a Bigger, Brighter, and Sleeker Display

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• Samsung’s S95C 4K TV is the company’s latest top-of-the-line OLED TV.
• It carries over everything we loved about the S95B, while offering a brighter image and sleeker design. 
• The S95C is a good fit for home theater enthusiasts, but its higher brightness comes at a hefty premium. 

Samsung’s S95C is one of the top-performing 4K TVs you can buy in 2023. With an OLED panel that delivers infinite contrast, quantum dots that provide rich colors, and a super-thin design, the TV checks nearly every box you should look for in a high-end display.

But compared to last year’s already impressive S95B, the S95C doesn’t offer a huge leap in performance. Don’t get me wrong, there are key upgrades here that are absolutely worth geeking out over, including higher peak brightness and 144Hz gaming support, but these improvements aren’t quite enough to justify the current difference in price between this new model and the 2022 S95B. At least, not for most people. 

The 65-inch S95C (its flagship size) carries an MSRP of $3,300. While that’s on par with other 2023 TVs in this class, like the LG G3, it’s about $1,500 more than the 2022 S95B is selling for. Big home theater enthusiasts with big pockets won’t be disappointed with the S95C’s performance (it’s top-notch), but there are TVs that offer slightly less impressive image quality for a lot less.

Note: Our review unit is the 77-inch model with an MSRP of $4,500, but performance specifications remain the same across all sizes. There’s also a 55-inch model with an MSRP of $2,500.

The brightest OLED TV so far

Like its predecessor, the S95B, the S95C delivers truly high-end picture performance, with specs that rival its top competitors this year, the LG G3 and Sony A95L. The OLED panel delivers pixel-level contrast and the TV’s use of quantum dots helps it achieve top-of-the-line color range and volume. 

Though overall image performance is very similar to the 2022 S95B, the S95C does improve upon that model in one notable area: brightness. The S95B hit a peak of around 1,050 nits in its Filmmaker picture mode, but the S95C has a peak of around 1,360 nits. That’s about a 30% increase, which is impressive. Colors also maintain brightness well, with high color volume that surpasses the performance of OLED panels that don’t use quantum dots (like LG’s). 

This means the TV can do an even better job of hitting the intended contrast levels of high-dynamic-range (HDR) content, with highlights that really pop from the screen. It also delivers better performance in rooms that let in more outside light so you can still enjoy excellent image quality during the day. And best of all, we get that increased brightness while maintaining the perfect black levels that OLED TVs are known for. 

When watching movies and shows, these impressive specs deliver gorgeous picture performance. The opening scene of “The Matrix” on 4K Blu-ray comes through with inky black levels and solid shadow detail. The police officers’ flashlights offer punchy specular highlights that really show off the benefits of the OLED panel’s precise contrast. 

“Aquaman” is also a stunner on the S95C. The movie’s vibrant color palette looks rich without becoming oversaturated and the film’s climactic underwater battle is bright and filled with intricate detail. The display’s quantum dots and increased color volume help it deliver an intensity in smaller highlights that dimmer OLED models simply can’t achieve.

Gradients are also smooth, with only a faint hint of vertical banding in gray test patterns. The TV handles our test scene in “Ex Machina” well too, with background colors that remain smooth in sequences that feature harsh red light. And like all OLED TVs, viewing angles are superb.

When it comes to gaming, the S95C offers all the bells and whistles buyers should look for, including variable refresh rate (FreeSync and G-Sync compatible), auto low latency mode, and 120Hz support for PS5 and Xbox Series X. The S95C also supports an even higher 144Hz refresh rate when connected to a compatible PC. Last year’s S95B could technically do this as well, but the feature wasn’t officially supported and had performance issues. 

On the downside, Samsung still doesn’t support Dolby Vision, which is an advanced HDR format that tells a TV how to properly render colors and brightness. Dolby Vision content will instead play in standard HDR10, which isn’t quite as precise, but the S95C’s HDR10 performance is so strong that most people aren’t likely to notice a difference outside of a side-by-side comparison with a high-end Dolby Vision TV. HDR10+ is also supported, which delivers many of the same benefits as Dolby Vision, but that format isn’t used on nearly as many 4K Blu-ray discs or streaming titles. 

Like all OLED TVs, there is technically some risk of burn-in on the S95C. Burn-in can occur if you leave a static image on the screen for hours on end, causing a faint shadow image to get stuck on the screen. Though OLED owners should be mindful of this, it’s not something that will affect users with regular viewing habits. 

A uniformly thin design, but it uses an external box for inputs

As a premium TV, the S95C certainly looks the part. The display has an elegant build with a nearly bezel-less frame. And unlike last year’s S95B, this model maintains a thin profile of 0.4 inches all the way around. 

To achieve this sleek design, the TV houses all of its ports and processing components in a separate “One Connect Box.” The box plugs into the display and then you plug all your video devices into the box. The older S95B protrudes out to 1.6 inches in its lower half to house all the ports, however, it is technically slimmer at its thinnest point of just 0.15 inches.

On the one hand, this design gives the S95C’s panel a strikingly narrow build, but it does mean that you have to deal with an extra component. Thankfully, the box can attach right to the back of the TV’s included pedestal stand, which makes it easy to hide out of view. It can also attach to the back of the TV if you wall mount it. 

A solid smart TV experience

There are no major changes to Samsung’s smart TV experience for 2023, so the S95C delivers nearly identical performance as last year’s S95B in this department. Samsung’s OS works well with easy access to every major streaming app there is, and the TV supports Bixby and Alexa built-in. Google Assistant is also supported but requires a a spearate device.  

Last year’s Gaming Hub also returns, where you’ll find support for cloud services like Xbox Game Pass. This means Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can stream Xbox games directly on the TV without a console. As noted in my S95B review, this feature is a cool perk, but performance relies heavily on your internet connection. As it stands, playing on an actual console still delivers a much better experience.  

Samsung’s compact remote gets the job done, and its SolarCell design means you never have to worry about batteries. Instead the remote can continually recharge itself through the lights in your room. All you have to do is flip it over. USB-C charging is also supported. On the downside, I still hate that Samsung cut a dedicated settings button from the remote. As it stands, you have to navigate through the info screen first to get to picture adjustments. 

Samsung S95C 65-inch OLED 4K TV: Specs

Should you buy the Samsung S95C 4K OLED TV?

If budget isn’t a concern and you want the absolute best picture quality on the market, the Samsung S95C should be high on your shopping list. However, at $3,300 (65-inch model), there’s no denying that this is a pricey TV. 

For a whopping $1,500 less, you can still pick up the 2022 version of this display, the S95B, which delivers similar performance. The new S95C is brighter, has a higher refresh rate, and features a uniformly thin design, but we just don’t think those perks are worth the extra money for most people. That said, the S95C is the only model of the two that comes in a 77-inch screen size, so it’s the clear pick for anyone who wants an extra-large Samsung OLED. 

Home theater enthusiasts willing to shell out the dough for the absolute best TV, should also keep in mind that LG and Sony have new flagship OLEDs for 2023 that are poised to rival the S95C. The LG G3 is rolling out to stores now for the same price as the S95C. It doesn’t use quantum dots, but on paper it promises similar brightness levels. Meanwhile, the Sony A95L does use quantum dots and its specs have the potential to deliver an even brighter image than Samsung’s TV, though it’s likely to cost more when it hits stores later this year.