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Best TV for Most People
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Best Premium TV
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Best Cheap TV
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Best OLED TV for Most
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Saving up for a new screen? Whether you’re a videophile or new to 4K, the best TVs you can buy are bigger, brighter, and cheaper than ever. To help you navigate the dozens of models from LG, Samsung, TCL, Hisense, Sony, Panasonic, and others, we've done intensive testing and watched hundreds of hours of content to grab the standouts from our recent reviews. Below you'll find everything from the best OLED TVs we've ever tested to the best cheap TVs for tight budgets—with plenty of excellent options in between.
All these models have a minimum 4K Ultra HD resolution with HDR (one has 8K), because there's no good reason to buy a standard HDTV beyond a pint-size model for your kitchen or bedroom. Every TV on our list comes with a wonderful display, but most are bad at sound and can have lackluster interfaces, so you should consider investing in a good soundbar or a pair of bookshelf speakers and a streaming stick to fill out your home theater. If you're unfamiliar with TV lingo, check out our tips below.
Updated June 2025: We've added the Sony Bravia 8 II and updated copy to incorporate the latest information and pricing.
Buy by Brand
If a TV isn't made by LG, Samsung, Sony, Hisense, TCL, Vizio, Roku, or Panasonic (which recently returned to the States), make sure you've done your research. These are our favorite TV brands at the moment. A cheap set might look enticing for the price, but try to avoid dirt-cheap models from brands like Sceptre, which may not offer good picture quality or a durable build.
If your budget doesn’t extend to a new model from the above brands, we recommend looking into last year's TVs sold at steep discounts and often offering only modest differences. You could also look at factory-refurbished options, but these are obviously less reliable. Read our How to Buy a TV guide to learn more about the terms you'll come across when shopping for a screen, and other helpful advice.
Helpful Definitions
Buying a new TV requires navigating a sea of lingo, so let's quickly define the key terms. You can also read more about these terms in our guides on How to Buy a TV and How to Setup your TV.
TCL
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TCL
Best Buy
The TCL QM6K shies away from the brightness one-upmanship of midrange rivals for a more balanced approach. As the lead-off display in TCL’s new Precise Dimming series, the QM6K (8/10, WIRED Recommends) employs a new Halo Control system designed to reduce light bloom, alongside multiple other new technologies to improve color accuracy, screen uniformity, and contrast. The result is an incredibly versatile display that does just about everything well, from naturalistic colors to rich black levels and impressive clarity.
The QM6K isn’t as bright as our previous pick, the Hisense U7N, but it still packs a punch for HDR and Dolby Vision. Along with its new screen tech, the TV gets a stout gaming upgrade for 2025, including a loaded gaming bar, a high-refresh screen with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) at up to 144 Hz, and TCL's “Zero-Delay Transient Response” for low-lag gaming. It’s all controlled by a handy Google TV smart interface for a package aimed to please just about anyone, especially now that it's often on sale.
★ Brightness Booster: If you’re after extra eye-tingle, last year's Hisense U7N offers a serious brightness boost over our top pick and still ranks among our favorite options for your money. Its blooming control and screen uniformity aren’t as refined as the QM6K's but it’s got plenty of features, including great gaming credentials and its own version of Google TV. —Ryan Waniata
LG
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LG
LG’s G5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) offers the best all-around experience for high-end buyers. You'll find immaculate black levels and shadow detail, pristine picture processing, and vivid yet accurate colors for incredible realism. The pièce de résistance is breakthrough brightness from its new four-stack panel that finally brings OLED on par with premium QLED TVs, matched by striking glare reduction for stellar performance in any light.
The TV pairs its superb picture quality with advanced features like VRR gaming at up to 165 Hz and Xbox Cloud streaming for an overall experience worthy of its premium price. While some reviewers noted some HDR10 issues early on, we didn't see any after the latest firmware updates. A few quibbles like a minor loss of off-angle color accuracy and some webOS streaming flubs are the only points keeping the latest flagship LG OLED from a perfect 10/10. —Ryan Waniata
Vizio
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This cheap TV from Vizio supports Dolby Vision and has an easy-to-use interface that allows flawless app casting from Android and iOS. It's hilariously cheap for these features; a 55-inch model will set you back around $300, making it one of the best budget buys we've tested. You can choose from a ton of sizes, ranging from a 48-inch guest-room TV to an 85-incher for the living room.
