TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: 30-second review

If you’re looking for a small, portable projector for business presentations or just to sit back and relax and watch a movie, this Google TV-enabled 1080p projector is a superb option. What I really liked about this projector was that as I fed a presentation from my 4K output through the projector, it was downscaled without any issue, no black screen or flickering it just worked.

Essentially, with Google TV installed, linking it to my selection of mobile phones, be that Android or iOS, was straightforward, all done through the Google Home app. Once you’ve run through that initial setup process, along with all the updates, you’ll be up and running within a few minutes.

Since it's based on Google Home, you can install any native apps you want. If you are primarily using this for entertainment, you can download Amazon Prime, Netflox, 4oD, and any other apps you want, although iPlayer and the BBC apps do need to be cast. There's also a slight compatibility issue with iPhones when trying to cast from Apps like iPlayer, but for the most part it's simple enough. It’s all very simple, as ever with anything that runs on Google Home, and the connection speeds provide fast downloads in most situations.

When the unit arrived, it came in a semi-hard case, which is great for portability, especially if you’re going to business meetings or are running a workshop, as I was. In which case, it makes it a very neat and easy way to carry. The other point that I like about the design is that it has a 90-degree rotating body, which means you can very easily tilt the projection at will, no need for book to prop it up, and with the auto keystone correction, it automatically corrects the verticals. If, however, you want to mount it onto a tripod, then there is a quarter-inch thread on the base, making things especially easy.

Considering the size, the 750-lumen projection brightness is pretty decent for a portable model, although you do still need to present in slightly subdued lighting. In midday daylight, it’s worth just pulling down the blinds so you can see the projected image clearly. But if you’re viewing this later in the evening or at night, then that projection clarity is superb, and the uplift to Full HD, not just HD as many portable projectors are, really does make a difference to the quality.

The one thing I would say is that it has an integrated 5W speaker, and whilst that is actually pretty decent and was fine for my presentation, it’s a little low on the volume stakes. However, as you’ve got a 3.5mm audio output jack, if you do want to plug in a louder soundbar, then thankfully, that’s very easy to do.

The point here is that, alongside the Home integration, which is great for entertainment, when it comes to business use, you also have the HDMI input. So, you can connect it straight into a laptop, in my case, the MacBook Pro M1 Max, or there’s a USB Type-A port as well, so USB keys can be plugged directly in.

There’s also the built-in 66Wh battery, which is rated for up to three hours, which is enough to watch most films and get through most presentations without too many issues, but you can be cutting it a little bit fine. I found that just plugging it in via USB-C into the mains was the best way to keep the projection topped up and running, and, when out in the field, I used the Jackery 1000 V2 power station, which proved a great option.

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? £799 TBC
• When is it out? Now
• Where can you get it? Most large high street retailers and online

The TCL PlayCube is widely available in the US, UK, and beyond, from retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Argos, and Richer Sounds. I generally found it selling for around the $799 / £799 mark.

• Value: 4/5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Specs

CPU: MT9630 processor

Graphics: DLP projector, 0.33-inch DMD chip, RGB LED light source

Rear / main ports: 1 x HDMI, 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1 x 3.5mm audio output, USB-C power connection, IR input

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, Google Cast

Audio: Integrated 5W speaker, Dolby Digital Plus, four EQ sound modes

Size: 5.9 x 3.8 x 3.8 inches / 150 x 97 x 97mm; 2.87lb / 1.3kg

OS Installed: Google TV

Accessories: Power cord and user manual

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Design

I absolutely love the design of the PlayCube portable projector. It just looks great once you remove the semi-hard case it arrives in, unzip it, and the cube-like projector inside is revealed, along with the remote, plug, and USB cable that supplies AC power when not utilising the battery.

The design is somewhat unique, earning it the PlayCube name: part of the body rotates 90° to let you tilt the projector up onto a wall when it’s on a desktop, making it extremely portable and easy to use in different locations.

I used a workshop I was running to fully test this projector and even the set up process that was as simple as popping it onto a desk, tilting the body to project onto a wall was extremely quick and straightforward.

With the auto keystone and focus correction, I could literally get on with setting up without worrying too much about the projector. It’s just a very nice, neat design.

At just 5.91 x 3.82 x 3.82 (150 x 97 x 97mm) and weighing 2.87lb (1.3kg), it’s also relatively light, so you can easily position it on a desk if giving a presentation. Equally, if you’re at home or out camping and want to watch a movie, it’s very easy to position and place. Great if you’re just taking it with you to watch a sporting or music event this summer, or to kick back and watch a movie at the end of the day.

In my case, it’s brilliant for workshops because you never know how much room you’ll have or what you can project onto. Just having something small and versatile like this is especially useful, even more so when it has a quarter-inch thread on the base, letting you mount it on any standard tripod.

Design-wise, it looks ultra-modern, extremely stylish, and well-made, and with that semi-hard case, it feels good and durable. So, if you are using it as a professional piece of kit rather than just for entertainment, then, stashed away in a Peli case for transport, it should survive more than a knock or two. it feels well made and robust, and durability has certainly been a consideration.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Features

Considering this is a portable projector, the feature set is quite impressive, with a step up to 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, which is far better than the standard 720p resolution we often see with this style of portable projector. What’s more, it also supports 4K input, so if you’re outputting from your laptop at 4K directly to the projector, or from a media player, it will downscale it to the correct resolution without issue.

