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To try to better understand how long a TV should last, we're running 100 TVs through an accelerated longevity test for the next two years. We've just posted our 1-year video update with our latest findings on temporary image retention, burn-in, and more!

Samsung S95C OLED TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.11
Review updated Mar 05, 2024 at 10:00 am
Samsung S95C OLED Picture
9.0
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Samsung S90C OLED
8.6
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: LG C3 OLED
8.9
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Samsung S89C OLED
9.4
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: LG B2 OLED
8.9
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: LG C3 OLED
9.2
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Samsung S89C OLED
9.5
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Samsung S89C OLED

The Samsung S95C OLED is a high-end 4k TV in Samsung's 2023 lineup, replacing the 2022 Samsung S95B OLED. There are a few design changes compared to the 2022 version, as the S95C uses Samsung's Slim One Connect external input box and has a sleeker, more uniform design. It's powered by Samsung's Neural Quantum Processor 4k, first introduced in 2022 and designed to deliver better upscaling, optimized on a scene-by-scene basis. It's also a gaming powerhouse, with a fast 144Hz refresh rate for PC gaming and support for HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports. Like other Samsung TVs, it uses Samsung's proprietary Tizen OS smart interface, which offers a large selection of apps and games.

Our Verdict

9.0 Mixed Usage

Overall, the Samsung S95C is a superb TV for any usage. Movies look amazing in a dark room thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio, with deep uniform blacks and bright highlights, with no distracting blooming. HDR content looks incredibly vibrant and lifelike thanks to its wide color gamut and high peak brightness in HDR. It's also excellent for watching shows in the day thanks to its high SDR peak brightness and superb reflection handling, and sports look fantastic thanks to its excellent uniformity and fast response time. It's a fantastic TV for gaming, with low input lag and a nearly instantaneous response time. It also has an impressive array of gaming features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and variable refresh rate support.

Pros
  • Near-infinite contrast ratio for perfect blacks.
  • Superb reflection handling.
  • Exceptionally bright colors.
Cons
8.6 TV Shows

The Samsung S95C is excellent for watching TV shows in a bright room. It has superb reflection handling and gets bright enough to overcome glare in a bright room. It also has a fantastic viewing angle, so you can walk around the room while watching TV and still enjoy a consistent image. The built-in Tizen OS smart interface is easy to use, and it has a great selection of streaming apps in Samsung's app store, so you can easily find your favorite content. Finally, it upscales lower-resolution content well, which is great if you have a bunch of shows on DVD.

Pros
  • Superb reflection handling.
  • Exceptionally wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
  • Bright enough in SDR to overcome glare.
Cons
8.9 Sports

The Samsung S95C OLED is fantastic for watching sports in a bright room. It has superb reflection handling and good peak brightness, so it can easily overcome glare in a bright room. It also has a fantastic wide viewing angle, which is great for watching the big game with a large group of friends, as the image remains consistent when viewed from the sides. Fast action is incredibly clear with minimal blur thanks to its nearly instantaneous response time. There is also barely any dirty screen effect in the center of the screen due to its excellent uniformity, so there are no distractions while watching sports with large areas of the same color, like hockey.

Pros
  • Superb reflection handling.
  • Exceptionally wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
  • Bright enough in SDR to overcome glare.
Cons
9.4 Video Games

The Samsung S95C OLED is a fantastic TV for gaming. It has a nearly instantaneous response time, resulting in crystal-clear motion with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. It also has incredibly low input lag, which results in a responsive gaming experience. It supports many advanced gaming features, including variable refresh rate support to reduce tearing, and it can take full advantage of the new-gen consoles and gaming PCs thanks to its four HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports that allow for gaming in up to 4k @ 144Hz.

Pros
  • Superb reflection handling.
  • Incredibly low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
  • Bright enough in SDR to overcome glare.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports for gaming up to 4k @ 144Hz.
Cons
8.9 HDR Movies

The Samsung S95C OLED is an amazing TV for watching movies in a dark room. It has a nearly infinite contrast ratio, which results in deep, inky blacks in a dark room, with no distracting blooming or haloing around brighter areas of the scene. The TV has impressive HDR peak brightness, so bright highlights really pop in HDR content, and it has an incredibly wide color gamut, so colors are bright, vibrant, and lifelike. It tracks the PQ EOTF superbly, ensuring most scenes are displayed at the brightness level intended by the content creator. Finally, it has fantastic HDR gradient handling, so there's very little banding in HDR.

Pros
  • Near-infinite contrast ratio for perfect blacks.
  • Automatically removes 24p judder from any source.
  • Incredibly wide color gamut in HDR for vibrant and lifelike colors.
  • Exceptionally bright colors.
Cons
  • Doesn't support DTS passthrough or Dolby Vision.
  • Fast response time results in noticeable stutter.
9.2 HDR Gaming

The Samsung S95C delivers a remarkable HDR gaming experience. Games are smooth and clear, thanks to its low input lag and nearly instantaneous response time. It supports advanced gaming features like a variable refresh rate for a nearly tear-free experience, and, thanks to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, it can take full advantage of new-gen consoles and gaming PCs for up to 4k @ 144Hz gaming. Colors are vibrant and lifelike thanks to the TV's wide color gamut, and with its near-infinite contrast ratio and impressive HDR peak brightness, bright highlights in HDR games stand out well, and there's no distracting blooming around them.

