Obviously, we need to wait and see just how well these TVs perform in practice – but TechRadar's TV team has seen several of them in early demos, and they're incredibly impressive. Wide viewing angles (often an issue with LCD TVs), vibrant yet realistic colors, inky deep black tones, powerful HDR highlights… they look like a huge danger to the best OLED TVs.

That's in no small part because RGB TVs are set to arrive at only slightly higher prices than standard mini-LED technology, and that's in their first year – think about how quickly standard mini-LED prices have dropped in the few years since their inception, meaning you can get a large-screen, great-quality mini-LED set for under $500 / £500 these days.

My colleague Al Griffin, a TV industry veteran of nearly 30 years, even went so far as to say the budget OLED TV is doomed. He thinks that RGB TVs' contrast performance is so close to non-flagship OLED TVs, with richer colors and far superior brightness, that cheaper OLED TVs will become "irrelevant".

I agree with him in principle, although the news that LG Display's new, cheaper, and simultaneously brighter new cheap OLED panel is coming this year probably means that reports of budget OLED's demise are slightly exaggerated.

But I can see a different potential path forward, I hope: while I agree with Al's sentiment about the current state of the industry, I think the aggressive expansion of RGB TVs is the best thing that could happen for OLED TV fans.

At the high end of OLED TVs (like the LG G5 and the Samsung S95F), there's been significant development over the last few years – micro lens array, QD-OLED, Primary RGB Tandem, next-gen quantum dots.

The progress in mini-LED TVs, plus the arrival of competition for the creation of OLED panels between LG and Samsung, lit a fire under the high-end OLED world. It's improving faster now than at any time in the 13 years OLED TVs have been mainstream.

But at the more affordable end? Not so much.

The LG C5 OLED uses essentially the same panel as the LG C4, and as the LG C3 – and the LG C6 also has it (although there will be a new LG C6H at larger sizes with a better panel).

The LG B5 affordable OLED uses basically the same panel as the LG B4, the B3, and… you get it.

And that's been okay, because the TVs have been very high quality, and mini-LED TVs haven't really been able to match OLED in the key area that people buy them for: the perfect black tones maintained down to the individual pixel.

That truly cinematic look just hasn't come across the same in mid-range mini-LEDs… but RGB TV could change that. Sony told me that one of the advantages of using colorful backlights is that some light wavelengths are more easily absorbed in black areas than others, meaning that there will naturally be less 'blooming' from light areas to dark, as you get in current mini-LED TVs.

If mid-range RGB TVs get close to the contrast of cheaper OLEDs while outperforming them in color and brightness, even purists may turn to the RGB side.

Why is this still a problem for OLED?

The problem for OLED TVs has always been in the manufacturing. The materials needed for the organic pixels haven't changed enough in price over time, and the complicated nature of depositing the material hasn't shifted enough either. Yield rate is another major issue that still holds it back – the manufacturing process just isn't reliable enough to keep prices from dropping.

There have been breakthroughs in areas like the holy grail new blue phosphor material, or the developments in inkjet-printed OLED materials – but I've been told by insiders that the latter is probably three years away from even starting to be used on TV-sized panels, and blue phosphor just won't be enough on its own.

The costs of making OLED panels just haven't changed enough over time to have ever made them truly cheap TVs, and while there's no magic wand for making them less expensive suddenly now, there's certainly more incentive.

Nothing motivates like an existential threat – and RGB TVs certainly have the potential to be just that for today's affordable OLEDs.

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Way back in 2023, we reported the launch of an unusual smart TV brand: Telly, which was going to provide 500,000 people in the US with a 55-inch 4K HDR smart TV for free. There was just one catch, and of course it involves advertising.

As the cliché goes, if you're not paying for the product then you are the product. And in the case of Telly, your free TV has a second screen that permanently displays ads, and it collects quite a lot of personal information about your viewing.

That makes it a hard sell, and it turns out that the 500,000 prediction was a bit optimistic – but thousands of people have still signed up for Telly and it's reportedly making more money from ads per user than other smart TV platforms such as Roku.

How many people are watching their Telly today?

According to a leaked investor presentation that's been passed to TV industry expert Lowpass (via FlatpanelsHD), as of November 2025 Telly had 35,000 sets in people's homes – slightly up from the 28,000 in the previous financial quarter, but far short of the half million promised at launch – although the report did say that Telly was ordering another 110,000 TVs from its manufacturing partner, Foxconn.

Telly is apparently bringing in an average of around $50 per user per quarter from ad revenue, which is a huge jump on the $41 per year that Roku apparently brings in.

But it's also suffering from multiple issues. Lowpass reports that 10% of Telly TVs are breaking in transit between the warehouse and the customer, and funding the manufacture of its next tranche of 110,000 TVs is going to be a financial challenge.

There may be a more serious challenge too. Telly uses a feature called Automatic Content Recognition, ACR for short, to work out what you're watching and tailor ads accordingly. It's far from the only firm to use the tech, but there are legal cases against multiple manufacturers – Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony and TCL – regarding the use of ACR and the data it generates.

That's partly political – Texas's Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the charge, claims that ACR means "surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries" – but as DJI and TikTok can both attest, politics can have a big effect on tech firms' operations in the US.

With ACR so central to its business model, I'm sure Telly is watching the cases closely – because in the worst case, it might never even get close to the original 500,00-unit goal.

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As TVs have gotten thinner over the years, there is less space in the display’s physical frame for adding speakers. The end result—in some cases—has been sound that’s as thin as the TV itself. This makes hearing voices particularly difficult, especially when they are mixed with music soundtracks and movie sound effects.

So, even with many of the best TVs you can buy today, we highly recommend you invest in one of the best soundbars or the best surround sound systems. Of course, we also understand that going down that route requires more research—checking you have enough space and the right connections—and extra budget.

If you're looking to hit two targets with one arrow, however, know that there are also options for you. There are several TVs on the market that come with superb sound systems as standard, allowing you to get good sound quality with no extra gear or work necessary.

We've tested hundreds of TVs over the years, so we know what makes a great package. Rest assured, each of the TV displays on our list don't just sound good, they look fantastic and have much of the best TV tech built-in too. Whether it’s a Hollywood blockbuster or just back episodes of Friends, the TVs we've selected below will make sure that whatever you’re watching sounds as good as it can.

Best TVs for sound: Quick List

The best TVs for sound you can buy

The best TV for sound overall

The Panasonic Z95B is a premium OLED that delivers outstanding sound and picture in one package – which is no easy feat. It has a built-in 5.1.2-channel speaker system that’s one of the most powerful you’ll find on a TV. The result is clear dialogue, punchy bass and immersive Dolby Atmos effects. It’s detailed, dynamic and spacious enough that most people won’t need a soundbar.

Panasonic has also upgraded the speakers for this latest version, improving the driver layout and bass output, and the results show. Sound placement is accurate across the screen, height effects register convincingly, and the system can go loud with losing clarity. Features like Space Tune, which calibrates audio to your room, and Sound Focus, which lets you aim sound toward off-center seating, make it adaptable.

Picture quality is just as impressive. The new four-stack OLED panel delivers high peak brightness for an OLED, excellent contrast and natural color. Panasonic still priorities accuracy over sheer output, but HDR movies look refined and richly detailed, with smooth motion and superb shadow handling. It’s not quite as bright as the top OLEDs, but it’s consistently cinematic.

It runs on Fire TV, which isn’t the best smart platform but it’s fully featured, responsive and works well for Prime Video users. Gaming performance is strong too, with 4K 144Hz, Dolby Vision gaming and VRR support, through HDMI 2.1 ports are limited to two.

The Z95B sits at the higher end of the price scale, but its picture accuracy and class-leading built-in sound justify the premium. If you want an OLED that delivers a truly cinematic experience straight out of the box, no soundbar required, it’s one of the best options you can buy.

Read our full Panasonic Z95B review

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The best mid-range OLED TV for sound

The Sony Bravia 8 II delivers some of the best built-in sound you’ll find on a mid-range OLED. Its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system uses actuators behind the screen to create sound through the panel itself, giving dialogue and effects an impressive sense of placement and accuracy. It goes surprisingly loud without distortion, and overall feels more immersive than the typical TV speaker setup.

Sound gets even better if you do want to pair it with a compatible Sony soundbar. With Sony’s Acoustic Center Sync, the Bravia 8 II acts as the center channel in a Sony surround system, anchoring voices to the screen and adding real depth. In testing, the Bravia 8 II’s audio consistently impressed. Action scenes had precise directionality, ambient effects wrapped naturally around the screen and even with bass limitations compared to a dedicated subwoofer, it outperforms most TVs in this price range.

Its picture performance is similarly strong. You get the excellent contrast and rich colors you’d expect from an OLED, plus Sony’s processing, which sharpens textures and keeps motion controlled. Brightness is improved over last year’s model, giving highlights more punch, though it still sits below the brightest LG and Samsung models.

Gaming support is good, but not great. The Bravia 8 II has 4K 120Hz, VRR and ALLM on two HDMI 2.1 ports, and PS5 owners benefit from Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode. Input lag isn’t class-leading but it’s fast enough for most players.

It only isn’t number one because Panasonic’s Z95B offers more immersive sound overall, and brighter OLED rivals give you extra headroom for daytime viewing. But if you want an OLED with genuinely impressive built-in audio, and don’t want to rely on a soundbar, the Bravia 8 II is one of the best balance options out there.

Read our full Sony Bravia 8 II review

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The best mid-range mini-LED TV for sound

The Hisense U8N is a high-value TV that uses mini-LED backlight technology to deliver bright images with bold colors. It’s available in screen sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches and has built-in 2.1.2-channel speakers with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. While it doesn’t provide the same extensive level of sound features as the Panasonic Z95A and Sony Bravia 8 in this list, it offers much better than average sound quality, and even includes a built-in 'subwoofer' to enhance bass.

In our Hisense U8N review, we said of the TV’s sound quality that “dialogue was clear and full, and the built-in subwoofer made bass effects sound surprisingly weighty.” The TV’s two up-firing speakers also created an impressive sense of height when watching movies with Dolby Atmos soundtracks. We normally recommend adding a soundbar to a TV, but the U8N could easily go without one and still deliver sound that will satisfy most people.

Outside of its sound, the Hisense U8N is one of the brightest sets we’ve tested yet, and that capability plus its low-reflection screen make it a great option for both daytime TV and sports viewing. It uses the Google TV smart TV platform for streaming in the US (and Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV platform in the UK and Australia) and supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HLG high dynamic range formats. Gaming features include two HDMI 2.1 ports with support for 4K 120Hz, VRR up to 144Hz (including FreeSync Premium Pro), ALLM, and Dolby Vision 4K gaming.

The Hisense U8N is an exceptional value and it improves on the last year's Hisense U8K – our previous mid-range pick – in almost every way, including sound quality. It even has an Auto Acoustic Tuning feature that uses the remote’s mic to adapt the sound to your viewing space. The U8N is a great choice if you have a tight budget and don’t want to spring for a soundbar when buying a big TV.

Read our full Hisense U8N review

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The best budget TV for sound in the UK

The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED admittedly doesn't have a sound that will best the other entries on this list, limited to two 12W speakers with no Dolby Atmos support. But it does deliver a direct and clear sound that will suit people for day-to-day viewing – better than any other cheap TV we've tested.

In our Omni QLED review, we found that if you set the sound mode to Movie, you'll get a clear, direct sound that carries decent bass levels that demonstrated the rumble of jets in Top Gun: Maverick with plenty of punch and clear speech levels – even in scenes with unclear dialogue. There's no Dolby Atmos speaker system here – unsurprising at this price range – but it's clear Amazon has taken a no-frills approach with the Omni QLED's sound, focusing on clarity rather than immersion.

Elsewhere, the Omni QLED offers solid picture quality, with vibrant colors and clean textures and despite the lack of 4K 120Hz support, the Omni QLED's gaming performance at 60Hz is good – and there's Dolby Vision gaming, variable refresh rate and ALLM support as well.

While the Omni QLED could benefit from a soundbar for those looking for a more cinematic sound, its built-in sound is decent and will serve most people for casual viewing well and while it won't blow any minds, not many TVs at a budget price can beat the Omni QLED.

Read our full Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED review

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The best budget TV for sound in the US

The Roku Pro Series is the company’s flagship TV lineup and one that uses a mini-LED backlight to boost picture brightness and contrast to a higher level than the mid-range Roku Select series TVs. Notably, the Pro Series sets feature a thicker shadowbox-style design that allows for bigger built-in speakers that are side-firing rather than the downward-firing ones found in many TVs, the Select series included.

When describing the TV’s sound quality in our Roku Pro Series TV review, we said “Details in the high frequencies retain body as well as clarity,” and that “mids are nice and full.” About the only thing we felt was missing was bass, and that can be easily – and inexpensively – fixed by adding one of the company’s wireless subwoofers to the TV. (Roku wireless surround sound speakers that link up with Roku TVs are also available.)

Other than sound, Pro Series TVs use the same streamlined smart interface found in the company’s streaming devices. The TV’s Voice Remote Pro has a backlit keypad and a hands-free option that lets you control the TV using voice commands without having to touch the remote. A Smart Picture feature can automatically optimize the picture settings based on what your viewing, and the TV’s two HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 120Hz input for gaming.

One of the best things about the Roku Pro Series is its price, which is very affordable for a TV this feature-packed. Add in the fact that the Pro Series’ impressive sound quality means you don’t necessarily need to buy a soundbar, and its value increases even further.

Read our full Roku Pro Series review

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The best premium mini-LED TV for sound

The Sony Bravia 9’s Acoustic Multi Audio+ design solves the problem of disconnected TV sound by using tweeters installed in the left and right sides of the TV’s frame. These work to elevate dialogue so it sounds like it’s coming directly from the mouths of characters talking onscreen, and they also make the positioning of sound effects accurate and natural. And in contrast to the virtual Dolby Atmos processing used by most TVs, the Bravia 9 has 'Beam' drivers located on top that create a real sense of spaciousness by bouncing sound off your room’s ceiling.

The Bravia 9’s 2.2.2-channel speaker system is powered by 70 watts of amplification, and supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive soundtracks. 3D Surround Upscaling adds spaciousness to regular stereo or mono soundtracks, and a feature called Voice Zoom 3 uses AI to isolate dialogue and boost it separately to enhance the clarity of voices.

Another feature, Acoustic Center Sync, allows for a compatible Sony soundbar or speakers to be connected to the Bravia 9 so its built-in speakers can be used as the center channel in a surround sound system. When this setup is configured, Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping processing will create 'phantom' speakers between the actual ones for even greater immersion.

When we tested the Sony Bravia 9, we used Acoustic Center Sync to pair the TV with a Sony Bravia Home Theater Quad wireless speaker system, creating a 5.1.4-channel configuration. The result: “the Bravia 9 integrated perfectly with the external audio system, delivering smooth and seamless sound.”

On the picture quality front, the Sony Bravia 9 is a flagship mini-LED TV and exclusively features the company’s XR Backlight Master Drive with High Peak Luminance tech to deliver pictures with high peak brightness and refined local dimming for detailed blacks. It also has an anti-reflection screen, making it a great option for both movies and sports, and it supports 4K 120Hz for gaming on two HDMI 2.1 ports.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 review

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The best TV for sound: FAQs

New TVs coming in 2025

Successors to some of the TVs on this list have been announced for 2025, and those models will soon be arriving in stores. We expect to post reviews of them as quickly as possible, but for now, the listings in this guide stand as our current top choices as the best TVs for sound.

The Hisense U8QG will get a substantial sound upgrade over its predecessor, jumping to a 4.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker configuration over the U8N’s 2.1.2-channel array. Like the U8N, it will also support DTS:X and is IMAX Enhanced certified. With up to 5,000 nits specified peak brightness, the U8QG series is also brighter than its predecessor and will feature up to 5,600 local dimming zones.

Roku Pro series TVs will also be getting an update in 2025, with the new models getting custom factory calibration to ensure best performance. Roku didn’t provide any information about sound upgrades to the Pro Series, which remains our top budget choice (US) in this guide.

How we test the best TVs for sound

How we test the best TVs for sound

To test the best TVs for sound, we watched a range of content on each of these displays, really listening out for some key criteria. This mostly included how the audio formats DTS:X and Dolby Atmos performed. Did they give the experience of surround sound? What was lacking? Did settings need to be adjusted considerably to get the desired effect? Did the TV deliver on the power listed in the specs?

In our reviews above, we've answered the key questions you'll need to know when considering the best TVs for sound, ensuring we tried TV shows, movies and games to let you know which might be better suited for certain kinds of content.

Although this guide is very much focused on audio specs, no one wants a TV that sounds great and looks mediocre. That's why every TV on this list has also been tested against the criteria we apply to all of our TV buying guides.

This includes rating picture quality, clarity and brightness. It also involves testing smart features, assistants and checking all of the best streaming apps work well. As well as living with the TV for some time, ensuring that all content types display well, viewing angles are good for a range of environments and much more.

We've tested hundreds of TVs over the years, which means you're in safe hands. Not only are we well equipped to pick the best TVs for sound, we also have extensive experience of the market as a whole, so can confidently select the TVs that deliver rather than relying on their specs.

Latest updates to this guide

November 16, 2025
Replaced the Panasonic Z95A as our best overall pick with the Panasonic Z95B, based on our recent testing. Also switched the Sony Bravia 8 in second place as our best mid-range OLED choice with the newer Sony Bravia 8 II.

May 9, 2025
Added 'New TVs for 2025' section to FAQ.

February 10, 2025
Added in 'Buy it if' and 'Don't buy it if' boxes for each entry to summarize pros and cons for quick reading.

December 16, 2024
Added Roku Pro Series as 'Best budget (US)' option.

October 16, 2024
Gave this list an overhaul with new rankings and entries. Panasonic Z95A was introduced and became 'best overall'. Sony Bravia 8 became the 'best mid-range OLED'. The Hisense U8N became the 'best mid-range mini-LED' Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED introduced and became 'best budget' and the Sony Bravia 9 became the 'best premium mini-LED'.
Also introduced 'Quick List' with short summaries for each entry at the top of the list.

August 15, 2024
Replaced Hisense U8K with newer Hisense U8N model as 'best midrange.'

June 18, 2024
Replaced Samsung S95C OLED with the Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED as 'best premium US.'

February 5, 2024
Added the Sony A80L as 'best tv for sound for most people'. Panasonic MZ2000 and Samsung S95C were introduced as 'best premium UK' and 'best premium US' respectively. Hisense U8K added as 'best mid range TV for sound'. Removed Sony X90J, Samsung Q80B, LG C2, Philips OLED+936 and Sony A95K from guide, mostly due to receding stock.

Some TVs may not need a soundbar, but plenty of the best TVs you can buy today benefit hugely from an external soundbar for better audio – especially cheaper ones. The best soundbars tend to come in three styles: all-in-one units with just a single soundbar, soundbars with subwoofers, and soundbars with subwoofers and rear speakers for surround sound. The first is ideal for people who want a minimal setup, the second is great for big sound on a budget, and the third is perfect if you want a real home theater audio experience.

We’ve tested a huge number of soundbars and speaker systems over the years, and review on average more than 20 soundbars each year. These range from elite units with Dolby Atmos 3D sound, through to bargain soundbars that boost speech and add depth for very little cash. We're looking for natural sound in all cases that doesn't come across as overblown, and where individual effects can stand out from the overall mix. We want to see ease of use too, no matter how many different speakers are included and in the case of higher-end soundbars we're looking for extra features such as wireless support and HDMI passthrough (including at 4K 120Hz) to justify the pricing.

Some soundbars include extra features when used with a particular TV, so we'll highlight those where appropriate, and we do test them – but they don't make or break our recommendations. We test soundbars as if you're buying them as a neutral, so you can get a great upgrade no matter what TV brand you have.

The best soundbars you can buy

The best soundbar overall

What you need to know: The Samsung HW-Q800F is the mid-range model in Samsung's 2025 soundbar lineup. It has a 5.1.2-channel speaker configuration and delivers 400W total power. Its sound is powerful, expansive and detailed, with impressive Dolby Atmos reproduction. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for music streaming. It also supports Samsung's Q-Symphony, which enhances the overall sound when connected to a compatible Samsung TV. There are gaming features included, but no 4K 120Hz passthrough support. This, however, is the only real negative on what is an otherwise fantastic soundbar.

Audio performance: When we tested the Q800F, we were seriously impressed by its detail, dialogue clarity and accuracy, with precise positioning of sound effects. This was surprising considering it is just a soundbar and sub combo. The re-designed subwoofer may be smaller but it still delivers a mighty punch with plenty of room-filling power. We were also impressed by the Q800F's Dolby Atmos reproduction, which felt expansive and immersive, again without rear speakers. Across the board, the Q800F delivers superb sound quality.

Design: While the Q800F is solidly built, it isn't the most stylish system. The subwoofer is more compact and sleek than its predecessor's sub, but crucially still delivers great performance.

Value: The Q800F is superb value. While it may not deliver the full-blown surround sound experience of the Samsung HW-Q990F (#4 on the list) or have the looks of the Sonos Arc Ultra (#11 on the list), it's a phenomenal soundbar for the money. No other soundbars at this price range can compete.

Read our full Samsung HW-Q800F review

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The best budget soundbar

What you need to know: When it comes to sound quality and features vs price, we think the Sony HT-S2000 is the best budget choice around. Although it's a little basic in terms of connectivity, the sound you get from this soundbar is impressive for the money and is certainly a good choice for those looking for an upgrade to their TV sound without breaking the bank.

Audio performance: While the Sony HT-S2000's sound isn't the biggest, the sound you do get for your money is impressive. Clear dialogue levels and a spacious, virtual surround sound are two of the HT-S2000's highlights. Bass levels are also punchy enough, but it's the Sony HT-S2000's ability to reproduce Dolby Atmos effects that's surprising. It's not going to beat a soundbar with height channels, but for a 3.1 soundbar, it offers plenty.

Design: Design wise, the Sony HT-S2000 feels and looks more expensive than it is, with a solid, mesh metal grill on the front and a sturdy black plastic casing housing the speakers. The soundbar also produces visual feedback to remote control commands, something rare on budget soundbars.

Value: Yes, the HT-S2000 isn't going to set the world alight with its sound and certainly isn't the best soundbar for sound on this list, but when you're paying roughly $349 / £299 / AU$695 for a soundbar with this good a sound quality, it's hard to argue against.

Read our full Sony HT-S2000 review

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The best all-in-one soundbar

What you need to know: The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 is a fantastic option for an all-in-one 5.1.2-channel soundbar, and it’s also one that lets you expand to a full 7.1.4-channel system by adding Klipsch’s optional wireless surround speakers and subwoofers. With both HDMI eARC and HDMI 2.1 ports, the latter with 4K 120Hz passthrough, the Flexus Core 300 is ready to connect to the latest TVs and games consoles, and its Wi-Fi support means you can stream uncompressed music via Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect, or directly from apps using AirPlay or Google Cast. But the key feature of Klipsch’s flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar is Dirac Live room correction, which can make the Flexus Core 300 sound great in any room it’s set up in.

Audio performance: The Flexus Core 300’s basic sound quality is very good, with natural dialogue and enough bass to deliver oomph and physicality in action movie soundtracks. But once you’ve run the Dirac Live calibration, something that’s done from within Klipsch’s control app and uses an included microphone, sound quality notably improves, with cleaned-up bass and enhanced mid-range clarity, especially with voices. In our review, we stated, “No matter how complex the soundtrack or music was, I could hear everything with precision.” Such high praise isn’t something that normally gets applied to a soundbar.

Design: At 54 x 3 x 5 inches (1371 x 76.2 x 127mm), this is a big soundbar, and one best paired with 65-inch or larger TVs. Available in black or walnut, both with an elegant woodgrain finish, the Flexus Core 300 features a bright alphanumeric LED display with a large readout so you can get visual feedback from remote control commands even at a far seating distance. An included remote has a solid feel and enough buttons to let you control most functions, and there are optical digital input and RCA subwoofer outputs on the back, along with the soundbar’s HDMI ports.

Value: At $1,199.99 / £1,049.00, the Flexus Core 300 is pricey for a standalone Dolby Atmos soundbar, but its performance and feature set, which includes the option to expand out to a 7.1.4-channel system by adding wireless surround speakers and subwoofers, go a long way toward justifying that cost. Klipsch’s flagship is also the only soundbar with built-in Dirac Live room correction, making it a one-of-a-kind product.

Read our full Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review

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The best soundbar for Dolby Atmos

What you need to know: Samsung’s Q990F is a complete surround sound system in a soundbar package. It has 23 drivers spread across 11.1.4 channels and comprises four units: a soundbar, a subwoofer, and two rear speakers. It delivers engaging, expansive and punchy sound, as well as 4K 120Hz pass-through support for gaming consoles.

Audio performance: Dolby Atmos soundtracks are reproduced with superb precision and pinpoint accuracy, putting you right into the heart of the action. Speech is clean and clear, and its newly designed, smaller subwoofer doesn't skip out on bass, delivering plenty of hefty rumble while still maintaining control and nuance. Q-Symphony is a bonus for Samsung TV owners, adding even more speakers to the action.

Design: The headline here is the newly designed, compact subwoofer, which is sleeker, sharper and much more versatile in terms of space. The Q990F has a similar matte gray/navy finish to its predecessors for a minimalist look, but uses a grille design that isn't as appealing as its predecessors. Still, it has a premium look and feel with a reassuring heft. Its front display continues to be difficult to read, however

Value: A soundbar system that's this powerful and complete necessarily comes with a high price tag. And while we think that the Q990F's performance justifies the price, you can save some money by picking up its predecessor, the Q990D. Or if you're looking for a budget alternative, check out the Hisense AX5125H at #5 in this list for a cheaper Atmos alternative.

Read our full Samsung HW-Q990F review

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The best budget soundbar for Dolby Atmos surround

What you need to know: The Hisense AX5125H is a 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar system with a wireless subwoofer and surround speakers that sells for under $350 / £350 / AU$450. What you’re getting here kit-wise for the money is pretty much unbeatable considering the system’s punchy sound and “real” as opposed to virtual, Dolby Atmos effects delivery.

Audio performance: Hisense’s budget soundbar system punches well above its price class when it comes to sound quality, with clear dialogue, accurate effects placement and good surround immersion. Even music sounds good, though, streaming is limited to Bluetooth quality. The one complaint we have about its sound is that the compact rear speakers can occasionally get overwhelmed by aggressive surround sound mixes.

Design: The AX5125H’s build quality falls short of premium – something to be expected at this price – though its metal mesh speaker grilles give it a somewhat upscale look. Importantly, the soundbar has a front panel alphanumeric LED display, which provides clear visual feedback when making volume or EQ adjustments with the system’s remote control.

Value: Given its low price for a 5.1.2-channel soundbar system, the Hisense AX5125H’s value is almost over the top. You’ll pay more than four times as much for the Best soundbar for Dolby Atmos choice on our list, the Samsung HW-Q990D, and while that 11.1.4-channel system will undoubtedly provide a greater sense of sound immersion, many people will be satisfied with the Hisense’s sound for the money.

Read our full Hisense AX5125H review

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The best super-cheap soundbar for surround sound

The Ultimea Poseidon D50 is the best way to get surround sound for your living room for a low price. Its sound may not be the most dynamic and it's light on features, but at such a low price for a full 5.1 system, it's hard to argue against what it does deliver: clear, punchy and occasionally spacious audio.

