The Samsung S90D uses a Quantum Dot OLED panel that delivers richer, more saturated colour than a standard W-OLED, and at £1,099 it is our best value pick. We measured 99.2 percent DCI-P3 coverage and 1,015 nits of brightness. The one real catch is the lack of Dolby Vision.
Samsung resisted OLED for years, then returned with QD-OLED, a panel that adds a quantum-dot colour layer over a blue OLED light source. The result is purer, brighter colour than the White-OLED panels LG and Sony use. The S90D (the 55-inch is the QE55S90D) is the 2024 model, and it is the QD-OLED to buy unless you must have Dolby Vision. On the bench it produced the most vivid HDR of our six, and at £1,099 it undercuts the LG C4 while matching it for outright punch.
| Model | Price | Panel type | Resolution | Peak brightness (10% window) | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Samsung S90D OLED 55-inch (QE55S90D) | £998.98 | QD-OLED (55-inch) | 4K (3840 x 2160) | 1,015 nits | ★ 4.6 | View → |
£998.98 £1,299.00
QD-OLED (55-inch) · 4K (3840 x 2160) · 1,015 nits
The verdict from Idris Bello, home cinema and TV tester
Our best value pick. Samsung uses a Quantum Dot OLED panel that delivers richer colour volume than a standard W-OLED, measuring 99.2% DCI-P3 and 1,015 nits in our tests. The only real catch is the lack of Dolby Vision, which LG and Sony both offer. If you watch a lot of HDR10+ content and want the most saturated picture for the money, the S90D is the rational buy at £1,099.
Colours leap off the screen with a vividness W-OLED panels cannot quite match.
Below is the measured spec sheet for the 55-inch QE55S90D we tested. Figures come from our own bench data or Samsung confirmed specifications.
| Panel type | QD-OLED (55-inch) |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 4K (3840 x 2160) |
| Peak brightness (10% window) | 1,015 nits |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz |
| Input lag (1080p/120Hz) | 9.2 ms |
| HDMI 2.1 ports | 4 (all 48 Gbps) |
| Colour gamut (DCI-P3) | 99.2% |
| Smart platform | Tizen (2024) |
| Our rating | 4.6 / 5 |
| Typical UK price | £998.98 |
The S90D is the right TV if colour is what excites you and you watch a lot of HDR. Its QD-OLED panel covered 99.2 percent of DCI-P3, the widest of our six, and it holds those saturated colours at high brightness in a way W-OLED cannot quite match. It is also a strong choice for a brighter room: at 1,015 nits with a good anti-reflection coating, it handles daylight better than most OLEDs. With four full 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports and 144 Hz it is a capable gaming TV too.
It is less ideal if you rely on Dolby Vision. Samsung backs the rival HDR10+ format and does not support Dolby Vision on any of its TVs, so on the many films and shows mastered in Dolby Vision the S90D falls back to standard HDR10. If that matters to you, the LG C4 or Sony BRAVIA 8 are the answer. For everyone else, the S90D colour advantage is the headline.
QD-OLED is the S90D party trick. We measured 1,015 nits on a 10% window and, crucially, 99.2 percent DCI-P3 colour coverage, the highest here. The practical effect is that vivid scenes, a neon city, a sunlit garden, a red sports kit, look noticeably richer and more luminous than on a W-OLED at the same brightness. Out-of-the-box accuracy in Filmmaker Mode was very good, with a Delta E under 3. Blacks are the usual perfect OLED zero, although in a very bright room the QD-OLED panel can show a very faint magenta tint to deep shadow that W-OLED avoids; in normal viewing you will not notice it.
The NQ4 AI Gen2 processor handles motion cleanly, with no judder on 24 fps film and tidy upscaling of HD sources. The panel runs at 144 Hz, so high-frame-rate PC gaming is on the table, and OLED instant response keeps fast motion sharp.
The S90D is an excellent gaming TV. We measured 9.2 ms of input lag at 1080p/120Hz, a touch behind the LG C4 5.8 ms but still very low. It has four full 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz, VRR with FreeSync Premium Pro and a Gaming Hub that brings cloud gaming services without a console. For a colour-first gamer it is a fine pick; for the lowest latency the C4 still leads.
Tizen is fast and feature-rich but does push advertising on the home screen, which some owners dislike. The Object Tracking Sound speaker system is decent for the class, moving audio to follow on-screen action, but a soundbar is still the upgrade for films. It supports HDR10+ Adaptive and Dolby Atmos.
The S90D has two real weaknesses. The first is the absence of Dolby Vision, which is a genuine miss given how much content uses it. The second is the Tizen interface, which is responsive but cluttered with ads. Neither dents the core picture, which is superb, but both are worth knowing before you buy.
The S90D is best for the buyer who prizes vivid, saturated colour, watches a lot of HDR10+ content and wants flagship picture quality for less than the LG and Sony. If Dolby Vision is on your must-have list, look at the LG C4 instead, and see how the two compare in our C4 vs S90D showdown.
QD-OLED adds a layer of quantum dots over a blue OLED light source, which produces purer, more saturated colours and holds them at higher brightness than a standard White-OLED panel. In our testing the S90D reached 99.2% of the DCI-P3 colour space and 1,015 nits, a richer colour volume than the equivalent W-OLED. The trade-off can be slightly raised blacks in a very bright room, but in normal viewing the colour advantage is the headline.
No, and this is its one real weakness. Samsung does not support Dolby Vision on any of its TVs, instead backing the rival HDR10+ format. Much streaming content is mastered in Dolby Vision, so on those titles the S90D falls back to standard HDR10. If Dolby Vision matters to you, the LG C4 or Sony BRAVIA 8 support it; if you mostly watch HDR10+ or standard HDR, the S90D is superb.
Yes. The QD-OLED panel measured 1,015 nits on a 10% window and its anti-reflection coating handles glare well, so it copes with daylight better than many OLEDs. For a very bright, all-day-sunlit room a Mini-LED still goes brighter, but among OLEDs the S90D is one of the better choices for a light room.
The S90D is our best value pick because it delivers the richest colour on test, 99.2 percent DCI-P3 and 1,015 nits, at £1,099, less than the LG C4 and far less than the Panasonic Z95A. Add four HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz and 9.2 ms input lag and you have a TV that excels at both film and gaming. The only thing that keeps it from the top spot is the lack of Dolby Vision. If that does not bother you, this is the most picture for your money of any OLED here. Compare it directly with our overall winner in the LG C4 vs Samsung S90D head-to-head, and read our OLED vs QLED guide to understand how QD-OLED fits the wider TV picture.