Pros
  • Near-infinite contrast ratio for perfect blacks.
  • Incredibly wide color gamut in HDR for vibrant and lifelike colors.
  • Incredibly low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports for gaming up to 4k @ 144Hz.
Cons
9.5 PC Monitor

The Samsung S95C is a fantastic TV for PC gaming, but it's not a good choice for desktop PC use. It has a nearly instantaneous response time and incredibly low input lag, so games are fluid and responsive, with almost no distracting motion blur behind fast-moving objects. It also has a fantastic viewing angle, so you can sit close to the screen, and the sides remain consistent with the center. On the other hand, text isn't very clear due to the unusual pixel structure, and there's a risk of permanent burn-in when exposed to static elements, like the UI elements of a computer desktop.

Pros
  • Superb reflection handling.
  • Exceptionally wide viewing angle for a consistent image from the sides.
  • Incredibly low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports for gaming up to 4k @ 144Hz.
Cons
  • Risk of permanent burn-in.
  • Noticeable color fringing.
  • 9.0 Mixed Usage
  • 8.6 TV Shows
  • 8.9 Sports
  • 9.4 Video Games
  • 8.9 HDR Movies
  • 9.2 HDR Gaming
  • 9.5 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 05, 2024: We've updated the text in the review for accuracy and clarity, added additional side-by-sides to better cover the current market, and added text about the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  2. Updated Feb 13, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  3. Updated Dec 20, 2023: Mentioned the newly reviewed Samsung S89C OLED in the Compared To Other TVs section of this review.
  4. Updated Dec 05, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  5. Updated Nov 08, 2023: We bought and tested the Sony A95L OLED and added a few relevant comparisons below in the Low-Quality Content Smoothing and the Upscaling: Sharpness Processing sections.
  6. Updated Oct 24, 2023: Re-uploaded the correct Rec. 2020 image in the Color Gamut section of the review and updated the text box accordingly.
  7. Updated Oct 17, 2023: Retested the TV's Color Gamut, Color Volume and PQ EOTF Tracking under Firmware 1220, and confirmed that the 'Auto' color space bug has been fixed. Updated the results accordingly.
  8. Updated Oct 12, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  9. Updated Oct 03, 2023: Added measurements regarding the TV's thermal throttling in 'Movie' mode in the HDR Brightness box. Also specified that our measurements were taken from a cold boot.
  10. Updated Sep 29, 2023: Added extra details regarding the TV's thermal throttling in the HDR Brightness box.
  11. Updated Sep 28, 2023: Updated the peak brightness measurements in the HDR Brightness and HDR Brightness in Game Mode results.
  12. Updated Sep 27, 2023: Retested the TV's HDR brightness on firmware 1220 and updated the HDR Brightness and HDR Brightness in Game Mode text boxes with the results.
  13. Updated Aug 09, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  14. Updated Jul 24, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.11. With this update, we've added a new Upscaling: Sharpness Processing test and revamped our Blooming test so the scores and picture better match the real world experience. With this change, it was necessary to remove the Black Crush test. Finally, we've updated our usage scores to better align our scores with user expectations.
  15. Updated Jul 20, 2023: We clarified the recent update to the Inputs Specifications section of the review. Our initial 48Gbps results were incorrect; Samsung confirmed that they didn't change this in a firmware update.
  16. Updated Jul 19, 2023: Corrected the Game HDR setting under HDR Brightness in Game Mode, and added information about the 'Custom' Color Space setting under Color Gamut.
  17. Updated Jul 18, 2023: We rechecked the maximum bandwidth of the HDMI ports and confirmed that the TV now reports a maximum bandwidth of 40Gbps. The Inputs Specifications section of the review has been updated with the correct information.
  18. Updated Jun 08, 2023: We've added a mention of the newly-reviewed Samsung S90C OLED in this review's Compared To Other TVs section.
  19. Updated Jun 07, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  20. Updated May 18, 2023: We've added a mention of the newly-reviewed LG G3 OLED in the SDR Brightness section of this review.
  21. Updated Apr 25, 2023: We bought and tested the Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED and added a few relevant comparisons below.
  22. Updated Apr 21, 2023: We rechecked the SDR peak brightness with firmware update 1123, and found that it hasn't changed.
  23. Updated Apr 14, 2023: We retested the SDR Brightness and HDR Brightness with firmware 1123.0, and confirmed that the TV is no longer thermal throttling in high APL scenes or if you're in a warm environment.
  24. Updated Apr 03, 2023: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  25. Updated Mar 22, 2023: We recently discovered that the TV limits the peak brightness when the TV gets warm. We retested the SDR and HDR peak brightness while the TV was cool, taking measurements before it got warm enough to cause it to throttle the brightness. The 100% window measurements for all three brightness tests increased noticeably when the TV was tested cold. We also ran additional tests to confirm this behavior. We tested the input lag with BFI enabled, and corrected a mistake in the Inputs Specifications section, as we incorrectly stated that it has a variable analog audio out port.
  26. Updated Mar 13, 2023: Review published.
  27. Updated Mar 09, 2023: Early access published.
  28. Updated Mar 03, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
  29. Updated Feb 27, 2023: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  30. Updated Feb 20, 2023: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We bought and tested the 77-inch Samsung S95C, and these results are also valid for the 55-inch and 65-inch models. Note that the last five letters in the model number (AFXZA in this case) vary between retailers and individual regions, but there's no difference in performance.