In our review of the Ultimea Poseidon D50, we enjoyed its clarity of speech and relatively punchy, powerful surround sound. While watching Top Gun: Maverick, we were "impressed at the three-dimensional sound of soaring aircraft", especially considering the lack of Dolby Atmos. While the Poseidon D50 doesn't deliver the most cinematic of experiences, with audio sometimes veering on tinny and the rear speakers sometimes struggling to keep up, we said "for the price you pay, the surround sound certainly surpassed expectations" and that's all we ask for from this cheap soundbar.

Light on features due to its budget price, including a lack of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support (check out the Hisense AX5125H further up the list for a budget Atmos surround soundbar), the Poseidon D50 does still support Bluetooth streaming for music and come with HDMI ARC, optical and 3.5mm ports for connections. There are also three distinct sound modes – Movie, Dialog and Music – to cater to what you're watching.

Ultimately, you get what you pay for, and the Ultimea Poseidon D50 delivers solid (but not mind-blowing) surround sound for under $150 / £150 (we've seen it as low as $119 / £139). At that price, it's difficult to be disappointed in the Poseidon D50. If you want surround sound for cheap, the Poseidon D50 should be on your list.

Read our full Ultimea Poseidon D50 review

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The best super-cheap soundbar

What you need to know: The Sony HT-SF150 is an affordable 2.0-channel soundbar. While it doesn't support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, it delivers solid sound quality and feels solidly built. It supports Bluetooth for music streaming and plug-and-play setup. While it doesn't deliver the strongest sonic experience, it is very good for its very cheap price and will make a fine upgrade over a lot of TV speakers.

Audio performance: The HT-SF150 delivers solid, built-in sound with clear speech and surprisingly effective virtual surround sound processing. Bass is decent and while it isn't room-shaking, it's commendable for a standalone soundbar. We found during busier scenes in movies or video games that sound can get 'bloated', with 'a lot of business in the mid-range'. With no Dolby Atmos or DTS:X support, you won't get the full cinematic experience, but for the price, the HT-SF150 more than delivers.

Design: The HT-SF150 is one of the better-looking cheap soundbars on the market. It has an attractive leather-like top, wraparound speaker grille and onboard buttons. Its supplied remote is also sleek for this price range. Its LED display can be unclear sometimes, but that's really the only complaint we have with the HT-SF150's design. Apart from that, it's a real looker.

Value: Considering the sound it delivers, its ease of use and its attractive design, the HT-SF150 is a steal at $129 / £99 / AU$194 (it's been cheaper before too!). You're not going to find many standalone soundbars of this quality at this price.

Read our full Sony HT-SF150 soundbar review

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The best premium soundbar for LG TVs

What you need to know: The LG S95TR brings you the convenience and straightforward setup of a soundbar system but with the immersive power and performance of a home theater speaker setup. It works well with everything, but LG TV owners can unlock the best features. The only thing that lets it down a little is its high price. If you're on a budget but still want Atmos and surround sound, take a look at our cheap soundbar pick, the Hisense AX5125H at #4 in this list. But if you can afford it, the features, performance and design of the LG S95TR make it worth every penny.

Audio performance: With this soundbar's 9.1.5 channels, along with some very impressive AI room calibration, you'll experience a great home theater setup with surround sound and spatial audio (Dolby Atmos and DTS:X). In our review, we described the sound on offer here as "immersive, engrossing, and engaging" and with 810 watts of power, the LG S95TR can reach great volumes.

Design: This soundbar looks very basic with a subwoofer and two wedge-shaped rear speakers. Unfortunately, there's no LED display, just LED indicator lights, which is disappointing considering how many features are on offer here. You'll need to open LG's control app to find what you need, which is a little annoying. This is also a big system. So if you want to put it in a small room, it might not be the best choice for you.

Value: The LG S95TR’s $1,499 / AU$1,699 (about £1,200) price feels expensive, but when you compare it with the competition, the fact you're getting a 9.1.5-channel system and the performance on offer here, it's still good value. If you want real surround sound, check out #3 in this list, the Samsung HW-Q990D.

Read our full LG S95TR review

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The best compact Atmos soundbar

What you need to know: The Bose Smart Soundbar is a compact model with real upfiring speakers to properly deliver Dolby Atmos soundtracks. It has built-in Wi-Fi for streaming music, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast support, and can be paired with optional Bose wireless surround sound speakers and a subwoofer if you one day get an urge to upgrade your system. Alternatively, the Smart Soundbar’s Personal Surround Sound feature, which requires Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds, can give you surround sound without having to muck with extra speakers.

Audio performance: When we reviewed the Bost Smart Soundbar, we noted that it “sounds about as good as a soundbar can.” Dialogue is “consistently intelligible,” and there are level and EQ controls in Bose’s app that let you boost it on an as-needed basis. Because of its compact form factor, both bass and soundstage width are limited, but the Smart Soundbar’s upfiring Atmos speakers, which can also be engaged for non-Atmos movies and music using the TrueSpace feature, help quite a bit to expand the soundfield.

Design: At 27 inches wide by 2 inches high and 4 inches deep, it’s a fairly sleek and compact design for an all-in-one unit and a perfect choice for smaller homes or screens. While it only has a single HDMI port, it makes up for this by packaging everything into an attractive all-in-one form.

Value: This soundbar impressed us in several ways during our testing, and we also appreciated its Personal Surround Sound and TrueSpace features The Bose is also a good value – as one of the few soundbars that sell for under $500 / £500 / AU$700, it offers a lot more features than the Sony HT-S2000 at #2 in this list.

To save money on Bose products, check out our Bose discount codes.

Read our full Bose Smart Soundbar review

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The best soundbar for flexibility

What you need to know: The JBL Bar 1300MK2 is an 11.1.4-channel soundbar system, totaling 2470W of power. What makes this soundbar so flexible is its four HDMI ports and its detachable rear speakers that can be attached to the main soundbar for recharging when not in use. The 1300MK2 is an impressive sound system that supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X format, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming for music. The downside? None of its four HDMI ports support 4K 120Hz, so gamers might want to look elsewhere if this is a dealbreaker. For movies, though, it's a powerhouse.

Audio performance: The 1300MK2 delivers spectacular sound, with room-shaking bass from its subwoofer, crystal clear dialogue and excellent immersion with Dolby Atmos soundtracks. It even sounds great for music, with both stereo and Atmos mixes impressing us during testing. Its 29 drivers really do work together to deliver an outstanding, seamless audio experience.

Design: While the 1300MK2 does have detachable speakers for convenient space saving, the soundbar itself is quite wide. The subwoofer, which does look much sleeker, is also a meaty bit of kit. Its build quality is superb and it feels every bit as premium as you'd hope at this price. Looks-wise, it's on par with its rivals.

Value: The JBL Bar 1300MK2 carries a premium price to match its performance. In its defence, its $1,699.95 / £1,299.99 / AU$2,299.95 price is competitive with the likes of competition such as the Samsung HW-Q990F.

Read our full JBL Bar 1300MK2 review

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The best soundbar for expandability

What you need to know: The Sonos Arc Ultra is the best soundbar for expandability. It sounds great on its own, but the flexible nature of the Sonos ecosystem lets you easily add surround speakers and a subwoofer as your needs and budget change. Other soundbars here deliver more immersion by filling your room with multiple boxes, but if you want deep, expansive, expertly balanced movie audio from one slender bar, with the option to add to it later, this is the way to go.

Audio performance: The Sonos Arc Ultra is a very impressive piece of audio design, thanks partly to its 'Sound Motion' bass driver, which is a very small speaker that produces decent bass without a separate subwoofer. It helps the overall sound balance of the Arc Ultra to be absolutely superb, with great impact, very clear yet natural dialogue, and effects that jump right out of the mix. The Dolby Atmos 3D sound is excellent for a single-box soundbar as well, really adding motion and layers to individual sounds. A massive upgrade over any TV's built-in sound.

Design: This is small for a powerful one-box soundbar – but that's relative! It's pretty wide, though will work for TVs of 55 inches and up, but it's not too tall or deep (though may be too tall for some very low-slung TVs). It feels really well made, and the simple, hard-shell black or white design disappears nicely into your decor. The connections are in a recess in the back – as is the Bluetooth pairing button, annoyingly (but you can use the Sonos app to pair too). It's wall-mountable, too.

Value: This is strong value, simply because it sounds so good for under $1000 / £1000. It's also great that it works as part of the Sonos ecosystem, and can be expanded with Sonos' wireless speakers as rear speakers, or with a dedicated, more powerful subwoofer. However, its lack of DTS-HD/DTS:X support and not having an HDMI passthrough port when all of its key rivals do mean it's less-than-perfect on value – but if you don't care about those things, then they're not a problem!

Read our full Sonos Arc Ultra review

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The best soundbar for wall-mounting

What you need to know: The Samsung HW-QS700F soundbar blends the performance of Samsung’s Q series with the sleek, lifestyle-friendly design of its S series. Its standout feature is the ability to automatically optimize its 3.1.2-channel speaker setup depending on whether it’s mounted horizontally or vertically. In vertical mode, its flatter profile pairs neatly with a slim, wall-mounted TV. Sound quality is solid for the price, with support for Dolby Atmos, DTS and Bluetooth. It comes with a Samsung wireless subwoofer and can also be paired with surround speakers – but it’s the wall-mounting versatility that really sets this model apart.

Audio Performance: Despite its affordable price, this soundbar’s 3.1.2-channel configuration delivers an impressive level of power, detail, and staging. Most of that top-performing sound holds up regardless of its orientation, though there are some minor niggles depending on how you use it. Then again, as we noted in our review, it still outperforms the vast majority of rivals. You’ll also get to enjoy Dolby Atmos playback, DTS:X support and compatibility with a broad range of file formats.

Design: The design is where the HW-QS700F truly shines. It features gyro sensors that automatically adjust the speaker configuration for optimal performance whether it’s placed on a table or wall-mounted. The long, angular bar and its compact, cubic wireless sub are surprisingly space-efficient for such a powerful system. It’s slender enough to slide beneath most TV screens or can easily be mounted on the wall underneath one, yet long and deep enough to promise potent sound and a premium finish.

Value: Considering its blend of performance and features, the Samsung HW-QS700F is a compelling choice. While many soundbars can either be wall-mounted or tabletop-set, few adjust their speaker configuration to optimize performance for both setups. It’s a great option in its own right, but it’s our top pick for wall-mounting – ideal if you want to take full advantage of that versatility or simply love the option to move it around.

Read our full Samsung HW-QS700F review

The best soundbar for desktops

What you need to know: The Creative Stage Pro is a rare find at this cheap price. It's a compact 2.1 soundbar with a subwoofer that works well under a TV or beneath a monitor. Creative's PC audio roots show here, not just in size and port selection but in near-field listening mode designed for desktop use. It's not packed with features, and its soundstage is narrower than premium bars. But at this price, it delivers a genuine step up from built-in TV speakers and a convincing desktop-friendly alternative to pricier systems. Its SuperWide processing offers a subtle sense of extra space, Bluetooth is onboard for music, and the HDMI ARC, optical, AUX, and USB-C ports give it the flexibility most cheap soundbars lack.

Audio Performance: For the money, the Stage Pro turns in a surprisingly capable performance. Its 2.1-channel setup provides plenty of volume, a healthy dose of bass, and more detail than you'd expect from something this compact. Dialogue is clear, the treble has enough sparkle to keep things crisp, and the subwoofer – while not earth-shaking – adds welcome punch during action scenes and gaming. You won't get deep sub-bass or a wide, cinematic soundstage, and the built-in presets feel too subtle to make a real impact. But Creative's SuperWide mode is useful, with its Near setting pulling the sound closer for a desktop setup, and Far opening things up a bit for TV viewing. It's not Dolby Atmos and it's not pretending to be, but in the budget bracket it holds its own.

Design: Compact, practical and more user-friendly than most budget bars, it's designed to slot into small spaces, especially on a desk. At just under 22 inches wide, it sits neatly beneath a monitor and its slightly angled front helps direct audio toward you. The LED display gives you instant feedback on sources and volume. Physical controls cover the basics, and the remote unlocks adjustments like bass and treble. With HDMI ARC with CEC, optical, AUX, and USB-C, the port selection is also complete for a compact bar. The subwoofer is slim enough to tuck bedside or under a desk, and while its fixed cable isn't ideal, the footprint is very desktop-friendly.

Value: As a budget 2.1 soundbar, the Creative Stage Pro is exceptionally strong value, especially for anyone who wants a subwoofer without jumping to a much higher price bracket. Most alternatives at this price are single-bar setups with noticeably thinner sound. The Stage Pro delivers reliable performance, a proper port selection, near-field tuning and a decent amount of power, all while keeping the price low. It's not feature-rich and it won't satisfy true audio enthusiasts, but as a smart, versatile upgrade for a TV or desktop, it's a solid pick.

Read our full Creative Stage Pro review

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Best soundbars: comparison chart

Below, you'll find a chart showing the scores of every soundbar featured on this list, based on the criteria on which we review them: Features, Performance, Design, Setup & usability and Value. You can sort each column by clicking on its header.

How to choose the best soundbar

There are several things to consider when you’re looking for the best soundbar.

The first is the size. You’ll want to make sure that your soundbar fits under—or next to, depending on your set-up—your TV. For example, the long Sonos Arc soundbar is designed specifically for large screens, so won’t look right with a smaller 50-inch TV. You’ll need to know the size of your current TV and the size of the space you have to fit it and compare those figures to the dimensions listed alongside the soundbar you want to buy.

You’ll also want to consider whether you need a Dolby Atmos speaker or not. Dolby Atmos is surround sound technology, placing sounds and voices all around you so that whatever you’re watching or listening to is more immersive. The thing is, Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbars tend to be more expensive. You’ll need to weigh up whether Dolby Atmos sound is worth it for you. Otherwise, consider a capable but cheaper option, like the Sony HT-S2000, our choice for best budget soundbar.

Another thing you’ll want to watch out for is the kind of connection you need. You’ll find most modern soundbars have HDMI connectivity, but there's also optical connectivity—so what's the difference? These are two ways that audio is passed from your TV to your soundbar, but HDMI passes high-resolution audio, including Dolby Atmos.

If you want a premium, immersive listening experience you’ll want to be sure you have an HDMI connection to use from your soundbar and an HDMI ARC (that's audio return channel) or eARC (enhanced audio return channel, a higher-resolution connection) port on your TV for it to connect to.

But this means one of your TV's HDMI ports is used up by the soundbar, so some bars come with HDMI 'passthrough' ports, meaning you can connect a console/set-top box/etc to the soundbar, and it passes the visuals back to your TV. If your TV has few HDMI ports, you'll want a soundbar with this feature.

There’s more to think about, but getting the size, audio features and connectivity nailed down early on should make finding the best soundbar for you much easier.

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Other soundbars to consider

We’ve reviewed several soundbars recently that didn’t make this guide for various reasons, though they are also worth considering.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar: An all-in-one competitor to the Sonos Arc, but with a slight lack of heft to its sound and a limited sense of height, this soundbar isn't great enough value to make it into the list. You can read our full Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review to learn more.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus: This soundbar really earns its keep with superior delivery of Atmos effects and extended bass. It's well worth consideration if you're looking for something that's a single-unit and if price isn't a worry, but it's expensive, and that's why it hasn't made our list here. Give our full Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus review a read if you want big sound without multiple boxes.

Sennheiser Ambeo Mini: If the price of the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is too much for your budget, this is a more compact and lower-cost model that provides a “big” sound, but doesn’t match the Plus when it comes to bass extension and Atmos height effects. It's a similar size to the Sonos Beam Gen 2. We'd choose that model over this one for overall audio quality, but you can read our Sennheiser Ambeo Mini review to learn more.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6: Sony's entry-level bar in its Theater lineup for 2025 delivers a powerful performance with awesome bass and full, clear and precise sound. It's also great value for money, but cheaper alternatives keep the Theater 6 off our list: for now. Read our Sony Bravia Theater 6 review for more info.

How we test the best soundbars

When we test the best soundbars, we look at categories such as audio performance, design, setup and usability, value for money and features - the same criteria we use for our reviews of soundbars.

Sources: After connecting the soundbar to a TV, we play not only streaming and 4K Blu-ray sources through the TV into the soundbar using the TV’s HDMI eARC connection (as 4K Blu-ray provides better audio quality than streaming), but also music over a Bluetooth wireless connection.

Audio overview: For audio performance, there are several factors we look at when testing. Soundbars are often used to upgrade a TV's built-in sound, so dialogue clarity and volume are key, as that’s where built-in TV speakers usually struggle the most. We also test bass, mids and trebles by listening to how each range sits within a mix, and also whether the soundstage is wide or narrow.

Spatial audio: Dolby Atmos spatial audio and surround sound (both virtually and physically through extra speakers) have become common features on soundbars, so we will test the effectiveness and spaciousness of the surround sound, as some people will want a room-filling home theater feel without all the boxes needed for a full AV setup.

HDMI passthrough: When it comes to higher-end soundbars, we expect 4K 120Hz passthrough on HDMI ports and will test that feature if available. Gamers specifically look for this feature as some TVs don’t have the four HDMI 2.1 ports needed to cover both games consoles and a soundbar.

Music: Bluetooth streaming is more commonly being featured on soundbars as manufacturers look to offer an ‘all-in-one’ solution for movies and music. So, if a soundbar offers that feature, we’ll be sure to test its performance with streamed music. On more premium soundbars, we expect to see Wi-Fi streaming, although this is not always the case.

Setup and ease-of-use: This is another area we test, as some soundbars carry a plug-in-and-play philosophy whilst others require more in-depth calibration. More soundbars are featuring auto-calibration features to adjust the sound for the room they’re installed in, and this can make a big difference in sound quality. As part of our tests, we’ll listen to a soundbar before and after this calibration to see just how much of a difference it makes.

Consistency: While we strive to maintain consistency in testing conditions, some of our writers have different setups they’ll be listening in. However, the tests carried out and the testing criteria are the same for all our reviews.

Latest updates

January 12, 2026
Replaced the Samsung HW-Q800D with its successor the HW-Q800F as 'best overall.' Replaced the Amazon Fire TV soundbar with the Sony HT-SF150 as 'best super-cheap' option as the former is no longer on sale. Replaced the JBL Bar 1300X with the JBL Bar 1300MK2 as 'best for flexibility.'

November 17, 2025
Added Creative Stage Pro as the 'Best for desktops' option.

October 2, 2025
Replaced the Marshall Heston 120 with the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 as the 'best all-in-one' option.

August 6, 2025
Replaced the Samsung HW-Q990D with the Samsung HW-Q990F as 'best for Dolby Atmos'. Removed the Sony HT-A7000 and the 'best for gaming' category. Added in a table with scores for each soundbar on this list labelled 'Comparison Chart'. Updated 'Other soundbars to consider' and 'New for 2025' sections.

July 6, 2025
Added the Samsung HW-QS-700F as a new entry in the number 13 position as our ‘Best for wall-mounting’ choice.

June 6, 2025
Replaced Sonos Arc Ultra with Marshall Heston 120 as 'Best all-in-one' option; added Sonos Arc Ultra as 'Best for expandability' option.

May 7, 2025
Added info on new Sony soundbars to 'New soundbars for 2025' section.

April 10, 2025
Added image galleries for all soundbars; added section 'Does my soundbar brand need to match my TV?' to the 'How to choose' FAQ.

March 13, 2025
Replaced Bose Smart Soundbar 600 with Bose Smart Soundbar, an upgraded version of the 600, as 'Best compact Atmos' option.

February 14, 2025
Added section 'What is Eclipsa Audio, and does my soundbar need it?' to the 'How to choose' FAQ.

January 16, 2025
Added section 'New soundbars for 2025' detailing models announced at the recent CES 2025 tradeshow.

December 23, 2024
Replaced the Samsung HW-Q800C with the Samsung HW-Q800D as best soundbar for most people due to the Q800C's waning stock levels.

November 27, 2024
Swapped the Sonos Arc for the Sonos Arc Ultra based on our testing, and re-ordered the list to make it easier to find specific types of soundbar.

October 29,2024
Introduced the Ultimea Poseidon D50 as 'best super-cheap surround sound'. Removed the 'what soundbars were announced at CES 2024' section.

September 30, 2024
Added more information about how we judge soundbars to our intro. Added information about the Sonos Arc Ultra to the Sonos Arc entry. Updated some information about recently tested soundbars, and how we test.

August 27, 2024
Added the LG S95TR as the 'best premium soundbar for LG TVs' option.

July 30, 2024
Added the Amazon Fire TV soundbar as 'best super-cheap' option.

July 1, 2024
Added the Hisense AX5125H as 'best budget Atmos surround' option.

June 6, 2024
Added the LG S95TR into the 'Also consider' section - as an alternative for LG owners to the Samsung Q990D.

May 6, 2024
Replaced the Samsung HW-Q990C with the new Samsung HW-Q990D as 'best for Dolby Atmos' selection.

March 28, 2024
Added 'Other soundbars to consider' section with details on recently reviewed models not listed in the guide.

February 28, 2024
Added in a 'How we Test' section, explaining what tests we carry out on the soundbars that we add to this guide.

January 22, 2024
Updated product write-ups to summarise the key points of each review and added in more internal linking to related products to help you choose the right soundbar for you. December 22, 2023 Added in 'buy it if' boxouts with quick pros and cons for each entry on the list.

December 22, 2023
Added in 'buy it if' boxouts with quick pros and cons for each entry on the list.

November 14, 2023
Replaced the Samsung HW-Q700B with the Samsung HW-Q800C as 'best overall' due to stock levels. Replaced Sony HT-G700 with Sony HT-S2000 for 'best budget'. Deleted 'best mid-range Atmos' category.

We first saw this amazing deal on Black Friday, and since then, it has returned to full price. I had no expectations that we'd see this best-ever deal return so soon, but I'm seriously glad it has – especially with this year's Super Bowl just a couple of weeks away.

The LG B5 delivers on almost every front, with a detailed, contrast-rich and colorful picture, great gaming features, and impressive overall performance. It also includes an intuitive smart TV platform that easily connects to your favorite apps. At over 50 per cent off, you're getting a seriously good entry-level OLED TV for a bargain price. I wouldn't hang around if you're interested, as this offer is only available until January 28.

Today's best cheap OLED TV deal

If it's outstanding image quality, perfect blacks, and excellent contrast, then you'll want an OLED. Thanks to self-lit pixels that turn off individually, this type of TV delivers the above in abundance. They're also not prohibitively expensive, especially when they're discounted by as much as this LG B5.

If you'd like our full rundown of the TV, then take a read of our in-depth LG B5 OLED TV review. In there, we highlight the "detailed, contrast-rich and colorful picture" as well as the "great gaming features and performance."

The LG B5 OLED boasts an Alpha 8 AI Processor Gen2, which adjusts picture and sound quality based on viewing content, so you can sit back and enjoy the latest movie or binge-worthy series. As for gaming features, it includes a 120Hz refresh rate, Nvidia G-Sync, and four HDMI ports for connecting with consoles.

We've tested hundreds of TVs and created detailed and informed guides to all the best TVs and best OLED TVs. To help you weigh up your options, we've broken them down into categories and detailed all the must-know info in easy-to-read tables.

Enter QD-OLED. Introduced by Samsung in 2022, QD-OLED adds quantum dots into the OLED equation, enabling very high brightness. While WOLED itself is getting brighter, QD-OLED continues to promise higher brightness increases than WOLED can generally manage each year – and we seem to know now the secret sauce that's allowed a huge 35% claimed jump in 2026, which I'll come back to shortly.

But QD-OLEDs advances aren't helping it take over the industry. Both OLED and QD-OLED are used in some of the best TVs, but WOLED continues to be the most widely used, even though QD-OLED is the brighter of the two panel technologies. In 2023, I said that WOLED was dying thanks to the arrival of QD-OLED and since then, a QD-OLED TV has been named TechRadar’s TV of the Year each year since, last year won by the Samsung S95F.

So, why hasn’t QD-OLED fully taken over? Let’s explore.

QD-OLED vs OLED brightness

When it comes to brightness, QD-OLED usually comes out on top. Last year however, LG introduced a new OLED panel: the Primary RGB Tandem OLED, also known as ‘four-stack’ OLED. It delivered higher brightness and richer colors, and it even beat QD-OLED in one area when we tested LG and Samsung’s flagship models last year.

We measured the LG G5’s peak HDR brightness at 2,268 nits, which was higher than the Samsung S95F’s peak HDR brightness of 2,132 nits. However, where QD-OLED had the advantage was fullscreen HDR brightness, with the S95F hitting 390 nits and the G5 clocking in at 331 nits, and this is more impactful measure for real-life viewing.

It’s worth noting that the RGB Tandem OLED was reserved for the flagship models. The mid-range LG C5, and its older WOLED OLED EX panel, hit 1,180 nits peak brightness – whereas the 65-inch Samsung S90F, which used a QD-OLED panel, hit 1,400 nits. The mid-range is where the QD-OLED made the most difference.

QD-OLED vs OLED’s future

At CES 2026, LG revealed its 2026 OLED TV lineup, announcing that both the LG G6 and LG C6H, the latter of which is basically the LG C6 at 77-inch and 83-inch sizes, will use a next-gen Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 panel. LG says that the G6 will be 20% brighter than its predecessor the G5.

While this is impressive, Samsung revealed its own 2026 OLED TV lineup and we learned that the Samsung S95H, its 2026 flagship, should deliver 35% higher brightness than its predecessor the Samsung S95F. That’s a big boost and dwarfs LG’s 20% higher brightness claim. How is such a boost possible?

Well, we actually learned from Nanosys, the manufacturer behind quantum dots, that QD-OLED will get brighter thanks (at least in part) to a new version of the Quantum Dot Color Conversion (QDCC). QDCC is a type of ink which is used in QD-OLED and this new version is more efficient, enabling higher brightness levels. Other factors probably play in too, but this seems like the key technical development.

So, with all these exciting updates, why is QD-OLED not the most widely used OLED tech?

QD-OLED’s downfall: price

It’s no secret that OLED TVs are some of the most premium priced on the market. While there are ‘budget’ options available such as the LG B5 and Samsung S85F, they’re still much pricier than mini-LED TVs. But, while WOLED TVs are getting cheaper and are available in more budget models, QD-OLED isn’t.

Price is QD-OLED’s biggest downfall. As QD-OLED appears to be a more costly panel to make, it hasn’t made its way to cheaper models. In fact, it’s also not available (at the time of writing) in anything smaller than 55-inch, leaving WOLED as the sole OLED panel tech in smaller 42 and 48-inch models. QD-OLED also isn't available at 83-inch sizes.

At launch, a 65-inch Samsung S95F cost $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,295, very similarly priced to the 65-inch LG G5 cost $3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299. And while QD-OLED’s prices are similar in its available sizes, 55-77-inch, the lack of a smaller, more budget friendly model is noticeable. Samsung actually uses traditional WOLED in its entry-level S85F model, and in some sizes of the Samsung S90F, with QD-OLED seemingly not able to keep up with Samsung's own demands.

