South Korean titan of tech, Samsung, may be best known for its smartphones and televisions, but it’s also been a prolific producer of renowned domestic appliances for quite some time, too, spinning out its first washing machines from as far back as 1974.
However, despite having a reputation for quality and innovation within the likes of refrigerators, washing machines and what-have-you, way over here in Europ,e we were blissfully ignorant of their existence, as these appliances only made their way to our shores from 2010.
Today, in just 15 short years, Samsung has cemented itself as a principal player in the UK appliance market, with a whole range of washing machines some 23 strong on offer to the island’s savvy citizens, with prices running from the eminently affordable to the relative out-of-reach, but with a pocket-pleasingly broad middle-ground for the bulk of new washer wanters who sit somewhere in between.
They also, like all good brands, offer machines with varying drum capacities to suit households of equally varying size, helping smaller and more medium-sized families save money on electricity and water, and larger clans clean more in one go.
All lavished with the latest tech, for this overview of the corps d'elite of Sammy’s current line-up of laundry overlords, I’ve selected one outstanding model from each small, medium and large capacity category, along with the company’s clothes cleaning giant-killer. Each model in the mix also comes blessed with AI, as is the way of seemingly all things now, adding extra efficiency to proceedings and ensuring every element of your laundry gets the kid-gloves treatment.
So, if you’re seeking a sud-maker that’s got looks, brains and, ahem, Seoul, then grab your grubby gear, we’re going in…
Best Samsung washing machines at a glance:
- Best for small capacity: Samsung Series 5 AI Energy WW80CGC04DAE - £339, John Lewis
- Best for medium to large capacity: Samsung Series 6 AI Energy + Auto Dose WW90DG6U85LEU - £399, Amazon
- Best for large capacity: Samsung Series 8 AI Energy WW11DB8B95GHU1 - £29, John Lewis
- Best for the ultimate Samsung washing experience: Samsung Bespoke AI Series 9 WF90F09C4SU1 - £1,099, John Lewis
Samsung Series 5 AI Energy WW80CGC04DAE
Best for: small capacity
The 5 AI series is the entry point in Samsung’s current impressive wave of washers and, therefore, logically the more easily affordable, but don’t let that fool you into believing it's in any way an inferior option. From the three-strong series (all models available in standard white or a black finish for, generally, a little additional dough), I’ve plucked the 5 AI Energy WW80CGC04DAE due to it coming in at a pinch under £350, whilst still delivering an exceptional performance.
Rated ‘A’ for energy efficiency, this 8kg capacity, 1400rpm spin-master does its washer work at a lovely low 72dB, helping to keep clothes clean while also keeping the peace, something essential for those who live in an open-plan environment or simply have painfully over-sensitive hearing, either way it’s a bother-free blessing.
Programme-wise, there’s a full-on 15 of them, covering all aspects of clothes cleaning, comprising: Cotton, Eco 40-60, Intense Cold, Mixed, Synthetics, Bedding, Wool, Delicates, Colours, 15-min quick wash, Cloudy day, Denim, Hygiene steam to remove 99.9 per cent of bacteria, Rinse, and Drum clean when it’s all over.
But then there’s the other smart-sud stuff too, such as ‘Ecobubble’, a tech which mixes the air, water and detergent inside the drum to generate bubbles which then clean your laundry more effectively at lower temperatures, thus using less energy and keeping those insane power bills in check, and AI Energy mode which, using the SmartThings Energy app, allows you to both monitor consumption in real-time and use the mode to whip that figure down by up to 70 per cent.
At the operational end of things, a nicely natty LED display to keeps you in the command loop while a dial an self-explanatory buttons let you select your cycles, while deep inside sits the engine, in this case a best-in-show brushless Digital Inverter motor that keeps the noise down, keeps the bills down, and keeps wear and tear down to the penny-pinching point that it comes with a whopping 20-year warranty.
All that for £339…
Buy now £339.00, Samsung
Samsung Series 6 AI Energy + Auto Dose WW90DG6U85LEU
Best for: medium to large capacity
If the Series 5 doesn’t quite cut the mustard (stain) for you in terms of capacity and capability, then, well done, I can see you’re a person of passion when it comes to all things laundry. In which case, I’d like to now point you in the direction a bit of Auto Dose excellence in the cuboid form of the Series 6 AI Energy, an energy class ‘A-10 per cent’ rated machine, with a commodious 9kg capacity, a spin speed clocking out at 1400rpm, a vast array of programmes to get almost any stain out of any material, and an operation audibility of just 72dB.
“Vast array” incidentally, refers to some 24 separate programmes covering all the usual suspects from Cotton to Eco, Synthetics, Delicates, Baby Care, Colours, Wool, Bedding, etc., while also offering an AI Wash that does the thinking for you, plus Super Speed, Intense Cold, and many other options to ensure every last load of laundry is accounted for.