Size US Model Short Model Code
55" QN55S95CAFXZA QN55S95C
65" QN65S95CAFXZA QN65S95C
77" QN77S95CAFXZA QN77S95C

Our unit was manufactured in January 2023; you can see the label here.

Compared To Other TVs

The Samsung S95C is an incredible OLED TV and a slight improvement on the first-generation Samsung S95B OLED. It gets brighter and delivers better colors than WOLED models from LG and Sony, but it still lacks a polarizer, and the screen finish has a purple tint in a bright room. Overall, it's an impressive TV that outperforms most similarly-priced models on the market, although its younger and cheaper siblings, the Samsung S90C OLED and Samsung S89C OLED, are almost as good. It has an excellent selection of extra features and delivers fantastic picture quality. Along with the Sony A95L OLED and the LG G3 OLED, it's one of the best TVs from 2023.

See our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best 70-75-77 inch TVs.

Samsung S90C OLED
55" 65" 77" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is a bit better than the Samsung S90C OLED for basically only two reasons. First, the S95C has a sleeker, more uniform design, helped by moving all of its inputs to the external One Connect box. This makes the S95C a better bet for someone who knows they want to wall mount their TV and want it to look the best on their wall. Second, the S95C gets much brighter than the S90C, although this won't be that noticeable in practice except in a few super bright scenes.

Sony A95L OLED
55" 65" 77"

The Sony A95L OLED is a bit better than the Samsung S95C OLED. The Sony TV has much better image processing when dealing with low-quality or low-resolution content, so cable TV channels and streaming movies look much better, with less macro-blocking and pixelization. The Samsung is a bit more versatile, especially for gamers, as it has four high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming up to 4k @ 144Hz, whereas the Sony only has two HDMI 2.1 ports capable of 4k @ 120Hz.

LG C3 OLED
42" 48" 55" 65" 77" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the LG C3 OLED. The Samsung is brighter than the LG and can hold onto its brightness much better than the LG in Game Mode. The Samsung has a much wider color gamut than the LG; it can output bright, vibrant colors, making the TV pop. It also has much better HDR gradient handling than the LG, so you won't notice annoying banding in scenes with color gradients. The LG does have better low-resolution upscaling, so it will do a better job with low-resolution content or streaming content at low bitrates. The LG also supports every audio format, including DTS, so it's the better overall TV for a home entertainment setup.

Samsung S95B OLED
55" 65"

The Samsung S95B OLED and the Samsung S95C OLED are very similar overall as far as performance and picture quality are concerned. The S95C gets a bit brighter and now officially supports a 144Hz refresh rate. The S95C also has an updated design that appears to be better built, and it uses an external Slim One Connect input box.

Sony A80L/A80CL OLED
55" 65" 77" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the Sony A80L/A80CL OLED. The Samsung gets brighter in HDR, so highlights pop more in HDR content, and it isn’t any dimmer in ‘Game Mode’ like the Sony is. Colors are brighter and more vibrant on the Samsung due to its wider color gamut and better color volume. The Samsung also has better SDR brightness, so it can overcome more glare than the Sony. Finally, the Samsung is the better option for PC gamers due to its 4k @ 144Hz support.

Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED
43" 50" 55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung S95C OLED is mostly better than the Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED. The S95C has a wider viewing angle, so it’s the better option for watching TV with friends, and due to its wider color gamut, colors are more vibrant and lifelike. The S95C has a nearly infinite contrast ratio, so blacks are deeper without any blooming or haloing. If you regularly watch TV in a bright room, the QN90C is the better choice since it gets brighter in SDR, so it can overcome more glare.

LG G3 OLED
55" 65" 77" 83"

The LG G3 OLED and the Samsung S95C OLED are two fantastic OLED TVs. They're very close in performance, each having a slight edge over the other in some way. The LG G3 is the brighter OLED of the two, can reach a higher peak brightness than the S95C in HDR, and performs better in SDR when bright content takes up a large portion of the screen. However, the LG G3's HDR brightness drops quite a bit in Game Mode, while the S95C maintains its brightness well in that mode. Also, while the LG G3 is generally brighter out of game mode, the S95C can output much brighter colors overall, so, typical of Samsung panels, its colors will be 'punchier' than the G3's. Combined with the S95C's wider color gamut, it will be the more vibrant TV in most cases. Both TVs are fantastic for gaming, but the S95C officially supports 4k @ 144Hz, giving it the edge over the 120Hz G3. Note that the LG G3 OLED now supports DTS audio formats, so this is something to consider if you listen to many DVDs or Blu-rays, which tend to have their audio tracks encoded in DTS.

