The Samsung QN90C is an impressive TV, and one of our favorites from Samsung's 2023 range. It's the next-best model in Samsung's Neo QLED series of TVs and boasts brilliant brightness and an excellent performance.
Granted, it didn't blow us away quite as much as Samsung's QN95 series, but it costs a lot less while still packing in many of the same features. It's no surprise it made our best TV list in 2023 as the top choice for sports thanks to its high brightness levels, ideal for daytime viewing, and good motion handling.
Samsung made some truly excellent TVs in 2023, including the QN90C, as well as the Samsung S95C and S90C. But we've heard very few unofficial leaks and no official details about what's in store for Samsung's TV line-up in 2024. Of course, that'll all change at CES 2024 in a few weeks when Samsung will reveal its upcoming TV ranges – make sure you keep checking back for the latest news from the tech show.
While we wait, let's look at what we expect to see from the QN90D, the TV to follow-up the top-performing QN90C. We'll cover when the new Samsung OLED TV is likely to be released, how much it might cost, and what we want to see from the QN90D in 2024.
Samsung QN90D: Release date and pricing
There are no official details about when to expect the Samsung QN90D or how much it will cost when it gets here. However, we can make assumptions based on the Samsung QN90C.
The QN90C was first announced back at CES 2023 in January. It was then released only a few weeks later at the end of February 2023 in six different sizes, 43, 50, 55, 65, 75 and 85-inches. Here's how each of those sizes were priced at the time of launch:
How will it compare to other new Samsung TVs? Well, in terms of pricing and specs, the QN90C is in the middle of Samsung’s flagship QN95C and QN85C series, all of the brand's high-end, mini-LED backlit QLED TVs. The key difference between them is that the QN85C is less advanced, especially in terms of audio. Whereas the step up, the QN95C series, has a more svelte and fancy design.
It's safe to say the new Samsung QN90D will hit the market at a similar price. But would be good to see a slight price reduction. One of our few criticisms of the QN90C was that it is pricey compared to some of its mini-LED competitors. For example, you can expect brightness that's nearly as impressive from the likes of either a TCL or Hisense model. Granted, they won’t provide the same extensive feature set as the Samsung, but some customers might be locked out by these higher prices.
Samsung QN90D: Features and what we want to see
We really enjoyed testing the Samsung QN90C, going as far to call it "a bright mini-LED TV that looks good from any angle" in our review.
We particularly recommended this TV set for those who want to watch sports, because its high brightness levels make it ideal for daytime, and its motion handling can keep up with the speed. It's also a top choice for gamers thanks to the fact its four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 120Hz input from a PS5 or Xbox Series X and there’s also VRR and FreeSync Premium support.
When it comes to our wish-list of things we'd like to see in the upcoming QN90D, the first response is simply: that again, but better! But although there were no major flaws with the QN90C, there's definitely room for improvement in Samsung's next version.
For starters, we did notice some backlight blooming during our testing. We noted that these looked like "light halos appearing around white-on-black movie titles and also pinpoints of light in the Starfield motion patterns from the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD HDR test Blu-ray." Although these blooming effects were minimal and didn't affect our viewing experience as a whole, we'd hope Samsung might address this in the QN90D for a more flawless picture.
We also didn't enjoy navigating the smart menus and extensive settings that are often commonplace with premium TVs like the Samsung QN90C.
As with all of Samsung's TVs, Dolby Vision HDR is lacking even though you will find support for the HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ HDR formats here. Samsung's ongoing refusal to add popular Dolby Vision HDR format is frustrating, especially considering content mastered in Dolby’s premium HDR format is widespread and support is offered by rivals, like the LG C3. Then again, we're not expecting this change in the upcoming QN90D, or any Samsung TVs for that matter, but here's hoping.
Other than those minor niggles, all we really know is that Samsung is going to be building on its 2023 successes – and there were plenty of them. For the upcoming QN90D we hope this means it's another feature-packed Neo QLED with high brightness that's packed with features.
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