The other point here is that 750lm is exceptionally high for a small portable projector, which means you can use it in slightly brighter conditions than you would usually consider. For myself, running a workshop, that brightness was just enough to produce a clear image in daylight conditions that was easy for everyone attending to see.

The brightness was matched by decent clarity and sharpness, and the autofocus really does lock on. Again, with that auto keystone correction, you’ve got a nice rectangular visual, even when you’re projecting up at an angle towards the wall.

The size of the projection is dependent on how far you move the projector back from the wall, you can go from a relatively small 30-inch projection to a 150-inch one. Obviously, the closer you are to the wall, the brighter the projection, so during the day you’re probably going to want that close-range projection of just 30 inches, which is still relatively large in small workshop situations, all the way up to about 150 inches if you’re kicking back of an evening and watching a movie.

Checking the quality of the projection, the image is produced via an Aura RGB LED light source, which the company claims has a 124% Rec.709 colour gamut. I’m also pleased to see that it’s got autofocus, auto keystone correction, auto screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance, meaning the screen will actually resize to avoid certain obstacles like light sockets and doors, all helping to make the setup nice and straightforward.

As we see with quite a few of these projectors now, safety guards, including the TOF active guard eye safety feature, help reduce the risk of direct eye exposure. As a multi-use projector, you get Google TV, Netflix certification, Google Assistant voice control and Google Cast, meaning you can cast directly from an Android phone to the projector, making things ultra-simple.

When it comes to connectivity options, if you don’t want to use Google Home and just want to use it as a straight projector, there are HDMI and USB ports, and I was pleased to see a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting external speakers. You also have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity to stream to online services and connect to external devices such as speakers.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Performance

Getting started with the PlayCube is extremely easy. After all, it has Google TV, and the setup and installation process is exceptionally quick. The only thing I would say is that during use, my home internet connection completely failed, so I had to rely on a mobile network. Still, the connection speeds were exceptionally good using the D-Link G572 5G router, which I highly recommend as a backup for your home internet if it’s slightly temperamental.

Once I’d run through the setup process, installed all the apps that I wanted, connected my Google account and run all of the updates, which did actually take some time, I was then able to use Google TV to project from all of my favourite streaming apps, and this all worked as expected, with a few notable exceptions.

While the projector works with most main stream apps, there's no option to download iPlayer and trying to cast to the projector from my iPhone through the iPlayer app also proved a non event. All other apps worked incredibly well.

What I liked here was that the remote control is really well thought out and very responsive in use. The quality of the projected image was also exceptionally good, and compared with some of the portable projectors that I normally use for workshops, the higher-resolution 1920 x 1080 display, alongside the 750lm brightness, really did make a difference to the clarity and internal gradation, even in relatively bright daylight conditions.

As the afternoon and evening drew in, the quality of the projection really stood out, and for presentations and workshops, this projector is an ideal solution. Coming in that small semi-hard case, this is easy to transport and even easier to set up.

There are several things that really appeal to me. First, the semi-hard case keeps everything neat and tidy, and the second is just how easy and quick it is to set up. Essentially, place it onto a desktop, rotate the cube around so you get the tilt onto the wall that you want, power on, and then you can connect whichever device you want, be that through the Wi-Fi connection for streaming services or, in my case, connecting my MacBook Pro through HDMI directly into the back of the projector so that I could project my presentation as well as examples.

The speakers are only 5W, and while they’re relatively decent quality, I did plug into an old pair of Fostex monitors just because they gave me better, louder audio.

I also found that, as I was setting up, the autofocus, keystone and object avoidance all happened automatically and extremely quickly. Once you get enough distance from whichever surface you’re projecting onto, it is very easy to get it to sit within a projection screen or wall, from the relatively close quarters of the workshop to pulling the projector right back for watching a movie later on that evening.

The fact that it’s got that quarter-inch thread on the base, enabling me to mount it onto a tripod, just made it far easier to manoeuvre around, and whilst the battery does last a good two and a half to three hours, for safety, especially while I’m watching the movie, I plug it into a Jackery 1000 V2 power station just to ensure it doesn’t power down right at the end of the movie.

Through the tests, the projector just worked exceptionally well, and whilst there is quite a bit of fan noise, especially in these weather conditions, it’s just about bearable, and in workshops where there’s plenty of chatter, so that fan noise really wasn’t an issue. However, when I was watching a few movies, the fan's background noise was a bit distracting at first, but you soon get used to it and kind of block it out.

When it comes to the visuals, they are clear and bright, and for such a small projector, it certainly packs in a great deal of power. For entertainment on the move, on holiday, or at home, the small projector is a great option because it packs away easily, unlike larger home projectors that take up a lot of space.

You can use it at home when you want to watch a film big on the screen or a sporting event, and then just simply pack it away in a cupboard when that’s over. Likewise, if you’re off on holiday, you can easily pack it, take it with you, and it doesn’t add too much weight to your luggage.

More importantly, if you’re away on business or you’re running a workshop, then having a small projector like this is an ideal solution. It enables the entire group to easily see what you’re talking about without needing to connect up to a TV screen, monitor or large projector. Because it’s small, lightweight and extremely versatile when it comes to connectivity options, it gives you plenty of flexibility.