Sony A95K OLED
55" 65"

The Samsung S95C OLED and the Sony A95K OLED deliver a very similar experience overall. The Sony is a bit better for a home theater setup since it supports Dolby Vision HDR and more advanced audio formats like DTS. The Samsung is a bit more advanced for gaming, as it supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on more ports than the Sony, and its variable refresh rate feature is compatible with more sources.

Samsung QN95C QLED
55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the Samsung QN95C QLED in most ways. The S95C has better contrast, so blacks are deeper without any blooming or haloing. The S95C also has a wider color gamut and better color volume, so colors are brighter and more vibrant. The S95C has a much wider viewing angle, so it’s the better option for watching TV as a group. However, the QN95C gets a lot brighter in SDR and can overcome more glare, so if you regularly watch TV in a bright room, it’s the better option.

Samsung S89C OLED
77"

The Samsung S95C OLED is a bit better than the Samsung S89C OLED for basically only two reasons. First, the S95C has a sleeker, more uniform design, which is helped by moving all of its inputs to the external One Connect box. This makes the S95C a better bet for someone who knows they want to wall mount their TV and want it to look the best on their wall. Second, the S95C gets much brighter than the S89C, although this won't be that noticeable in practice except in a few super bright scenes.

Sony X95L
65" 75" 85"

The Samsung S95C OLED and the Sony X95L are both excellent TVs that serve different purposes. The Sony can overcome more glare due to its better SDR peak brightness, so it’s the better option for a bright room on a sunny afternoon. The Samsung is a great choice for a dark room due to its better contrast with no blooming around highlights, it has a wider color gamut for more vibrant and lifelike colors, and its wider viewing angle makes it the better option for watching TV as a group. The Samsung is also better for gamers due to its faster response time and 4k @ 144Hz support.

Samsung QN900C 8k QLED
65" 75" 85"

The Samsung S95C OLED and the Samsung QN900C are both excellent TVs that excel in different ways. The S95C is better for a dark room due to its nearly infinite contrast ratio, better black uniformity, no blooming, and perfect zone transitions, so you get perfect blacks without any distractions. The S95C also has a wider color gamut and better color volume, so colors in HDR are more vibrant and lifelike than on the QN900C. If you primarily use your TV in a bright room, the QN900C is better for that purpose as it gets much brighter in SDR, so it overcomes glare better. The QN900C is also capable of 4k @ 144Hz, so it's a better option for a gaming PC capable of 144 fps.

LG C2 OLED
42" 48" 55" 65" 77" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is a bit better than the LG C2 OLED. The Samsung has much brighter colors that look more vibrant and life-like in HDR, and it gets a bit brighter, so specular highlights stand out more. Besides that, both TVs deliver fantastic picture quality and offer a great selection of gaming and smart features, so you can't go wrong with either one.

LG G2 OLED
55" 65" 77" 83" 97"

The Samsung S95C OLED is a bit better than the LG G2 OLED. The Samsung has much brighter colors that look more vibrant and life-like in HDR, and specular highlights stand out a bit better thanks to its slightly higher peak brightness. Other than that, both TVs deliver fantastic picture quality, especially in a dark room, and offer a great selection of gaming and smart features, so you can't go wrong with either one.

Sony A90J OLED
55" 65" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the Sony A90J OLED. Highlights stand out more in HDR content on the Samsung due to its better HDR brightness. It also does a better job at fighting glare due to its higher SDR peak brightness. The Samsung is a little better for gamers thanks to its 4k @ 144Hz support and lower input lag. Finally, colors are brighter, more vibrant, and more lifelike on the Samsung due to its wider color gamut and better color volume.

Sony A80K/A80CK OLED
55" 65" 77"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the Sony A80K/A80CK OLED. The Samsung is a bit better for gamers because of its lower input lag and support for gaming up to 4k @ 144Hz. The Samsung also has better SDR brightness, so it’s better suited for a bright room, and its better HDR brightness allows highlights to stand out in HDR content better than they do on the Sony. Colors also look better on the Samsung due to its wider color gamut and better color volume, and there is less banding.

LG B3 OLED
55" 65" 77"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the LG B3 OLED. The Samsung gets brighter in SDR, so it can overcome more glare in a bright room, and it gets brighter in HDR, so highlights stand out more in HDR content. Colors look more vibrant and lifelike on the Samsung due to its wider color gamut and better color volume, and there is less banding. Finally, the Samsung is a bit better for PC gamers thanks to its 4k @ 144Hz support.

LG C1 OLED
48" 55" 65" 77" 83"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the LG C1 OLED. Colors are more vibrant and lifelike on the Samsung due to its wider color gamut and better color volume, and there is less banding. The S95C also overcomes glare better in a bright room thanks to its higher SDR peak brightness, and highlights pop a lot more in HDR content thanks to its better HDR brightness.

