Samsung Series 5 WW90CGC04DAB Review: 12p a Wash, but Samsung Has Stopped Selling It
This 9 kg, 1400 rpm ecobubble machine is one of the most-reviewed washing machines in the UK, and it is cheap to run. But Samsung’s own shop now lists it as “No longer available”. John Lewis and AO still sell it, so this is a review of a machine you can still buy while stock lasts, not a current Samsung model.
Where the reviews line up
We could not find a public, hands-on editorial test of this machine. Which? has tested it, but the score is behind its paywall. That leaves two other kinds of evidence: thousands of buyer ratings at John Lewis, AO.com and Argos, and owners trying to work out its cycle times on the Samsung Community forum. They point the same way.
It is cheap to run. The official EU product fiche gives 44.4 kWh per 100 cycles on Eco 40-60, which is A-rated. At the Ofgem cap from 1 October 2026 (26.32p per kWh), that is about 12p a wash. Buyers rate it very highly: 4.6/5 from 642 reviews at John Lewis, 4.76/5 from 536 at Argos and 4.8/5 from 3,108 at AO. The things they praise most are how quiet it is and how well it washes.
The complaint is time, and how the machine shows it. Eco 40-60 takes 3 hours 48 minutes on a full load. Which? timed a 40°C cotton wash at 208 minutes. Owners on Samsung’s forum report the clock jumping from about an hour and a half to over three hours once the machine has weighed the load. A Samsung engineer told one owner this was normal.
The app is optional, but some features need it. AI Energy mode, which Samsung says cuts energy use by up to 70%, runs through the SmartThings app, and so do the extra downloadable cycles. Everything else works from the dial.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Which?Tested since April 2024 and last checked September 2026, but the score is paywalled. We use only the public figures: £59.19 a year to run and a 208-minute cotton cycle.
- John Lewis, AO.com & Argos4.6/5 from 642, 4.8/5 from 3,108 and 4.76/5 from 536, on pages that sell it. AO seems to combine reviews for the white and black versions.
- Samsung CommunityA four-reply owners’ thread on why the cotton cycle time grows by more than 1½ hours once a wash starts.
Before the review: which model you are buying
Samsung’s UK shop lists this machine as “No longer available”. This applies to both the white WW90CGC04DAEEU and the black WW90CGC04DABEU. The pages for two other codes in the same 9 kg Series 5 range, WW90CGC04DAHEU and WW90CGC04DTEEU, now just send you to Samsung’s homepage. We checked on 5 October 2026 and found the black WW90CGC04DAB in stock at John Lewis for £429, with an “Add to basket” button, and listed as available at AO. Argos lists the white version at £389. We chose it because it is a 9 kg, 1400 rpm Samsung that is still sold at both AO and John Lewis and has more than 500 reviews at each. If it sells out, the same figures will not necessarily apply to Samsung’s replacement.