The ease of connection really won me over during the test, as did the image's brightness and clarity. What I also really liked was that it would last for a good two and a half hours without issue, and with most of my workshops lasting around three hours, it meant that I wasn’t having to be too precious about switching the projector on and off, of which the boot-up process can take up to a minute.

When the projector does indicate that the power is running low, it can always be powered via USB-C. For the most part, because I have other kit that also needs to be plugged in, I take the Jackery 1000 V2 along with me just to have some extra power when needed.

For both home and business use, the small projector, with its premium build quality and matching pricing, makes a great option. It might not be as bright as the larger desktop projectors, but if you’re looking for one of the best portable options on the market at present, then this certainly fits the bill.

• Performance: 4 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Final verdict

From the outset, the TCL PlayCube impressed, firstly with a semi-hard case that instantly gives it an ultra-portable, premium feel. As it was opened, the projector inside had a decent weight and build quality, and it looked pretty stylish too.

As I ran through the test, checking out how Google TV and all the apps worked, it all seemed very fluid, exactly what I expect from anything based on the Google TV system. But then, branching out from just pure entertainment and streaming, I checked it out for the more serious business of work.

Connected out to my MacBook Pro M1 Max and a couple of the mini PCs that I’ve had on test recently, I was impressed to see that it was able to scale the video output instantly, ready for projection. There was no fiddling around with options or settings. It adjusted automatically, ready to project on the wall as and when needed.

Setup was exceptionally easy, with battery power, which provided plenty of projection time. This is one of the easiest projectors I’ve used: just set it on a desktop, project it onto the wall, plug in the HDMI, and off you go. If I wanted a little more audio volume than those 5W speakers provide, I could simply plug in a set of monitors and aim to vastly improve the output volume.

As ever there are a few issues with app compatibility for the likes of BBC iPlayer which isn't available, and trying to cast from iPlayer to the device from my iPhone just wasn't possible.

However, that aside as a compact and highly versatile portable projector, the PlayCube is a superb design and ideal for entertainment, both at home and away, as well as for business use, presentations and workshops.

Should I buy the TCL PlayCube Portable Projector?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more top performers, we've tested the best portable projectors you can get.

Prime Day is coming to a close — it ends at midnight tonight PT and BST — so if you're looking a deal on a new TV, you don't have long left. As TechRadar's TV expert, I've trawled through every TV deal I can find, and picked the best offers on TVs we've tested here at TechRadar, so I can vouch for their quality and value.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale US
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale UK

In the US, my top deal is the 65-inch LG C5 for $1,099.99 (was $1,399.99) at Amazon US. This is the cheapest this model been over all of Prime Day, and a record-low price.

I you're looking for small-screen bargain, the 50-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2023) is down to a record-low $249.99 (was $469.99) at Amazon US. My other top Us pick is the TCL QM6K 75-inch for $747.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US. This isn't a record-low price, but if you want a big screen for the World Cup, you can't go wrong with this one.

For the UK, my top pick is the LG B5 48-inch for £579 (was £799) at Amazon UK. It's been cheaper before, but this is still an awesome price.

Next is the TCL 65-inch Q6C for £529 (was £618.99) at Amazon UK, perfect for those who want an affordable, good, larger screen TV. And finally, the 42-inch LG C5 is down to £623 (was £849) at Amazon UK. An excellent smaller screen, this again isn't the cheapest it's been, but it's an incredible price.

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals on some of the best TVs we've tested at TechRadar below.

Today's best TV deals in the US

Today's best TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

If you're still deciding on a big screen TV for the World Cup, I've been searching through the Amazon Prime Day TV deals and have found a few solid 75-inch offers.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

In the US, if you're looking for a budget big screen, the best bet is the TCL QM6K 75-inch for $747.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US. Not an earth-shattering discount, but it all helps. I'd also highlight the Samsung QN90F 75-inch for $1,499.99 (was $1,999.99) at Best Buy. This is our pick for the best TV for sports for a reason, and this is a great price for a 75-inch at this level. Finally, for OLED fans, your best choice is the LG B5 77-inch for $1,399.99 (was $1799.99) at Best Buy. Not its lowest price, but great value nonetheless.

In the UK, the TCL Q6C 75-inch is £699 (was £1,099) at JoyBuy, for those looking for a good budget option. Taking advantage of Prime Day, the Amazon Ember Mini-LED 75-inch is down to £999 (was £1,999) at Amazon UK. This proved to be a good TV for sports when I tested it, and this is the best time to buy. Finally, for OLED, the Samsung S85F 77-inch is available for £1,199 (was £1,999) at JoyBuy. That's an excellent price for an OLED of that size.

Today's best 75-inch TV deals in the US

Today's best 75-inch TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

If you're looking for a new TV for GTA 6, which has its pre-orders going live at midnight tonight (June 25), then listen up.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

I've been scouring through the Amazon Prime Day deals on offer to see if there are any on the best gaming TVs available. Thankfully, there are.

In the US, my number one deal is the LG C5 65-inch for $1,199 at Amazon US. A record-low price for the best gaming TV around. Next is the 65-inch TCL QM7K for a record-low $749.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US, an affordable, feature-packed mini-LED with good gaming chops. And finally, the LG B5 48-inch is available for $599.99 at Best Buy. Not a record-low, but an ideal-sized display for smaller rooms and bedroom gaming.