LG B2 OLED
55" 65" 77"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the LG B2 OLED. Both TVs deliver fantastic picture quality in a dark room, but the S95C has much brighter colors that look more vibrant and life-like in HDR. The S95C also gets significantly brighter, so specular highlights stand out better. Finally, the Samsung is better equipped for gaming, with four HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports and a faster refresh rate for PC gamers.

Sharp AQUOS FS1 OLED
55" 65"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the Sharp AQUOS FS1 OLED. The Samsung has much better SDR brightness, so it can overcome much more glare in a room with lights on. HDR brightness is also significantly better on the Samsung, so highlights in HDR content pop much more than on the Sharp. The Samsung also has a much wider viewing angle, better pre-calibration accuracy, much less banding, a BFI feature, HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports, and much better image processing.

LG OLED Flex
42"

The Samsung S95C OLED is better than the LG OLED Flex but doesn't have the Flex's panel curving versatility. The S95C gets much brighter than the Flex in both SDR and HDR, leading to a better viewing experience for all content; bright highlights pop on the S95C. The S95C also has an even wider color gamut than the Flex's, has a much better color volume, and is significantly more color accurate. The S95C supports 4K @ 144Hz, while the Flex is limited to 4K @ 120Hz, so the Samsung is the better gaming TV. Outside of its versatility, the Flex has one advantage over the S95C: it has much better low-quality content smoothing, so content from DVDs and even some streaming services look better on this TV.

+ Show more

Video

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Curved No

The Samsung S95C has a very premium design and looks incredible in any room. The central stand looks great and takes up very little space, and Samsung's decision to switch to the external Slim One Connect box for the inputs results in a more uniform thickness, similar to the LG G3 OLED.

Design
Accelerated Longevity Test
Uniformity Pictures

After ten months, the TV shows no signs of permanent image retention. Its brightness has dipped slightly but has remained mostly the same.

Design
Stand

The center-mounted stand is solid and small, supporting the TV well. Due to the large size of the TV, it wobbles a bit, but it's not bad at all. The stand lifts the display 3.35 inches above the table, so almost any soundbar fits in front of it without blocking the screen.

Footprint of the 77-inch stand: 14.2" x 11.2".

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 400x400

The back of the TV is very different from the 2022 Samsung S95B OLED. Samsung has decided to move the inputs to an external Slim One Connect box, so you can place the input box away from the TV. It's a versatile feature, as you can leave the input box on your table or mount it to the back of the TV or the back of the stand. There are no other clips or anything for cable management, though.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.28" (0.7 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 0.47" (1.2 cm)

The TV leans back about three degrees, but this isn't noticeable when you're sitting in front of it.

9.0
Design
Build Quality

The Samsung S95C has fantastic build quality. Samsung has redesigned the shell of the TV, resulting in a more uniform thickness, and it feels more solid, so it's unlikely that it'll have the same issue with bent panels that affected the Samsung S95B OLED. The stand is very robust and stable, and even though it still wobbles a bit, it's not bad at all. There's some flex to the back casing, but it's very minor and won't cause any issues.

Picture Quality
10
Picture Quality
Contrast
Contrast
Inf : 1
Native Contrast
Inf : 1

Since OLED displays use self-emissive pixels instead of a backlight, the Samsung S95C has a nearly infinite contrast ratio.

10
Picture Quality
Blooming

Since this TV uses self-emissive OLED technology, there's absolutely no blooming around bright highlights or subtitles in otherwise dark scenes.

10
Picture Quality
Lighting Zone Transitions
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
No Backlight
Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV
8,294,400

The Samsung S95C doesn't have a backlight, but thanks to its nearly infinite contrast ratio, it's equivalent to a perfect local dimming feature with no zone transitions. We still film the zone transition video on the TV so you can see how the screen performs and compare it with a TV that has local dimming.

9.5
Picture Quality
Contrast And Dark Details In Game Mode

Switching to the 'Game' picture mode doesn't result in any noticeable difference in contrast or black crush. Contrast is perfect even in 'Game' mode.

8.5
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
1,050 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
670 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
265 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
1,229 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
1,213 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
536 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
280 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
234 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
1,190 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
1,140 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
496 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
274 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
230 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.109

The Samsung S95C has impressive peak brightness in HDR. Unfortunately, large bright scenes are significantly dimmer than smaller specular highlights due to the TV's aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL). The TV also can't maintain bright highlights; brightness peaks quickly, but then starts to decrease almost immediately. If you're in a bright room, a TV with an LED backlight, like the Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED, is a better choice, as it can better overcome glare.

You can set Peak Brightness to 'Off' in HDR if the brightness fluctuations bother you, but this just locks the peak brightness much lower, so highlights in HDR don't stand out at all anymore.