What's also very notable is how other manufacturers don't seem desperate to use QD-OLED. Panasonic and Philips use LG's Tandem WOLED displays. Sony has used QD-OLED for its flagship OLED TVs, but Sony has always sold TVs at a price premium compared to other manufacturers – so it being the only user feels telling.

With LG Display recently announcing a lower-cost OLED panel with impressive brightness, and no announcements from Samsung Display that it'll be able to offer cheaper QD-OLED panels or new sizes (so far), it looks like LG still has the lead with other manufacturers where it matters: bang for buck.

I put the LG G5 and Samsung S95F side-by-side and it was an extremely close fight, with both producing incredible pictures. Putting these two models in a four-way OLED showdown, they both came out on top, with the S95F scoring higher in most categories. But, as long as QD-OLED is pricier, I can’t help feeling it’s still one step behind WOLED. If it can get its price down, all bets are off.

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If you’re short on space, but still want to experience the wonders of Dolby Atmos, then the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 could be the soundbar for you. This 2.1-channel model aims to supply “immersive, spatial sound” in a single, compact bar, using virtualized Atmos.

Let’s start with a bit of a reality check. The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 has some key limitations that hold it back from delivering the expansive, three-dimensional sound that larger models offer. It uses a fairly basic 2.1 channel configuration, with four main drivers – two front-firing 2.25-inch speakers, and two built-in four-inch subwoofers.

Unlike most of the best soundbars for Dolby Atmos, the Flexus Core 100 doesn’t have up-firing drivers, which are required for ‘true’ Atmos. There’s also no center channel on offer, and as a fairly narrow bar, this thing’s not going to plate up the width you’d expect from a full-length model.

With all of that said, the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is a pretty good-sounding model. When watching a 4K UHD Blu-ray of Top Gun: Maverick, I was impressed by accurate dialogue in the opening scene – which sounded well-defined, and maintained the echoey effect you’d expect in a wide open space.

On top of that, Maverick showcased the low-end talents of the Flexus Core 100. The rumble of jet engines was more impactful than a lot of bars in this size category – and other parts of the frequency range didn’t sound obscured as Tom Cruise’s character prepared for take off.

I will say, though, that when the jet flew up and overhead, the verticality of the move was very limited. And more generally, this soundbar struggles to conjure up a sense of height – it's understandable with its technical limitations, but it’s going to be an issue for those wanting great Dolby Atmos in a small package.

In spite of its unremarkable height effects, the Flexus Core 100 still provides a decent amount of width for such a narrow model. In The Mask, the soundbar commendably replicated the cartoonish spin of the titular character across the screen. As he smashed through a glass window, the combination of a low-end thump with a high-pitched shattering also came through with clarity and impact, capturing the surprising nature of the move brilliantly.

One small issue I picked up on was during a scene where two B-rate mobsters are playing air hockey in the backdrop. Here, the left and right channel separation seemed overzealous and choppy – likely a result of there being no center channel, as this isn't something I experienced on a 5.1 bar like the Marshall Heston 60.

As well as movies, I tried listening to some music over Bluetooth using Tidal. And like a lot of small soundbars, the Flexus Core 100 isn’t particularly talented in this department.

In Black Eye by Allie X, I was satisfied with the depth of the bass, although it wasn’t particularly agile. Meanwhile, vocals were clear enough, but not separated all too much from other sounds in the mid-range. Percussion wasn’t the most precise either, and it lacked a sense of space. Overall, I got a relatively clean listen, but one that lacked nuance or detail.

With Atmos music, it was a similar story. Dream of Arrakis by Hans Zimmer offers solid low-end punch, but the attack of percussion was fairly blunt, and vocal elements weren’t all too clear in the mix. The expansiveness of this master was also pared back quite a bit compared to what I’ve heard on more premium compact bars, like the Sonos Beam Gen 2.

Something else I realized when playing tunes, was that the soundbar didn’t automatically switch to Music mode – something I’ve become relatively accustomed to from most modern soundbars. You have to select the appropriate mode with the included remote or the Klipsch Connect Plus app.

Still, the two modes are decently differentiated, and if you want to make additional changes, you can make use of an equalizer in the companion app. And EQ options aren’t bad at all – you can manually adjust bass, mids, or treble, or switch between presets, including: Flat, Vocal, Bass, Treble, and Rock.

More generally, I was a big fan of the Klipsch Connect Plus app. It’s brilliantly responsive, well laid-out, and pretty feature-rich. On the main screen, you can change source, activate a genuinely great multi-level voice enhancement setting, activate night mode, and more. An additional settings menu also opens up channel level adjustment, surround and subwoofer pairing, and display brightness adaption.

The only thing I was really missing on the app was some kind of room calibration tool to optimize the Flexus Core 100 to my listening space – something you’ll find on soundbars like Sonos Beam 2nd Gen and Marshall Heston 120.

I touched on the Flexus Core 100’s display a moment ago, and I have to give Klipsch some kudos here – it looks absolutely fantastic. Rather than relying on a basic lighting system, there’s a large display with full letters and numbers to let you know which mode you’re using, source you’re connected to, and volume level you’re at. This is incredibly clear, and makes for a much smoother user-experience.

On top of a neat display and seamless in-app experience, setting the Flexus Core 100 up really couldn’t have been easier. You’ve just got to connect it to a power source, and hook it up to your TV over HDMI eARC or digital optical – easy as pie. You can also build your system out at your own pace by connecting a compatible wireless sub, or a wired one via the soundbar’s ‘sub out’ port. You can also purchase Flexus Surround speakers for a more three-dimensional listening experience.

In terms of functionality, the only major miss in my view is the omission of Wi-Fi streaming. Personally, this is an absolute must for me. I love being able to use Spotify or Tidal Connect to enjoy my music in higher quality than Bluetooth streaming allows. Some may also lament the lack of DTS support, which is less common than Dolby Atmos for streaming, but is often used on Blu-rays.

We’ve spoken a lot about the technology involved so far, but how does the Flexus Core 100 fare in the looks department? In my opinion, this soundbar is a little on the average side. The large logo on the right side isn’t the most attractive, and the fabric speaker grille doesn’t quite give off a premium impression. Still, the model is well-made, and I’ve already raved about its excellent display.

One thing I’ve not mentioned yet is the Flexus Core 100’s price-tag. And this is pretty competitive, all things considered. It comes in at $349 / £299 / AU$645, which is less than a 2.0 channel rival like the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 and considerably less than compact Atmos titans like the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and Bose Smart Soundbar.

In the end, then, the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is a solid soundbar overall. It won’t deliver the most amazing Dolby Atmos, it’s not the best-looking model I’ve seen, and I’m also still sad about the omission of Wi-Fi streaming.

But its great bass levels, clear dialogue, impressive companion app support, and ease of use are all highly commendable. If you’ve got the cash, I’d suggest going with either Sonos or Marshall’s compact soundbars, but if you’re on a tighter budget, this model is well-worth considering.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: price and release date

• $349 / £299 / AU$645
• Launched in April 2024

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 was released in April 2024, and is part of a product line that also features the Flexus Core 200 and the exceptional Klipsch Flexus Core 300.

It has a list price of $349 / £299 / AU$645, making it the cheapest product in that lineup, and very competitively priced against other compact Dolby Atmos models like the Sonos Beam Gen 2, for instance.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: specs

Should I buy the Klipsch Flexus Core 100?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: also consider

How I tested the Klipsch Flexus Core 100

• Tested with movies and music across multiple hours
• Used in our TV testing space at Future Labs
• Mainly played 4K Blu-rays for movies and streamed via Tidal for music

When testing the Klipsch Flexus Core 100, I had the soundbar connected up to the phenomenal LG G5 OLED TV via its HDMI eARC port.

I spent the majority of my time with the soundbar watching 4K UHD Blu-rays – predominantly viewing them via the Panasonic DP-UB820. However, I also watched some shows on Netflix, and streamed music through Tidal using the Dolby Atmos and stereo formats.

On top of this, I made sure to exhaust all of the Flexus Core 100’s features, and cycled through all of the settings in the Klipsch Connect Plus app, including the various sound modes and EQ calibrations.

More generally, I’m an experienced tech reviewer with a particular focus on audio-visual gear, and have tested a wide range of soundbars. During almost two years at TechRadar, I’ve covered everything from budget models like the Sony HT-SF150 through to premium Dolby Atmos soundbar systems, such as the JBL Bar 1300MK2.

• First reviewed: January 2026
• Read more about how we test

The big stories took in everything from Spotify to ChatGPT to Netflix, but it was developments in the OLED TV world that really caught our eye, as Sony, TCL, and LG all made major announcements.

Best of all, the trio might not just revolutionize the already best-of-the-best displays, but also their cheaper models.

How? Well, you'll have to scroll down to find out, so may we suggest you do that now and get up to speed. Enjoy.

7. Whoop clones have thrown us for a loop

It's been a while coming, but we've finally published our reviews of two screenless, fabric-covered fitness trackers – subscription-less rivals to the Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG bands, which we rated as technically excellent but far too expensive.

The Polar Loop was solid in heart-rate tracking, but a letdown with its confusing software choices. The Amazfit Helio Strap was a different matter, though: cheaper than Whoop and Polar, and very good, both in terms of the hardware's capabilities and the app's quality. We duly added it to our best fitness trackers list.

The reviews come at an interesting time, as CES 2026 showcased the next wave of Whoop clones from Luna and Speediance. It looks set to be a crowded category.

• Read more: Amazfit Helio Strap review
• Read more: Polar Loop review

6. Spotify dropped a flawed playlist tool

Following a successful trial run in New Zealand, Spotify is bringing Prompted Playlists – a new playlist-creating tool that puts you in control of the algorithm – to the US and Canada.

Building on Spotify's AI playlist tool, which launched in April 2024, Prompted Playlists takes a similar approach but gives you full control over where you steer the algorithm. In its news blog, Spotify puts it quite simply: “You’re not just asking for music, you’re shaping how Spotify goes about discovering it for you.”

The biggest difference with Prompted Playlists is that you can amend them to update daily or weekly, just like Discover Weekly, but you can tailor them to a far greater degree. After spending some time with it, we can see it becoming one of Spotify’s most intelligent features, and it will be even more powerful once its infancy issues are resolved.

• Read more: I’ve been trying out Spotify’s new Prompted Playlist tool

5. OLED TVs fought back

OLEDs have long been revered as the go-to premium TV tech, but the ‘new’ brighter and cheaper kid on the block – mini-LED – is threatening to eat its lunch.

At least, that was until LG clapped back with its OLED SE, which promises a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as 1,000 nits of brightness, which is far more than the 668 nits we measured on the affordable LG B5 – so the LG B6 could be a real affordability winner if it boasts this tech.

LG Display told FlatPanelsHD that it will make OLED SE panels in five sizes to begin with: 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 77 inches, and 83 inches, and we’re excited to see how it’ll use these panels in the coming year.

• Read more: The OLED TV vs mini-LED battle is about to really heat up

4. Netflix got a universal boost

Despite Netflix initially teasing that it would get Universal’s live-action flicks exclusively on its platform starting in 2027, it seems the deal has started a lot earlier than we expected.

According to Netflix, “We can confirm that the live-action film pay-1b licensing deal is starting earlier than announced, with the first film being Megan 2.0.”

It’s not clear when exactly other films will follow, but this is certainly another trophy for Netflix to add to its cabinet.

• Read more: Netflix is adding live-action Universal movies to its back catalog

3. We tried Sony’s clip-style buds

The audio titan that is Sony debuted new clip-style open earbuds with its new LinkBuds Clip; we’ve tried them, and unfortunately, this might be a rare miss for the headphones experts.

The fit felt at times looser than we’d want; the lack of deep bass meant music lacked its full resonance or a thumping, punchy beat, and even the treble struggled.

Based on our initial tests, we’d expect these earbuds to cost about half their $229 / £180 / AU$329.95 price, which is definitely disappointing given Sony's track record.

• Read more: I tried Sony’s first clip-on open earbuds

2. Sony and TCL teamed up

Sticking with Sony, the brand just announced that its TVs will now be made in a “joint venture” with TCL, suggesting a major shift for how its displays are developed, designed, and manufactured.

Interestingly, TCL will own 51% of this new joint project, giving it a majority share. It’s worth noting that this might simply be due to Chinese rules that limit foreign ownership in joint ventures to 49% – TCL is a Chinese electronics company, while Sony is headquartered in Japan.

Exactly what this means for us is yet to be seen, but it might mean Sony pivots away from OLED as TCL avoids the tech completely, and perhaps instead focuses on improved mid-range and budget options using TCL’s impressively cost-effective manufacturing.

• Read more: Sony’s future TVs could be made by a new ‘joint venture’

1. ChatGPT got ads

Despite its CEO once calling ads a “last resort” for its business, OpenAI has announced that advertisements are coming to ChatGPT for free and ChatGPT Go-tier users.

The news dropped very late last week, so we couldn’t include it in ICYMI then, so we’ve rolled it into this week's, as the announcement represents a massive pivot for OpenAI.

As part of the reveal, OpenAI shared some examples of how ads might work, such as a sponsored grocery list appearing below the answer to a dinner-related question.

This obviously raises big questions about how trustworthy responses are – for example, with the dinner plan, did the AI recommend those meals because it knew it would fit better with a sponsorship? There’s a lot we frankly don’t know, and we expect this won’t be the last advertisements we see in AI chatbots – even if Google promises Gemini ads aren’t in the works.

• Read more: ChatGPT now has ads

I cracked a smile at that; for those who don’t know thrust of The Matrix is that robots rose up against humans and enslaved our consciousness in a virtual world while they use us as biological batteries, with the few people who escaped from the system now entering the titular Matrix to free chosen humans from this virtual prison. From that premise, and the dark, cyberpunk tone of the movie, I’d never have thought to describe it as happy.

But then, as the discussion went on, I was brought round to my date’s thinking.

Ultimately, The Matrix is a happy movie as it’s got a lot of the archetypes of a viewing experience that one leaves happy and uplifted; the good guys win over the bad, Neo is ‘The One’ and a promised saviour, no one major dies, and the scenery-chewing Mr Smith gets ‘killed’ in a most satisfying way.

Of course, there's more to this. Unlike the successive Matrix movies that tried to hammer home the kind of philosophical chatter one might expect from mildly inebriated university students, the first movie was taught, superbly shot, and stylish, albeit in a very late-1990s way.

The pacing was on point, starting with a young Keanu Reeves as Mr. Anderson and his journey to become Neo. At the time it was dark, gritty, and had a few challenges for those of a squeamish nature – the mechanical bug that enters Neo’s body through his belly button, and the waking of real-world Neo in a gross, almost Giger-esque bio-battery pod – yet this was then built up into a feel good moment, where Neo “knows Kung-Fu” and does a good job at fending off a tougher, more experienced Morpheus.

Throughout The Matrix, there are numerous ‘feel good’ and happy moments all set at a satisfying pace. Who can forget the classic “guns, lots of guns” moment, the utterly brilliant and innovative bullet-time slow-mo corridor shootout, Neo’s ability to dodge bullets, and the rescue of Morpheus? And of course, the ending, which is basically a cluster of heroic, air-punching scenes.

I could argue that, in the face of more recent sci-fi/cyberpunk storytelling, The Matrix is a bit old-hat and almost one-note. But then that’s what makes it a happy movie: you don’t have to overly work your grey matter to have an enjoyable time. And its action, camera work, and direction all stand the test of time; I reckon the color palette helps nullify any CGI that could look a little ropey in 2026.

So with all that in mind, and given January is considered to be a rather depressing month in the Northern Hemisphere, I’d suggest giving The Matrix a watch this weekend if you want a bit of a pick-me-up.

It should be available to stream in the US on HBO Max and Apple TV+, as well as on other on-demand services, and on Now TV in the UK if you opt for the Entertainment tier.

Equally, for what it’s worth, may I suggest looking at grabbing The Matrix on 4K Blu-ray. I think it's one of those movies that will always be evergreen and worth an addition to one’s physical media collection; in 4K, the action should look rather crisp, too.

Check out the widget below for any 4K Blu-ray deals on The Matrix in your area.

And then head to the comments to let me know if you agree that The Matrix is a happy movie, and tell me what movies you'd recommend as left-field happy, feel-good flicks.

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The Fire TV Stick 4K Select is Amazon's entry-level 4K streaming stick. You can imagine it one tier above the Fire TV Stick HD and the Fire TV Stick Plus. It supports higher quality 4K Ultra HD streaming (rather than the 1080p Full HD), but lacks a few features that the Fire TV Stick Plus has, like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Still, if you're just getting into 4K streaming, it's hard to beat for value at $25.

Today's best cheap streaming stick deal

Amazon has created some of the best streaming sticks on the market today. We haven't had the chance to review the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, but we've rated Amazon's other 4K TV Sticks in the past highly. For example, we gave both the Fire TV Stick 4K (now the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus) and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max a score of four and a half out of five in their respective reviews.

As mentioned earlier, the Fire TV Stick 4K Select lacks a few key features that the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus has. That doesn't change that it still offers affordable 4K streaming without many drawbacks.

If you want to understand the differences between Amazon's current Fire Sticks, you should read our Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select vs Amazon Fire TV 4K Stick comparison. Despite the name, the article also compares the two with the premium Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

Save $1,300 on our best-rated TV - LG's 65-inch C5 OLED

Shop more Super Bowl TV deals at Best Buy

While I’m always impressed by LG and Samsung’s OLEDs, there’s another brand that I love: Philips. Not only does it produce strong-performing OLEDs, but it has one unique feature over everyone else: Ambilight.

I’ve spoken about my love for Ambilight before, which uses colored LEDS to project light from the back of the TV onto the wall, which can create a more immersive and cinematic experience, making the picture feel bigger. Pair this with the already spectacular colors and contrast of an OLED TV, and you’re in for a treat.

Of course, there is the option of adding the Philips Hue TV lighting system, and as LG and Samsung offer a Hue app (as a paid extra), they are the next best candidates behind Philips for this.

But for 2025, Philips laid down the gauntlet in another way. While you can expect to pay roughly £2,099 for a 65-inch LG G5 and 65-inch Samsung S95F, the Philips OLED910 (the G5 and S95F equivalent) costs around £1,799. Considering the mid-range LG C5 65-inch is around £1,599, with the OLED910 you’re basically getting flagship performance (it uses the same OLED panel as the G5) for a mid-range price.

So, I had to find out: how does the OLED910 compare to the G5 and S95F? I put the three models side-by-side to see.

Brightness

For all my testing, the TVs were set to Filmmaker Mode, which is the most ‘accurate’ picture mode and the one I use when testing most TVs.

Firstly, some numbers. We’ve measured the peak HDR brightness of all three of these TVs and, perhaps surprisingly, the OLED910 was the brightest. In peak HDR brightness test consisting of a white window that takes up 10% of the screen, the Philips hit 2,329 nits, compared to the G5’s 2,268 nits and the S95F’s 2,132 nits.

In terms of fullscreen HDR brightness, the OLED910 hit 406 nits, again edging above the S95F’s 390 nits, and comfortably stronger than the G5’s 331 nits.

How did this translate to real-world viewing? All three OLEDs certainly appear rich and bright, which really leant itself to brighter and daytime scenes. A snowy scene from Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark demo footage showcased vibrant whites on all three TVs – but despite what the numbers above said, the G5 had the brightest perceived white tones for me.

In bright-room viewing, all three TVs did well to maintain visibility, though the G5 was the most reflective of the three, meaning dark scenes were tougher to watch due to reflections. The OLED910 performed well, but again was reflective. The S95F is the top dog however, thanks to its effective anti-reflection screen.

Colours

Starting with The Sound of Music, one of the best-looking 4K Blu-rays I’ve tested as part of the Blu-ray Bounty, the vibrant reds and yellows of the fruits in the market scene exploded on each screen. While the OLED910 had the most accurate image to my eyes, the S95F had the most striking. The G5 struck a good balance between the two, looking authentic yet vibrant.

In the Do Re Mi scene, as Maria and the Von Trapp children sit in a field by the mountain, the OLED910 delivered the most convincing greens of the fields and blues of the sky.

Again, the S95F’s were the richest with the most color depth, although on occasion the green did appear oversaturated. The G5’s colors looked slightly cooler compared to the other two screens, despite being in Filmmaker Mode, which usually has a warm tone.

Moving on to more intentionally bold colors, all three TVs handled the garish houses of the suburban neighborhood in Edward Scissorhands well. They popped most on the S95F, capturing the sickly eyesore colors of the houses.

In places, such as the vivid pink carpet of one of the homes, the OLED910 actually had the most vibrancy. But in a daytime scene, Joyce’s yellow car appeared punchiest on the G5, due to its higher brightness.

All three TVs demonstrated superb color reproduction, but I found myself most drawn to the OLED910, as it struck a nice balance between the striking colors of the S95F and the more natural richness of the G5.

Dark room viewing and contrast

Moving onto more contrast-heavy movies, I started with The Batman 4K Blu-ray. Due to its low brightness, I tested this movie in pitch-black conditions. All three TVs again demonstrated powerful contrast, but noticed that while blacks were solid across all three TVs, they were marginally raised on the G5, so had a touch more of a grey tone.

All three sets had excellent shadow detail, maintaining textures such as Gordon’s lapel on his black jacket.

The S95F had arguably the most striking contrast, with rich blacks and punchy highlights, whereas the OLED910 had what I thought was the most ‘film-accurate’ look, accurately capturing the grittiness and powerful contrasting scenes.

This was also true when watching Dark City on 4K Blu-ray, a movie with a lot of high-contrast scenes. As shadows are cast onto faces by lamps throughout, the S95F again had the highest range between light and dark tones to create the strongest contrast, but both the OLED910 and G5 did a brilliant job too.

Despite the OLED910’s higher measured peak brightness, the G5 and S95F actually delivered the punchiest highlights from light sources such as lamps and the neon sign of the Automat in Dark City. At points, the G5 showed slightly raised blacks again.

Still, all three TVs delivered superb contrast and rich blacks: as you’d expect from OLEDs of this calibre.

Motion and upscaling

I decided to test motion specifically on these TVs as I’ve often found that Philips' sets require some adjustment, and that was the case here. Using a panning shot of a rocky hillside from No Time To Die with all motion processing turned off and the TVs set to Filmmaker Mode, all three produced some judder, but the OLED910’s was noticeably worse.

Switching on some motion processing to each TV – Cinematic Movement for the G5, Pure Cinema for the OLED910, and Judder Reduction set to 3 on the S95F – the G5 came out on top, producing a smooth image that avoided the soap opera effect. The S95F was similar to this, but again the OLED910 produced judder. Setting its motion setting to Movie, it was smoother but some minor judder was still happening.

I finished testing with some standard-definition viewing, using a DVD of Amazing Spider-Man. During my four-way OLED comparison, between the G5, S95F, Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II, the G5 easily came out on top due to its punchier brightness and cleaner textures.

The same was true here. The G5’s default Filmmaker settings still produced bold brightness and did a great job cleaning up textures, giving characters and environments a fresher look. Both the OLED910 and S95F did a good job, but the S95F was let down by its lower vibrancy. For colors, all three delivered brighter punchier colors, but again the G5’s had that added pop converting from SDR to something closer to HDR.

Conclusion

Having put these three TVs side-by-side, all three proved they are phenomenal and you won’t be let down by any. One issue with the OLED910 is that it's only available in 55 inches in some territories, and the UK isn't one of them (and like all Philips OLEDs, it's not available in the US at all) – so if you want a 55-inch, it’s down to personal preference between the G5 and the S95F.

The S95F arguably has the bolder colors and richer contrast in HDR, but lacks Dolby Vision. The G5 has the more natural image and rich colors with better upscaling, but doesn't perform as well in bright or pitch-black viewing conditions.

That said, if you’re looking for a 65 or 77-inch OLED, my overall pick is the Philips OLED910. It delivers the most natural and balanced picture of the three, and with the Ambilight feature I love, it edges the LG G5 and the Samsung S95F. Plus, it’s hard to believe that for a 65-inch model, it’s £300 cheaper than the other two even with its unique extra feature.

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When it comes to the best TVs, you know the drill: OLEDs are revered for premium image quality, while mini-LEDs are brighter and cheaper. But LG Display may disrupt that with a new kind of OLED panel it calls 'OLED SE'.

OLED SE is designed for entry-level TVs, and while its specifications aren't even in the same zip code as the Primary Tandem OLEDs of the LG G5, it could be a game-changer for affordable OLEDs such as the LG B5.

Like the panel in the B5, OLED SE has a refresh rate of 120Hz. But it delivers a claimed 1,000 nits of brightness, which is significantly more than the 668 nits we measured on the B5.

However, I should mention here that LG Display claimed that the Primary RGB Tandem panel used in the LG G5 can hit 4,000 nits, but we measured the LG G5 at a maximum of 2,268 nits, so we'll have to see if 1,000 nits is real-world or not.

Still, this could make OLED more competitive for budget-conscious TV buyers who might otherwise go for mini-LED due to its sheer bang-for-buck.

How does OLED SE cut the cost of an OLED TV?

As LG Display explained in a Q&A at CES 2026: "SE retains OLED's pixel-level dimming and core advantages, including superior HDR picture quality, perfect black levels, and outstanding response times, enabling clearly superior image quality compared to LCD TVs in a similar price range."

So why is it cheaper? According to our colleagues at What Hi-Fi?, one of the ways in which LG Display has managed to reduce the price of the OLED SE panels is by going without the polarizer.

Polarizers reduce reflection and glare, but also reduces the amount of light that a panel emits, so by binning it you get more brightness and less cost. The downside, of course, is that you also end up with a more reflective TV.

TV manufacturers could deal with that by adding their own anti-glare layer, and that could be in the form of their own polarizer, or a matte layer like the one used in the Samsung S95F (which we've been told can be inexpensive to apply). These may affe

LG Display doesn't just supply LG: it makes panels for all kinds of manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and Philips. It said it will be supplying OLED SE to "major customers" in 2026.

LG Display told FlatPanelsHD that it will be making the OLED SE panels in five sizes to begin with: 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 77 inches and 83 inches.

Those sizes just happen to correlate with the five sizes of the LG B5, and of course they're generally the most popular sizes of mid-range or high-end TVs. So it feels like a safe bet that we'll see OLED SE in the LG B6 – but LG has told us that we won't really hear more about that TV until the spring.

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If you’ve tried a few different streaming stick brands, you’ll have noticed that Roku sticks lack a bonus HDMI cable that you’d get for free with an Amazon Fire Stick. Well, it turns out you can get this cable for free with Roku sticks too – if you know where to ask.

Whether you’re upgrading an older TV, want access to your favorite streamed content when you travel, or have some other need for one, streaming sticks from the likes of Amazon and Roku can be super handy.

But based on the design and port layout of your TV, and the other devices you have connected, it can be tricky to plug a streaming stick directly into your display – which is why Amazon Fire Sticks and others can come with an HDMI extender, a short additionable cable that creates more space between your stick and screen.

In your Roku stick’s box, you won’t find an extender, but you can request one for free from an official Roku HDMI page. You’ll just need to fill the form in with your name, address, telephone number, and your streaming stick’s serial number.

The serial number will be printed on the stick itself, with a label ‘SN:#####’ – with your device’s serial number replacing the #####. Alternatively, your stick’s serial number should appear in the Roku App; go to your Devices page, tap the three-dot menu icon next to the streaming stick, and then tap to View System Info.

