Currently, Samsung Gaming Hub is only available on Samsung’s 2022 lineup of smart TVs and smart monitors, however. Unfortunately, this means that it is not available on the Samsung Odyssey G9 monitor, which is currently one of our best monitors out there. But the feature does make it onto the impressive Samsung M8 monitor, so if you do not need a curved monitor that is a great choice. The good news is that while Gaming Hub is only available on eight smart TVs, one of those is the Samsung QN90B QLED TV, the latest version of the Samsung QN90A QLED TV that sits atop our best TVs list. That makes Gaming Hub a potential killer app to separate from the competition.
Luna and Xbox Game Pass on Samsung Gaming Hub
While we have not gone hands-on with Luna in Gaming Hub, our experience with Xbox Game Pass shows that Samsung’s app has incredible promise. The experience was nearly flawless. Input lag was not a concern, the graphics were comparable to an Xbox Series S and the streaming quality on Gaming Hub was as good as it is on any other device. As long as you’re not someone that demands 4K gaming (Xbox Game Pass cloud streams are limited to 1080p at 60 FPS), Gaming Hub has the potential to eliminate the need for a console. Despite this great experience, there are still a couple of catches. Not every Game Pass game is available on Gaming Hub yet, and there are some issues with the UI similar to Game Pass apps on other devices — namely launching and quitting games. Also, we tested it with an ethernet connection. If you connect your smart TV via WiFi, your experience could suffer, though that is simply because wireless connections are typically worse than wired connections.
Best cloud gaming services
Stadia is probably the service to avoid of the three. Google’s first-party game studio shut down, there are constant rumors that the service has been deprioritized or will be killed off and outside of Destiny 2 the game selection can be questionable. At $9.99 a month, it’s tough to justify choosing it over Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for only $5 a month more. Ultimately (no pun intended) the best choice is still probably Xbox Game Pass Ultimate if you’re willing to pay the $15 a month. This gives you access to over 100 games on your Xbox console or your PC. You also get the ability to play games via cloud streaming on your phone, Chromebook, web browser — and now your Samsung smart TV. Pretty soon, if it has internet, it could play Halo, and that makes Game Pass a clear winner.