If you're in the UK, the top deal is the LG C5 55-inch for £899 (was £1,099) at Amazon UK, a ridiculous record-low price for the ultimate gaming OLED. Next up, for a cheaper option, the TCL Q6C 65-inch is £527 (was £618.99) at Amazon UK. Finally, the 48-inch LG B5 is down to £549 (was £799) at Amazon UK, the lowest ever price for this TV perfect for smaller rooms.

Today's best gaming TVs deals in the US

Today's best gaming TV deals in the UK

If you want more information about the GTA VI launch announcement, you can check out the stories and our TikTok below with all the latest news from Rockstar about this hotly anticipated release.

• GTA VI pre-orders live coverage
• The GTA 6 editions aren't what we expected — here's what's included in the Standard and Ultimate
• I made a big error when buying Red Dead Redemption 2 — here's how to avoid the same trap with GTA 6
• We finally know the official GTA 6 price ahead of pre-orders — it's expensive, but not as bad as some expected
• GTA 6 fans say locking content behind the Ultimate Edition is 'scummy', but it looks like an upgrade will be available post-launch

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

In case you hadn’t heard, GTA6 pre-orders are live tonight (June 25) at midnight. Due for general release on November 19, it’s been 13 years (!) since GTA 5 first launched two console generations ago. While you’re pre-ordering your copy, now might be the time to upgrade your TV to experience Vice City looking its best.

I test TVs for a living, and that includes the best gaming TVs. For GTA 6, you’re going to want excellent picture quality with vibrant colors, excellent motion handling for the fast-paced action, and a suite of gaming features to cover the bases. Below, I’ve picked five of the top gaming TVs to suit all budgets that will be perfect for tearing through Vice City.

You may notice that all of these TVs are from last year. While we’ve been testing the best TVs this year and a lot of them are great, last year’s TVs will be a much better value and still more than capable of doing justice to GTA 6. That’s why, for me, they’re the better option right now.

LG C5

The best place to start is with the top recommendation. Sitting at the top of our best gaming TV guide, as well as our best OLED TV guide, is the LG C5, a five-star OLED that can literally do it all. It has a full suite of features and superb picture quality that will be perfect for GTA 6.

The C5 delivers rich, bold colors with whatever it’s given, and this is going to be important for the neon-soaked streets of Vice City in GTA 6. Watching colorful movies like Elemental on the C5, colors really pop on screen, with oranges, reds, and blues all shimmering. It also delivers rich contrast with deep black tones, important again for that nightlife vibe in Vice City. With excellent motion handling, car chases will be a breeze for the C5.

Packed with a full suite of gaming features, the C5 is a top-notch gaming TV. Four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 144Hz, full VRR, HGiG, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming, and with a 9.2ms input lag time, expect super-responsive gameplay as you’re fleeing from the cops in GTA 6. It handled Battlefield V at 120fps with ease when I played it.

Price-wise, you’ll want to pay about $1,199 / £1,399 (stock is looking thin in Australia) for a 65-inch model. This will be a great size for seeing GTA 6 in all its glory, but the C5 is available in sizes 42 to 83 inches to cover every situation.

TCL QM6K/C6K

If you’re looking for a TV upgrade but don’t want to break the bank, the TCL QM6K (known as the TCL C6K/Q6C depending on region and retailer) is a fantastic choice. It still has great picture quality and an impressive stock of gaming features for a very affordable price.

I tested the C6K as I’m based in the UK, and it has great overall picture quality. Its main highlight is its color reproduction. It produces vivid, natural colors that made movies like Wicked look great during my testing, accurately capturing the vibrant pink of flowers in trees. Expect the same for GTA 6. The C6K also demonstrated impressive backlight control and black tones for a mini-LED at this price range, working well for movies like The Batman. Again, Vice City nightlife should look great.

The C6K supports a lot for gaming, which is rare at this level. It supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming. It has a measured 13.6ms input lag, which is still above the 15ms threshold we look for. Gaming on it, I had a great time while playing Battlefield V, as it did a great job handling chaotic battle sequences, so it should be prepared for GTA 6.

Its real highlight is its price. A 65-inch QM6K has dropped as low as $529 and the C6K 65-inch will cost around £679/ AU$1,099. These are excellent prices for a TV this size and a great option for an affordable upgrade for GTA 6.

Samsung QN90F

Now, if you’re someone who’s planning to take some time off to play GTA 6, you’ll need a TV that works well in a bright room for daytime gaming sessions. Enter the Samsung QN90F, a brilliant gaming TV that also doubles as our best TV for sports.

The QN90F is the perfect TV for bright rooms for several reasons. It has solid brightness (exceeding 2,500 nits HDR peak and over 600 nits full screen) and an effective, anti-glare screen that does a great job reducing mirror-like reflections to a minimum. So, even if you have big windows, the QN90F can handle them. It also has great picture quality to go with it, producing punchy, accurate colors and strong contrast with surprisingly rich black tones. Expect GTA 6 to look great on this one.

The QN90F is equipped with a full list of gaming features, too. It supports 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming across four HDMI 2.1 ports. Its 9.5ms input lag time is up there with the very best, so you can expect it to handle the chaos of GTA 6 with no problems.

While the QN90F is a flagship model, its prices have dropped significantly. A 65-inch will cost you roughly $1,399 / £1,299 (stock in Australia is low again), which is again phenomenal pricing for a TV at this level.