With all of your information filled in, the HDMI extender will be shipped to your home free of charge – you shouldn’t even need to pay postage.

Cord Cutters News recently flagged this hidden feature, and while the request form has existed for some time, it has reportedly become a much simpler process to request an extender.

Though it’s not as streamlined as including the HDMI cable in the box to begin with, this approach does save Roku some costs and reduces tech waste. It obviously means for us consumers that setting up a Roku streaming stick can take a little longer, since we have to wait for a second package to arrive at our homes.

Not including this tool in the box might also reduce the effectiveness of Roku’s streaming sticks, as an extender can improve airflow to the stick, which helps with performance.

Though if you’ve been having any Roku stick troubles, this could be the solution you needed.

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A new TV with an integrated VHS player wasn't on my list of predictions for 2026, but the RetroBox appears to be exactly that: it's a very old-school TV/VCR, but while it looks like it fell through a portal from the set of Friends, it has slightly more modern technology inside.

I had something very similar to this in my parents' kitchen for years, but where mine had a CRT display, the RetroBox has an LCD – albeit one designed to replicate the look of an old-school tube TV.

Retrobox VHS/TV: key features and pricing

The RetroBox is apparently the creation of Daniela and Chase, two college students and newlyweds "seeking to re-create a special experience from our childhoods." I assume the experience is TV related, but they don't specify.

The goal here is to replicate the grainy video of old VHS tapes, and the RetroBox promises full compatibility with any VHS cassette. But if you don't have any tapes kicking around on the grounds that we're well into the 21st Century now, you can also connect external video devices via HDMI, AV Component and S-Video.

Or you can pay an extra $26 for the RetroBox VHS bundle, which gives you five randomly selected VHS tapes, which seems like a real risk, to be frank

This is going to be a US-only release – it'll support NTSC but not the European PAL standard – and it'll deliver glorious 240p or 480i resolution.

There are eight colors to choose from, but sadly not a weird purple-blue like the one that lived in my parents' house; instead there are vivid reds, greens and blues and a bright pink, along with some more sober options.

The RetroBox will be available from retrobox.us with a price tag of $399. That's an introductory offer for presale orders, and the usual price will be $525. You can't buy it yet, but if you're in the US you can sign up for email updates to be notified when the presale goes live.

I've got to be honest: this feels more like an interesting hardware hacking project than a product that's going to ship in significant numbers any time soon.

The website isn't the most information-packed site I've ever seen, but there's a little more information on the RetroBox Instagram channel where the most recent reel shows various partly disassembled TV/VCRs from the likes of Toshiba and RCA and a first prototype; that reel was uploaded in December 2025, so clearly there's some way to go before the RetroBox is available to anyone.

But I can't say it's not an interesting proposition…

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This was one of my favorite TV deals from Black Friday last year, and I'm glad (but not entirely surprised) to see it featured at Samsung in the run-up to this year's Super Bowl.

The S90f was the recipient of a five-star rating when we reviewed it last year, and even before today's price cut, we noted it as a particularly good value option. It's not the highest-end OLED TV in Samsung's range, but it delivers much of the performance of the flagship S95F for a more reasonable price. You're still getting an amazing picture and support for 144Hz refresh rate, which will please gamers in particular.

Samsung S90F OLED TV at a record-low price today

• See more: check out all of today's TV deals at Samsung

Five star rated by our experts

Our review stated, 'The Samsung 65S90F delivers much of the performance of Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for far less money, making it a true 2025 TV hero.' That's high praise that continues to be the case for 2026 - even if the S90F is due to be replaced by the new S90H variant later this year.

Deep-diving into the TV's specs a little further, alongside the excellent OLED panel, the S90F also features Samsung's latest AI picture engine, providing excellent image upscaling for 4K. Gamers will also be pleased to note that the TV also features four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 165Hz support, FreeSync and G-Sync, and an ultra-low 9.2ms input lag for super-smooth gaming. While the gaming specs arguably stand out as a selling point, the S90F's panel is also superbly bright for an OLED - making it perfect for both movies and sports (such as the upcoming Super Bowl).

Audio on today's best TVs is notoriously bad, and the assumption is that you'll ignore it, and simply buy a soundbar or surround system to make up for the set's acoustic deficits.

Why?

Earlier this week, I was in the mood for a good comfort-watch. For me, that means a superhero movie, and, if I haven't watched 1978's Superman recently, the natural choice is Christopher Nolan's exemplary Batman Begins. I love this movie, from the brilliant cinematography to non-stop but realistic action, snappy dialogue, and high stakes – it's about as good as Batman gets. It's also on one of the best streaming services, HBO Max.

Yet, as I sat there enjoying Bruce Wayne's quest to step out from the League of Shadows and become the Dark Knight, I started pushing the sound level on my LG C5 up to near 70 (out of a possible 100) just so I could make out the dialogue.

As my son reminded me, Nolan tends to overmix the audio in favor of sound effects, but I knew I was struggling too hard to hear what Christian Bale was saying in at least a few key scenes, ones in which I'm certain Nolan wasn't trying to drown him out.

It's not the speakers you have on the inside, it's what you do with them

LG's C5 has a bunch of audio presets: Standard, Cinema, AI Sound Pro, and Clear Voice Pro (there's also Sports, Music, and Game Optimizer, which are all less germane here). I was already in Cinema Mode, which may have accounted for some of the booming background effects, so I switched to Clear Voice Pro, hoping it would add some clarity to the speech.

The result was awful. Voices were sharp to the point of being almost painful to listen to. They had a weird, unnatural echo, and the background sound was diminished into muddy uselessness.

Standard mode was generally flat, and also did nothing to solve my dialogue issues. With the exception of the algorithmic AI overcorrections, most of these sound modes are, in my estimation, equivalent to sound EQs you got on your old portable CD players, raising and lowering bass and treble to suit certain music or audio styles. They weren't earth-shattering then, and are not now.

As I sat there in some frustration, and the 14th ad started to run in the middle of my HBO Max movie experience, my son asked why I was suffering so much, and suggested I find our Nolan Batman Trilogy Blu-ray set and watch it on disc.

It was a solid suggestion. First of all, the image quality was considerably better. Second, no commercials. The audio was about the same, though.

Is sound bad to teach us how to buy a sound bar?

I know, why not just buy a soundbar and stop complaining? Well, there is the principle of the thing. I paid well over $1,500 for this TV set, and wonder why I need to plunk down $400 or more for a decent soundbar and subwoofer.

There is another, more practical problem. When I installed my 65-inch OLED on my wall, I positioned it at the optimal height for couch viewing; no craning my neck for me. We then bought a cabinet to put under it, but when we got it, we found that the furniture was slightly taller than we expected. The result is that a standard soundbar right under the TV (even one just a few inches tall) might partially block the bottom edge of my LG C5 OLED.

A utility belt won't solve this

So, yes, I'm stuck, and that's partially a problem of my own making. And yet, why does the sound have to suck so much? AI audio manipulation is clearly not going to help, and, despite what these companies tell you, they have not solved the audio issues inherent in ultra-thin and light (just 36.6lbs) TV sets.

Because this is not simply an issue with one beloved superhero classic. Virtually anything I watch on any streaming platform is a trial of epic audio proportions. We make it louder and louder, until we finally give in and switch to closed captions.

My thought is that I need to find an ultra-low profile soundbar that somehow still manages to deliver crisp, clear dialogue. The LG Sound Suite H7 soundbar, which is just 2.5 inches tall, might work, but it's also $999. Seriously, why must I pay another $1,000 for the sound experience that should have come right out of my brand-new TV?

Color me frustrated. Perhaps this is a job for the Dark Knight.

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It seems that this new company will take over the entire TV business from Sony Electronics. The release says that it will be 51% owned by TCL and 49% by Sony, which suggests that TCL will be the dominant player in how it operates.

It's not clear exactly what "home audio" entails here – I would assume that soundbars such and the Bravia Theater Quad are included, but the Sony CS separate speakers are maybe in more of a gray area. I would not expect Sony's headphones and Bluetooth speakers to be included.

Update: Sony has provided a statement to TechRadar with a little more insight into the type of partnership that's planned:

"Sony and TCL have agreed to move forward with discussions and consideration for a strategic partnership in their home entertainment field.

"The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to confirm their intentions to establish a joint venture to grow the home entertainment business in the global market by combining the strengths of both companies.

"The new company plans to advance its business by leveraging Sony’s high-quality picture and audio technology cultivated over the years, brand value and operational expertise including supply chain management, while utilising TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale strength, industrial footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertical supply chain advantages.

"We consider the two companies to be nearly equal partners, both Sony and TCL will provide steadfast support for the sustainable growth of the new company, to create innovative products that meet the expectations of customers around the world and pursue further business growth through operational excellence.

"At this stage, the announcement reflects an initial memorandum of understanding, and further details are still under discussion. We will communicate further at the appropriate timing when there is confirmed information to share."

I've also contacted TCL for comment, though I'm not expecting many concrete details from that side either – the report says that definitive agreements are intended to be reached at the end of March.

TCL TVs in Sony badges?

We're only three weeks into January, and already my TV prediction bingo card has been upended: I didn't expect seismic news like this, especially when Sony has yet to announce its 2026 TV range (which we know is coming, because it's been promising us its RGB TV tech will come this year for… well, about a year).

This is an interesting approach for the future. I suspect that TCL's larger stake in the business meand it's likely to dominate the manufacturing of Sony-branded TVs in the future – but Sony will still retain a huge stake in the business.

So it doesn't seem like this will just a case of a revered old brand having its tech made by a totally unrelated company, such as with Toshiba's TVs. (Though this can have some impressive results – Philips' European OLED TVs are made by another company, and are excellent.)

My hope is that Sony's development teams will be involved in the new company, and that the joint venture will still use OLED panels when it wants to, even though TCL avoids OLED completely for its own TVs. Maybe we'll still have Sony Bravia XR processing, and an image profile designed to match Sony's professional monitors, as its TVs are designed now.

It might be that TCL mainly transforms Sony's mid-range and budget options using its impressively cost-effective manufacturing. Sony's high-end TVs are legendary, but while its more affordable options are very nice-looking, they're basically always stuck behind the competition on value – and that's gone double in the last year or so, with TCL, Hisense, Amazon and Roku increasingly dominating the mid-range TV world.

But it's possible that the changes will be more fundamental, and that Sony's contribution is much lighter – and that really we'll be seeing TCL TVs with Sony badges and couple of unique features to make them stand out (such as the Perfect for PlayStation features).

One thing to note here is that TCL is already the producer of the panels used by a lot of TV manufacturers, through its display-making arm, TCL CSOT – so it being involved with Sony's manufacturing may not be that different to now, depending on where Sony gets its panels.

Or it could mean much more dramatic changes in the future. I'm guessing that if the new joint business may only be confirmed in March, then the absolutely earliest we can expect to see anything from it would be CES 2027.

In any case, Sony fans are among the most enthusiastic and loyal in the TV world, so this is going to be an interesting year for them either way.

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As TechRadar’s TV reviewer, I always make a trip to a TV’s settings before I get testing. Even the best TVs on the market have settings that need changing. Out of the box, a TV can look ‘wrong’ for several reasons: too dim, too sharp, too bright, inaccurate colors, unnatural motion – the list goes on.

While the thought of taking a deep dive into a TV’s settings can be daunting, it can be very rewarding – and you don't necessarily need to delve deep to make a big difference. There are tons of settings that I could discuss here, but I’ve picked three essential settings that you should check out on any TV.

Picture mode

The first setting I check out when testing TVs is picture mode. Several years ago, TVs used to ship in their ‘Vivid’ mode. This is a picture mode we don’t recommend as its colors are often oversaturated and textures are too sharp. While most TVs now ship in ‘Eco’ mode (more on that in a sec), there may still be some out there in ‘Vivid’ mode.

‘Eco’ mode on the other hand, is exactly what it says: an energy-saving picture mode that limits brightness and other settings to save on energy. While this is a useful tool if you’re watching your budget meticulously, it does affect the overall quality of your TV’s picture. Mini-LED TVs, known for their brightness, can look lackluster when set to ‘Eco’ mode so it’s worth switching to another mode.

As for which mode, that’s to everyone’s personal preference. I personally set TVs for testing to Filmmaker Mode as this shows movies in their most ‘pure’ and accurate form. But it’s not always the best choice for everything.

Game mode is obviously good for games, Standard can be good for daytime TV and sports, and Cinema mode can be a brighter option for movies if you find Filmmaker Mode too dim, as I did when testing one of 2025’s best OLED TVs, the LG B5. Whatever your preference, it’s worth checking out different picture modes.

You can usually change the picture mode on a TV’s quick menu, if it has one; or after pressing the 'settings' button on your TV remote; or under a picture settings menu option within its settings. TV manufacturers will usually make this one of the easiest settings to find.

Motion settings

Probably one of the most common complaints about modern TVs is their use of motion smoothing. On most TVs, these settings tend to be called Blur Reduction and Judder Reduction. People often complain that with these settings turned on, the images can get what is called the ‘soap opera’ effect (because it looks like a cheaply-shot TV soap opera, rather than a cinematic movie).

These settings try to artificially alter the content on screen but as movies are filmed at 24 frames per second (fps) and sports is filmed at 30fps, adding these artificial frames can cause havoc with what’s on screen, such as the soap opera effects of unnatural motion or the 'ghosting' of a ball being kicked during a soccer game (where multiple versions appear in a trail behind it).

There is an argument however, and some purists will disagree, that cheaper TVs need some motion smoothing turned on. Difficult shots, particularly panning ones, can look incredibly juddery on cheaper TVs, as we’ve discovered here at TechRadar using a panning shot of a rocky cliff from No Time To Die as part of how we test TVs. There are various reasons, but the end result is that a small amount of motion smoothing is usually the best option.

At the very least, it’s worth checking out the motion settings and adjusting them or turning them off or to low to suit your taste. These settings can usually be found under picture settings and will sometimes fall under ‘Clarity Settings’.

Energy saving

This one is a little controversial as although we’re all about energy efficiency here at TechRadar, energy saving settings can be a real hindrance on your TV’s performance.

Where these energy saving settings make the most difference is with a TV’s brightness. A common complaint I used to get working in AV retail was that a TV 'didn’t look like it did in the store' when a customer had their new TV out of the box, because it was 'too dark'.

That will either be the Eco picture mode I mentioned before, or the energy saving settings limiting the TV’s brightness.

Where I found this made the biggest difference last year was on LG and Samsung’s OLED TVs. Some OLED TVs already struggle with brightness, so having energy saving on made it worse. A quick trip to the picture settings (or in LG’s case, General Settings > Energy Saving) to turn off energy saving instantly led to a much brighter image.

Many TVs also have ambient brightness settings which adapt the TV’s brightness to balance with the viewing environment. In a dark room, it’ll dim and in a bright room, it will brighten. Using this option can be a useful way to save some energy without having as negative an effect, since it's adaptive.

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That's a seriously good price for a reasonable TV. And don't forget, it's a 65-incher, so that's a whole lot of TV for not a lot of money. The speakers are not particularly loud, but you could always use the money saved to buy one of the best soundbars.

So, if you've been wanting to buy a whopper of a TV but without the usual price tag, this is the deal you need.

Today's best budget QLED TV deal

Check out our full Roku Plus Series review for a complete rundown of what we thought of this Roku-branded TV. Despite the attractive price, the Plus Series are actually the company's top models, offering a solid picture alongside a well-rounded set of features.

The display boasts QLED technology with a full-array local dimming backlight. This results in pictures that we found to be "punchy" and "well-saturated". Support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats is another big win.

Being a smart TV, you're also guaranteed a wide selection of apps and ample free ad-supported TV channels, so you'll never be lacking entertainment to enjoy.

If this TV doesn't tickle your fancy or you'd prefer to explore the options before deciding, simply head over to our best TVs for all budgets guide. We've performed real-world tests on all types of TVs so you can trust our experts.

There were two notable examples at CES: one from Visual Semiconductor and one from TCL, which always has a cool range of next-gen display concepts at CES. It looks like both are based on the same tech as well: plenoptic displays, also known as light field displays.

I saw Visual Semiconductor's 'GF3D' display first, which it's really touting as a huge deal. "From black–and–white to color. From flat 2D to GF3D" is the slogan, so they're not exactly keeping expectations low.

The company emphasized to me that GF3D is different from existing 3D tech — and that makes sense, given that the company says it's based on plenoptic technology.

Regular 3D TV/movie tech works by creating two slightly different images and delivering one to each eye – stereoscopic vision. This is easy in something like the Apple Vision Pro, because you already have a screen dedicated to each eye, so it's just showing a separate image to each side simultaneously.

It's more complicated in movie theaters or on a TV, where you have to somehow steer separate images to each eye from one screen. The glasses you get in movie theaters use polarized lenses to block out certain kinds of light – the projector basically beams out alternating images for each eye, but with a difference in the projection that enables the glasses to filter only the correct frame to the correct eye.

Existing glasses-free 3D TV tech (and the Nintendo 3DS) mostly uses lenticular lensing on the panel, which means that tiny lenses on the screen surface steer some light to the left and some light to the right – so if you stand in the (usually very small) sweet spot where the light is correctly steered to each eye, you'll see a 3D effect (though generally with lower resolution).

But plenoptic/light field tech is different, because it's not based on having a stereoscopic image – and this means you don't have a tiny sweet spot for watching glasses-free 3D, and you don't need glasses at all because it doesn't rely on each eye only being able to see a specific 'version' of an image.

The idea of light field tech is that – on the camera side – you can capture the many angles that light emerges from a scene, not just the single angle of light that a regular camera does. And you then preserve that 3D light direction information, instead of burning it into the form of 2D pixels.

And on the display side, the screens can recreate a certain amount of the scatter of light from the original scene to your eyes, enabling your brain to do what it's really good at: taking a load of light coming to your eyes in different directions, and creating an orderly 3D view based on it.

There are different ways to achieve this kind of scattering of light on the hardware side. One is with micro lens arrays (a piece of tech OLED TV fans will be familiar with from its appearing on the LG G4 OLED TV as a way to improve brightness), or a diffractive backlight layer can be used (i.e., a tiny grid over the light behind an LCD panel), which are both essentially different approaches to directing light in many directions.

Of course, no one is capturing movies using plenoptic cameras, so now we come back around to why Visual Semiconductor is saying that GF3D is essentially a new format: part of its system is the ability to take any 2D movie or TV show and to emulate the light field effect from it, turning it into a version that your brain can then create a 3D image from.

TCL didn't say much about its version of creating the light field image, but it presumably works the same way with 2D video. Speaking to TCL about the tech, it used virtual Dolby Atmos from soundbars as an analogy.

This plays around with the timing of when sounds emit and how sound reflects in a room to create a 3D audio effect, because the sound processing knows how the brain will interpret this into a cohesive whole if tricked correctly.

Essentially, this tech is using tricks in how the brain processes visual information to make it think it's looking at a 3D image. And it works really well.

First up for me was the GF3D TV, which was built on an 8K 65-inch panel. In this case, I was steered to a specific distance away to enjoy the 3D effect, so there is still a sweet spot to a degree, but it's broad enough that multiple people can watch the TV next to each other without losing the effect – and the folks at Visual Semiconductor told me that you could potentially tell the TV how are you're sitting from it, and it'll adjust itself to work for that distance.

I saw a video of someone fighting a monster, and the depth in the image was truly remarkable. One of the interesting things is that a lot of good small-screen 3D (such as the prototype of Samsung's glasses-free 3D monitor that I saw at last year's CES) has more depth into the screen than popping out from it, but this had a really good balance of both.

It doesn't suffer from the unnatural motion you get from a lot of 3D video (The high frame-rate sections in the latter Avatar movies have really spoiled 24fps 3D with glasses for me now), and has way more visual pop than we're used to from 3D displays, which often come with the side effect of really limiting brightness.

The best of both worlds

Later, I saw TCL's prototype, which was also an 8K 65-inch screen – and of the two, it impressed me even more, even though it also wasn't quite as impressive in one way.

One advantage of the TCL TV is that the demo footage was of Deadpool & Wolverine – a movie I've seen in 2D, unlike the footage on the GF3D TV, I wasn't familiar with – so I really got a sense of what the TV was adding over the standard version.

I would say that the 3D was less prominent on the TCL panel, but was still clear and additive. In ideal shots, like a portrait of Wade standing in front of a distant background, he stands out clearly – his edges are natural but well defined, your eye focuses on him easily, and he feels solid in the frame.

Like the GF3D, everything is also as bright and colorful as it feels like it's supposed to be. The prototype didn't have the same pop as the best TVs do, but that's fine – it still looked like a proper version of the movie.

But what really impressed me about TCL's version was how well it handled me moving out of the zone where you get the full 3D effect. The 3D effect reduced gracefully as I moved more to the side, so I still got a little hint of it when watching strongly off angle – until the point where it became 2D, but even then I could just… watch in 2D from an angle, if that's where I'd ended up sitting.

I don't think the GF3D TV degraded as gently when I moved out of the best viewing zone, meaning that while that might have the best 3D effect, the TCL version was something that instantly made me think, 'Oh, I could live with this in the house'.

Naturally, with Avatar: Fire and Ash having recently come out, I've been talking to people in the last few months about those movies, and how I love them (come at the in the comments, bro), but I've never watched one at home, and I never will.

They are supposed to be seen in 3D, utterly enveloping your vision. I've seen them multiple times that way – and these TVs are the first time I've thought, 'I would enjoy Avatar at home on this.'

But not only that – I was just talking to someone just this weekend about the value of watching Gravity at home in 2D. I think that movie works perfectly that way, but the person I was talking to had only ever seen it on its original release, in 3D at the theater, and has a specific memory of being blown away by it, including the 3D, and they want that experience again. And I totally get it.

While the world of 3D movies isn't full of classics that must be watched in 3D to be truly enjoyed, there are enough that I do sometimes lament not having a 3D TV anymore to watch them the way I remember them: Hugo, Life of Pi, Coraline, Pacific Rim.

Having written off 3D movies as something that was probably never coming back into my living room, I'm now a believer again. We'll see if the tech ever actually makes it to TVs, though… I suspect there may not be enough people like me.

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This is a model that we reviewed last year, and we were extremely impressed by its combination of picture quality, wide viewing angle, and, of course, value. Despite being TCL's flagship display, the QM8K manages to significantly undercut its rivals in price, which means it's a great option if you're looking for a good-sized, high-quality display that isn't crazy expensive.

Today's deal is the best we've seen on this particular model since Black Friday, where, annoyingly, it was $100 cheaper. Today's price at Amazon is still fantastic, however, and gets you a whopping $500 off either the 65-inch or 75-inch variants.

65-inch TCL QM8K TV deal at Amazon

• See more: check out all of today's TV deals at Amazon

TCL's best mini-LED TV yet

We extensively tested the TCL QM8K in our review and found it to be an impressive all-around performer for the money. Our Senior TV reviewer, Al Griffin specifically singled out this TV's appeal for sports, stating "the anti-reflection screen on the QM8K effectively reduces screen glare during daytime sports viewing, while the Ultra Wide Angle feature means its picture looks solid even from off-center seats."

Alongside an impressive feature set for sports, the TCL QM8K also features support for 144Hz gaming, Dolby Vision, and other HDR modes. The TV also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X, although we'd still recommend hooking up a decent sound bar if you're watching movies to achieve a proper high-quality sound.

I've evaluated a ton of discs for the Blu-ray Bounty, a monthly column where we review picture and sound quality of the latest 4K releases. One area where I've seen 4K make a big difference is with classic movies (think 1940s through the 1960s), where a 4K restoration breathes new life into these vintage films.

Below, I've picked six of my top 'classic' 4K Blu-rays. The list includes black-and-white thrillers from Hollywood's golden age, like Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard, that deliver sensational picture quality with strong contrast.

Two of Japan's finest exports, Seven Samurai and Godzilla (1954), look particularly good on 4K disc, with textures getting a real upgrade.

The Sound of Music is one of the best 4K discs I've ever tested, with spectacular colors and a brilliant Dolby Atmos soundtrack befitting of its iconic tracklist. Lastly, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly shows off 4K's fantastic detail and again delivers an impressive audio showcase.

Any of these discs played on the best 4K Blu-ray players will make a perfect addition to your 4K disc collection.

6 classic movies on 4K Blu-ray

The Sound of Music

One of the most spectacular-looking 4K discs I've watched, The Sound of Music is breathtaking in 4K. Textures are crisp, from the mountains and fields to the characters' skin. But color is really where this restoration shines. They look bold and bright throughout, with one scene in a fruit market showing stunning oranges and reds, and shots of the green fields displaying wonderful vibrancy.

The Sound of Music's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers one of cinema's greatest scores with real clarity. Vocals are crystal clear, and the music itself sounds precise and well-balanced. This disc is a real treat for home theater sound systems.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity was one of my first experiences of a great 4K restoration of a classic movie. This 4K release from The Criterion Collection delivers strong contrast with deep blacks, crisp whites and a refined range of gray tones. Textures have a 3D-like effect, bringing out the details in clothing.

There isn't much to write about the sound, as this disc features a monoaural soundtrack. Still, the speech is clear and it balances well with the dramatic score.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly looks sensational on Arrow Video's 4K release. Sourced from the original 2-perf Techniscope negative, where this restoration shines is its detail. Close-up shots really show dirt and facial hair, as well as weather-beaten skin and frown lines with great accuracy. Colors also appear vibrant, the blue skies in particular.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack I listened to during my evaluation was superb. Ricocheting bullets during gunfights sound accurately mapped, galloping horses deliver real rumble and the film's iconic soundtrack is bright and clear throughout. This disc sounds excellent when played through one of the best soundbars.

Seven Samurai

This 4K restoration of Seven Samurai was handled by Toho, the original production company, and it did an excellent job. Contrast is brilliant, with a perfect balance of light and dark tones with the gray tones in between. Shadow detail during night scenes is also impressive. Textures are crisp, with clothing and skin looking refined.

With a DTS-HD MA 1.0 soundtrack, Seven Samurai won't test the limits of your home theater. Even so, dialogue is clear, the score sounds nicely cleaned up and action-packed scenes with clashing swords have a good level of punch.

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard is another black-and-white movie that really benefits from the 4K treatment. Light and dark tones are well balanced for strong-contrast throughout, and textures look true-to-life.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack has been expertly handled. Speech is crystal clear in Gillis' narration, and there's a clean delivery of the movie's tense, string-heavy score.

Godzilla (1954)

The Criterion Collection's 4K restoration of Godzilla is visually impressive. Characters and locations look authentic and detailed. Contrast is powerful, with strong highlights such as neon signs during dark scenes. Blacks are deep, and there's a full range of gray tones. This is another excellent example of how a 4K restoration can freshen up a classic movie.

With a mono soundtrack, there's not much here to work out your home theater sound system. Still, dialogue is clear, explosions have good impact and Godzilla's iconic roar is cleanly delivered.

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I get to evaluate a ton of discs for the Blu-ray Bounty, a monthly column where we review picture and sound quality of the latest 4K releases. An area where I've seen 4K make a huge impact is with classic movies (think 1940s through the 1960s), where a 4K restoration breathes new life into these vintage films.

Below, I've picked six of my top 'classic' 4K Blu-rays. The list starts with one of the best-looking and sounding 4K discs I've tested, The Sound of Music. This delivers phenomenal color and detail, and the Dolby Atmos mix of the iconic soundtrack is a dream for home theater systems. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly demonstrates fine detail and is also an impressive showcase for audio.