Then, of course, there’s the ‘Auto Dose’ that sorts the detergent and softener automatically, and ‘AI Ecobubble’ which, as explained in the Series 5 above, detects fabric types and generates bubbles accordingly, matching temperature, wash time and spin speed to efficiently remove soiling while keeping energy use down.
Finally, if there can be a finally with a washing machine this rich in features, the Series 6 AI Energy also comes Wi-Fi enabled to let you monitor energy and water consumption over the SmartThings app so that, where possible, you can further reduce power usage, saving money and Mother Nature in the process.
Buy now £399.00, Amazon
Samsung Series 8 AI Energy WW11DB8B95GHU1
Best for: large capacity
When size matters, it’s time to break out the big guns, and they don’t come much bigger outside of the laundromat than the king of capacity that is the Series 8 AI Energy WW11DB8B95GHU1.
Energy rated ‘A’ for awesome, beyond the door lies a colossal 11kgs of capacity – enough for large families to do their laundry in fewer loads, thus saving power, water and effort, keeping costs down and pushing convenience up.
Handsomely AI endowed, the Series 8 features AI Ecobubble to clean with even greater efficiency, offers an AI Wash cycle, and of course comes Wi-Fi enabled for monitoring leccy consumption and accessing the AI Energy mode settings over the SmartThings app, while the likes of Auto Dose takes the guesswork out of detergent and softener levels.
With a whopping 24 programmes at hand to deal with stains of all types ingrained stubbornly in fabrics of all forms, there’s the perfect cycle for practically all eventualities. This includes absolutely everything listed with the Series 6 above, alongside cycles specifically for Denim, Shirts, Towels, Active Wear, a 15-minute Quick Wash for those in a real rush, and Hygiene Steam to guarantee the elimination of bacteria.
Driven by a Digital Inverter, this Series 8 achieves a maximum operational volume of an almost soothing 72dB, while also extending the lifespan of the machine, meaning even more value for money.
Wait, even more value for money? Yep, not only is the Series 8 AI Energy WW11DB8B95GHU1 extremely efficient when it comes to power and water consumption, and not only does the digital inverter motor come with a 20-year warranty for, what I’m going to call, dual-decade peace of mind, easily making this the washing machine bargain of this or any other month!
Buy now £829.00, John Lewis
Samsung Bespoke AI Series 9 WF90F09C4SU1
Best for: the ultimate Samsung washing experience
Available in dazzling ‘Dark Steel’ and nothing else, the Bespoke AI Series 9 is a statement piece for the kitchen or fancy pants laundry room should you be so loaded, being both bold in colourway and beautifully minimalist of design, with its moody silver body, Black Deco and glass door, and slick 7-inch LCD touchscreen interface. Even the line of the detergent drawer is unspoilt by anything as tawdry as a handle. Is it weird to attribute such aspects of beauty to an appliance? Absolutely. Do I regret a word of it? Absolutely not.
But, moving past the aesthetic, the sultry Series 9 comes rated class ‘A-55 per cent’ for incredible energy efficiency, features a nicely capacious 9kg drum to cope with the detergent-requiring demands of medium to larger households, and comes imbued with Samsung’s AI Home, that aforementioned LCD touchscreen panel that not only allows for quick, intuitive control, but also lets you personalise your wash more by suggesting cycles and remembering your favoured settings, like a golf caddy, but for laundry.
Amongst the simply epic 28-strong programme settings sits AI Wash, sensing the weight of the load and the level of soiling, then automatically adjusting temperature, detergent amount, and soaking, rinsing and spinning times to suit. AI Ecobubble is, of course, also available, as is AI Energy Mode with the Wi-Fi linked SmartThings app, then there’s all the usual cycle suspects, covering all manner of materials, throwing in Eco cycles, Cold settings, and the complete breadth of programmes found in the Series 5, 6 and 8 models I’ve already explored, plus two Super Speed functions for the furiously time-poor.
Naturally, Auto Dose is present to save you the hassle of having to workout how much detergent and softener you need each wash, as is Drum Clean and a StayClean Drawer to keep the whole shebang sparkling and bacteria-free, and – going above and beyond on tech convenience – if your day has been so soul-sucking that you can’t even raise the energy to poke gently at the display, you can just tell it what to do. Yes, it is a Samsung, after all, so it’s only right that the Bespoke AI Series 9 WF90F09C4SU1 should come with Bixby ‘On Device’. So, simply tell it what you want it to do and Bixby will take your word as its command.
The absolute crème de la crème of the current Samsung washing machine crop, if you, your family and your collective laundry all demand the best in AI-enhanced pure cleansing power, go Bespoke.
Buy now £1099.00, John Lewis
