in a bright room, this is the kind of improvement you might actually notice.
2. Genre-Based Optimization (HDR10+ Genre): Ever feel like some content just doesn’t look right, even with HDR on? This feature lets creators tag content with its genre—like drama, sports, or animation—so your TV can tweak its tone mapping and color settings accordingly. A nature documentary might aim for realism, while a fast-paced sports stream might lean into more saturated colors and crisper motion.
3. Intelligent Motion Smoothing (HDR10+ Intelligent FRC): Motion smoothing tends to split the room. Some love how it cleans up blur during fast movement; others think it makes movies look artificial. HDR10+ Advanced introduces a smarter approach: content creators can now suggest how much motion smoothing a scene needs—or whether it needs it at all. Your TV then adjusts the effect automatically, factoring in both what’s on screen and the lighting in your room.
4. Adaptive Cloud Gaming Mode (HDR10+ Intelligent Gaming): Gaming is more than just playing on a console these days. With cloud gaming on the rise, Samsung is focusing on ways to improve those streamed experiences. This feature adjusts tone mapping in real time based on your room’s lighting, aiming to keep gameplay visuals consistent even as conditions change. You’ll need both a compatible game service and a TV that supports HDR10+ Advanced, but this could be a solid upgrade for game streaming fans.
5. Detailed Local Tone Mapping: This one’s aimed at Mini LED and LCD TVs with local dimming. It lets the TV analyze images in more zones than before, improving how it lights up (or dims) specific parts of the screen. That means better contrast and depth, particularly in dark scenes or complex visuals like fireworks or cityscapes at night.
6. Advanced Color Control: With this, content creators can include more detailed color data in the video stream. TVs use that information to produce more accurate colors—especially in wide-color-gamut scenes. Whether it’s a soft pastel sunset or a vivid animated film, this feature helps displays stay closer to what the creators intended.

Samsung plans to introduce HDR10+ Advanced with its 2026 TVs, though there’s a chance some 2025 models might get partial support depending on their specs. So far, Amazon Prime Video is the first streaming service to commit, and Samsung hasn’t announced others yet. That said, HDR10+ already has wide adoption, supported by over 16,000 certified devices and 16 streaming platforms, including Disney+ and Apple TV.

If you’re wondering whether your current TV will get a firmware update to support the new format, it’s too early to say. Some of these features depend on AI-powered hardware and advanced brightness capabilities, so support might be limited to newer models.

The HDR format landscape can feel crowded: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ, and now HDR10+ Advanced and Dolby Vision 2. But the goal is the same—to make content look better by adapting it to your screen and your space.

What makes HDR10+ Advanced interesting is how it tries to cover multiple use cases with one format: TV shows, movies, sports, and even gaming. And it’s doing that without dividing features between “tiers” or locking certain enhancements behind premium devices.

Samsung also pointed to two reasons behind this update. First, streaming is booming—subscriptions are expected to hit 2.1 billion globally by 2028. Second, display tech is advancing fast, with new Micro LED and Mini LED panels offering more brightness and color potential than ever. A smarter HDR format helps take advantage of that hardware.

We’ll likely get a closer look at HDR10+ Advanced at CES 2026 in January, including which models will support it and how it performs with real-world content.

For now, if you’re planning to upgrade your TV next year—or you’re curious about what’s coming next in the world of picture quality—it’s worth keeping an eye on how this format develops.

It may not reinvent HDR, but it does suggest a more flexible, creator-friendly approach that could make a noticeable difference—without making users dig through menus to get it.

If you’re interested in buying a Samsung TV, here are a few we'd recommend, and they’re currently discounted on Amazon:

• Samsung 98-Inch Crystal UHD DU9000 — now $1,697.99 (was
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• Samsung 65-Inch S85D OLED TV — now $1,147.95 (was $1,897.99)
• Samsung 65-Inch QN90F Neo QLED — now $1,597.99 (was
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• Samsung 77-Inch S85F OLED TV — now $1,797.99 (was $2,797.99)