Valuable There’s very little that Samsung’s S90D TV doesn’t do well. As one of the brightest and most advanced OLEDs around, its picture quality is nearly unbeatable for the price, with perfect black levels, great viewing angles, and endlessly compelling colors. It’s fully compatible with both console and cloud gaming, and its design is simple yet elegant, with a pedestal-style stand supporting the incredibly thin panel.
The most notable shortcomings of this substantial display are endemic to all Samsung TVs, including the sometimes frustrating Tizen smart interface and a stubborn lack of support for popular technologies like Dolby Vision HDR, the more prevalent of the two most advanced HDR formats.
These are certainly things to consider, but they’re not enough to put you off buying the S90D. From its very well-rounded performance to its solid features and premium looks, Samsung’s second-best OLED is one of the best TVs you can buy.
Simply amazing
It may seem counterintuitive, but premium TVs can be the hardest to set up. Not so with the S90D. Its screwless legs click into place in seconds, and a faux-metal cover plate transforms it into a pedestal-style center stand. It’s a bit wobblier than the chunky metal stand on the bigger S95D (8/10 WIRED recommendation), but it’s sturdy enough and a slight aesthetic upgrade over last year’s S90C’s bifurcated stand. As with most center stands, it can get in the way of larger soundbars, in which case you might need to install one.
Photo: Ryan Wanniata
The trickiest part of setting up the hardware might be moving the S90D’s ultra-thin panel, but a careful lift (from the rear center) is sure to get you there. The 65-inch model is relatively light at just under 50 pounds, making it easy for two people to set up. Once you’re done, you might want to take a moment to admire the style. This TV’s ultra-thin panel is matched with equally slim bezels for a sleek look, on or off. Very few TVs offer a noticeable upgrade in that regard, including the prohibitively expensive QN900C (8/10, WIRED Recommended) and its “floating screen” design.
Then you’ll rely on Samsung’s sometimes clunky Tizen smart interface to get you set up. Word of advice: don’t be fooled by the setup options on your smartphone. I’ve set up four or five Samsung TVs in the past, and it never worked, with errors along the way. Luckily, the on-screen options are quick, with near-instant scanning for broadcast channels, relatively fast setup of apps and connected devices, per-room sound optimization, and surprisingly solid performance.
Tizen has had its issues, but there have been subtle improvements over the years. The settings layout is still cluttered and you’ll want to disable the useless Intelligent Mode and Eco settings, but it’s fast and you can choose between Amazon Alexa or Bixby smart assistants. My main complaint is the difficulty of adding new apps. Searching for apps is harder than it needs to be, and there’s no reason not to add apps and add them to your home screen; Samsung insists you do it manually. Other than that, the Paramount+ app freezes oddly during rewatches. Top Gun: Maverick—Tizen worked fine for a few days.
Game Master
Tizen’s best feature is the dedicated Game Hub, which offers an attractive layout and console-free cloud gaming from services like Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now, Luna, etc. Four HDMI 2.1 inputs offer top-class gaming features like ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) for tear-free gaming at up to 144Hz on select PCs and up to 120Hz on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.
Photo: Ryan Wanniata