You'll miss out on deep black levels, because this TV doesn't have the fancy mini-LED or OLED panels you'll find on other picks on this list, but at this price you can't really complain. These TVs look shockingly good for the money and can even game at 120 frames per second in 1080p with motion enhancement, which is all that anyone really needs for most consoles. —Parker Hall
LG
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LG's C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) sits a tier below flagship OLEDs to pair a luxe experience with serious value, especially at current sale pricing now that the updated C5 is available (testing coming soon). This slim-bezeled OLED offers impressive OLED brightness and color, with support for Dolby Vision that Samsung's rival S90 TV series notably lacks.
I love the magic remote, which is like a Wii remote for your TV that lets you point and click at what you want on screen (it's really awesome for making picture changes or logging in to your myriad streaming accounts). Couple that with support for Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay for easy casting from your cell phone, plus the ability to do 4K at up to 144 Hz across all four inputs while gaming, and you have yourself a brilliant centerpiece for your fancy modern living room. —Parker Hall
Roku
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It's no secret that we're fans of Roku's smart TV interface—that's a big reason TCL TVs with Roku smarts topped our TV list for so long in the midst of worthy adversaries. Now Roku has stepped out and is making its own TVs in-house, and the company's Roku Plus Series TVs serve as a great entry point for those on a budget.
I spent a month or so testing the Plus Series and came away pretty darn impressed with its picture. Sure, you don't get a high refresh rate for gaming (this panel is limited to 60 frames per second, which is still fine for most consoles), but you do get excellent color via the quantum-dot-enabled (QLED) panel. Full-array local dimming means solid black levels, and this model is even supported by HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant, making it a great affordable smart TV.
★ Take it up a notch: If you're after Roku smarts but with higher performance, we also like the Roku Pro Series TV, which provides improved picture quality thanks to features like mini LEDs for enhanced contrast and a 120 Hz panel for smoother gaming and better motion handling. —Parker Hall
Sony
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Sony
Sony's top OLED for 2025 once again transfixed me with its beautifully immersive picture. Replacing the bewitching A95L (9/10, WIRED Recommends), the oddly dubbed Bravia 8 II (9/10, WIRED Recommends) adds some sweet new skills, including higher HDR brightness courtesy of Samsung's most advanced QD-OLED panel yet.
This TV is a dazzler, mixing natural yet vivid colors, near-perfect screen uniformity, and perhaps the best picture processing I've evaluated for 4K and even HD scenes so clear you'll feel like they're going to spill into your living room. Lighter black levels and lower peak brightness than the knockout LG G5 are its only real downsides, along with Sony's miserly distribution of just two full-bandwidth HDMI ports. Otherwise, this is a regal experience with a kingly cost. —Ryan Waniata
Panasonic
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Panasonic
Sometimes you get a TV that hits all the right notes from the moment it glows. Panasonic’s new Z95A OLED (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is that TV. With a meticulously tuned version of LG Display’s MLA (Microlens Array) OLED panel at its core, this TV is fabulously bright, offset by fantastic shadow detail, excellent reflection handling, and the perfect black levels for which OLEDs are praised. Details are crisp, with excellent upscaling, while the colors are rich, deep, and natural. It all adds up to one of the best TVs I’ve laid eyes on. If that weren’t enough, it loads up every major flavor of HDR and the best built-in sound you can buy (though it does make the build bulky).
One notable drawback is its subpar Fire TV operating system—I don’t love the layout, and apps are sometimes slow to load. Like Sony’s current crop of premium TVs, the Z95A has just two HDMI 2.1 inputs for the latest game consoles, one of which is the eARC input for an audio system. With sound this good, you may not need one anyway, and the rest of the package is so stellar I could barely get this thing off my console. —Ryan Waniata
Samsung
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Best Buy
Samsung
As our guide bears out, brightness is a throughline for modern TVs, with each new model seeming to push the nit limits of its display type and price class. Samsung's QN90D (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is not the brightest TV in its class, but its still-fiery mini LED backlight system outshines similarly priced OLEDs, combining with its stealthy anti-reflection tech for fabulous performance in the full light of day. It's my favorite TV for the money when it comes to wasting a good Sunday watching football or basketball, especially now that its price has dropped dramatically.