Classic black-and-white thrillers such as Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard look exceptional in 4K, with strong contrast thanks to refined gradation of light and dark tones on both discs.

Finally, two of Japan's most influential movies, Seven Samurai and Godzilla (1954), look brilliant on 4K disc, with clean textures and powerful contrast.

Any one of these discs played on the best 4K Blu-ray players is sure to impress. Below, you'll find I’ve picked the best UK retailers to buy from, along with an explanation of why I rate each disc so highly.

6 classic movies on 4K Blu-ray

The Sound of Music

One of the most spectacular-looking 4K discs I've watched, The Sound of Music is breathtaking in 4K. Textures are crisp, from the mountains and fields to the characters' skin. But color is really where this restoration shines. They look bold and bright throughout, with one scene in a fruit market showing stunning oranges and reds, and shots of the green fields displaying wonderful vibrancy.

The Sound of Music's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers one of cinema's greatest scores with real clarity. Vocals are crystal clear, and the music itself sounds precise and well-balanced. This disc is a real treat for home theater sound systems.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity was one of my first experiences of a great 4K restoration of a classic movie. This 4K release from The Criterion Collection delivers strong contrast with deep blacks, crisp whites and a refined range of gray tones. Textures have a 3D-like effect, bringing out the details in clothing.

There isn't much to write about the sound, as this disc features a monoaural soundtrack. Still, the speech is clear and it balances well with the dramatic score.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly looks sensational on Arrow Video's 4K release. Sourced from the original 2-perf Techniscope negative, where this restoration shines is its detail. Close-up shots really show dirt and facial hair, as well as weather-beaten skin and frown lines with great accuracy. Colors also appear vibrant, the blue skies in particular.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack I listened to during my evaluation was superb. Ricocheting bullets during gunfights sound accurately mapped, galloping horses deliver real rumble and the film's iconic soundtrack is bright and clear throughout. This disc sounds excellent when played through one of the best soundbars.

Seven Samurai

This 4K restoration of Seven Samurai was handled by Toho, the original production company, and it did an excellent job. Contrast is brilliant, with a perfect balance of light and dark tones with the gray tones in between. Shadow detail during night scenes is also impressive. Textures are crisp, with clothing and skin looking refined.

With a DTS-HD MA 1.0 soundtrack, Seven Samurai won't test the limits of your home theater. Even so, dialogue is clear, the score sounds nicely cleaned up and action-packed scenes with clashing swords have a good level of punch.

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard is another black-and-white movie that really benefits from the 4K treatment. Light and dark tones are well balanced for strong-contrast throughout, and textures look true-to-life.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack has been expertly handled. Speech is crystal clear in Gillis' narration, and there's a clean delivery of the movie's tense, string-heavy score.

Godzilla (1954)

The Criterion Collection's 4K restoration of Godzilla is visually impressive. Characters and locations look authentic and detailed. Contrast is powerful, with strong highlights such as neon signs during dark scenes. Blacks are deep, and there's a full range of gray tones. This is another excellent example of how a 4K restoration can freshen up a classic movie.

With a mono soundtrack, there's not much here to work out your home theater sound system. Still, dialogue is clear, explosions have good impact and Godzilla's iconic roar is cleanly delivered.

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The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) is an interesting TV for one reason: it uses Amazon’s new AI-powered Alexa+, which is a more contextual, conversational, and higher-functioning version of the company’s voice assistant.

Otherwise, some features have been sacrificed in the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) that made the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED, Amazon’s previous flagship TV, appealing, such as a mini-LED backlight and 144Hz support for gaming. Both are features we regularly look for in the best TVs. Despite those omissions, the new Omni QLED is priced relatively high for what it offers, with competing TVs from Hisense, TCL, and Roku delivering better bang for the buck.

On the plus side, Amazon’s built-in voice assistant is very well-implemented, and there’s even a mic mute for privacy. Also, you can expect to find the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED priced considerably lower during the company’s regular sales events.

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Price and release date

• Release date: November 2025
• 50-inch: $479.99
• 55-inch: $589.99
• 65-inch: $849.99
• 75-inch: $1,199.99

The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) was released in November 2025 and replaces an earlier version of the TV with the same name. Having just been released in time for Black Friday, it ended up priced a few hundred dollars below list price during that time, with the 50-inch model’s price dropping to $279.99 and the 65-inch model to $749.99.

The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) is currently only available in the US.

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Specs

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Benchmark results

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Features

• Hands-free Alexa+ allows for deeper control
• Can be used with Alexa smart home ecosystem
• Amazon Ambient Experience

The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series supports both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ adaptive high dynamic range formats, but the big feature on this TV is Amazon’s new Alexa+, a souped-up version of Alexa that allows for a higher level of flexibility and control.

For example, I’m able to not only ask for movie recommendations but also issue more basic commands like opening an app. I can even ask for things like the Philadelphia Eagles’ upcoming NFC schedule or what the weather outside is like. And I can do all this without picking up the remote control since Alexa+ is hands-free on this TV. The mic can be muted (there’s a slider under the front of the TV) if you’re worried about privacy, but otherwise, it can be used just like any other Alexa device. Alexa+ is free for Prime members but $19.99 a month if you don’t have Prime.

Since this TV has Alexa+ built in, it can be incorporated into an Alexa ecosystem. I found there were some limitations on what I could do using an Amazon Echo speaker, but I was able to turn on the TV and open apps through my Echo in my kitchen.

The other feature worth noting is the Ambient Experience. Every TV seems to now have some version of this feature, most likely due to the popularity of Samsung’s The Frame TV, and it’s also recently arrived on Amazon Fire TV devices.

Amazon’s Ambient Experience is a pretty cool feature that allows you to choose from a number of dynamic and static screens that will play when the TV is in standby mode. You can also customize it to have certain widgets displayed for time, temperature, and more. There are 2,000 free images to choose from, and you can also upload photos to display a personal photo reel. Amazon’s Omnisense sensors let the TV automatically display images when you walk into the room, and they even provide an interactive component.

Apple AirPlay is available for wireless casting from a phone or tablet to the TV, and so is Matter Casting.

• Features Score: 3.5/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Picture quality

• Limited brightness
• Full-array local dimming on all but the smallest size
• Average color gamut coverage

The picture quality of the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series doesn’t quite measure up to the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED, but then again it’s also cheaper. In Filmmaker Mode, we measured HDR Peak Brightness at 510 nits, compared to Omni Mini-LED’s 973 nits in the same picture preset. In Standard mode, the Omni QLED’s peak brightness was 598 nits, and fullscreen brightness was 528 nits.

Full-array local dimming, a feature that improves contrast, is provided on all sizes except the smallest (50-inch). I like to test this using images that show a black background with lighter objects on parts of the screen. With these, the TV did a good job – I didn’t notice any light blooming on the black areas.

The Omni QLED Series’ measured UHDA-P3 color gamut was 93.7% when we tested it, and 71.6% for BT.2020, both of which could be better. (Our target UHDA-P3 coverage is 95% for TVs.)

The TV’s Delta-E in Filmmaker Mode was 7, which is a worse-than-average result for picture accuracy for that preset. (The closer to zero, the better, with many TVs measuring under 3dE in Filmmaker Mode on this test.)

In real-world use, the Omni QLED Series’ picture wasn’t as bright as other TVs I’ve tested, but the picture was still crisp and vibrant, whether I was watching the animated Coco (one of my favorites for testing), an action movie, or sports.

• Picture quality score: 3.5/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Sound quality

• Limited bass
• No Dolby Atmos support
• Dialogue boost and volume leveler

The sound quality on the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series is not going to make you skip getting one of the best soundbars. There are only 12 watts each for the speakers and the sub, so even though it can get loud, it tends to lose definition at louder volumes.

Also, there’s not much bass. You won’t get any rumble, just a mid-low-end boost. I found it to be a strange experience when testing with Deadpool & Wolverine and watching a big fight scene where none of the punches, or the score for that matter, had much weight to them.

Dolby Atmos isn’t supported, either, which is another reason to upgrade the sound with a soundbar (preferably one with a subwoofer).

I do appreciate that there’s a five-band EQ in the settings. Also in the settings are a Dialogue Boost, Dolby Dialogue Enhancer, and Volume Leveler (the last two in the TV’s advanced settings). The first two help with making dialogue clearer by boosting the frequency at which voices sit. The latter is similar to a Night Mode and works well enough at bringing up quieter parts while making louder parts quieter.

• Sound quality score: 3/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Design

• Basic looks
• Hidden privacy slider for built-in mic
• Four HDMI ports, one with eARC

On the surface, the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED looks like a typical budget-level TV, though its bezels are at least thin. You’ll need a Philips head screwdriver for connecting the support feet to the TV (with included screws), but that takes a very short time to install.

There’s a slider hidden on the TV’s bottom edge to mute the built-in Alexa mic for privacy. Onboard controls are limited to the slider and button to control inputs, power, and navigate some basic settings.

The Fire TV Omni QLED has four HDMI ports, one with eARC. Also on hand is an optical port, coaxial, USB, headphone jack, and an IR transmitter port.

Amazon’s remote looks the same as the one it includes with its Fire TV streaming sticks. It has a talk button if you don’t want to use the built-in mic on the TV and buttons at the bottom for Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock, along with the usual suspects. It feels pretty good in the hand with its convex back. The only other thing worth mentioning is that it takes two AAA batteries instead of being rechargeable.

• Design score: 3/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Smart TV and menus

• Very Prime-oriented even outside of the app
• Plenty of live and free content
• Menu diving is mostly easy, though some HDR settings are hard to find

Since the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series naturally uses the Fire TV interface, be prepared for a very Amazon Prime-centric experience. The top half of the home page consists of a rotating preview banner that autoplays both suggested content and ads that are more often than not Amazon-related.

Scrolling down past the streaming service tiles, you’ll see rows such as “Continue Watching,” “Sponsored,” and an assortment of recommendations. All the apps one could want are a download away, but a good number of the preloaded ones are Amazon ones, like Amazon Kids+ and Luna.

Plenty of content is built in – there’s a whole guide’s worth of live TV, including free channels like NFL Live, CBS, Fox, ABC News Live, NBC News Now, and more in the US.

Menu diving on the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED was initially confusing for me since the layout of categories is a bit different than on other interfaces. That said, it was easy to navigate after a few times using it. The one gripe I do have is that while I can cycle through most of the modes in the settings, any HDR-related adjustments only become available and selectable while watching content. Even though the TV picks the right mode automatically (if auto picture mode is enabled), it would be nice to have some control over choosing the picture mode I want before starting a movie.

• Smart TV & menus score: 4/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Gaming

• 60Hz refresh rate
• Game Mode
• Luna app for cloud gaming

The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED isn't anything special for console gaming. Unlike the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED, which supports up to 144Hz, this TV tops out at a 60Hz refresh rate, so you’re not going to get the smooth performance that next-gen consoles are capable of.

I do appreciate that, if TV Mode is set to Auto, it will automatically change to its Game Mode setting. This mode does a good job of letting the colors pop. I found the image to look good when using my PlayStation 5, even if the 60Hz refresh rate was a hurdle for performance.

The one somewhat bright spot is that Amazon’s Luna app provides access to cloud gaming, some of which is free or included for those with Amazon Prime. I appreciated that I could use either my phone or an external controller, which can be paired when booting up a game, for playing any of the games. I also appreciate that there was a healthy selection of games to purchase, alongside the free offerings.

• Gaming score: 3/5

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025) review: Value

• Cheaper than similar TVs
• Sacrifices some features
• Other options with Fire TV built-in

As I mentioned before, I consider the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series to be an okay deal at $849.99 for a 65-inch model. Of course, this is Amazon, so you’re more likely to see regular discounts.

How does it compare? It comes with some compromises compared to other TVs that I consider to be its competition. I’ve tested two other mid-range TVs that punch well above their weight. The TCL QM6K is one that immediately comes to mind. The price of the 65-inch model is currently selling for less than the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED reviewed here, and it supports a 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Atmos audio, and uses a mini-LED backlight with “Halo Control technology” to minimize blooming.

There’s also the Hisense U65QF, which is also sells for less than Amazon’s TV. Like the TCL, it supports a 144Hz refresh rate and Dolby Atmos audio, and it also uses a mini-LED backlight. And with a Fire TV interface, you basically get the same smart features as the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED.

• Value score: 3/5

Should I buy the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025)?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if…

Also consider...

How I tested the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2025)

• I used the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series for several weeks
• Tested with TV, movies, music, and games
• Benchmark measurements conducted by Future US testing lab

I used the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series as my main TV for several weeks. I used it with TV, movies, and games. I tested the various features to see if they work as advertised. I also spent time listening to the audio as well as paying attention to the picture quality.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years, from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at TechRadar at that link.

• First reviewed: January 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

At this year’s show, however, there was an even greater sense of urgency to the OLED TV unveilings I attended. And that may be because OLED TVs, which consistently earn our highest praise year after year, are now under threat from a formidable new contender for the best TV crown: RGB mini-LED.

TechRadar provided extensive coverage of RGB mini-LED tech and its variants both before and during CES. A key takeaway from the show was that RGB mini-LED will be available in smaller sizes in 2026, with 55- and 65-inch screens featured alongside the monster-sized models slated to arrive from Samsung, Hisense, TCL, LG and potentially other TV brands.

The first RGB mini-LED TVs to be released in 2025, such as the Hisense 116UX and Samsung 115-inch Micro RGB, were extremely large and expensive. We expect the forthcoming smaller-size offerings to be significantly more affordable, though, as examples of first-generation tech, they will likely be more expensive than their regular mini-LED TV counterparts out of the gate.

From what I’ve seen so far of this tech, it’s capable of OLED-level contrast, shadow detail, black uniformity, and viewing angles – ie, all the things that OLED used to beat the competition on, year after year.

Many new models also have a claimed 100% BT.2020 color space coverage, which is a benchmark that OLED doesn’t match. (The LG G5 topped out at 81.3% when we measured it, and the Samsung S95F at 89.3%.)

The new RGB mini-LED TVs slated to arrive in 2025 are likely to be priced higher than the same-size OLED models, even the flagship ones such as the LG G6 and Samsung S95H. But if history is any indication, those prices will quickly fall, while OLED prices will keep stalling, and the real competition with OLED will then kick in, and I don't expect the tide to turn in OLED's favor.

A tale of two OLEDs

Another CES TV takeaway was that the OLED TV category is not just facing an existential threat, but is starting to split into two distinct camps: luxury OLED and everyday OLED.

The main example of the luxury trend on the CES show floor was the new LG OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TV. This series features a 9mm, pencil-thin Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 display panel – the same one used in the company’s 2026 flagship G6 OLED TV – that’s wirelessly tethered to LG’s latest-gen Zero Connect Box, an external connection box that supports lossless 4K 165Hz transmission.

LG hasn’t released pricing information yet for the W6, but we expect it to arrive at a premium over the G6 OLED series. It was the star attraction of LG’s CES tech briefings, and appears to be a main focus for the company, which touted its innovative design, flush-mount installation features, and also its reflection-free screen and ability to display artworks from LG’s Gallery+, a subscription-based platform that lets viewers select from a library of over 4,500 still and motion images to display in ambient mode.

In Samsung’s off-site CES display, the new flagship Samsung S95H OLED TV also impressed with its bright QD-OLED display panel featuring a Glare Free OLED screen coating that thoroughly eliminated reflections. Samsung says that the S95H is 35% brighter than last year’s Samsung S95F and features refined tone mapping that lets it process HDR sources mastered at up to 4,000 nits with ease.

We always expect to see year-over-year improvements such as these in Samsung’s flagship OLED TVs, but the most notable changes were a new metal ‘art frame’ that gives it an elegant floating effect when wall-mounted, and support for the Art Mode found in the company’s The Frame TVs. The S95H features built-in connections, but can also optionally be paired with the company’s Wireless One Connect Box for a cable-free installation, even to have up to eight HDMI ports.

Compared to these very design-forward TVs, LG and Samsung’s more affordable, mid-range OLED offerings at CES looked comparatively bland. For 2026, LG has opted to split its trusty C-series lineup into two, with the larger 77- and 83-inch models getting the same Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 display panel found in the flagship G6 and W6 series, while the smaller screen sizes will carry over the same type of OLED panel used in last year’s LG C5.

With the ‘better’ C6 version (LG calls it the C6H) limited to large screen sizes – and potentially priced higher due to the upgraded OLED panel – the smaller, more mainstream models in the 2026 C-series don’t appear to have advanced much over last year’s LG C5, which in itself represented only an incremental improvement over the previous year’s LG C4.

And then there’s LG’s budget B-series OLED models. A new B6 series wasn’t revealed at the show, but LG confirmed it's coming – and given the direction the C6 series is taking, I don’t expect it to be much different than last year’s LG B5 series, which again was only an incremental improvement on the previous year’s LG B4 series.

As for Samsung, the company’s new S90H OLED series was announced at the show. Similar to last year’s Samsung S95F, we expect only the 65-inch model to feature a higher-performance QD-OLED display panel. The full S90H series does gain the Glare Free screen tech used in Samsung’s flagship TVs, however, which will make it a more enticing option for bright room viewing.

Again, we know a budget-friendly Samsung S85H OLED model is coming, but it looks set to be extremely similar to the Samsung S85F from 2025.

Cheaper OLED TVs: Winter is coming

So, the story for OLED TVs in 2026 is essentially that flagship models are brighter, more beautiful, and more packed with innovative features than ever.

The midrange and budget models, in contrast, will be basically the same versions we’ve seen over the past few years, with only minor enhancements – and yet the world of competitor TV tech is moving fast around them

If RGB mini-LED TVs (or other variants such as TCL’s SQD mini-LED) end up priced competitively with the more affordable OLED TVs, while offering higher brightness and otherwise equivalent or even better performance, the market for even mid-range OLED, let alone budget models like the LG B-series and Samsung S85-series, could quickly evaporate.

I’d fully expect that fancy, design-savvy, wireless OLED TVs with much higher than average brightness and effective anti-glare screen coatings will continue on well into the future.

As for cheaper, basic OLED TVs… it was nice knowing ya.

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One of them was the 130-inch Micro RGB TV that already impressed me with its cool frame design and super-rich images, and the other was a 140-inch micro-LED TV with no bezel at all. In fact, the display simply runs over onto the side of the TV, so it's all screen until it hits the wall.

Samsung showed a couple of different ideas for how the bezel can be used: it can "extend content onto the onto the bezel for added immersion", but it can also show additional information. Samsung had a demo where you could watch sports on the main TV section, while the latest scores from other matches were shown along the bezel, like the ticker in SportsCenter.

I'd assume that in a final version of it, you'd also just be able to choose a solid color (and maybe even a texture) for the bezel, almost like having an infinitely customizable (and very large) version of Samsung's The Frame TV.

Or perhaps you could have the sides display colors matching what's on-screen to spread onto the wall – not literally extending the on-screen image, but instead adding ambiance, like the excellent Philips Ambilight feature, which I love and have written about here.

The whole thing naturally made me think of Samsung's phones with the curved 'Edge panels', where the old screen curved down at the side of the phone and could be used for notifications or shortcuts, debuting on the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge over a decade ago.

This time, we're not talking curved OLED, though – micro-LED is tipped to be one of the next big things in TV tech, and Samsung has been pushing it forward for years. It works like OLED, in that the pixels emit their own light and color, but can theoretically get much brighter than OLED, with no risk of burn-in.

Micro-LED is particularly suited to this kind of design, because it works really well in modular panels that can be stitched together into larger panels – in fact, that's how nearly every micro-LED TV you've seen works. So adding panels on the side that link right into the panel on the front is easier here than with other screen tech.

The problem is that micro-LED remains extremely expensive to produce, and manufacturers have struggled to change that in the five years since its introduction – and Hisense recently told me that we're still between five and eight years from it becoming mainstream.

But when Samsung is ready for it, this would definitely be a fun way to introduce micro-LED – especially with Samsung Art Mode on, mimicking The Frame models, as I mentioned earlier. Though it may need to be a little smaller than 140 inches.

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The iconic 1972 concert film, which features tracks such as Echoes, One Of These Days and A Saucerful Of Secrets, receives the 4K treatment, which is restored from the original 35mm footage. It promises enhanced colors, fine details and "every frame was meticulously reviewed and repaired by hand", with restoration efforts led by Lana Topham, Director of Restoration for Pink Floyd.

For sound, there are three mixes on offer: Dolby Atmos, stereo and 5.1. The new home entertainment mix by Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree fame) has enhanced the original soundtrack, but Wilson aimed to "remain faithful to how the band would have sounded in 1971."

This 4K release comes off the back of a big 2025 for the band. Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii - MCMLXXII returned to theaters worldwide in the spring, and a 50th Anniversary edition of the band's iconic album Wish You Were Here was released in December with a new Dolby Atmos mix.

The 4K Blu-ray is available for pre-order now, and can be pre-ordered here. Prices are expected to be $32.99 / £29.99 (roughly AU$49.99). Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii MCMLXXII is also available on CD, Vinyl and Blu-ray.

The arrival of 4K Blu-ray music films

While physical media has been struggling over the past few years, 4K Blu-ray certainly seems to be finding its audience still. Every time I visit my local HMV store here in the UK, the 4K Blu-ray section seems to be getting bigger, with more limited edition releases from the likes of The Criterion Collection and Arrow filling the shelves.

It's no surprise then that with the enthusiast support for 4K Blu-ray and the rise of Dolby Atmos and spatial audio music, that more concert films are being brought to 4K Blu-ray, providing a premium home theater experience.

Pairing one of these discs with the best TVs and the best soundbars leads to magic, as I discovered when viewing Hans Zimmer: Live in Prague as part of the July 2025 Blu-ray Bounty.

Pink Floyd now join the growing list of artists bringing iconic concert films to 4K Blu-ray which already includes Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Prince. My colleague Matt Bolton also wrote a list of Dolby Atmos movies that really focus on the music, including concert films, if you want some recommendations.

I expect in 2026 we'll see that list get even bigger and as a 4K Blu-ray fan, I'm here for it.

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So I was excited to see what Dreame would be showcasing at CES 2026. I was expecting a new robot vacuum, perhaps some innovative air purifiers. What I was not expecting was for Dreame to announce its entry into literally every corner of the home. I'm not exaggerating – if you can think of a home appliance, Dreame now has one in its lineup.

It has a TV, soundbars, a projector, a surround sound speaker setup. There's a Dreame action camera, smart rings, smart glasses and a smartwatch. It has smart lights in all shapes and sizes. It has security cameras, smart locks and motion sensors.

There are fridges, a dishwasher, a microwave and a selection of ovens. There are air fryers, coffee machines, and a stand mixer. It has a washing machine, tumble dryer, and steamer. There's a chainsaw and a hedge trimmer, electric toothbrushes, razors, IPL machines and an LED face mask.

It's still at prototype stage, but there was even a car sitting incongruously on the Dreame stand.

The vision, according to the press release, is to evolve from "a standalone smart device brand to a comprehensive provider of connected lifestyles with an ecosystem now covering the home, garden, outdoors, and on the move". The tagline it's going with is "All dreams in one Dreame", which makes no sense at all.

Too far, too soon?

I've tested a number of Dreame gadgets, and have almost always been impressed, but I'm wary of this latest expansion. It all just seems too fast and too wide-reaching for it to have been done with the required care and expertise. The difficulty I've had in getting any information about the individual products I was most interested in hasn't reassured me any further.

Previously, Dreame's category expansions have made sense. There's crossover between the mechanics of a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer, for instance. I can see how a brand that knows its way around a robot vacuum could also make a great lawnbot.

But I'm struggling to see how those skills might translate into coffee machines or TVs – both categories that are highly specific, and which require specialist knowledge and skills to excel in. The same goes for things like smartwatches and action cameras.

Of course, I haven't tested any of the new gadgets yet – I've only seen them displayed and demoed, which isn't a reliable way to judge any product. The proof will be in the testing, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

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It's always wise to take tech predictions with a big pinch of salt. But when the predictions are about TV technology and come from the firm that invented quantum dots, we're all ears. Nanosys has described multiple advances coming to TVs in the next few years, and some of them are pretty exciting.

The firm was talking to Insight Media in the video below, and explained that the first big development we'll see is the introduction of brighter QD-OLED TVs this year. That's thanks (in part, at least) to a new version of the Quantum Dot Color Converters (QDCC) that enables panels to deliver that higher brightness. We've likely already seen the first TV with that upgraded technology in the form of Samsung's S95H (pictured at the top of this article), which we got our first information about at CES, which promises to be 35% brighter than the Samsung S95F that it replaces.

Those brighter TVs may just be the beginning. According to Nanosys's Jeff Yurek, "By 2030, we want to ship what we consider truly 'high flux'. Now we are talking about not just QD-OLED but maybe microLED for something like an AR application, which would require hundreds of thousands or maybe a millions or more nits".

So that's less TV, and more 'a headset so bright it can mimic looking at the sun', if you're into that sort of thing.

But Nanosys also mentioned a long-awaited technology waiting in the wings that could potentially overtake OLED as the best tech for high-end TVs: QD-EL, aka NanoLED.

QD-EL NanoLED TVs are coming by the end of the decade

We've written about QD-EL – also known as QD-LED, EL-QD, EL-QLED and NanoLED – before: Samsung was investing significantly in the technology last year with the goal of commercializing it "within a few years". And according to Nanosys's Yurek, "We think 2029 is a reasonable target for when we'll start to see those in the market."

The EL in QD-EL stands for electroluminescent, and like OLED it is a self-emissive technology, meaning each pixel would generate its own light. That means there's no need for a backlight, as you have in current QLED TVs – and it promises to be very bright and very energy efficient.

As we reported last year, the QD-EL prototypes shown at trade shows have been relatively small – under 20 inches – and reports suggest that there are still obstacles to overcome regarding QD-EL's stability and energy efficiency.

QD-EL isn't the only tech on the way that promises to steal the crown of current OLED tech among the best TVs.

We heard from an insider at CES 2026 that inkjet-printed OLED could start being used in TV-sized panels in 2-3 years, following recent breakthroughs in the tech from TCL.

My colleague Matt Bolton was also told at CES by Sonny Ming, Hisense's General Manager of Product Marketing and Scenario Product Operation Department, that microLED TVs could finally be ready at mainstream sizes and more realistic sizes within 5-8 years.

Assuming that these aren't predictions of the Elon-Musk's-flying-roadster kind, that means before the end of the decade we could have multiple new kinds of TV tech – on top of the new RGB TV tech arriving in 2026 – delivering exceptionally bright, energy efficient and immersive displays.

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We only got a brief look at the S95H at CES, but we’ve gathered all the confirmed information we have about Samsung’s new top OLED TV below.

Samsung S95H: Prices & release dates

Samsung hasn’t yet released pricing information for the S95H, but we can speculate based on launch pricing for last year’s S95F series, which was as follows:

• 55-inch: $2,499 / £2,499 / N/A
• 65-inch: $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,295
• 77-inch: $4,499 / £4,299 / AU$7,995
• 83-inch: $6,499 / £6,799 / AU$9,995

We know the S95H will be available in the same sizes: 55, 65, 77 and 83-inches. It will also continue to use a QD-OLED panel. While we would usually anticipate a price increase due to year-on-year inflation, last year's S95F was actually priced the same, if not marginally cheaper, than its S95D predecessor.