These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

  • HDR Picture Mode: FILMMAKER
  • Brightness: Max
  • Contrast: Max
  • Color Tone: Warm2
  • HDR Tone Mapping: Static
  • Color Space Settings: Auto
  • Peak Brightness: High

8.6
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness In Game Mode
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
1,128 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
765 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
334 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
1,232 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
1,203 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
584 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
300 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
234 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
1,207 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
1,189 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
558 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
298 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
230 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.107

The TV has impressive HDR brightness in Game Mode and is actually slightly brighter than it is outside of it.

These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

  • HDR Picture Mode: Game
  • Brightness: Max
  • Contrast: Max
  • Color Tone: Warm2
  • HDR Tone Mapping: Static
  • HDR10+ Gaming: Off
  • Color Gamut: Auto
  • Game HDR: Basic

9.6
Picture Quality
PQ EOTF Tracking
600 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0029
1000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0025
4000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0022

The TV has superb PQ EOTF tracking, which ensures that most content displays at the correct brightness level. There's a sharp cutoff near the TV's peak brightness for content mastered at 600 and 1,000 nits, so there's some clipping in really bright scenes in content mastered at those levels, which is most content. There's a smoother roll-off with content mastered at 4,000 nits, with less clipping, but very little content is mastered at that level.

7.7
Picture Quality
SDR Brightness
Real Scene Peak Brightness
385 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
632 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
632 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
634 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
312 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
248 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
618 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
616 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
592 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
308 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
243 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.064

The Samsung S95C has good peak brightness in SDR. It's bright enough to overcome glare in a bright room. There's a noticeable variation in brightness with different scenes, though, as very bright, high-APL scenes are dimmed considerably by the TV's Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL). It's mainly distracting when watching sports like hockey with bright playing surfaces. Setting Peak Brightness to 'Off' effectively disables the ABL feature but also reduces the peak brightness to about 250 cd/m² in all scenes. If you want an OLED but want a brighter SDR experience, check out the LG G3 OLED.

These measurements are after calibration with the following settings:

  • Picture Mode: Movie
  • Brightness: Max
  • Peak Brightness: High
  • Color Tone: Warm2

9.4
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
99.35%
DCI P3 uv
99.53%
Rec 2020 xy
84.99%
Rec 2020 uv
89.78%

The Samsung S95C has an incredibly wide color gamut. It can display the full range of colors in the DCI-P3 color space used by most HDR content. Coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space isn't as good, although it's still amazing. Still, highly saturated colors in Rec. 2020 are slightly off from what they should be.

9.1
Picture Quality
Color Volume
1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP
97.3%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
53.7%
White Luminance
1,223 cd/m²
Red Luminance
272 cd/m²
Green Luminance
882 cd/m²
Blue Luminance
65 cd/m²
Cyan Luminance
950 cd/m²
Magenta Luminance
336 cd/m²
Yellow Luminance
1,151 cd/m²

This TV has exceptional color volume. Thanks to its QD-OLED panel, it displays dark, saturated colors perfectly, and colors are bright and vibrant. Colors are bright relative to pure white, and this is one of the main advantages of QD-OLED panels like this one over WOLED panels like the LG C3 OLED.

8.8
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.96
Color dE
1.16
Gamma
2.16
Color Temperature
6,767 K
Picture Mode
Movie
Color Temp Setting
Warm 2
Gamma Setting
2.2

Even without calibration, the Samsung S95C has excellent accuracy in SDR. The white balance is great, with no noticeable issues, and gamma follows the 2.2 target for a moderately lit room well. Most colors are displayed well, except for reds, which are a bit off but not noticeably so. The color temperature is very close to the target.

9.6
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.32
Color dE
0.59
Gamma
2.19
Color Temperature
6,523 K
White Balance Calibration
20 point
Color Calibration
Yes

After calibration, the Samsung S95C has fantastic accuracy, with no noticeable issues at all. It's relatively easy to calibrate.

You can see our full calibration settings here.

8.6
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
1.396%
50% DSE
0.117%
5% Std. Dev.
0.430%
5% DSE
0.118%

The Samsung S95C has excellent gray uniformity. There's very little variation in brightness across the screen, which is great for any content. There's also almost no distracting dirty screen effect in the center, which is great for sports fans.

10
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Std. Dev.
N/A
Native Std. Dev.
0.168%

Since OLEDs can turn off individual pixels, the Samsung S95C has perfect black uniformity, with no distracting blooming or halo effect around bright areas of the screen in dark scenes.

10
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
Color Washout
70°
Color Shift
70°
Brightness Loss
70°
Black Level Raise
67°
Gamma Shift
70°

The Samsung S95C has an exceptionally wide viewing angle. Although it's close to perfect, the image fades slightly at extremely wide angles. In practice, you can move around the TV and see a consistent image at almost any angle.

9.5
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.0%
Indirect Reflections
0.7%
Calculated Direct Reflections
0.4%

The Samsung S95C handles direct reflections incredibly well, but like the Samsung S95B OLED before it, there are some flaws. The glossy anti-reflective coating significantly reduces the intensity of direct reflections, but due to the lack of a polarizer, the TV has a pink tint to it even when it's off.

