It looks like Samsung’s first 77-inch OLED TV will beat LG in one way: a high price
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Samsung has apparently leaked a key detail about its soon-to-be-released 77-inch OLED TV, showing it can beat LG in one key area, but not in a good way.
In the US, the largest variant of the Samsung S95C OLED TV – one of several Samsung TVs unveiled at CES 2023 – is reported to cost $4,499.99. By comparison, LG’s most expensive 77-inch OLED TV – the LG G2 OLED launched last year – launched for $4,199 / £4,499 (about AU$6,100).
That Samsung price converts to around £3,630 / AU$6,335, which would make the TV slightly more expensive than LG’s in Australia, but significantly cheaper in the UK; however, these are unlikely to be the official prices for those regions. Based on Samsung’s previous pricing strategies in the UK, we expect the TV to have a similar, if not greater numerical value than the US price – i.e. the $4,500 TV would cost around £4,500 or more, despite the exchange rate, which means it should cost £900. fewer. As for Australia, we wouldn’t be shocked if the final price were closer to AU$7,000, but we’ll have to wait and see what Samsung decides.
This pricing information is based on a store page spotted and shared by Flat panelsHD (opens in new tab); however, it seems that the page is no longer available now. This price is certainly in line with what we’d expect from Samsung’s new range of OLED TVs, although as with all leaks, we’ll have to take this with a grain of salt until the company makes an official announcement.
There’s no word yet on how much the smaller models will cost, but based on last year’s Samsung S95B OLED TV, we’d be surprised to see Samsung’s 55-inch TV under $1,799 / £1,999 / around AU$2,700 would cost, or if the 65-inch TV costs less than $2,799 / £2,999 / about AU$4,200.
If you decide to splurge on one of these Samsung TVs, it looks like money well spent. For gamers, the S95C offers a 0.1ms response time and a premium 144Hz refresh rate (better than the S95B’s mere 120Hz), as well as VRR/ALLM support. You also have access to a range of 4K cloud gaming apps such as Nvidia GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna and Utomik.
The audio system is also getting a boost. Samsung’s new TV uses a 4.2.2 channel speaker system – a step up from both the S95B’s 2.2.2 and 3.1.2 system on which the LG C3 OLED relies.
And let’s not forget the screen itself.
Is this the best QD OLED screen of 2023?
While Samsung refers to its S95C series as OLED TVs, that sells its screens a bit short because these screens use QD OLED panels – a hybrid of typical OLED and QLED panels.
OLED panels are self-emissive – read that they don’t have a backlight – so it’s possible to completely turn off individual pixels. This allows OLED TVs to excel at displaying well-defined dark scenes – they can create deep blacks and display an ‘infinite’ contrast ratio between light and dark areas of the screen.
QLED panels, on the other hand, are excellent when it comes to bright and colorful images. While the dark contrast isn’t all that impressive, the Quantum Dot filters help ensure that colors almost never look washed out.
QD-OLED looks to combine the strengths of both panel types into one, with Samsung saying the latest S95C series kicks things up a notch with “unparalleled clarity, vibrant color mapping and smart 4K upscaling with AI detail restoration.” To that end, the latest Samsung OLED has a brightness 30% higher than the 2022 Samsung S95B; thanks to the new Quantum HDR OLED Plus algorithm, the S95C can apparently reach a whopping 2,000 nits of peak brightness.
It’s not all good news, though; unlike some competitors, this TV doesn’t offer DTS:X support and the lineup still lacks Dolby Vision HDR.
We’ll have to test the latest Samsung TV to know if it’s worth its seemingly hefty price tag, but given that the Samsung S95B was one of the best TVs of 2022, we expect the S95C to be yet another standout device.
If you can’t wait for Samsung’s S95C to launch and need a new screen today, check out our picks for the best 4K TV to buy right now.