The QN90D matches its brightness with rich and natural color shading, crisp picture processing, and oily black levels that don’t skimp on the shadow detail. Its standout motion response makes it great for gaming, as do extras like VRR (variable refresh rate) at up to 144 Hz across four inputs and a dedicated Game Hub. It's not all gravy, as the TV sometimes reveals light bloom in the dark and over-sharpened artifacts with lower-quality content. Its off-axis viewing is better than most QLED TVs, but not as good as OLEDs, and Samsung obstinately omits Dolby Vision. Still, the QN90D's premium picture and bright-room brilliance make it a top pick for the right space. —Ryan Waniata
Hisense
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Best Buy
TVs have gotten insanely bright of late, and the Hisense U8N (8/10 WIRED Recommends) is among the brightest of the new order. While its searing skills oddly vary between sizes, the 65-inch and 75-inch models offer peak brightness that nearly doubles last year's already brilliant U8K (8/10, WIRED Recommends) in some modes. That kind of spectacle takes some getting used to, but it pairs with the U8N's quantum dot colors for dazzling performance. An onboard ambient light sensor can help keep the sparkles in check when the sun goes down, while the TV's mini LED backlight dimming system allows for fantastic contrast and black levels.
The U8N adds good usability thanks to a loaded Google TV interface, a speedy 120 Hz panel, and plenty of gaming features, including dual HDMI 2.1 ports for standards like VRR and ALLM to pair with the best gaming consoles and PCs. The upgraded pedestal stand adds some class, too. I'll be testing the follow-up U8QG soon, but given that this model costs hundreds less on sale right now, it's still the better midrange bargain. The U8N's mid-tier pricing equates to some compromises like mediocre off-angle viewing and some image processing issues, but few TVs match its brightness and even fewer top its value. —Ryan Waniata
Samsung
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Best Buy
As Samsung refreshes its lineup for 2025 with the S90F, the S90D (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is still one of the baddest TVs you can buy. Its OLED display provides incredible contrast thanks to fabulous black levels and great brightness for an OLED, while the use of quantum dots (available in the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch models) brings intense yet natural colors.
Its gaming bona fides include 144-Hz refresh rate support across all inputs, VRR, and built-in cloud gaming for Xbox, Luna, and others. It looks excellent in game mode by default. Gaming aside, I loved everything I watched on this TV, from 4K HDR Blu-rays to the 2024 Olympics. While it doesn’t offer Dolby Vision HDR support (Samsung opts for HDR10+ instead), the S90D is otherwise a premium screen that's now priced below many midrange options. —Ryan Waniata
Sony
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Best Buy
You may think your current TV is bright enough, but Sony’s masterful Bravia 9 QLED TV (9/10, WIRED Recommends) begs to differ. Its powerful mini LED backlighting system is among the brightest we’ve tested, making it one of the few premium QLED models that outduels LG's G5 OLED, while maintaining excellent black levels and contrast. Add in Sony's excellent picture processing for vivid detail and vibrant yet restrained quantum dot colors, and you get a stunningly realistic viewing experience across content.
Restraint is key to the Bravia 9’s success. Its blazing backlight is judiciously distributed for exhilarating highlights and full-picture punch without the eye-blasting overload of cheaper brightness powerhouses. Off-axis viewing is also impressive for an LED TV, though the trade-off is some screen rainbowing with direct reflections. Sony TVs continue to skimp on HDMI 2.1 compatability, with only two of the flagship's four HDMI ports providing modern features like 4K gaming at 120 Hz. Those knocks aside, this TV is a modern QLED marvel (with a price tag to match). —Ryan Waniata
Samsung
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Samsung
Best Buy
Samsung's S95C QD-OLED TV (8/10, WIRED Recommends) offered phenomenal brightness for an OLED TV, and generally incredible picture quality bolstered by great features and design. In 2024, Samsung took an even bigger swing with the S95D (8/10, WIRED Recommends), adding an anti-reflective screen coating for class-leading glare resistance. Even direct lighting from inches away is dissipated with surprising efficacy.
