There are precious There are a few things the Samsung S90D TV doesn’t get right. As one of the brightest, most advanced OLEDs available, its picture quality is almost unbeatable for the money, characterised by perfect black levels, fantastic viewing angles and endlessly captivating colours. It’s fully equipped for both console and cloud gaming, and its design is simple yet elegant, with a pedestal-style stand anchoring an impossibly thin panel.
The biggest drawbacks of the expansive screen are the same as those of all Samsung TVs, including a sometimes annoying Tizen smart interface and a persistent lack of support for mainstream technologies like Dolby Vision HDR, the more common of the two most advanced HDR formats.
Those are certainly points to consider, but they wouldn't stop me from grabbing an S90D. From its impressively versatile performance to its solid features and premium looks, Samsung's second-tier OLED is one of the best tvs you can buy.
Simple stunner
It may seem counterintuitive, but the fanciest TVs can sometimes be the hardest to set up. Not so with the S90D; its screwless feet snap into place in seconds, while a faux metal cover creates a pedestal-style center stand. It wobbles a little more than the sturdy metal stand of the step-up S95D (8/10, WIRED recommends), but it's sturdy enough and offers a subtle aesthetic upgrade over last year's two-legged stand S90C. As with most center stands, it can get in the way of larger soundbars, in which case mounting may be necessary.
Photo: Ryan Waniata
Perhaps the most difficult part of the hardware installation is actually moving the S90D’s ultra-thin panel, but a gentle lift (and from the center back) ensures success. The 65-inch model’s relatively light weight, at just under 50 pounds, makes it easy for two people to pry into place. Once you’re done, you might want to take a moment to admire the style; the TV’s micro-thin panel is matched by an equally thin bezel for a sleek look, on and off. Only a few TVs, like the exorbitantly expensive QN900C (8/10, WIRED recommends) and the “floating screen” design offer a noticeable improvement there.
From there, you’re left to rely on Samsung’s sometimes-clunky Tizen smart interface to get things up and running. A word of advice: don’t be fooled by the smartphone setup option. In the past four or five Samsung TVs I’ve installed, it’s not worked for me once, with some bug midway through. Thankfully, the on-screen setup is fast, including near-instant scanning for broadcast channels and relatively quick setup for apps, connected devices, and even room-based sound optimization for surprisingly solid performance.
I’ve had issues with Tizen, but it’s made subtle improvements over the years. The settings layout is still too cluttered and you’ll want to disable the useless Intelligent Mode and Eco settings, but it’s fast and gives you a choice of Amazon Alexa or Bixby smart assistants. My biggest gripe remains the difficulty of adding new apps. Finding apps is more difficult than it should be, and there’s no good reason to add an app rather than having it added to the home screen, which Samsung makes you do manually. Aside from that – and some odd crashing of the Paramount+ app while rewatching Top Gun: Maverick—Tizen worked fine for a few days.
Gaming Guru
Tizen's best feature is its dedicated Gaming Hub, which offers an attractive layout and console-free cloud gaming from services like Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now, Luna, and others. Four HDMI 2.1 inputs offer top-notch gaming features like ALLM (auto low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) for tearfree gaming at up to 144Hz with select PCs, or 120Hz with PS5 And Xbox Series S/X.
Photo: Ryan Waniata