We first tried to review the LG F4V309WSE and F4V309WNW. John Lewis lists the F4V309WNW as no longer available, and we found no current UK listing for the F4V309WSE. The Bosch Series 4 WAN28282GB we reviewed earlier has also been discontinued.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Freestanding front-loader, 9 kg, 1400 rpm, ecobubble, Wi-Fi | Samsung UK |
| Capacity | 9 kg rated capacity, which is a dry cotton load on Eco 40-60. Lighter fabric programmes take less | EU product fiche; per-programme limits are in the manual, which we did not check |
| Energy rating | A | EU fiche, Samsung, John Lewis, Argos |
| Energy per 100 cycles | 44.4 kWh (Eco 40-60, weighted). Samsung and John Lewis round it to 44 kWh | EU fiche |
| Running cost | About 12p an Eco 40-60 wash (0.444 kWh × 26.32p). Which? puts the annual cost at £59.19 | Our sums at the Ofgem cap for 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026. Which? uses its own mix of programmes, so its figure is higher |
| Water | 50 litres per Eco 40-60 cycle | EU fiche, Samsung |
| Eco 40-60 time | 3h48 full load · 2h54 half · 2h44 quarter | EU fiche. John Lewis lists a 228-minute “standard cycle”, which matches |
| Other cycle times | Cotton 40°C: 208 min · Synthetics 40°C: 170 min · Quick wash: 15 min | Which? (public figures); quick wash from Argos and John Lewis |
| Spin noise | 72 dB(A), noise class A | EU fiche and Samsung. AO lists “52 dB” as the spin figure, which we think is the wash figure mislabelled |
| Wash noise | Not published by Samsung. AO’s 52 dB may be this figure. John Lewis gives 72 dB for wash and spin together | Unconfirmed; the EU label no longer includes wash noise |
| Spin efficiency | Class B, 53.9% moisture left in the clothes | EU fiche |
| Dimensions | 850 × 600 × 550 mm (H × W × D). Samsung gives 635 mm deep including the door. AO gives 603 mm and Which? 611 mm | Samsung, John Lewis, AO, Which?. John Lewis says to allow 850 × 600 × 600 mm |
| Weight | 65 kg | Samsung, Argos, John Lewis |
| Features without the app | AI Wash (sensors adjust water, detergent, rinse and spin), ecobubble, Hygiene Steam, Drum Clean, 15-minute quick wash, delay end | Samsung, Argos, Which? |
| Features that need the app | SmartThings AI Energy mode (“up to 70%” energy saving, Samsung’s claim), remote start and monitoring, downloadable cycles | Samsung, John Lewis, Samsung Community |
| AddWash door | Not listed for this model | Samsung’s AddWash machines are other models, such as the WW90T554DAW |
| Warranty | 2 years as standard, 5 years if you register (AO says within 90 days). The motor has a separate 10-year guarantee | Samsung, AO, Argos, John Lewis |
| Price | £429 at John Lewis (black, in stock); £389 at Argos (white); Which? found £479 across 13 retailers | All checked 5 October 2026. Samsung’s own page shows no usable price |
Which?
Which? is the only independent body we found that has tested this exact machine. Its score, Best Buy status, cleaning and rinsing results and noise scores are behind its subscription. We cannot tell you how it did, so treat this section as a pointer, not a recommendation. If you already subscribe, the result is worth reading before you buy.
The page does show some figures publicly. It puts the annual energy cost at £59.19, which is a lot more than the label figure suggests. Which? bases that on its own mix of washes at different temperatures, while our 12p is for Eco 40-60 only. Most people wash on more than one programme, so Which?’s figure is probably closer to what you will pay. Which? timed the 40°C cotton programme at 208 minutes and synthetics at 170 minutes. These are long cycles, and they match what owners report.
Watch: Samsung WW90CGC04DAE 1400 Spin 9Kg Washing Machine
The only English-language video we found for this exact model, the white version of the same machine. We confirmed it from two search listings, not by watching it.
Watch on YouTube ↗John Lewis, AO.com and Argos
All of these ratings are on shops that sell the machine, so take them for what they are. AO shows the same 3,108 reviews on its white and black pages, so it seems to combine both colours. That is reasonable here, because they are the same machine. Samsung’s own page shows 4.7/5 from 2,043 reviews for the white version and 1,850 for the black. Across more than 5,000 ratings in total, the scores barely move.
The reviews on Samsung’s own page praise the same things again and again: how quiet it is, how well it cleans, the large drum and the app. The minority who complain mention noise, touch buttons that are awkward to use, and an unclear manual. The page summaries we could read did not quote individual reviews, so we cannot give you the worst problems in owners’ own words. AO’s spec sheet lists 52 dB where the official figure is 72 dB for the spin, so check which figure you are looking at.
Watch: Pralka SAMSUNG WW90CGC04DAB
A Polish-language video of the black WW90CGC04DAB, the version John Lewis has in stock. Useful for seeing the black finish and the control panel. Confirmed from two search listings.