LG B5

If you want an OLED but can’t quite stretch to the LG C5, the LG B5 is your next best option. It’s one of the best budget OLED TVs I’ve tested and delivers a lot of the same great performance and features as its step-up sibling.

With accurate, rich colors that suited the vibrant aesthetic of Wicked and Elemental, the B5 is sure to make GTA 6’s sun-soaked, colorful streets look fantastic. It also produces the powerful contrast with inky blacks you’d want from an OLED TV, despite its cheaper price range. While the B5 doesn’t have the brightness of other step-up OLEDs, it still has punchy highlights that will make the neon of Vice City pop.

The B5 is kitted out with a full list of gaming features, including 4K 120Hz, full VRR including FreeSync and G-Sync, HGiG, Dolby Vision gaming, and ALLM, all built into the four HDMI 2.1 ports. A measured 9.1ms input lag time is at the top of the gaming TV list, so expect all the action of GTA 6 to look superb.

The B5’s prices can fall to a deceptively affordable place for an OLED. You can get the 48-inch model, a perfect size for bedroom gaming, for as low as $549 / £569 / AU$1,169, meaning you don’t have to spend a fortune for OLED.

LG G5

The flagship OLED for LG in 2025, the LG G5, is like the C5 taken up a notch. It has a similar feature set but turns up the picture quality by another level with higher brightness, bolder colors, and more impactful contrast.

Testing the G5, its colors were its most impressive aspect. Vibrant, rich, and bright all at once, any colorful scene dazzled on screen, and I think it’s going to do the Miami-inspired Vice City serious justice in GTA 6. It also produces powerful contrast, expertly balancing deep black levels and bright highlights. Vice City nightlife will look stunning on this TV. It also produces extremely impressive textures that are 3D-like, along with refined detail.

This is another TV with an impressive list of gaming features. 4K 165Hz, full VRR including FreeSync and G-Sync, Dolby Vision gaming, HGiG, and ALLM are on all four HDMI 2.1 ports. Its measured 9.2ms input lag time again did wonders for Battlefield V’s fast-paced gunfights at 120fps when I played it, so it should do the same for GTA 6.

The G5 is at the more premium end of the TV market, with a 65-inch model costing $2,299 / £1,999 / AU$2,699, but if you are looking for the premium way to play GTA 6, this will be the TV to do it on.

Prime Day is here, and one of the most popular products is, as always, TVs. I lead TechRadar's TV and home theater team, and I've worked with our dedicated deals editors and TV hardware writers to pick the best Prime Day TV deals this year.

• Browse the full Amazon US Prime Day sale
• Browse the full Amazon UK Prime Day sale

There haven't been as many really good Prime Day TV deals this year as I expected, but when they're good, they're often really good. I'm talking a five-star Samsung S90F OLED TV for just $1,199 (was $2397.99) in the US, or a 55-inch Samsung S84F OLED TV for just £683(was £899) in the UK.

We've got cheaper models than that, smaller models, and larger models — much larger in some cases. Here are the deals, presented in size order and price order. If you're in the UK, you can skip to those deals here.

Today's best TV deals in the US

Today's best TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Prime Day has arrived, and while it can be tempting to seek out deals on the latest TVs, it's usually last year’s models that are often the best value. These TVs are nearing the end of their life cycle, so retailers will be looking to get rid of stock to make room for the next generation.

Whether you’re looking for a budget mini-LED that’s perfect for a bright room, or a contrast-rich OLED for movie nights, there will be a Prime Day deal for you. Heck, some of these TVs will even be perfect for taking in World Cup soccer games as the tournament heats up.

As TechRadar’s TV tester, the four models below are my picks from our list of the best TVs for those on the lookout for a Prime Day bargain, and they even include some of the best TVs I've seen.

TCL QM7K/C7K

The TCL QM7K (known as the TCL C7K in the UK) is a feature-packed but highly affordable mini-LED TV that delivers great overall picture quality. I tested the C7K and was impressed by its accurate black levels and strong contrast, which looked great in dark movies such as The Batman. It also demonstrates effective local dimming to create an accurate picture, using its new Halo Control feature to minimize blooming.

It also delivers bold, vibrant colors that make visually rich movies such as Wicked and Elemental really pop on-screen. It’s a great option for sports, too: with the right motion setting enabled, it delivers fluid action.

Gamers are well catered for as well, with 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM all supported. With a low 13.5ms input lag, fast-paced and competitive games feel responsive and smooth, making this a great budget gaming display.

LG C5

The LG C5 is the mid-range model in LG’s 2025 OLED TV lineup and can often be found at a decent discount in the Prime Day sales. Arriving with an extensive feature list, the C5 delivers excellent picture quality at a competitive price.

The C5 combines inky blacks, bright highlights and a peak HDR brightness of 1,180 nits to produce impactful high-contrast images as seen in movies such as Alien: Romulus. Colors are vibrant yet natural, making everything from animated movies such as The Wild Robot to live-action films look superb. Elsewhere, crisp detail and razor-sharp motion ensure sports look smooth and clear, too.

With 4K, 144Hz, full VRR support (including FreeSync and G-Sync), Dolby Vision gaming, HGiG and ALLM across all four HDMI 2.1 ports, and an ultra-low 9.2ms input lag, the C5 remains one of the best gaming TVs available.