It’s unclear whether the pricing situation will remain the same with the S95H, which has undergone some design changes, including a new metal frame. This new design update could lead to higher pricing, but we’ll have to wait and see.

No official launch date has been confirmed for the Samsung S95H, but we can speculate that it will be March or April based on previous years. Flagship OLED TVs are typically the first models to be released by Samsung and LG.

Samsung S95H: Features

The S95H will use a QD-OLED panel and be available in 55, 65, 77 and 83-inch sizes. Last year’s 83-inch S95F instead used an RGB Tandem OLED panel, but it’s not clear if this will be the case for the S95H.

Samsung claims that the S95H will be 35% brighter than the S95F, which we measured at 2,135 nits peak brightness. That means the S95H may hit over 2,800 nits, easily making it the brightest OLED TV on the market.

The S95H has undergone some design changes from its predecessor. It will have a new metal frame for wall mounting. The biggest change, however, is the removal of the One Connect Box used for the Samsung S95F. The One Connect is an external box that houses connections for external devices such as game consoles and soundbars, and it links to the TV using a single fiber optic cable.

It seems odd that Samsung has removed this feature from the S95H, instead putting connections onto the rear of the TV, but Samsung confirms you can optionally add its Wireless One Connect Box, a wireless version of the One Connect box that beams video and audio signals losslessly to the TV. Interestingly, you can use both the Wireless One Connect Box and the TV’s ports, meaning there’s up to 8 (!) HDMI 2.1 ports on offer for those with plenty of source devices.

Elsewhere, the S95H will use Samsung’s latest NQ4 AI Processor, which will feature several AI upgrades, including improved 4K upscaling, Auto HDR Remastering (upscaling of SDR content to HDR) and an AI customization mode that can adjust picture settings to your preferences based on the content, such as sports and movies.

Speaking of sports, there is a new AI Soccer mode that will automatically adjust motion settings and other picture elements when the TV detects a soccer game on screen. There are also AI sound features, including AI Sound Controller, where you can adjust individual layers in soundtracks such as dialogue and music.

Finally, the S95H will be the first OLED TV to support Samsung’s Art Mode, which was first introduced in Samsung’s The Frame TVs and then migrated to its new QLED and Neo QLED models in 2025. Art Mode displays artworks when the TV is in standby. A basic set of images is provided, and a paid subscription gives you full access to the more extensive collection in Samsung’s Art Store.

Samsung S95H: What we still need to know

The S95F was one of 2025’s best gaming TVs, supporting 4K 165Hz, AMD FreeSync, and for the first time, Nvidia G-Sync, along with ALLM and HDR10+ gaming. It also features Samsung’s Gaming Hub built in with cloud gaming options from Nvidia GeForce Now, Xbox and more. While we expect the S95H to have very similar gaming features, none have been officially confirmed.

The S95F housed a 4.2.2-channel, 70W speaker array, which provided solid overall performance. We don’t yet have details on the S95H’s speaker array, but we’re guessing it will be similar to the one found in the S95F.

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The 15 best Super Bowl TV deals at Best Buy

The C6 series will use the same OLED panel as its predecessor, the LG C5. The C6H, on the other hand, gets the biggest upgrade we’ve ever seen in the C-series lineup to date: a new OLED panel.

The LG C5 was one of the best TVs of 2025, and although it wasn’t a big upgrade over its LG C4 predecessor, it still earned five stars in our review thanks to its exceptional picture quality, intuitive smart TV platform and superb gaming performance.

We only got a short look at the LG C6 in person at CES, but we’ve collected all the information we have about the 2026 C-series models below.

LG C6 OLED TV: prices & release date

LG hasn’t yet released any official pricing or a release date for the C6 or C6H. Even so, we can speculate based on last year’s C5 series pricing upon release.

• 42-inch: $1,399.99 / £1,399.99 / AU$2,199
• 48-inch: $1,599.99 / £1,499.99 / AU$2,499
• 55-inch: $1,999.99 / £1,899.99 / AU$3,299
• 65-inch: $2,699.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$4,299
• 77-inch: $3,699.99 / £3,699.99 / AU$5,999
• 83-inch: $5,399.99 / £5,799.99 / AU$7,999

Obviously, with the C-series split into two different models, things will be a little different this year. The standard C6 will be available in 42, 48, 55 and 65-inch sizes, whereas the C6H will only be available in 77 and 83-inch sizes.

We would usually anticipate a price increase due to inflation for the standard C6, but last year, we were surprised to find that the C5 was cheaper at launch than its C4 predecessor. It’s unclear which way LG will go, so we’ll keep an eye on prices. As for the C6H, because it uses a new panel, we expect prices to be higher upon launch than last year’s 77- and 83-inch C5 models.

The release date for the LG C-series has consistently been in March or April of each year, and we expect 2026 will be no different.

LG C6 OLED TV: Features

As noted above, the biggest feature of the LG C6H is a new OLED panel. This will be the Primary Tandem RGB OLED 2.0 panel, the same one that will be used in the flagship LG G6. Expect a big brightness boost, better color and contrast and finer textures. In fact, LG says the C6H should match the G5’s HDR peak brightness, which we measured at 2,268 nits – a huge step up over the 1,180 nits delivered by the C5’s standard OLED panel. The standard LG C6 will use the same panel as last year’s C5.

The other big feature coming to both C6 models is the new Alpha 11 AI Gen 3 processor, the same one used in the flagship G6 series. With this processor comes new AI features such as an AI Hub that houses AI Concierge and Search (first introduced in webOS 25), as well as an AI TruMotion feature that can adjust motion settings based on the genre of content. There will also be an AI Super Upscaling feature that optimizes picture upscaling based on genre and scene.

LG said that SDR to HDR picture conversion will get a boost in both C-series models, thanks to the Alpha 11 processor. It also enables support for Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which will feature in LG’s Sound Stage wireless speaker system.

LG C6 OLED TV: what we still need to know

LG C-series TVs are typically among the best gaming TVs year-on-year, and while we expect the C6 to carry the same features as the C5, we don’t yet have official confirmation of that. We expect its four HDMI 2.1 ports to support 4K 144Hz, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, HGiG, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming, but the C6 could also support 4K 165Hz.

The C-series has always had a built-in 2.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker array, and this is likely to be the same for the C6. Could the C6H have an upgraded sound system to match its new panel? We’ll see.

While we don’t expect a big brightness boost from the C5 to the standard C6, the inclusion of the new Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor in the latter could result in higher brightness. LG, however, has not confirmed any brightness boost as of yet.

We expect to see big performance differences between the two C-series models when we separately test them later in the year. Until then, any new information we receive will be added to this guide.

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Hot on the heels of Amazon’s successful showcase at CES 2026, where it unveiled the new Ember Artline ‘lifestyle TV’, the company is joining forces with Roku to bring you new free streaming content from The Roku Channel – one of our best free streaming services.

Now, Amazon Fire TV users can access a selection of around 50 free new streaming channels, expanding its wide collection of FAST entertainment and sports programming. In addition to Fire TV’s new Roku channels, Amazon is also adding select channels from Fubo, which is another popular free streaming service for entertainment and sports.

One of the biggest wins with this partnership is that you don’t need any additional subscriptions or hardware such as streaming sticks to enjoy free viewing, which sounds too good to be true. Previously, you could only access Roku’s flagship FAST service on a Roku device, be that the Roku Streaming Stick Plus or the Roku Pro Series (2025), but now the company is slowly migrating out of that business model while also upgrading its own collection of channels. In October 2025, Roku devices in the UK received over 40 new free TV channels.

You can find new FAST content from The Roku Channel in the newly updated Live Guide tab on Fire TV devices, which serves as the home for all of Amazon’s free streaming platforms including PlutoTV, Tubi, and its very own Freevee.

Now that The Roku Channel is joining the Fire TV family of FAST, this brings it to a total of 14 free-to-stream services, meaning that there are now over a staggering 1,900 channels across these platforms to stream, encapsulating designated channels for reality TV, classic cinema, food, 24/7 news reports, and more.

Not only will this move result in wider access of Roku channels to non-Roku device owners, it’s also a big win for Fire TV itself as it expands its plethora of entertainment options for customers, increasing its value as a streamer.

Recently Amazon gave the Fire TV interface a huge facelift – the first one in five years I should add – which now allows you to pin up to 20 of your favorite streaming services in your homepage, making it easier for you to find its new array of free Roku channels.

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Fender doesn't just make fantastic guitars. It also has the Fender Play platform, a great video-based learning system that can teach you guitar, bass or ukulele. It's been available on computers, smartphones and tablets for some time now – it launched in 2017 – but it's never been available as a TV app, until now.

Fender has teamed up with Samsung in an "exclusive global partnership" to bring Fender Play to Samsung TVs in 2026. There's no launch date as yet but Samsung says it'll arrive in the first half of this year. And it should be available pretty much everywhere: Samsung says it's coming to 49 countries across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

The app isn't just a port of the Fender Play app. Samsung says that a built-in "jam mode" will deliver Samsung-enhanced video and Dolby Atmos audio.

The twang's the thang on your Samsung TV

I'm a gigging musician and I really rate Fender Play: if you're a beginner with an acoustic, electric or bass guitar, or a ukulele, it does a really good job of teaching you the basics. Our music pals at Musicradar agree, giving the service four and a half stars out of five.

The big benefit of having Fender Play on your TV is that it gives you a much bigger display, so it'll be much easier to see what's going on. And it's much more structured than trying to find lessons on YouTube, so it can help you progress more quickly.

I think that’s important, because many would-be players give up when they find learning frustrating. According to Fender's own figures, some 90% of guitar newbies give up within the first year.

That's one of the reasons Fender made Play; the more people stick with guitar (and bass and ukulele) playing, the more likely they are to be like me and buy lots of Fender guitars. As Fender's CEO told Musicradar a few years ago, "we did the math. The 10 per cent of the salmon that make it through the dam have a lifetime value of $10,000 [each]. They buy five to seven guitars, they buy multiple amps, they drive the hardware side of the business. We felt if we could reduce the abandonment rate by just 10% we could double the size of the [guitar] industry."

Fender Play is a subscription service and currently costs $19.99 / £19.49 (about AU$39) per month, although Fender often runs promotional offers and paying annually can save you a lot. We don't yet know whether Samsung customers will be offered a discount when the platform comes to their TVs.

If you're into making or listening to music, Fender is one to watch in 2026: the firm's aggressively expanding into new sectors such as Bluetooth speakers and headphones, and we're very impressed with what we've heard so far.

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What do the best DACs, the best Hi-Res Audio players, the best TVs, and the best soundbars all have in common? They're all facing component shortages and price hikes – not because of tariffs, but because of the AI-driven shortage of memory and storage chips. And the pain's going to be particularly pronounced at the more affordable end of the market, where profit margins are already razor-thin.

As you're no doubt aware, the AI industry is buying a lot of memory for its data centers: as Reuters reported back in October, just one AI firm, OpenAI, intends to order 900,000 semiconductor wafers in 2029. That's around 40% of the world's entire production. And there's plenty more demand in the industry.

As The Wall Street Journal reported this week, "The rapid build-out of infrastructure for artificial intelligence is consuming a large portion of available supply of NAND flash memory, DRAM memory and hard drives. That has resulted in a shortage of memory for other markets such as PCs and smartphones."

Audiovisual devices aren't the same as PCs, and don't typically need as much memory as smartphones. But they still need some memory in order to do what they do. Everything from smart speakers to smart TVs to in-car entertainment systems use RAM alongside their processors, and some of them use NAND storage too, because they're all just small computers at heart; both of these components' prices are rocketing.

We've already seen Samsung warn that its TVs' prices may rise due to comopnents shortages, while there are warnings about smartphone makers scaling back their specs for this year's mobile phones, cutting their memory to cut the cost of manufacturing.

And according to NPR, memory prices are expected to rise even more this year. As Avril Wu of the consultancy Trendforce told NPR, "I keep telling everybody that if you want a device, you buy it now."

How AI could affect AV

AI data centers don't use the same memory chips as a DAC or a Hi-Res Audio player: they use High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), not the DDR RAM you'd find in a PC or PlayStation. But those differing chips are made from the same kind of semiconductor wafers, and those wafers are in ever-increasing demand because HBM uses roughly three times more of those wafers than DDR5 RAM does.

They're also much more profitable to sell, and as a result many firms are shifting focus from consumer memory chips to data center ones – so for example Micron, one of the big three memory makers alongside SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, has shut down its long-standing consumer memory business, Crucial, "to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments". In other words, AI.

As some manufacturers shift focus, new capacity for other kinds of memory isn't coming on board fast enough to cover the demand. So for example in October SK Hynix announced that it "has already secured full customer demand for its entire DRAM and NAND production for next year", and that it'll need to expand its production to cope with the market demands – but even the equipment to make the chips are set to rise in price.

In the shorter term, that means higher memory prices. Much higher prices. CNBC reports that RAM prices are expected to rise "more than 50% this quarter compared to the last quarter of 2025." And the Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute says that "DRAM prices have also surged 171% year-over-year, outpacing gold, while DDR5 spot prices have quadrupled since September 2025. DRAM and NAND prices doubled in a single month".

While capacity is being added to existing production plants and new plants are being built, that capacity isn't expected to come online until 2027.

That's likely to have two key impacts on the AV hardware market. The first is that we'll see price increases down the line, especially at the budget end of the market where manufacturers can't simply swallow the increased cost: there's a lot less margin on a $300 smart TV than a $3,000 one.

The second is that manufacturers may go back to the drawing board as some smartphone firms have done, limiting their next products' specifications to compensate for shortages and price hikes. It may also persuade some firms to postpone their product plans altogether until market conditions are more favorable.

We've been here before, of course: I remember the completely fruitless search for in-stock AV receivers after chip production had shut down during COVID lockdowns. At least this time we know the component crunch is coming, and can make purchasing plans accordingly.

Our picks of the best AV gear across different categories

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The best 55-inch TVs also offer the widest range of pricing and screen technology options – it's where you'll find the best OLED TVs and mini-LED high-end options, affordable QLED, and super-budget standard LED TVs. This is because it's such a popular size – almost everything in our guide to the best TVs has a 55-inch option.

This means that choosing the best 55-inch TV for you can feel overwhelming, but a) we're here to help whittle it down to the most worthwhile, and b) this fierce competition means you tend to find fantastic discounts on 55-inch TVs a lot of the year, as companies battle to stand out. We've tested and reviewed every one of the TVs here ourselves, and the list is based on comparing them to the competition and suggesting only the better options when balancing performance against price.

That means we have some older models here – after price cuts since their launch, they might now be the best bang for buck, even when newer models have launched. Gamers will be happy to find that most of the best gaming TVs come in 55-inch sizes too.

The top 55-inch TVs, chosen by our testers

Our favorite 55-inch TV you can buy today

The LG C5 continues LG’s C-series tradition of delivering top-tier OLED performance at a more approachable price than flagship models. The biggest news here is a new Alpha 9 Gen 8 AI Processor, which brings a brightness boost as well as smarter picture and sound tuning, making it a worthy successor to the C4 and an easy pick as the best overall 55-inch TV.

Picture quality is impressive across the board. Colors are vibrant and accurate, contrast is fantastic and detail is life-like. Motion is handled well and the C5’s upscaling adds sharpness to lower-res sources. Like most OLEDs, it does pick up reflections if you watch in a bright room, but in typical or dimmer spaces it looks great.

The built-in 2.2-channel Dolby Atmos system is clear and balanced, and LG’s AI sound tools will give you a chance to personalize the audio. But a soundbar is still necessary here if you want depth and impact. The C5 is great for gaming. All four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 144Hz, VRR, ALLM, Dolby Vision gaming, plus FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync, and LG’s Game Optimizer is here too, which makes quick adjustments easy.

LG's webOS 25 is still one of the best smart TV platforms, now with improved AI search, tailored recommendations and profile switching with voice recognition. It’s fast, intuitive and packed with useful customization.

The C4 is still the better bargain while it remains available, but if you want the latest tech then the C5 offers outstanding picture quality, excellent gaming support and a polished smart experience. It’s the most well-rounded 55-inch TV you can buy in 2025.

Read our full LG C5 review

• ^ Back to the top

Our favorite budget TV in the US

The Hisense U75QG is a mid-range mini-LED in Hisense’s 2025 lineup that delivers impressive performance but without the premium price tag. It’s a notable upgrade from last year’s U7N, especially in terms of brightness and gaming capability, and it earns its place here as our best budget pick in the US. (UK pricing is higher, which shifts its value there.)

For a budget-friendly model, the U75QG packs a lot of punch. Its mini-LED backlighting produces seriously high brightness levels for its class, and HDR support spans both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Watching in a bright room is made easier with its anti-reflection screen, and that helps keep glare under control. Color accuracy is strong here for the price, and overall picture performance holds its own against much pricier 55-inch competitors.

Gamers get a good suite of features. All four HDMI 2.1 ports support up to 165Hz (and 288Hz at 1080p), along with FreeSync Premium Pro and VRR. Whether you want to run multiple consoles or pair it with a gaming PC, those high refresh rates should keep motion looking smooth.

The U75QG is only average when it comes to sound. The 2.1.2-channel built-in system is perfectly serviceable but doesn’t add much excitement. A soundbar is definitely the way to go if audio matters to you.

The U75QG is a great alternative to more expensive mini-LED models in this size range, including the Samsung Q80D, which is our best mid-range 55-inch pick. If you want bright, punchy picture quality, great gaming support and a polished overall package for less, it’s one of the best budget TVs out there.

Read our full Hisense U75QG review

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Our favorite budget TV in the UK

The TCL C805 demonstrates outstanding value – at under £600 for its 55-inch size, you get a mini-LED backlight for better local dimming, a good number of gaming features including 4K 120Hz and VRR support, and the Google TV smart TV platform. If you're in the UK, you can't get much better value than the C805 in a 55-inch size.

In our review of the C805, we were seriously impressed by its picture quality, noting that it delivers crisp, refined textures with plenty of detail along with deeper than expected black levels and very good contrast. It also delivered vivid colors with plenty of punch. While its motion could be better and viewing angles are somewhat limted, we said "at this price range, it's hard to be disappointed with the C805's picture".

The C805 is also a great, budget gaming option with two HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K, 120Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro) and Dolby Vision gaming all included. Performance is also smooth and judder-free and while its 13.5ms input lag time isn't as good as the very best gaming TVs, it will be good enough for the vast majority of gamers.

The C805's built-in sound lacks the same wow factor that its picture does – although speech and bass are clear and punchy, its soundstage is very limited overall. But with the money you're saving on this TV thanks to its low price tag, you'll have more than enough left over to get a soundbar.

Read our full TCL C805 review

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Our favorite elite 55-inch TV

The Samsung S95F is the brand’s latest flagship OLED TV, delivering a premium set of features with the top performance to match. It also manages to push brightness to impressive new highs, making it our top premium 55-inch OLED.

The S95F introduces a second-gen version of Samsung’s OLED Glare Free screen technology, improving on the original from the S95D that came before it by combining glare reduction with even better picture contrast in bright rooms. With its next-gen QD-OLED panel, the S95F delivers richer brightness, superb black levels and realistic details and textures that give movies and TV shows incredible depth.

The One Connect box keeps external connections tidy while making the TV’s razor thin design possible. The updated Tizen smart interface feels slicker than ever, now with a Samsung Art Store subscription option too. Gamers get plenty of features, 4K at 165Hz, VRR with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming across four HDMI 2.1 ports, plus an ultra-low 9.5ms input lag. There’s also Samsung’s Game Hub for cloud gaming, as well as plenty of AI features that promise to fine-tune picture and sound.

Built-in audio is punchy and accurate with a strong level of bass for a slim set. Design-wise, the S95F is stunning, it’s sharp, sleek and undeniably premium. It’s not flawless. Black levels aren’t perfect and the high price will put it out of reach to many people. But the Samsung S95F is still an outstanding OLED and certainly deserves its place as our top premium pick.

Read our full Samsung S95F review

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The top 55-inch TV for sports

The Samsung QN90F delivers superb brightness, sharp motion handling and updated glare-free screen tech, making it an ideal pick for sports fans, especially if you’re watching in bright rooms during the day. Colors are vivid, contrast is powerful, and fine detail pops, so it’s great for more than just sports, too.

Replacing the QN90D, the QN90F is our new top pick for sports viewing, and it improves on its predecessor in almost every way. One standout upgrade is Samsung’s new NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor, which brings features like 4K AI Upscaling Pro and, crucially for sports, AI Motion Enhancer Pro – designed to reduce blur in fast-paced content.

It’s also one of the best gaming TVs we’ve tested. With four HDMI 2.1 ports, 4K 165Hz support, FreeSync Premium Pro, HGiG, and an ultra-low input lag of 9.5ms, it’s built for high-performance gaming. Samsung’s Gaming Hub is a handy bonus, and the punchy, precise picture takes the whole experience up a notch. Audio is “clean and well-defined” even at high volumes, making commentary and crowd noise crystal clear during big matches.

While OLEDs still hold the crown for pure picture quality and motion control, the QN90F’s brightness and anti-glare screen deliver comparable sports performance. You’ll find cheaper options that handle sports well, but at this size and spec, the QN90F is hard to beat.

Read our full Samsung QN90F review

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A cheap but stunning 55-inch OLED TV

LG’s B5 is one of the cheapest OLED TVs you can buy, yet it still delivers impressive picture quality and excellent gaming support, making it our top budget pick.

In our LG B5 review, we found its pictures to be crisp and contrast-rich, with vibrant colors and realistic textures that look more premium than its entry-level status would suggest. Detail levels are strong and although it’s not the brightest TV around, it can still produce a cinematic image, as long as the conditions are right. The trade-off comes in bright rooms, where its middling brightness and reflective screen can make darker scenes lose their impact. It’s best watching it in dimly lit environments instead.

The B5 is well stocked with gaming features, carrying four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia G-Sync), ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming. It also runs on LG’s latest webOS 25 smart platform, which adds new AI tools like AI search, AI Concierge and an improved AI chatbot, while keeping navigation fast and user-friendly.

The B5 doesn’t bring big changes over last year’s B4, and its built-in audio doesn’t live up to the picture, so a soundbar is recommended. But with its mix of OLED picture quality, gaming specs and new smart AI features at this price, the LG B5 is the best budget OLED TV you can buy.

Read our full LG B5 review

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A great mid-range gaming 55-inch TV

The Samsung Q80D is a high-quality QLED TV, with a superb picture, surprisingly strong sound, and great gaming features and performance, all of which would suggest a far more pricey TV than this affordable, mid-range Samsung.

First and foremost, the Q80D's picture quality is nothing short of brilliant. We were suitably impressed with its bold, vibrant colors and razor-sharp details, but even more so with its deep black levels and rich contrast. In our review we also noted its effective backlight control, saying that "the local dimming system that’s largely responsible for this black level depth works its magic while throwing up impressively few backlight blooming or clouding issues."

Gamers will be pleased by the Q80D's list of features at this mid-range price, with four HDMI 2.1 ports that all support 4K 120Hz, VRR (in both HDMI and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro formats) and ALLM. The Q80D's performance is also great, with a low 9.8ms input lag time and a bold, colorful picture to match.

The Q80D's sound is also effective – a rarity at this price range. We found during our testing that the Q80D not only had a wide soundstage, but effective sound placement around the screen and beyond. It also delivers suitably punchy bass and clear speech. We said the Q80D is "one of the best-sounding TVs in Samsung’s 2024 range" – no mean feat considering it sits below several more premium mini-LED (Neo QLED) and OLED models.

At this price, very few other 55-inch sets will top the Q80D, which almost disguises itself as a premium TV in the body of a mid-range model.

Read our full Samsung Q80D review

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The elite 55-inch TV designed for wall-mounting

The LG G5 raises the bar for OLED TV brightness, delivering a substantially brighter picture than its LG G4 predecessor. LG managed this by using a Primary RGB Tandem structure OLED display panel in the G5, a new design that employs individual red, green, and blue layers to produce light. Not only is LG’s flagship G5 brighter, but it also has better color detail and improved screen glare rejection for viewing in bright rooms.

A new feature found in the G5 is Filmmaker Ambient Light Mode, which uses the TV’s built-in sensor to adjust brightness based on room lighting without sacrificing picture accuracy. LG’s latest Alpha 11 AI processor Gen 2 brings with it a range of AI enhancements for picture and sound, and the new webOS smart TV interface provides deeper levels of customization, including voice recognition for tailoring picture and sound settings along with content recommendations, for each user in your household.

The best thing about the G5’s picture is that it looks great across a range of lighting conditions, including bright rooms – a new frontier for OLED TVs. This makes it a great option for watching sports, but darker content like movies also looks good when viewed in brighter rooms, and with the lights dimmed, the picture has a powerful, almost 3D-like quality. As we noted in our LG G5 review: “The refined shadow detail gave the picture a powerful sense of depth that, for me, really drove home the point of why you would spend top dollar for a premium OLED TV like the G5.”

LG also made a point of bringing the best gaming features to the G5, including four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync support. The G5’s super-slim, wall-hugging design is the main reason we’ve selected it here as our best TV for wall-mounting (a wall-mount is included), but LG’s extra-cost pedestal stand gives you the option to also install it on a TV stand.

Save on electronics with our LG coupons. Find top deals on LG TVs, appliances, and more to enhance your home tech.

Read our full LG G5 review

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More 55-inch TVs we've tested

Hisense U6N: Hisense's cheapest mini-LED TV is now astonishingly cheap, particularly in the US, and provides bright images with good contrast. It lacks a 120Hz screen for gaming, so that's a key thing you're losing – but for movies on a budget, it's very good. It's just not quite as good on value as TCL C805 in the UK, while the small price step up to the U7N in the US is small enough that we recommend most people should do that. But here's our Hisense U6N review to read through, because it does a very good job in its own right.

Hisense U8N: This is a super-bright mini-LED TV that’s excellent for both sports and movies, and also has great built-in sound. The main reason why the U8N got bumped by the Samsung Q80D for the mid-range spot is that it has less extensive gaming features than the Samsung, and 55 inches is a popular screen size for gaming. It's a fantastic TV, though, and you can read all about that in our full Hisense U8N review.

Panasonic Z95B: Panasonic's new flagship OLED TV features a new 'Primary RGB Tandem Panel’ with similar tech as that found in LG’s G5 OLED. Last year’s Panasonic Z95A was only available in a 65-inch size in the US, but this new model is also sold in a 55-inch size and features a new 5.1.2-channel built-in speaker configuration tuned by Panasonic sister brand Technics. Read our full Panasonic Z95B review.

Samsung Q60D: This budget QLED TV performs well, but you simply get much brighter images with better contrast and more features, especially for gaming, from the Hisense and TCL models mentioned here generally. Our Samsung Q60D review highlighted that it has far better picture quality than you might expect from its specs, though, so if the price is right and you want a Samsung set, it's a strong pick.

TCL C855: This is only available in the UK and Europe, but it's an extremely good-value mini-LED TV. Again, it falls in a slightly awkward place in terms of value, but we think it's very much worth looking at, especially because it has some really aggressive discounts. Here's our TCL C855 review for the in-depth verdict.

Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED: Amazon's first mini-LED TV delivers great picture quality and is surprisingly good for sports, as we found in our Amazon Mini-LED review. It has a good stock of gaming features and, unsurprisingly, uses the Fire TV Smart TV platform. It's also priced similarly to many other mini-LED sets.

Philips OLED809: Only available in the UK, the OLED809 is a brilliant mid-range OLED TV that offers great picture and sound quality, along with Philips' immersive Ambilight feature. We rated the OLED809 highly in our Philips OLED809 review, but it's marginally more expensive than its main rival, the LG C4.

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How to choose the best 55-inch TV

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How we test the best 55-inch TVs

We use the same methods to test the best 55-inch TVs as we do across all our other TV buying guides. This testing criteria is broken down by picture quality (looking at particular elements such as contrast, color and so on), audio quality of built-in speakers, gaming features, smart TV platform, ease of use, design and value for money. We base our testing on subjective opinion and objective measurements of the picture quality, which we take using specialized equipment.

Firstly, we’ll run in the TVs across various types of AV sources, such as broadcast, streaming and 4K Blu-ray. During this time, we’ll cycle through the different picture presets found on each set, such as Standard, Movie and Sport, to establish what we see as the most accurate for that set. We then watch the same movies, TV shows and so on again, making notes of how they compare to each other.

When analyzing picture quality, we’ll use a mixture of sources such as 4K Blu-ray and streaming to look at color reproduction and accuracy, contrast and black levels, and textures. We’ll then use lower-resolution sources such as broadcast TV and DVD to test a TV’s upscaling effectiveness.

We’ll also look at how a TV handles black uniformity (how well it can display dark tones across the screen evenly), especially on LCD based models. This is when we consider how effective the backlight is and if it suffers from any backlight blooming. We’ll also test motion, not just for 24fps movies but also for sports viewing, looking out for judder and blur – and seeing how effective a TVs motion settings are for reducing this.

After we’ve conducted subjective tests surrounding picture quality, smart TV platform, sound quality and so on, we move onto objective tests using specialized equipment to measure color accuracy, brightness, grayscale and more, recording results through Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software.

The first area we will usually test is brightness. We use a test pattern generator and colorimeter to measure a TV’s brightness levels across a variety of window sizes, from 1% all the way to 100% (full screen brightness). The more significant window sizes include 10%, which will usually tell you what a TV’s peak brightness is and how HDR highlights will look, and 100%, which will indicate the TV’s full screen brightness and how it can handle longer periods of brightness across the whole screen (which is often important when viewing sports). Full screen brightness generally also tells us how effective a TV will be at handling reflections. We do these tests to not only test a TV’s backlight, but also to measure our results against any figures claimed by the manufacturer. Brightness tests are conducted in light controlled rooms to prevent any external light sources affecting results.

Color reproduction, in both SDR and HDR, is also tested as we look at each TV’s accuracy to its source and how wide a color gamut it can display on screen. We won’t just look at color though, we also look at grayscale to test how accurately a TV can display black tones and just how effective its contrast is as well.

When it comes to gaming tests, we use the Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI input lag tester to test the latency time that a TV’s processing adds when displaying video games. We’ll also test the effectiveness of a TV’s Game Mode (if it has one), which is often used to adjust the TV’s settings to its most optimum when gaming. We also look out for a number of features such as how many HDMI 2.1 ports a TV has and whether it supports VRR, 4K 120Hz, ALLM and more.

When conducting these tests, we aim to keep everything as consistent as possible in our TV testing lab but it’s worth noting that some reviewers will work in different environments with different setups. In those instances, we always make sure that our reviewers have the same level of equipment and conduct the same tests.

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Latest updates to the best 55-inch TV list

December 8, 2025
Replaced the LG C4 with the LG C5 as our 'best overall' choice. Also switched the Hisense U7N with the Hisense U75QG as our 'best budget' pick.

September 13, 2025
Replaced the Samsung S95D with the Samsung S95F as our 'best premium OLED' pick, based on our recent testing. Also added the LG B5 in our 'best budget OLED' slot, replacing the LG B4.

July 14, 2025
Replaced the Samsung 55QN90D with the Samsung 55QN90F as our ‘Best for sports’ pick, based on recent testing.

May 8, 2025
Swapped LG G4 with the new LG G5 as 'Best for wall-mounting' option due to its superior overall picture quality.

March 10, 2025
Added in a gallery of images for each entry. Added more TVs to our section of 'Other TVs we've tested'.

February 13, 2025
Added new sections, 'What’s the difference between an OLED 55-inch TV and an LED one?' and 'What should I look for in a 55-inch TV for gaming?' to 'How to Choose the best 55-inch TV'.

January 15, 2025
Added section 'New 55-inch TVs coming in 2025' detailing new TV announcements made at CES.

December 20, 2024
Checked all products against our latest reviews, and added more information about other sets we've tested to add more context.

November 25, 2024
Added an 'Also consider' section describing otherwise worthy TVs not included in this guide, and why they didn't make it in.

November 13, 2024
Added section on Black Friday 2024 55-inch TV deals.

September 19, 2024
Replaced the Samsung QN90C with the Samsung QN90D as 'best for sport'.

August 21, 2024
Replaced the Samsung Q80C with the Samsung Q80D as 'best mid-range'.

July 2, 2024
Hisense U7N introduced as 'best budget (US)'. Amazon Omni QLED became 'best budget (UK).

June 3, 2024
Replaced LG C3 with new LG C4 as "Best for versatility" due to improved picture brightness and gaming features.

May 3, 2024
Replaced Samsung S95C with Samsung S95D for best premium OLED, due to improved picture/features.

March 28, 2024
Added testing data graphs for all TVs, to make it easy to compare them in key areas.

March 5, 2024
Expanded the 'How We Test' section to give more detail on how the TVs in this guide are tested.

January 31, 2024
Replaced the LG A2 with the LG B3 as 'best budget OLED' due to dwindling stock levels of the A2.

January 4, 2024
Added LG G3 as the 'best for wall mounting'. Checked the rest of list against our latest reviews.

December 13, 2023
Combined best budget UK and US to best budget and chose the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. Removed Sony A95K and 'best for image quality' category. Renamed Samsung S95C as 'best premium OLED'. Replaced Samsung Q80B with Samsung Q80C as 'best mid-range' due to stock levels.

Looking to save money on a Samsung product? Check out our Samsung coupons for the latest deals on top-rated tech and gadgets.

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If you thought last year's Marantz AV 20 and AMP 20 were desirable, wait until you see (and hear) what the legendary audio brand decided to make next. The new Marantz AV 30 and AMP 30 are even more sophisticated – and they're more affordable too.

"Affordable" is relative here – you're still looking at $4K / £3.5K for each – but that's significantly less than the AV 20 and AMP 20, which launched at $6,000 / £4,750 (about AU$9,880) apiece.

Marantz AV 30 and AMP 30: key features

The AV 30 features the most powerful Analog Devices SHARC dual-core DSP chipset, which is coupled to high-quality 32-bit DACs. It supports Hi-Res Audio, Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, DTS:X and AURO-3D, and it features Audyssey MultEQ XT32 room calibration and optimization. There's optional Dirac Live, Dirac Bass Control and Dirac Active Room Treatment too, with support for up to four fully independent subwoofers.

All seven of the AV 30's HDMI inputs support up to 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz, and there are multiple analog and digital inputs. The HDAM SA-2 preamplifier stage can deliver up to 11.4 channels via RCA or XLR, and it runs Marantz's HEOS system with Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth.

The AMP 30 is a six-channel, cool-running power amp with 200W per channel into 8 ohms, and it supports reconfiguring 200W amp channel pairs into bridged-tied-load configurations with up to three channels of 400W. It also supports bi-amping up to three speakers, and it can be used to upgrade an existing AV 10 or AV 20-based system for large-scale home theater setups.

The Marantz AV 30 has a recommended price of $4,000 / £3,500 (about AU$7,020) and the Marantz Amp 30 is also $4,000 / £3,500 (about AU$7,020).

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Some of TV’s biggest hitters were at CES this year and nearly all of them have adopted RGB TVs into their repertoire for 2026. Elsewhere, LG and Samsung announced brighter OLEDs with some new AI-based OS upgrades, Hisense introduced the world to RGB Evo and RGBY MicroLED, and TCL showed off its new SQD (Super Quantum Dot) mini-LED X11L TV. There’s even more to talk about, but I’ll get into it below.

As TechRadar’s TV reviewer, I’m lucky enough to test the best TVs each year and there were more than a few models announced at CES, including some from the list above, that joined my testing wishlist. Now, these aren’t necessarily TechRadar’s best TVs of CES 2026, just my personal list of most anticipated sets I’m hoping to get my hands on throughout 2026. Of course, I’d love to test everything, but the models below are my top picks

LG C6H

Probably one of the most surprising announcements of CES was that LG was splitting its LG C-series into two. The LG C6 will use a standard W-OLED panel (or what LG now just calls Tandem WOLED) and will be in 42, 48, 55 and 65-inch sizes. This will be the closest model to last year’s LG C5, one of the best OLED TVs of 2025.

The other C-series model will be the LG C6H. It will use a Tandem OLED panel – a more advanced OLED panel that promises higher brightness, stronger contrast and bolder color. In fact, it's the same Tandem OLED panel that will be used in the flagship LG G6!

While the C6H will only come in 77 and 83-inch sizes, which dampened my excitement somewhat, it’s nonetheless a great development for the C-series. It’s been due a panel upgrade for a number of years and this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, the C6H will live up to the hype.

Samsung S90H

A rival to the LG C6, the Samsung S90H is Samsung’s mid-range OLED for 2026. The big news here is the S90H will come with Samsung’s OLED Glare Free anti-reflection screen, a matt screen that is effective at reducing mirror-like screen reflections. This was previously reserved for flagship OLEDs such as last year’s Samsung S95F, and then introduced to flagship Neo QLEDs such as the Samsung QN90F.

One of my frustrations with LG’s C-series is how reflective it is. Introducing an anti-reflection screen into the mid-range OLED market makes the S90H a viable alternative for people with a bright room. I found that Glare Free was improved in 2025 to maintain better black on the S95F, so hopefully it’s the same story for 2026.

I actually picked the S90H over the C6H as my more anticipated mid-range OLED, due to the S90H’s matte screen and the C6H’s limited screen sizes. I’m hopeful that the S90H isn’t subject to the same panel lottery as the S90F – which was the reason why we only tested the 65-inch S90F. If it isn’t, the S90H could be a really exciting TV for 2026.

Hisense UR9 and UR8 RGB mini-LED

When I tested the Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED last year, I was impressed by its vibrant colors, excellent detail and high brightness. Contrast and black were also solid, but there were some screen uniformity issues. I was excited to see an advance for mini-LED, but 116-inch is not a realistic size for most people, so I hoped to see it come to smaller screens over the next couple of years.

Imagine my surprise when Hisense announced at IFA 2025 that RGB would come to 85-inch screens at the very least and then revealed at CES 2026 that RGB would be coming to screens as small as 55-inch! It’s unclear what sort of brightness or contrast we can truly expect from the smaller RGB mini-LED screens, but I’ll be eager to test them.

While no pricing has been announced, Hisense did say its prices would be competitive with other brands' RGB TVs – though no other brand has announced pricing yet either. Here’s hoping it competes with OLED, its main rival.

Samsung Micro RGB TVs

Don’t be fooled by the different name: Micro RGB is RGB mini-LED. This is Samsung’s name for the new panel tech, which has also been adopted by LG for its own RGB TV. What's interesting is that Samsung is also bringing Micro RGB to screens as small as 55-inch. So, there’s already competition for 2026.

I actually saw Samsung’s 115-inch Micro RGB TV in action last year. It was next to an unnamed RGB mini-LED TV (which had to be the Hisense 116UX as it was the only other RGB TV available). Samsung's colors were more vibrant and bold, but the Hisense felt more natural and true-to-life. The Samsung also demonstrated strong contrast, better shadow detail and blacks.

I expect Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs will be pricier than Hisense’s RGB mini-LED sets, but it’ll be interesting to see if the price upgrade is worth it. Hisense’s conventional mini-LEDs, such as the Hisense U8QG, have really caught up to Samsung in recent years. Will that carry over to RGB?

LG G6 and Samsung S95H

OK, so this one’s a bit of a cheat. Both LG and Samsung’s flagship 2026 OLEDs are boasting higher brightness, faster processing with new AI enhancements, and design changes for 2026. So it’s tough to choose between them.

The LG G6 is said to be 20% brighter than last year’s LG G5 thanks to Brightness Booster Ultra, and it comes with the new Primary RGB Tandem OLED 2.0 panel, which LG says will improve picture quality over the 1.0 Tandem panel in the G5. It also will have reduced screen reflections compared to the G5, and boasts a full suite of gaming features including a new motion boost that means games can be played at 1080p 330Hz on PC.

The Samsung S95H’s changes are more cosmetic. Samsung says it will be 35% brighter than last year’s Samsung S95F, but the big update here is the new metal frame and the removal of the One Connect Box (the external connections box that housed ports for other devices). The ports are back on the rear of the TV, but Samsung says you can optionally add the Wireless One Connect Box, which would give you up to eight HDMI ports in total.

Both these TVs sound superb, but really neither of them were as headline-grabbing as their mid-range counterparts, the C6 and S90H. But, as the brightness battle continues, I’m still keen to test both models.

Several of these projectors are portable, lifestyle-oriented models designed to be broken out and set up on demand when the need for a big-screen image arises. But others are sophisticated home theater models designed to compete with the best projectors and deliver the real deal for movie watching or gaming. Below are the six top projectors I saw at CES.

Samsung The Freestyle+

• Samsung doubled the brightness to 430 ISO lumens
• Auto Wall Calibration compensates for uneven wall surfaces

The first two generations of Samsung’s The Freestyle portable projector impressed us with a super-compact design and flexible installation features. It's a projector that’s easy to just plop anywhere and start streaming movies or playing games, and it automatically configures itself for the best picture quality once powered up.

Samsung's new The Freestyle+ takes picture quality and auto calibration to the next level, doubling brightness to 430 ISO lumens and adding an Auto Wall Calibration feature that digitally compensates for uneven wall surfaces. Bottom line: you don’t have to worry about finding a perfectly smooth, white surface to project on with this new version of Samsung’s portable projector.

Samsung says that new AI features in The Freestyle+ help with keystone adjustment and focus, so you’ll get a crisp, rectangular picture anywhere you point the projector. It also now supports the same Samsung Q-Symphony feature found in Samsung TVs to enhance sound, though we’ll have to see how effective it is on such a small projector.

Hisense PX4-Pro

• Brightness boosted from 3,000 to 3,500 ANSI lumens over the PX3-Pro
• New IRIS system adjusts the lens aperture and exposure based on ambient lighting conditions to maximize contrast

The Hisense PX3-Pro currently ranks at the top of TechRadar’s best ultra short throw projectors guide. But as good as it is, the new Hisense PX4-Pro looks to be an even better offering from the company.

The PX4-Pro steps things up with a brightness boost from 3,000 to 3,500 ANSI lumens. It features a new IRIS system that adjusts the lens aperture and exposure based on ambient lighting conditions to maximize contrast and, like its predecessor, uses a trichroma laser light engine to deliver full BT.2020 color space coverage.

Gaming is also a highlight of the PX4-Pro, which supports 1080p gaming at 240Hz with ultra-low input lag, according to the company. We look forward to gaming on this brighter and overall better Hisense UST projector as soon as it becomes available.

Hisense XR10

• Long throw model with 6,000 ANSI lumens brightness
• Impressive 0.84 to 2.0x optical zoom range

Hisense is best known for its ultra short throw projectors, which the company refers to as a ‘Laser TV’ when paired with an included separate screen. It has also released a run of powerful portable projectors. The new Hisense XR10 marks the company’s entry into the premium long-throw projector space, and with a rated 6,000 ANSI lumens brightness, it may very well steal the spotlight from its competition.

According to Hisense, the XR10 uses an “advanced LPU 3.0 Digital Laser Engine, a fully upgraded chipset, and a pure RGB triple laser light source,” to deliver exceptionally bright images with better than BT.2020 color gamut coverage. Like the PX4-Pro UST model above, it uses Hisense’s new IRIS system to optimize contrast and has a 0.84 to 2.0x optical zoom range to ease installation for screen sizes up to a whopping 300 inches.

Xgimi Titan Noir Max

• Dynamic iris system boosts contrast to 10,000:1
• 1.0-2.0:1 optical zoom and 130% vertical and 50% horizontal lens shift

Xgimi debuted its Titan projector, a ‘professional grade’ 4K DLP model boasting 5,000 lumens brightness, along with a dynamic iris and flexible installation features, at the IFA 2025 trade show.

At CES 2026, the company showcased the Titan Noir Max, a new model designed for home theater setups that appears to be a mashup between the Titan and the Xgimi Horizon 20 Max, a gimbal-style portable projector with even higher brightness than the Titan.

Xgimi didn’t provide a full set of specs for its new projector, but it does feature the company’s “most advanced dynamic iris system to date,” boosting contrast to 10,000:1. It also has an expanded optical range, with 1.0-2.0:1 zoom and 130% vertical and 50% horizontal lens shift. Like other Xgimi projectors, it will feature automatic keystone and focus adjustments.

The company was demonstrating the Titan Noir Max at CES in a bright room that prevented any assessment of its picture performance. Still, the environment did let me appreciate the projector’s well-crafted design, which sets it apart from the industrial look typical of home theater projectors.

The Titan Noir Max will be available for preorder in Q1 2026.

AWOL Vision Aetherion Max

• PixelLock technology ensures precise focus at the edges of the screen and eliminates color fringing
• Anti-RBE (Rainbow Effect) technology eliminates up to 99.99% of DLP rainbow effects

AWOL Vision, sister company of Valerion, maker of the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 projector, was at CES showcasing the new AWOL Vision Aetherion Max, an ultra short throw projector that it says will address some of the traditional shortcomings of the UST projector category.

Specifically, the Aetherion Max features the company’s PixelLock technology, which is said to use optical and mechanical means to ensure precise focus at the edges of the screen. It also eliminates color fringing and features Anti-RBE (Rainbow Effect) technology, which AWOL Vision claims “eliminates up to 99.99% of rainbow effects,” typical of DLP projectors.

Beyond those features, the Aetherion Max supports up to 200-inch screen sizes and is rated has 3,300 lumens of brightness and 6,000:1 native contrast. Gaming features include VRR, ALLM, and Dolby Vision Gaming, and there’s Google TV built in for streaming, with Wi-Fi 7 support.

The Aetherion Max will be available in March 2026 for $4,499.

Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro

• All-in-one mobile theater system
• 7.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos audio using wireless surround speakers

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a home theater on wheels, the Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro has arrived to make that dream a reality.

Introduced at CES, the Nebula X1 Pro is an all-in-one mobile theater system based around the company’s Nebula X1 projector. The Nebula X1 Pro beams images up to 200 inches and has a specified 3,500 ANSI lumens brightness, 110% BT.2020 color gamut coverage, and 56,000:1 dynamic contrast.

Soundcore's design encases the projector in a tower enclosure with wheels for easy portability, and it features slide-out front speakers and detachable wireless speakers to create a 7.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos speaker system. There are even two wireless microphones enclosed, letting you use the system for karaoke.

Nebula’s portable theater is an obvious fit for outdoor movie nights, but it’s also a good option for parties or even business presentations.

The Nebula X1 Pro will cost $4,999 and launch at the end of January.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 live news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and we’ll do our best to answer it.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

But the company also leans towards the high-end sometimes, and I got very interested by the unusual new soundbar system it teased for CES 2026, so I tracked it down at the show.

The Skywave X100 Dual is a 9.2.6-channel Dolby Atmos system, which is a very unusual system to get in a single home solution – and it's doubly unusual because the setup uses four satellite speakers with a soundbar at the front to deliver all these channels, plus two beefy subwoofers. The main competitor in this way is the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6.

Ultimea's booth at CES was playing Top Gun: Maverick's bombing and air defense scene on the system, which was perfect for me – we regularly use this exact scene for testing surround sound, and I've highlighted it as being one of the best Dolby Atmos movies to see what your system at home can do.

So I sat on a sofa, with two speakers at the sides behind me, two immediately to my left and right, and the soundbar and subs in front by the TV – and the surround effects are easily the most convincing I've ever heard for a soundbar system.

Elite soundbar setups like the Samsung HW-Q990F do a fantastic job of bouncing sound around the room to simulate side speakers, but there is no substitute for having an actual speaker firing directly to the side.

The connection between the front and rear speakers is immediately clearly better than my elaborate home Sonos surround system – missiles blast from the screen, snake right past my ear, and then whip behind me.

And the impact of the dual subs is obviously massive as well – non-directional bass just fills the space, gripping your ribcage when it wants your attention.

My only area of concern based on this demo is the soundbar at the front. I wasn't getting the same scale of width from it during my time there, but I think that may be partly just due to how the booth was set up. The sofa was quite far from the soundbar, but with the surround speakers right next to the sofa, the soundbar may have been interfered with more by sounds from the rest of the expo.

And at the same time, there was a solid wall to my left that the soundbar could use to bounce audio off, but nothing to my right at all. It's not really the environment it's designed to operate in, so I'll reserve judgment on that aspect.

What I can say for sure is that, as someone who's used to a four-box soundbar system (soundbar, rears, sub), switching to this seven-box system has me absolutely hooked and wanting to try it out more with more movies.

And one of the best parts of this system is that I could have it at home, even in my small living room. No big home theater space is needed – the satellite speakers are all super-slim, and the soundbar is just regular-sized.

It supports DTS:X and Dolby Atmos, has 2,000 watts of total power, and has 4K 120Hz HDMI passthrough for good measure. This could be THE home theater setup for those of us desperate for real surround sound in a small space.

Now, the Skywave X100 Dual doesn't come anywhere near as cheap as the company's other soundbars… and yet, it's still kind of a bargain in the grand scheme of things.

It will cost $2,200 full price when it hits retail, which I think is pretty reasonable for something with this many speaker boxes, and it'll probably get discounts during Black Friday.

However, it's actually going to launch with huge discounts too. It will launch on Kickstarter on March 12th, 2026, and will be available for just $899 at an 'Insider Price', or for $999 as a 'Super Early Bird Price'. We never recommend products when they're in the Kickstarter phase only, and obviously, I'm FAR from giving this a full review, but if you, like me, are a home theater nut with limited space, I think it's worth keeping a close eye on this.

TechRadar is extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI. You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and we’ll do our best to answer it.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

Samsung says it can't rule out price hikes on new TVs due to the ongoing shortage of memory chips. Speaking to Reuters, co-CEO T M Roh said of the shortage: "As this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact." He added that the shortage was affecting everything from mobile phones to consumer electronics – not just TVs but home appliances too.

Samsung is the world's number one TV maker so it has buying power that smaller rivals lack; like other big players like Apple it locks in supply for months and years in advance so it's less subject to short-term issues.

However, Roh admitted that some impact on prices was "inevitable" as the shortage continues. So if you're thinking of buying one of the best TVs, especially at the entry-level or mid-range part of the market, you might want to make your move sooner rather than later.

What's causing the memory chip shortage?

As we reported in December 2025, there are multiple factors contributing to a severe memory chip shortage. Almost all modern system memory and lots of SSD drives use DRAM chips, and demand was already growing when the AI boom kicked in.

AI training needs tons of memory, and whenever high demand meets limited capacity prices start to skyrocket – just as they did when COVID caused chip factories to shut down or when crypto miners started hoovering up all the graphics cards. And because there's so much money sloshing around in AI, chip makers are changing their focus to concentrate on the Very Hungry Caterpillars of AI, the data centers.

As IDC explained in December 2025: "Instead of expanding conventional DRAM and NAND used in smartphones, PCs, and other consumer electronics, major memory makers have shifted production toward memory used in AI data centers, such as high-bandwidth (HBM) and high-capacity DDR5. This has restricted the supply of general-purpose memory modules and driven up prices across the board."

IDC continues: "AI servers and enterprise environments require far more memory per system than consumer devices, so the AI build-out is pulling a disproportionate share of global capacity and creating shortages... this is not just a cyclical shortage driven by a mismatch in supply and demand, but a potentially permanent, strategic reallocation of the world’s silicon wafer capacity."

That's likely to seriously affect the smartphone market in 2026 and beyond, because memory accounts for as much as 20% of the material cost of a mid-range phone and 10-15% of a flagship. We're already seeing smartphone specs going backwards as a result.

The effect on TVs is likely to be less dramatic than on devices such as PCs and smartphones because they use less RAM for both memory and storage; that RAM is also a much smaller proportion of the overall component cost, because the panel is the most expensive component by a huge margin.

That said, profit margins in the TV business are already exceptionally thin, so even the biggest brands don't have much wiggle room if component costs rise significantly. And that's particularly true at the more affordable end of the market, where the margins are thinnest. As the shortages continue, cheaper TVs are where the first price hikes are likely to bite.

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A few specimens were on display, however, and some of these might very well be added to the pantheon of the best soundbars once we get them in for proper testing. From a technically advanced model packing the new Dolby Atmos FlexConnect technology to a basic soundbar-and-sub combination with an appealingly slim and simple design, and Audio by Bang & Olufsen, these were the standout soundbars I encountered at the show.

LG Sound Suite H7 soundbar

• The first soundbar with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect
• Sound Follow feature tunes the sound to your seating location using ultra-wideband (UWB) tech

Launched at CES, LG’s Sound Suite speaker family is led by the H7 soundbar, the world’s first with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect support. The H7 is compatible with any HDMI ARC-compatible TV you choose to connect it to, and can be paired with LG’s Sound Suite M7 or M5 wireless speakers and W7 subwoofer to create a full 13.1.7-channel Dolby Atmos home theater audio system.

Sporting a 9.1.4-channel, 20-driver array, including four built-in woofers, eight passive bass radiators, and three dedicated up-firing speakers, the H7 itself is a formidable all-in-one soundbar. But it’s the H7’s upgrade-readiness, along with its Room Calibration Pro automatic room calibration, a Sound Follow feature that tunes the sound to your specific seating location using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, and AI Sound Pro+ spatial audio upmixing, that really make it a standout Atmos soundbar.

The LG H7 soundbar is now available for pre-order in the US for $999.99.

Focal Mu-so Hekla

• All-in-one system with bass extending to 30Hz
• Extensive streaming support and multiroom playback

I may have included it in this soundbar roundup, but Focal does not categorize the Mu-so Hekla as a soundbar. Instead, it is “an all-in-one immersive system powered by the Focal & Naim ecosystem,” according to Focal’s CES press release.

Soundbar or not, the Mu-so Hekla is a beautiful horizontal slab of black aluminum-encased audio power that connects to your TV and was inspired by Iceland’s Hekla Volcano.

The Mu-so Hekla uses 15 speakers, including two side-firing and two up-firing drivers, powered by 660 watts. It delivers potent Dolby Atmos, multichannel, and stereo sound, with bass extending down to 30Hz. Connections include an optical digital input and an HDMI eARC port, and the Naim Pulse multiroom platform provides Tidal and Quboz streaming, along with Google Cast, AirPlay, UPnP (with up to 32-bit/384 kHz hi-res audio), and Spotify Connect support.