9.3
Picture Quality
HDR Native Gradient
100% Black to 50% Gray
8.0
50% Gray to 100% White
10
100% Black to 50% Red
10
50% Red to 100% Red
10
100% Black to 50% Green
10
50% Green to 100% Green
8.0
100% Black to 50% Blue
10
50% Blue to 100% Blue
8.0

The Samsung S95C has superb gradient handling in HDR. There's some minor banding in dark grays and bright blues and greens, but it still looks great.

6.8
Picture Quality
Low-Quality Content Smoothing
Smoothing
6.0
Detail Preservation
8.5

This TV has just okay processing capabilities with low-quality content. It can't smooth out macro blocking very well, so it's still very noticeable, especially in dark scenes. On the other hand, it preserves fine details well. The Sony A95L OLED does a much better job smoothing out low-quality content.

7.5
Picture Quality
Upscaling: Sharpness Processing

The Samsung S95C upscales DVDs and other 480p content well, with no noticeable issues, but it's not as good as the Sony A95L OLED.

Sharpness processing was calibrated with no over-sharpening for low-resolution or low-bitrate content, with the following settings:

  • Sharpness: 5
  • Picture Clarity: Off

Picture Quality
Pixels
Subpixel Layout
Triangular RGB
Type OLED
Sub-Type
QD-OLED

The Samsung S95C uses a unique subpixel structure. Instead of having all three subpixels in a row, each pixel forms a triangle, with the larger green subpixel at the top. This is especially noticeable when displaying any content with horizontal lines and especially bad when used as a PC monitor. Text has just okay clarity from a PC, as Windows ClearType settings aren't designed for this subpixel structure and can't correct for it. You can see a few examples below:

Motion
9.9
Motion
Response Time
80% Response Time
0.2 ms
100% Response Time
1.7 ms

The TV has a nearly instantaneous response time, resulting in incredibly clear motion with almost no blur behind fast-moving objects. Due to the sample-and-hold nature of OLED technology, there's still some noticeable persistence blur when gaming at 60Hz, but it's hardly noticeable at higher refresh rates.

10
Motion
Flicker-Free
Flicker-Free
No
PWM Dimming Frequency
0 Hz

This TV isn't technically flicker-free, as there's a small decrease in brightness that corresponds with the refresh cycle of the display. This is very different from pulse width modulation flicker (PWM) on TVs with LED backlights, and it's not noticeable.

Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Optional BFI
Yes
Min Flicker For 60 fps
60 Hz
60Hz For 60 fps
Yes
120Hz For 120 fps
No
Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode
60 Hz

The Samsung S95C has an optional black frame insertion feature (BFI) that reduces the appearance of persistence blur caused by the TV's nearly instantaneous response time. It can only insert black frames at a 60Hz refresh rate.

Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes

This TV has an optional motion interpolation feature to improve the clarity of motion. It works well with slower scenes, but in fast-paced action, it can't keep up, and there are noticeable artifacts and haloing.

4.8
Motion
Stutter
Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps
40.0 ms
Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps
15.0 ms

Unfortunately, due to this TV's quick response time, slow-paced motion and panning shots stutter a lot.

10
Motion
24p Judder
Judder-Free 24p
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via 60p
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via 60i
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps
Yes

The TV is always judder-free when watching 24p movies or TV shows, even from sources that can only send a 60Hz signal, like a cable box. It's even judder-free with the BFI feature enabled on a 60Hz signal.

9.5
Motion
Variable Refresh Rate
Native Refresh Rate
144 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Yes
HDMI Forum VRR
Yes
FreeSync
Yes
G-SYNC Compatible
Yes
4k VRR Maximum
144 Hz
4k VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1080p VRR Maximum
144 Hz
1080p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1440p VRR Maximum
144 Hz
1440p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
VRR + Local Dimming No Local Dimming

The Samsung S95C supports variable refresh rate (VRR) technology to reduce screen tearing. It works well across a wide refresh rate range, even when your frame rate drops low, as it also supports Low Framerate Compensation or LFC. It's also compatible with all three types of VRR, ensuring it's fully compatible with all sources that support VRR.

Inputs
9.7
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
9.3 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
82.1 ms
1080p @ 120Hz
5.1 ms
1080p @ 144Hz
4.6 ms
1440p @ 60Hz
9.4 ms
1440p @ 120Hz
5.2 ms
1440p @ 144Hz
4.2 ms
4k @ 60Hz
9.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR
9.4 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
9.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
63.0 ms
4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation
19.4 ms
4k @ 120Hz
5.1 ms
4k @ 144Hz
4.2 ms
8k @ 60Hz
N/A

This TV has incredibly low input lag, ensuring a very responsive gaming experience with very little delay between your actions with your controller or mouse and the action on-screen. With BFI enabled at 60Hz ('Game' Mode, 'Game Motion Plus' enabled, and 'Clear Motion' enabled), the input lag is 29.4ms.