Samsung QN90F

Our pick as the best TV for sport, the Samsung QN90F is the flagship 4K Neo QLED in Samsung’s 2025 TV lineup. A powerhouse for movies, gaming and sports, it really does cover all bases.

With a peak HDR brightness of 2,086 nits, 667 nits of full-screen HDR brightness and an effective anti-glare screen, the QN90F is a superb TV for bright rooms and daytime viewing. Throw in superb motion handling and you have the perfect TV for sports (it was my top recommendation for a World Cup TV upgrade). The QN90F also delivers for movies, displaying strong contrast in darker scenes from movies such as Oppenheimer and bold, vivid colors that pop on-screen.

Packed with gaming features including 4K 165Hz, VRR including FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming support across four HDMI 2.1 ports, as well as a 9.5ms input lag time, the QN90F is a phenomenal gaming TV.

LG B5

LG’s entry-level OLED for 2025, the LG B5 is great value for what it offers. It delivers the rich contrast and deep blacks OLED is known for at a more affordable price than many rival OLED TVs, while also packing an impressive range of gaming and smart TV features.

The B5’s overall picture quality is brilliant, even though it might lack the brightness of step-up OLEDs. Colors are both accurate and vibrant enough to do justice to movies such as The Sound of Music, while its fantastic motion handling makes it a great choice for watching sports (a potential World Cup TV, perhaps?), with all the crisp, refined detail you'd expect of an OLED panel.

The B5 also delivers for gamers, arriving with four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz, full VRR, HGiG, ALLM and Dolby Vision. Its low 9.1ms input lag time also delivers a consistently smooth performance, even in fast-action games.

Prime Day kicks off tomorrow, running from June 23-26, but we’re already seeing some early deals. One of these is on the TCL C8K (known as the QM8K in the US), one of 2025’s best mini-LED TVs. The 65-inch C8K is down to £1,079.10 (was £1,199) at Currys. This is a model that I've personally tested, and it’s easily one of the best-value mini-LED TVs I’ve used, over-delivering in terms of features and performance vs price. Get the discount by applying code TV10 at checkout.

• Browse Currys full epic deals sale
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day US sale

If you’re in the US, the equivalent 75-inch QM8K is back down to its record-low price of $1,397.99 (was $1,999.99) at Amazon US 65-inch C8K is down to £1,079.10 (was £1,199) at Currys.

While the step-down TCL QM7K/C7K tends to be one of the big stars of Prime Day, the 8-series delivers that extra brightness and punchiness to its picture, plus a meatier built-in sound system. Amazon Prime Day will bring about more TV deals, but you may not even need to wait that long with this offer already live.

Today's best TCL C8K deal

Today's best TCL QM8K deal

Mini-LED greatness

While affordable mini-LED should sometimes come with a warning label (as what’s on paper can be too good to be true), this wasn’t the case when I tested the TCL C8K.

Its picture quality is up there with the best TVs. It delivers punchy, vibrant colors that looked sensational when I watched Elemental, really giving the reds, oranges and purples of Ember and her vase serious pop on screen. High brightness also makes this an excellent TV for watching in a bright room. With figures measuring 3,417 nits HDR peak brightness in Standard mode and 3,050 nits in Movie mode, this TV is seriously striking.

With a measured full screen HDR brightness of 776 nits and full screen SDR brightness of 791 nits, both in Standard mode, this TV is an excellent candidate for the World Cup — especially if you’ve been holding off on an upgrade. Coupled with its excellent colors and solid motion handling (after setting judder reduction to 5 and blur reduction to 3 in the settings), this is a great TV for enjoying the rest of the World Cup.

The C8K also impressed me with its contrast and backlight control. Often the kryptonite of cheaper mini-LED TVs (as they don’t have good enough local dimming to deliver accurate contrast), the C8K made high contrast scenes from movies such as The Batman look great. Its backlight control was also superb, showing very little blooming compared to similarly priced rivals.

Sound quality can be hit-and-miss on TVs, but the C8K’s was better than I thought it would be. With audio by Bang & Olufsen, the C8K supplied surprisingly hefty bass, perfect for the rumble of the Batmobile engine in The Batman.

The C8K is also up there with the best gaming TVs, offering 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM support. With a 13.2ms input lag time, you can expect smooth gameplay. When I played Battlefield V, chaotic battle sequences were well-handled and never felt like a strain for the C8K.

Check out our full review of the equally brilliant TCL QM8K in the US, which we described as 'TCL's best mini-LED yet'.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

• Gemini on Google TV can now adjust audio and video, change modes and fix issues
• Coming to some 2025 and 2026 TCL TVs first
• US-only for now

If like me you've been fairly unimpressed by AI additions to TV interfaces so far, the latest update to Google Gemini might change your mind — because it's something you might use every day. Simply grab the remote or say "Hey, Google" to wake Gemini and you can then control your TV settings by voice.

The feature is rolling out slowly, and the first recipients will be recent TCL Google TV models in the US, including the TCL QM8L. Other TVs and streaming devices will get it in the future too, though Google hasn't given any details of which specific models will get the update.

What can you control with the Gemini TV update?

Google has given four key examples of the kind of thing Gemini will enable you to do.