The trade-off is that the S95D tends to lose some perceived depth in direct lighting, as the black backdrop swaps obsidian gloss for a duller coating. This is really only noticeable with very dark backgrounds in bright rooms, but it could be a reason for some Samsung fans to consider the step-down S90D (9/10, WIRED Recommends). That said, the S95D looks fantastic day or night, with great contrast and impressive brightness. Add in great features and stylish design, and you've got a killer QD-OLED for tough lighting that's all the more enticing now that it's often on sale for hundreds less. –Ryan Waniata
(Note: There's a newer version of this TV, the S95F, currently in our testing queue, that uses Samsung's latest panel for increased brightness and an updated matte backdrop.)
Hisense
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Best Buy
If you've got a big, bright room and need a TV to fit the space you should take a good look at the Hisense UN9. This massive 75-inch QLED TV (also available in 85-inch) is the length of a twin mattress and is capable of a ludicrous 5,000 nits of peak brightness in short spans, meaning you can watch the early NFL games in a room with all your window coverings open and not notice.
The Google TV smart functions work as expected and the remote has the same simple functional design as Hisense TVs that cost a few hundred bucks, but in polished aluminum. The other great feature is the discrete side-mounted speakers—I've been testing it for months without a soundbar and haven't found the audio in any way wanting. —Martin Cizmar
Samsung
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As we've noted in previous coverage, 8K TVs are a tough sell since 8K content is still scarce and the files are enormous. Luckily, Samsung's 8K TVs do a swell job upscaling 4K video, which is especially handy for larger screen sizes. Samsung's bright and beautiful QN900C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) comes in sizes ranging from 65-85 inches, and 65-inch TVs are the smallest 8K models you'll likely find. The TV's 33 million pixels are matched by fabulous picture processing, potent brightness, and vibrant colors. It all adds up to showy spectacle that's tough to rival.
The QN900C is our current go-to model, not because it's the latest version, but because its sale price is much more affordable than new models. Even as the QN900F arrives, I recommend most 8K adopters go for the cheaper (and larger) QN900C while available. After all, the larger the TV, the better you can enjoy 8K's improved pixel density. Along with its sparkling 8K resolution, the QN900C is loaded with options like Samsung's pedestal-style floating-screen design and tons of gaming features for a top-tier experience. —Ryan Waniata
There are so many good TVs available, we can't add them all to our top list. Here are some great options that either missed the cut or got knocked off our top list by their replacements.
Sony A95L: Sony finally replaced this sweet screen with the 2025 Bravia 8 II, which offers similarly incredible picture processing and upscaling alongside enhanced colors and higher HDR brightness. That shouldn't deter you from considering the A95L at a lower price. With fabulously immersive image quality and an intuitive Google TV interface, this is still a premium package that's very enticing on a good sale.
Sony Bravia 7: The Bravia 7 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a gorgeous display, offering brilliant brightness, naturalistic colors, and suave finesse in the subtle details. Its biggest knock is very poor off-axis viewing, which could be tough to swallow at its high list price. Otherwise, it's worth considering for fans of that Sony glow, especially since Sony seems to be discounting its best QLED TVs much more liberally than its OLED models.
TCL QM7K (2025): I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the QM7K. Part of TCL's new Precise Dimming series, its opulent black levels and contrast reach toward OLED heights, matched by good brightness for some spectacular moments. The problem? My review model’s colors were off-kilter, with an odd green tint in select black and grayscale content. Thankfully, I confirmed that TCL's latest firmware upgrade fixed the issue. The TV's picture processing and colors still don't catch premium TVs, and this is the second year in a row I've found a troubling performance issue with the QM7. You shouldn't buy it at full price, but if you can get the 65-inch model for $1,000 or less, it's an enticing choice.
Samsung QN90C: Another potential deal while available, Samsung's QN90C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was long one of our favorite bright-room TVs. It comes in a wide range of sizes and pairs a bright and colorful picture with plenty of goodies—especially enticing on a megasale.
TCL QM7: There's only one thing keeping the beautifully balanced QM7 (6/10, WIRED Reviewed) off our main list: a software glitch. During my review, I experienced an issue where adjusting SDR backlight levels affected HDR, which can lead to severe brightness limitations. While TCL fixed the issue in a firmware upgrade for me, I never got confirmation on a broader OTA fix. Most folks probably won't have this issue, so the QM7 is still worth considering, but make sure and check it before throwing out the box.
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