Listening to an Atmos music demo of the Mu-so Hekla, I was knocked out by its expansive sound and deep-reaching bass. Stereo music, too, sounded impressively immersive when the Mu-so Hekla’s Sphere Movie and Music upmixing modes were enabled.

The Mu-so Hekla will be available in North America starting in March/April 2026 for $3,600 and $4,000 CAD.

SVS R|Evolution

• The first-ever soundbar from speaker and subwoofer maker SVS
• Can be paired with wireless surround speakers and dual subwoofers

US-based speaker maker SVS unveiled its first-ever soundbar at CES, a move that should come as no surprise to home theater fans who are no doubt versed in the company’s extensive subwoofer lineup.

The SVS R|Evolution features a three-way speaker array for each of the left, center, and right channels, using a total of nine drivers powered by 180 watts. Dolby Atmos virtualization is used to convey spatial audio soundtracks, and there is onboard Auto EQ room correction.

Unsurprisingly, an SVS R|Evolution subwoofer with a new 12-inch high-excursion driver and 600-watt amplifier is paired with the soundbar in this system for extended bass. Wireless streaming includes Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth, with support for up to 24-bit/96kHz hi-res audio.

Listeners can choose from either a standalone soundbar-plus-sub system or a 5.1-channel option that includes the new SVS R|Evolution Wireless Surround Speakers. Dual subwoofer arrays are also supported.

SVS plans to ship the R|Evolution starting in late Q2 2026.

TCL A65K

• Super-slim soundbar and subwoofer combo
• Audio by Bang & Olufsen tuning

The TCL A65K Design Series 3.1.2 Channel Soundbar takes a very different design approach to the maximalist Focal model listed above by packing left, center, right and two upfiring Dolby Atmos speakers into an extremely slim, 2.7-inch deep enclosure. TCL’s included subwoofer is also incredibly slim, measuring a mere 4.7 inches deep.

Similar to TCL’s top TVs, the A65K features Audio by Bang & Olufsen tuning, and it supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Power is specified at 460 watts, which is serious juice for a soundbar system this compact.

Pricing and availability were not announced at CES.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 live news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and we’ll do our best to answer it.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

We've had our experts all over the big launches as well as the smaller stuff tucked away at the back of the halls, and we've chosen our 25 favorite products of the show. We're covering a wide gamut of consumer tech here, so make yourself a coffee and dig into what we loved, and why it stood out to us.

Want to watch along and see more of the tech we loved at CES? Check out the video below!

Best phone

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold

• A phone that really turns into a tablet
• Impressive camera system, too
• Read more: I finally tried the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold and couldn't believe my eyes

We finally got to try Samsung's first double-folding phone (it may be called the TriFold, but there are two hinges…), and we called it a "remarkable feat of engineering that offers the potential of truly pocketable big-screen tablet productivity". When folded, it isn’t meaningfully thicker than regular phones, and it has a 6.5-inch screen… but then it becomes 10-inch tablet – so truly tablet-sized – in an instant when you fold its two sides out.

It's not just a one-trick pony, though – the TriFold has five cameras in total, to make sure it can deliver all the flexibility you want from a modern phone. There's Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy customized powerful processor, and a generous 5,600mAh battery. It's the clear stand-out among CES's phones this year.

Best earbuds

Shokz OpenFit Pro

• Shokz' first open earbuds with active 'noise reduction'
• Great fit and sound quality
• Read more: I’ve worn the all-new Shokz open earbuds for 4 days and the ‘noise reduction’ is so good, I forget they’re open-ear

The best open earbuds have become incredibly popular, but Shokz has making them for longer than most, and the new OpenFit Pro proves that it's good to be the veteran. Crucially, these are the company's first with active noise cancellation – even though Shokz doesn't want to call it that, because not having an in-ear seal means it's not quite as effective as what people think of for ANC. No, this is 'noise reduction'.

Well, we've tested them, and actually the noise reduction is as good as a lot of ANC earbuds. It's really effective, and paired with impressive sound and high levels of comfort, these are really impressive.

Best stereo speakers

Cambridge L/R Series

• 3 sizes of wireless stereo bookshelf speakers with huge power
• Dedicated bass drivers with passive radiators
• Read more: Cambridge has unveiled three active bookshelf speakers at CES and it’s not hard to see the KEF resemblance

British hi-fi company Cambridge launched its first wireless stereo speakers, and despite being modest in size, they are huge in sound. There are three sizes – the L/R X is the biggest, the L/R M is the medium, and the L/R S is the small – and it's amazing how much oomph they provide.

We heard the L/R X going hard, and the bass is enough to shake the room, despite not being that big. A big down-firing woofer and dual passive bass radiators get it to this point, delivering an amazingly full sound, with tons of detail and finesse to it as well. And they're great-looking, too.

Best Bluetooth speaker

Fender Audio Elie 6

• 3-way speaker system in a small body produces great sound
• Connections for guitars and mics, and great wireless options
• Read more: Fender just released new wireless headphones and Bluetooth speakers

Fender Audio launched two speakers and a pair of headphones at CES, and all are interesting in various ways, but during our ears-on time it was the Elie 6 that really impressed us. It's a pretty small unit, but it packs in a tweeter, full-range speaker and down-firing bass driver, meaning the sound is amazingly full and impactful – especially in stereo mode, with two units connected wirelessly.

They have interesting features, too – a combined XLR and 1/4-inch port for connecting a mic or guitar directly, and even two wireless buttons for a specific connectivity feature Fender is planning to work with wireless mics. We like the design too, with a solid carry handle.

Best headphones

TDM Neo

• Headphones that 'twist' to become a portable speaker
• 200-hour battery life in headphones mode

We love seeing something totally new at CES. The TDM Neo work like a regular pair of on-ear wireless headphones. You put them on, you enjoy some nice bassy music. But when you take them off, you can twist the flexible headband and connect the earcups together magnetically, to form a small round device. As soon as you do this, they start playing music out loud, as a Bluetooth speaker.

They have two sets of audio drivers to make this happen: one for headphones mode, and a more powerful set for speaker mode. And they're really thoughtfully designed – the headband hinges attach to each other when you twist, so you know you've done it correctly, but then they become a flat surface you can stand the speaker on.

If you prefer, you can also change the behavior so that when you twist, they pause instead of auto-switching to speaker mode. And because the speaker mode requires more power, they have huge batteries, and can deliver a colossal 200 hours of life in headphones mode.

Best toy

Lego Smart Play

• A classic Lego brick, now with sound and light magic
• All the tech is under the hood – no screens required

At first glance, Lego’s Smart Brick looks like a regular 2x4 Lego brick. Aside from a transparent top, you’d never know it’s any different. But bring a Smart Minifigure close, and that's where the magic starts to happen. If Darth Vader approaches, the Imperial March starts up. Move R2-D2 nearby and you’re greeted with frantic boops and flashes of blue light. Same goes for a Smart Tag to identify what the Lego build is – say, an X-Wing or Tie Fighter.

All of this is powered by a custom chip hidden inside the brick, along with sensors, a gyroscope, non-invasive microphones, and a sound synthesizer. Together, they let the Smart Brick understand what’s around it and respond with the right sounds and lighting effects, without adding a screen or changing the core Lego experience. For now, it’s limited to a handful of Star Wars sets, but it’s a smart, confident foundation – one that enhances play rather than distracting from it.

Best OLED TV

LG W6 Wallpaper TV

• LG's best OLED panel, in a super-thin 9.9mm body
• Uses a wireless connections box to keep it aesthetically pure
• Read more: LG announces new OLED TVs at CES

The LG W6 is a stunner in more ways than one. It uses LG's most advanced OLED panel – the new Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 also used in the LG G6 – but in a design that's just 9.9mm thick. It's also totally uniform, meaning it can be as invisible on the wall as pretty much any TV can be these days. In the image above, you can see how well it blends in using a photo of the wall behind it. To help this minimalism, it uses a wireless connections box that's capable of full-quality 4K HDR pictures, but without the tangle of cables running to the TV.

It looks like it'll be a fantastic TV, thanks to the panel and LG's latest-gen image processing, and should only cost a little more than the G6 does. That means you'll be getting something super-impressive and premium at a still-realistic price.

Best RGB TV

Samsung R95H

• Stunningly rich color and fantastic contrast
• Available in realistic sizes, and shown in an amazing 130-inch model
• Read more: Samsung's enormous micro-RGB TV is coming to smaller screen sizes, and it borrows one great feature from Samsung OLED TVs

CES has been dominated by RGB TVs this year. These are basically mini-LED TVs with a new more colorful backlight behind the pixels, meaning they offer a greater range of colors, and can be even brighter. Having seen them in action, our pick of the bunch is the Samsung R95H. It looks so lush and colorful, with impressively inky black tones, and Samsung's anti-reflective screen ensuring you can see everything, without distractions.

More than that, this is a TV available in realistic sizes – Samsung showed off 75-inch and 85-inch versions, but overall its RGB TVs will come in sizes starting from 55 inches – while still feeling cutting edge. However, for good measure, Samsung also showed an amazing 130-inch version of this TV.

Best Mini-LED TV

TCL X11L SQD MiniLED

• A twist on traditional QLED mini-LED TV tech
• Astoundingly bright, with 20,000 dimming zones
• Read more: TCL launches next-gen SQD mini-LED TV at CES – the ‘best TV in the market’ for 2026

TCL has put a fascinating twist on its flagship TV here. It uses more traditional mini-LED tech rather than RGB mini-LED – but only sort of. TCL is employing a single-color mini-LED backlight, but has applied a layer of 'Super Quantum Dots' (the SQD part) directly over the top, which filter the color before – rather than after – it reaches the LCD layer.

This means it kind of works like an RGB TV, but TCL says this approach means it can pack in way more LEDs. It can produce 10,000 nits of brightness and 20,000 dimming zones for probably the best contrast we've ever seen from a mini-LED TV. Based on early impressions, this is the closest we've seen to mini-LED beating the blooming problem completely.

Best projector

Hisense PX4-Pro

• Ultra short throw laser 4K projector with amazing brightness and color
• Up to 200 inches projected with the device just inches from the wall
• Read more: Hisense unveils two 4K laser projectors — a 300-inch beast with huge brightness, plus the sequel to the best ultra short throw projector

The PX4-Pro is the follow-up to the projector we rate as the best ultra short throw projector overall right now, so we were excited to take a look, and it lived up to our expectations. Its picture looks beautifully bright with a good light-rejecting screen – closer than ever to TV brightness – and eye-grabbingly rich color.

But it can now project up to 200 inches in size still from right near the wall, while maintaining immersive brightness and color depth, and all still in the same size of projector package. CES is full of projectors this year, but this one popped for us.

Best soundbar

LG Sound Suite H7

• The world's first Dolby Atmos FlexConnect soundbar
• A powerful all-in-one, and you can add more speakers in any position
• Read more: LG’s 2026 TVs and soundbars get the Dolby Atmos FlexConnect treatment

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is a really interesting technology that means you can place home theater speakers wherever is convenient for your room, and the system will configure their sound to create immersive spatial audio, even if they're not in the 'ideal' spot.

LG's Sound Suite H7 is the first soundbar to include the tech, delivering 9.1.6 channels of Dolby Atmos sound on its own. However, you can add a sub and satellite speakers that are positioned anywhere in the room, and the soundbar will automatically optimize them and create the ideal immersive system. It sounds amazing, and the freedom of placement is a game-changer.

Best smartwatch

Pebble Round 2

• The original smartwatch returns!
• E-paper screen means a week of battery life
• Read more: Pebble unveils Pebble Round 2 — and fixes all the original's major pitfalls

Pebble holds a strong place in the heart of tech lovers – it was the first smartwatch that really took, and now it's back with its coolest model yet. Pebble Round 2 is a sleeker, rounder watch, and using a color e-paper helps it deliver a week of battery life per charge.

Naturally, it does some fitness and sleep tracking, and there's a big range of apps and watch faces, thanks to the ongoing commitment to having open source software on the Pebble range.

Best fitness tracker

Noise Luna Band

• A screenless health-tracking band
• No subscription needed – a rarity these days

We've enjoyed the Luna Ring models, and now the brand has the Luna Band. It's a Whoop-like fitness tracker, meaning there's no distracting screen. It doesn't really feel like tech, and that's a good thing – you just live your life, and the Luna Band will offer helpful updates on your diet, workouts, sleep, mood and more. You can use your voice to tell it what meal you ate, to log your workouts, or how you're feeling – and then you can review them later on the app. The one downside is that this function uses Apple's Siri, which means it's iPhone-only for now.

Perhaps the best part is that it doesn't require a subscription on top of the device cost to do all this – people are tired of being nickel-and-dimed, and so the Luna Band looks like it'll help you stay zen in more ways than one.

Best exercise tech

Merach W60 Walking Pad

• "Treadmill-grade engineering" for a low price
• Auto-incline or manual incline options

Walking pads are getting more and more popular, especially for people who work from home and want to get some exercise in during the work day. Merach's new model promises to help you do this more easily and reliably than ever. We love the promise of "treadmill-grade engineering" for a super-sturdy feel, and Merach says it will have a 2,000km warranty.

It's available in two options: one with an auto-incline feature, and one where you'll have to manually set an incline. There's also RGB lighting and Bluetooth speakers built in, if you want to set a mood. Starting from just $299 for the manual version and $329 for the auto-incline version, this really looks like it could be the new standout walking pad on the market.

Best wellness innovation

Nuralogix Longevity Mirror

• A smart mirror that can detect blood flow in your face to give health insights
• Everything from physiological age to mental health

This smart mirror has cameras built in that combine with an AI algorithm to work out a surprising amount of health data just from your face. It's not looking at your features – it's detecting blood-flow patterns, which it can make a variety of sophisticated estimations from.

These include your heart-rate, your physiological age (as in, is your body working as well as it should for your 'real' age?) and your mental health. It appears to be pretty accurate based on early testing – it seems like an incredibly clever system.

Best laptop

Dell XPS 14

• Smart new design with usability improvements
• Intel's new Core Ultra 3 chips inside
• Read more: Hands on: Dell XPS 14 2026 and XPS 16 2026

Without question, the most exciting laptop of CES 2026 was the Dell XPS 14. While many a reviewer and tech journalist is praising the return of the XPS brand itself, what matters most – in our opinion – is the redesign of the laptop. The last Dell XPS 14 and 2025's Dell 14 Premium (the short-lived successor to the XPS 14) were both fantastic laptops that were hamstrung by some major design flaws; namely, the virtual function keys and ‘invisible’ trackpad that turned out to be an accessibility nightmare.

Those have now been fixed with a new design that is also thinner and more modern-looking than its predecessors. And with the new Intel Core Ultra series 3 chips, it’s even more powerful and better equipped to take on the Apple MacBook Air for the 'thin and light' laptop crown.

Best gaming laptop

Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable

• A 16-inch display that expands to a 24-inch display
• The flexible OLED screen literally rolls out like a scroll
• Read more: Lenovo officially unveils the rumored Legion Pro Rollable gaming laptop with expanding screen

The Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable, previously rumored but officially unveiled at CES 2026, is easily one of the most intriguing gaming laptops we’ve ever seen. Its screen expands horizontally from a 16-inch display to 21.5 inches, then once more to a 23.8-inch panel at max extension – all from a quick keyboard shortcut.

The Legion Pro Rollable is an exciting prospect for PC gamers who travel often and want desk-like levels of screen space without attempting to cram a massive laptop into their bag. Gaming aside, it also brings benefits to everyday browsing and productivity, giving you more space to organize windows at the click of a button. It’s only a proof of concept at the moment, but we'll be following it closely to see if the Legion Pro Rollable hits mainstream production.

Best computing innovation

Core Ultra series 3

• Excellent performance in thin-and-light laptops
• Particularly impressive GPU means great gaming on ultrabooks
• Read more: The Intel Core Ultra series 3 processors look impressive enough, but the Arc B390 iGPU is the real game-changer here

We’ve been waiting for the Intel Core Ultra series 3 for several months now, having seen pre-launch builds of Intel Panther Lake last year. Now the Core Ultra series 3 has launched, every laptop we’ve tried with the new chips just reinforces how well Intel has stuck the landing on this release.

This is especially true when it comes to the graphics performance of the higher-end 12 Xe core Arc B390 iGPU, which delivers high-quality 1080p PC gaming on an ultrabook – no other chipmaker even comes close in 2026. If you’re looking to upgrade to a premium thin and light Windows laptop, there’s little reason to buy anything other than a laptop with an Intel Core Ultra series 3.

Best action camera

Dreame Leaptic Cube

• Tiny modular 8K action camera
• Clip to a screen module, or just a battery

Dreame is best known for its vacuum and cleaning tech, but it used CES 2026 to announce its entry into a ton of other product categories. And one of the coolest things we saw at the show was this tiny action camera. The core here is a really small action cam with up to 8K recording, or 4K in HDR if you prefer.

But the clever part is its modular design. It has a little docking system, and Dreame showed it running into two modes: one with a clip-on battery, keeping the whole thing at a small size; and one with a touchscreen module that's larger. You can imagine all the possibilities for accessories from here, all enabling smart extra functions, not just attaching dumbly.

Best gaming accessory

Razer Project Madison

• The ultimate immersive gaming chair
• Surround speakers, haptic feedback and RGB lights all react to games

Razer has decided to throw every kind of immersive gaming chair tech into one product here. This chair uses sight, sound and touch to create something totally enveloping, taking features from Razer's products including the Freyja haptic gaming cushion and Clio headrest speakers.

This chair has speakers behind your head, which combine with front speakers to create a true 5.1 or 7.1 surround system. It has lights that react to compatible games, creating the feeling that events are happening around you, not just on the screen. And the built-in haptics deliver sensations and impacts during play. It looks like the best way to get truly lost in a game.

Best gaming innovation

Neurable / HyperX headset concept and priming software

• A brain-reading gaming headset to improve your performance
• Helps you lower reaction times and improve accuracy
• Read more: I tried a prototype brain-scanning headset designed to make you better at Valorant — and it actually works

Brain-scanning company Neurable has worked on headphones that can scan your brain activity using EEGs to help you focus and prevent burnout in the past. Now it's bringing these ideas to gaming headsets, in a collaboration with HyperX – but the focus is on improving your focus and performance in games.

We tried it out, and it really makes a difference. Using a 'priming' exercise before playing, where you have to focus your mind to shrink a cloud of dots down to nothing, we improved accuracy by a few percentage points, and the company's research has shown it can reduce reaction time by around 40 milliseconds. For esports players, this is a big deal, and the software can track your focus and cognitive load levels while playing, to potentially help with coaching and to prevent tilting.

Best robot mower

Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD

• Offers ±1 cm positioning precision via an upgraded LiDAR, RTK and Vision navigation system
• Can make decisions almost instantly with a 10 TOPS AI chip
• Read more: I just watched Mammotion's new flagship lawnbot scale an astroturf mountain, and it was mesmerizing

There were a lot of incredible robot lawn mowers on show at CES this year, but the one that really stood out to us was the Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD. It builds on the success of the excellent LUBA 2 AWD that precedes it, and is one of the most all-round capable lawnbots we've seen.

At the heart of the design is an upgraded 'Tri-Fusion' navigation system, where the bot will switch between LiDAR, RTK GPS and AI Vision depending on what's most appropriate for the situation. That means it's unlikely ever to get itself lost – the brand promises positioning accuracy to ±1 cm. Mammotion has also upgraded the processing system with a powerful AI chip that can handle 10 trillion operations per second, meaning it can make smart mowing decisions almost instantly.

Best robot vacuum

Roborock Saros Rover

• It's a robovac with actual, proper legs
• It can climb stairs, duck and dive, and even hop
• Read more: I saw Roborock's new robot vacuum with legs, and it promises to make no-go zones a thing of the past

This one is still in the middle of development, but is so cool already – and, admittedly, a little weird. This robot vacuum uses two extended legs that make it look like a Star Wars droid to get around your house more easily. Having articulated legs means it can climb stairs – including spiral staircases – cleaning them as it goes.

In fact, stairs are just the start. Roborock says the Rover is designed to be able to tackle any kind of terrain or home layout, no matter how awkward. Think of it like a 4x4 for cleaning.

It has some fancy object avoidance tech that means it can duck and dive, weave and jump, remaining completely stable throughout. We're not sure exactly what this is for, but it sure is impressive to watch. This maybe the most that a robovac has looked like a pet – it's got personality, it's useful, and we love it.

Best haircare tech

L'Oréal Light Straight +

• A straightener that uses infrared light tech to straighten effectively at lower temperatures
• Avoids the high temperatures that damage hair
• Read more: L'Oréal exec on why its new glass, infrared-powered hair straightener is so exciting

This innovative hair straightener promises to be three times faster at straightening hair, and yet will leave hair twice as smooth as regular plate straighteners do. And at the same time, it can do this at a lower temperature – always under 320°F / 160°C, compared to 365°F / 185°C for typical models. High temperatures break down hair, so reduction is a long-term good for your hair's health.

We got to try them out on – and this has been the first time we've ever used this phrase – human demo hair, and they certainly seemed to work incredibly well. This could be a huge change for a long-running industry, and that's what CES is all about.

Best smart light

IKEA Varmblixt LED Lamp

• It's a glowing, color-changing donut
• Works with IKEA's smart hub, or a Matter home system
• Read more: IKEA just revealed a new donut-shaped smart light – and it'll look sweet on your tables or walls

Sometimes, you've just got acknowledge when something is charming as hell, and that's what we're talking about with the new IKEA Varmblixt. It's a revamp of an ultra-popular lamp IKEA launched in 2022, but this new version is all about the color options, using an array of LEDs to create a beautiful soft toroidal glow.

It can be controlled with a remote, or you can connect it to IKEA's Dirigea home hub, but it also works with any Matter-ready smart home control option.

RGB mini-LED and its variants (Samsung Micro RGB, Hisense RGB evo, LG Micro RGB, TCL Mini RGB, and so on) will be featured in this year's top TVs arriving as soon as late January. But there are also new and improved OLED TVs on display at CES, with both LG and Samsung stepping up their game to deliver even brighter OLED sets than last year, along with better reflection resistance and enhanced gaming features.

Below is a list of the TVs that we’ve seen so far at CES 2026 that look like they'll have a claim to join our guide to the best TVs right out of the gate. And if you’re wondering why there are no Sony models included, it’s because Sony typically waits until spring to announce its new TVs for the year, while Panasonic didn't show any new sets at CES either.

Samsung S95H OLED

The Samsung S95H is the successor to the Samsung S95F, TechRadar’s TV of the year for 2025. This new flagship features 35% higher peak brightness than last year’s model, which Samsung says is due to improvements in the efficiency of the QD-OLED panel’s color filter and emitting layer.

Other picture-quality improvements include refined HDR tone mapping, with the TV now tuned for content mastered at up to 4,000 nits, along with upgraded noise reduction processing to improve the look of 4K programs streamed at a low bitrate.

The S95H will ship with a metallic ‘art frame’ that gives the TV a floating appearance when wall-mounted, and it supports the Art Mode found in the company’s The Frame TVs. Unlike the S95F, which featured Samsung’s One Connect Box for external source hookups, the new S95H has its connection ports built in, though it can optionally be paired with Samsung's Wireless One Connect Box, an option that boosts the HDMI input count to a whopping eight ports in total.

LG OLED evo G6/W6

LG’s new flagship OLED evo G6 features a new Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 display panel with a Brightness Booster Ultra feature that delivers a 20% brightness increase over last year’s LG G5. LG’s Hyper Radiant Color technology extends the panel picture quality benefits to other factors such as color and contrast, while Reflection Free Premium tech ensures a “perfect black’ in both light and dark room viewing conditions, with lower than 0.5% screen reflectance.

The new G6 is also a premium gaming TV, with Nvidia G-Sync, FreeSync Premium Pro, and 4K 165Hz support, as well as a Motion Booster feature for 1080p gaming at 330Hz. It’s the world’s first TV to feature 4K 120Hz GeForce Now cloud gaming, and it supports ultra-low latency Bluetooth game controllers.

The LG OLED evo W6 marks the return of LG’s Wallpaper TV concept, with a refined design that takes advantage of the company’s latest-gen Zero Connect Box, a 35% smaller version of last year’s wireless connection box that supports streaming at up to 4K 165Hz.

LG W6 TVs use the same Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 display panel as the G6, but it’s encased in a pencil-thin cabinet with stylish curved linear pattern side bezels and an ebony wood back panel. A two-point integrated folding bracket allows for a flush-mount wall installation, and an optimized sound path and sound port give the super-slim TV’s 4.2-channel, 60-watt built-in speakers enough space to properly do their thing.

LG C6H OLED

At TechRadar, we are big fans of LG’s C-series OLED TVs, which offer impressive picture quality and gaming features at a reasonable price point. This year, LG opted to split the new C6 series in two, with the 77-inch and 83-inch models getting a Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 display panel – the same one used in the new LG G6 – and the smaller-size models in the lineup getting a more standard and lower-brightness W-OLED panel.

What all C-Series OLED TVs will share is a speedy Alpha 11 Gen 3 AI processor that provides picture, sound, and UI navigation enhancements. LG’s new strategy with the C-Series should provide ample reason to go big, with the 77- and 83-inch models offering theoretically as good performance as the company’s flagship OLEDs at a more reasonable price.

TCL X11L SQD Mini-LED

The star of TCL’s CES TV display was the TCL X11L series SQD mini-LED lineup. These models utilize newly formulated Super QLED Crystals, which are just one component of a Deep Color System that delivers 100% coverage of the BT.2020 color space, according to the company.

The X11L Series TVs are also capable of 10,000 nits of peak brightness and have up to 20,000 local dimming zones to deliver blacks with OLED-like depth and clarity. They will support the forthcoming Dolby Vision 2 Max format, sport an Audio By Bang & Olufsen front-firing speaker array with a dedicated center channel speaker, and are Dolby Atmos FlexConnect-capable.

Samsung 130-inch Micro RGB

If one were looking at CES for a TV that would give the best projectors a run for their money, Samsung’s 130-inch Micro RGB is that TV. Like other RGB mini-LED examples at CES, this beautiful beast of a TV delivers 100% BT.2020 color space coverage. It uses Samsung’s ‘Timeless Frame’ design concept for support and has the same Glare Free screen found in other Samsung TVs, such as the new S95H OLED.

Sadly, the 130-inch model is only a prototype that won’t be available in 2026. However, it features the same core tech found in the new Samsung Micro RGB TV lineup (this is effectively a 130-inch version of the top-end R95H), which will be sold in 55- to 115-inch screen sizes.

Hisense 116UXS Mini-LED

Hisense opted to do things a bit differently with its forthcoming mini-LED TV lineup. At CES, the company is showcasing RGB MiniLED evo, a variation on its RGB mini-LED TV tech that adds a cyan component to the RGB light module for expanded color detail, along with an incredible 110% BT.2020 color space coverage.

Hisense says that the cyan addition creates even more realistic colors than RGB mini-LED TVs can display. And while the psychedelic color palette of the computer-generated content used to demonstrate the 116-inch 116UXS at CES looked far from realistic, it was definitely rich and eye-catching.

Hisense was early out of the gate with RGB mini-LED, releasing the Hisense 116UX in 2025. At $30,000, that 116-inch model is priced well out of reach for most buyers, but we have high hopes that the 55-100-inch screen-size RGB mini-LED TVs that Hisense also announced at CES will be (much) more affordably priced.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

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