First and most usefully, you'll be able to change your audio and video settings. Google's examples include "increase the bass" and "set picture mode to 'Sport'" — as we recently said, even though we generally encourage you to keep your TV in a fairly accurate-looking mode, you want different settings to enjoy sport to its fullest.

Secondly, you'll be able to optimize your TV's settings for what you're watching, for example "it's movie night — help make this feel like a cinematic experience". Hopefully there's a less verbose way to do that.

Thirdly, you'll be able to troubleshoot picture and sound issues: "the screen is too dark", or "I can't hear the dialog clearly".

And finally, you'll be able to call up specific menus with commands such as "open display settings".

Google isn't the first to do this by any means — for example LG has voice-based assistants in many of its TVs, and you can ask question about picture problems just like this — but this is by far the slickest solution in terms of it making the useful changes on your behalf, no menus needed.

The first TVs to get the Gemini upgrade will be the 2025 TCL QM9K, and the 2026 X11L, QM8L and RM9L models in the US. Google hasn't given a timeline for other TVs from other manufacturers just yet.

TCL and Google also said that this update would come to a 2026 TV called the QM9L. What's slightly odd about this is that we're not familiar with a TV with that model name, and there's no solid evidence of it online. We've asked TCL for more information.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Home entertainment brand TCL was out in force at Summer Game Fest 2026, with a big booth dedicated to its new line of gaming monitors right in the middle of the Play Days show floor.

Its flagship model, the TCL C2A Pro, was the big attraction and is intended to deliver "the ultimate AAA gameplay experience" no matter what you like to play.

Those that love immersing themselves in cinematic experiences like The Last of Us Part 1 or Red Dead Redemption 2 will appreciate its vibrant QD-Mini LED colors and high 2,000 nits peak brightness. It's DisplayHDR 1400 certified, denoting a high level of brightness paired with excellent contrast, too.

The crisp 4K resolution of its 27-inch panel offers a strong level of detail while the 160Hz refresh rate keeps the action butter-smooth (provided you have the hardware chops to support it, of course).

Smooth and stylish

I took the monitor for a spin and found it particularly impressive, noting its fluid motion and excellent picture clarity. That said, as a huge Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 player (with more than 370 hours clocked in-game since launch), the TCL C2A Pro has one secret weapon that makes it especially appealing — its 'Game Accelerator' dual mode.

This bumps the resolution down to 1080p and cranks the refresh rate up to 320Hz, which is perfect if you want to maximize responsiveness and your frame rate to give you the edge in such a fast-paced game. It's almost no surprise that the brand is the official partner of Call of Duty.

TCL has also nailed the monitor's aesthetics. The almost sci-fi, white panelled look is tastefully elevated by colorful RGB lighting for an overall design that's distinctly geared towards gamers without seeming overly garish. It means the monitor would also look right at home in a PS5 setup. Out of the box, it comes with a multi-function stand that's geared towards a variety of adjustments and seating positions.

With the TCL C2A Pro retailing at $799, it faces some stiff competition from cheaper alternatives with similar dual-mode features such as the Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG. Still, no competitors have TCL's proprietary QD-Mini LED tech, which the monitor shares with the brand's high-end TVs, and few can come close to offering the premium build here.

It arrives alongside the slightly cheaper TCL C2A gaming monitor. Retailing at $699, that $100 saving loses you some peak brightness (with the monitor capable of 1,200 nits rather than 2,000) and fewer local dimming zones.

There's also the budget-friendly $499 TCL P3A. It's 27 inches still, but at a more modest 1440p resolution and a 260Hz refresh rate.

The World Cup is here, with the tournament kicking off on June 11, and if you're thinking of getting a last-minute TV upgrade but don't want to break the bank, I've found three models I think will fit the bill.

While there aren't a ton of deals out there right now, with Prime Day only a matter of weeks away (running from June 23-26), there are still some discounts to be had. In the US, today's best deal is the TCL QM6K 65-inch for $599 at Amazon. This isn't the cheapest it's been, but for a 65-inch mini-LED, it's a great price.

In the UK, the highlight deal is actually for one of 2025's best OLED TVs: the LG B5. The 55-inch B5 is available for £663.20 at Currys: 20% off its full price of £829! While we do tend to recommend mini-LED over OLED, this deal is too good to miss.

TCL QM6K/C6K

Today's best US deal

Todays best UK deal

A good mini-LED doesn't have to be expensive, as proven by the TCL QM6K (known as the TCL C6K in the UK). It has a great set of gaming features, solid brightness, and effective local dimming: all for a nice, affordable price.

The QM6K/C6K's strengths lie in its picture quality. It can deliver bold colors, which will be perfect for rendering players' uniforms and the field during the World Cup. It also has great detail, making on-screen images look crisp.

It's also got great full-screen brightness for a TV in this price range, with the QM6K hitting 595 nits and the C6K hitting 706 nits. Fullscreen brightness is important for showing daytime sports in bright rooms, which is when a lot of World Cup games will be taking place. For a TV at this price, these are great numbers.

It also has responsive motion handling, meaning fast-paced sports will be well handled. I found during my testing of the C6K that setting judder reduction to 3-4 resulted in smooth motion that also looked accurate.

LG B5

Today's best US deal

Today's best UK deal

The LG B5 is an excellent value OLED TV, and while mini-LED is the primary choice for sports due to its higher brightness, the B5 will more than deliver on other picture elements, such as color and detail, and deliver smooth motion as well.