9.6
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)
Yes
720p @ 59.94Hz
Yes
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 144Hz
Yes
1440p @ 60Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 144Hz
Yes (forced resolution required)
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 144Hz
Yes
8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz
No
8k @ 60Hz
No

The Samsung S95C supports all common resolutions up to 4k @ 144Hz. Chroma 4:4:4 signals are displayed properly with all supported resolutions, which is important for text clarity. Unfortunately, even though it can display chroma 4:4:4 properly, text from a PC isn't clear due to the unusual subpixel structure (see the Pixels section of the review for more on this issue). 4k @ 120Hz signals are displayed properly, with no resolution-halving or other issues.

Inputs
PS5 Compatibility
Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
HDR
Yes
VRR
Yes

This TV can take full advantage of the PlayStation 5 system. It supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to 'Game' mode to get the lowest input lag.

Inputs
Xbox Series X|S Compatibility
Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
HDR
Yes
VRR
Yes

With the exception of Dolby Vision support, this TV can take full advantage of the Xbox Series S|X systems. It supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to 'Game' mode to get the lowest input lag.

Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
Yes
HDR10+
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
HLG
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth
Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth
Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
CEC Yes
HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
ATSC Tuner
3.0 (NEXTGEN TV)
USB 3.0
No
Variable Analog Audio Out No
Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

Although the TV supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four HDMI ports, all four ports are limited to 40Gbps. In practice, this doesn't cause any issues or limitations with any current source. Unfortunately, Samsung still doesn't support Dolby Vision. However, it supports HDR10+ instead, which is very similar overall but not as widely supported.

Inputs
Input Photos

The TV itself only has two inputs: a USB-C port that appears to be for service only and an input for the OneConnect cable. All the audio/video and USB connections are housed on the external OneConnect box instead.

Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 3
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 0
Composite In 0
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
Inputs
Audio Passthrough
ARC/eARC Port
eARC
eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus
Yes
eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Yes
eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT
Yes
eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Yes
eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA
No
eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
No
eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)
7.1
ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1
Yes
ARC: DTS 5.1
No
Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1
Yes
Optical: DTS 5.1
No

This TV supports eARC, which lets it pass uncompressed high-quality audio from a connected source through to your soundbar or home theater system without sacrificing audio quality. Sadly, it doesn't support any DTS formats, which is disappointing, as many Blu-rays use DTS for their lossless audio tracks.

Sound Quality
7.0
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Low-Frequency Extension
106.79 Hz
Std. Dev. @ 70
2.45 dB
Std. Dev. @ 80
2.41 dB
Std. Dev. @ Max
2.44 dB
Max
85.3 dB SPL
Dynamic Range Compression
2.41 dB

Unfortunately, the Samsung S95C has just decent sound quality. It has a well-balanced sound profile, so dialogue is clear and easy to understand, but it's not very loud, and it has horrible bass, with no thump or rumble at all. On the other hand, there's almost no compression at all.

7.4
Sound Quality
Distortion
Weighted THD @ 80
0.511
Weighted THD @ Max
0.868
IMD @ 80
0.77%
IMD @ Max
0.94%

This TV has decent distortion performance. There's very little audible distortion at normal listening levels, and since it can't get very loud anyway, even at max volume, it's not very noticeable.

Smart Features
8.5
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Tizen
Version 2023
Ease of Use
Easy
Smoothness
Very Smooth
Time Taken to Select YouTube
2 s
Time Taken to Change Backlight
5 s
Advanced Options
Many

The Samsung S95C runs the 2023 version of Tizen OS, which is fast and easy to use. The Smart Hub interface is smooth and has lots of advanced options, and it's easy to find your favorite content.

0
Smart Features
Ad-Free
Ads
Yes
Opt-out
No
Suggested Content in Home
Yes
Opt-out of Suggested Content
No

Unfortunately, like most TVs on the market, there are ads throughout the interface, and there's no option to disable them completely. There are a few privacy-related options, so you can limit things like ad-tracking, but this doesn't reduce the number of ads you see, as it just makes them less personalized.

8.5
Smart Features
Apps and Features
App Selection
Great
App Smoothness
Average
Cast Capable
Yes
USB Drive Playback
Yes
USB Drive HDR Playback
Yes
HDR in Netflix
Yes
HDR in YouTube
Yes

The included apps cover most of the common streaming services, and there's a great selection of additional apps available in Samsung's app store.

8.5
Smart Features
Remote
Size
Small
Voice Control
Many Features
CEC Menu Control
Yes
Other Smart Features
Yes
Remote App Samsung SmartThings

The remote is very slim and compact and is easy to use. It has a built-in rechargeable battery with a solar panel on the back of the remote. You can also recharge it via USB-C if it dies unexpectedly.

Smart Features
TV Controls

The controls are on the bottom bezel of the TV near the right corner. There's a single button to power the TV on/off and change channels, volume, and inputs.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • One Connect box (not shown)
  • Short One Connect cable (12")
  • Long One Connect cable (94.5")
  • Power cable
  • Remote
  • One Connect cable plug protective caps (x4)
  • Cable management clips
  • Plastic spacers/One Connect anchors (x3)
  • Documentation

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 142 W
Power Consumption (Max) 398 W
Firmware 1100