Watch on YouTube ↗Samsung Community
This is a small thread, but it is about this exact model and it explains the most common surprise. The owner sets a cottons wash, sees 1:27 on the display, and about 20 minutes later finds it has grown to more than three hours, even with the same type and weight of load each time. Another owner explains that the first time shown is an estimate. The machine spends a few minutes weighing the load and then adjusts the time for the actual weight and temperature. One poster says a Samsung engineer told them this was normal.
The practical fixes owners suggest are worth knowing. For a fixed time, use a programme that does not weigh the load, such as Super Speed 59, or download a fixed-length cycle through the SmartThings app (one owner uses a “towels 60” cycle of 2 hours 6 minutes). That is the clearest example we found of a feature that needs the app.
Watch: Reseña del SAMSUNG WW90CGC04DTEEC - Lavadora 9KG - AI EcoBubble™ con SmartThings e Inteligencia Arti
A Spanish-language review of the Spanish-market version of the same 9 kg Series 5 machine. Covers the SmartThings features. Confirmed from two search listings.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- About 12p an Eco 40-60 wash at the October 2026 cap, from 44.4 kWh per 100 cycles.
- Consistently high ratings: 4.6 to 4.8 out of 5 across more than 5,000 reviews at four sites.
- 72 dB spin is noise class A, and “quiet” is the word owners use most.
- Hygiene Steam, Drum Clean and a 15-minute quick wash, all usable without the app.
- Five years’ cover if you register, plus 10 years on the motor.
- At £389 to £429 it costs less than the £479 Which? found across 13 retailers.
What people complain about
- Eco 40-60 takes 3h48 on a full load, and cotton 40°C took 208 minutes in Which?’s testing.
- The time on the display can grow by more than 1½ hours once the machine has weighed the load.
- AI Energy mode and the downloadable cycles only work through the SmartThings app.
- Some owners on Samsung’s page complain about the touch buttons and the manual.
- Spin efficiency is class B, so clothes come out a little wetter than from a class A machine.
- Samsung has stopped selling it, so you are buying from leftover stock.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you want a well-reviewed 9 kg machine that is cheap to run, you mostly start a wash and leave it, and you can get it at £389 to £429 while stock lasts. It goes well with a heat pump dryer such as the Bosch Series 4 WTH85226GB. Both are 600 mm-wide freestanding machines, but they are different brands, so do not stack them without a kit both makers approve.
Look elsewhere if you need full loads washed quickly, if a clock that changes partway through will annoy you, or if you want a current model with a long parts supply ahead of it. Count the 635 mm depth with the door, not the 550 mm body, if your space is tight.
What we could not check
- Which?’s score and measured results. The test exists but is paywalled, and we found no other UK title with a public hands-on test.
- Wash noise. Samsung publishes only the 72 dB spin figure. AO’s 52 dB is labelled as spin, and John Lewis gives 72 dB for both, so the wash figure is unconfirmed.
- Depth. 550 mm for the body, but 603, 611 or 635 mm with the door, depending on the source (AO, Which?, Samsung). Measure using Samsung’s 635 mm.
- AO’s stock and price. AO listed it as available but we could not read a price. John Lewis’s stock and price are confirmed.
- Individual owner reviews. We read rating totals and summaries, not the reviews themselves, so we cannot say how common each complaint is.
- The videos. We confirmed all three from two separately worded search listings, not by opening them, and the listings did not name the channels. Two are not in English, and one shows the Spanish-market version.
- How long Samsung will supply parts for a model it no longer sells, and the deadline to register for the five-year warranty on Samsung’s own terms. AO says 90 days.
- Load limits for each programme, such as wool or synthetics, are in the manual, which we did not check.
- The Samsung Community thread has only four replies.
Sources last checked 5 October 2026. The running costs use the Ofgem cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026; work them out again when the cap changes in January. Stock of a discontinued model can go quickly, so check the listing before you order.