The Samsung S90C was our top pick for not only the best TV of 2023, but the best OLED TV. The mid-range OLED also won the 'TV of the Year' in our TechRadar Choice Awards 2023 in which we called it "the ultimate mix of picture quality and performance". Although the Samsung S95C that also came out in 2023 is, objectively, a better TV, the price of the S90C makes it a much more realistic choice for most people.
Because the Samsung S90C was such an incredibly impressive and top-performing TV, the question now is will the next TV in this range live up to its predecessor? And what can we expect from what we assume will be the S90C's follow-up TV, the Samsung S90D?
No unofficial leaks or official details have been released about Samsung's 2024 TVs. But we expect to learn all of the juicy information about the upcoming line-up at CES 2024 in a few weeks. Keep checking back for the latest news.
In the meantime, let's look at what we expect to see from the S90D. We'll cover when the Samsung S90D is likely to be released, how much it might cost, and what we want to see from one of the new Samsung OLED TVs in 2024 based on the (admittedly very few) shortcomings of the S90C that came before it.
Samsung S90D: Release date and pricing
There are no official details about when to expect the Samsung S90D or how much it's likely to cost. However, we can make assumptions based on the Samsung S90C.
Firstly, the Samsung S90C range came out a little later than the more high-end Samsung S95C last year. The smaller sizes landed in May 2023 and the larger 83-incher came out in July 2023. It makes sense then that the Samsung S90D will be available late Spring 2024.
The Samsung S90C comes in three sizes, 55, 65 and 77-inches. There's also an 83-inch version, but that has a regular OLED panel rather than a QD-LED panel, like the smaller versions, and isn't available in the UK or Australia. Here's how much those different sizes cost:
55-inch: $1,599 / £1,799 / $3,299AU
65-inch: $2,099 / £2,499 / AU$4,299
77-inch: $3,199 / £3,599 / AU$6,799
83-inch: $5,399
The S90C was priced to offer a more affordable way for people to own Samsung’s exciting new QD-OLED TV technology, and it's noticeably cheaper than the S95C, which cost $2,499 / £2,399 / AU$3,999 for the 55-inch. So we'd expect the Samsung S90D to have a similar pricing structure to last year and to come in at a lower price than the upcoming S95D.
Samsung S90D: Features and what we want to see
We were really impressed by the Samsung S90C – we awarded it a very rare five out of five stars in our review. That sets the bar really high for the incoming S90D. How can you improve on an almost perfect TV?
In our Samsung S90C review, we didn't experience any major problems with the QD-OLED set, but we did find some minor niggles. It'd be good to see those resolved, or at least improved, in the S90D.
The main one is that it's not as bright as its high-end equivalent, the S95C, or the rival LG G3. Then again, this was always meant to be a mid-range TV, so to make it more affordable there'd always have to be compromises. What's more, as we pointed out in our S90C review "it's still brighter than most of the competition".
We were also a little disappointed by some of the TV's picture presets. In our Samsung S90C review, we wrote that the Dynamic picture is "too full-on out of the box, looking a little gaudy and over-sharpened". However, in contrast some of the other presets, even the Standard one "can leave colors looking a little faded", which is the opposite of what you'd expect from a QD-OLED screen.
The Samsung S90C offers different support options. Its 4K resolution is backed up by support for the HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG HDR formats. This is good for a mid-range display, but Samsung’s refusal to add the popular Dolby Vision HDR format feels annoying, especially considering how widespread content mastered in Dolby’s premium HDR format is amongst rival TV makers. Although we're not expecting this to change with Samsung's 2024 TVs, here's to hoping.
Although we don't have any details from Samsung about its 2024 TVs, WhatHiFi reported that the TV maker has been working on QD-OLED panels as small as 32 and 27-inches. However, it seems these will be sold to other companies as gaming monitors rather than included in the next set of OLED TVs. Which is understandable at this stage, but still a shame.
Otherwise, all we really know for certain is that Samsung will build on its 2023 successes, which was all about the high-end Samsung S95C and the wonderful Samsung S90C. For the upcoming S90D, this means we can expect another mid-range QD-OLED with high-end specs.