The B5 may be an entry-level OLED, but it delivers superb picture quality. I was impressed by its vibrant, accurate colors throughout my testing, which will be ideal for delivering the colorful players' uniforms and green fields.

Its motion handling is also excellent. Even with no motion settings activated, the B5's performance is razor-sharp, expertly handling fast-paced sequences in both sports and movies.

One elephant in the room: the B5 is not very bright. It can struggle in brighter rooms, so if your World Cup space is bright, you might want to look elsewhere. If you've got ways of managing any light, however, the B5 will make for a great World Cup companion.

Hisense U8Q

Today's best US deal

Today's best UK deal

The Hisense U8Q is a flagship-level mini-LED TV that costs less than rivals. It delivers some serious brightness, as well as brilliant picture quality and, with some tweaking, smooth motion handling.

Where the U8Q shines (literally) is in its staggering brightness. It clocked in at 2,888 nits peak HDR and 744 nits full-screen HDR brightness in Standard mode (our recommended mode for sports viewing). It also clocked in at 600 nits SDR fullscreen brightness: a huge number for SDR. Pairing this with its anti-reflection layer gives you a solid TV for daytime viewing, which will be especially useful in bright rooms when watching earlier games during the World Cup.

Elsewhere, the U8Q impressed us with its colors, which, during our testing, worked great when watching an NBA game. The colors of the U8Q player's uniforms are just, so you can expect the same during the World Cup.

Motion handling is just average out-of-the-box, but an easy adjustment, setting blur and judder reduction to 3-4, smooths out motion without creating an artificial 'soap opera effect'.

Looking for some other options? Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Whether you call it football or soccer, the Beautiful Game is the best. As someone whose soul is nourished to an unhinged degree by watching 22 millionaires bashing a synthetic sphere around a field, I’m incredibly excited about the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which kicks off on June 11.

That said, I’m much less enthused by the prospect of huge amounts of people watching the world’s biggest sporting event on the wrong type of TV. Okay, maybe “wrong” sounds absolutely obnoxious to say. I’ll retract that. How about a ‘less than ideal’ type of display?

A huge number of people are buying (or plan to buy) bigger screens for the World Cup, and these days you can get amazingly cheap TVs in giant sizes. These will be LCD TVs with basic backlights (which means a set of LED lights that shines through the pixels, creating the light your eyes will actually pick up), but they're exactly what I want to warn you against.

But a super-cheap LCD is quantifiably the last type of TV I’d want to watch the World Cup on, due to one extremely annoying screen defect you're likely to encounter if you TV is too basic. Let me explain.

The dreaded dirty screen effect

Before I break down exactly what ‘dirty screen’ effect or ‘DSE’ is, I’ll flat out admit I utterly loathe this particular screen quirk that can be particularly obvious on many cheap LCD TVs.

How much do I detest DSE? As a coulrophobe who hates mushrooms and is also deathly afraid of heights, I’d rather go on a date with Pennywise involving a 10-course sampling menu of nothing but portobello-based appetizers atop the CN Tower, before I’d watch a single World Cup match on an LCD display.

What exactly is the dirty screen effect? It’s an issue where inconsistencies in a TV's backlight levels quickly lead to visible onscreen blotches.

These smudgy areas, where particular areas of the panel look darker or lighter than others, are especially easy to spot while watching something with a pretty uniformly colored portion of the screen, and with lot of fast-paced camera pans.

And wouldn’t you know it? Football/soccer has a whole lot of constant back and forth camera swings every time the ball is booted from the center circle to the edge of the opposition’s D.

Dirty screen effect is easiest to identify when watching content where large parts of the screen are made up of a single uniform color. Whether that’s pans across blue skies or across a green field, whenever a camera is swinging from side to side against large patches, DSE will rear its ugly head on lower-quality sets.

What causes the dirty screen effect?

Rather than being caused by a single factor, there are multiple issues that can lead to the dirty screen effect occurring. Though I’ve finally stopped worrying about OLED burn-in thanks to Light-Emitting Diode displays combating the issue through features like pixel cleaning cycles, DSE on huge cheap LCD panels remains as bad as it was on smaller cheap LCD panels a decade ago, because the fundamental problem hasn't changed.

The production process that goes into making LCD TVs is largely to blame for the soccer-ruining dirty screen effect. LCDs use multiple layers and diffuser sheets, which often leads to backlight uniformity issues when panels are being assembled.

If a cheaply-made panel is combined with not having enough LEDs behind the screen to illuminate it all uniformly (you can even end up with parts of the panel's interior casting shadows), you'll end up with some areas being more strongly illuminated than others.

In order to make TVs today so much bigger than they were, but affordable at the price most people want to pay, corners have to be cut — and the quality of panel assembly and backlighting can end up as a casualty.

And yet, giant screens are where you're most likely to notice these issues, because there's so much more space for you to notice the imperfections.

Despite, some folks will be completely oblivious to DSE. I get that. But as someone who is cursed with obsessive eyes that still hates myself for enabling motion smoothing on a TV when switching on sports (but you should do it — as I explained in that article), my peepers are constantly drawn to the lighting defect while watching soccer in a bar.

And trust me, as someone who watched over 60 Arsenal games last season (hoo-boy does that Champions League Final defeat in Budapest still sting), I know a thing or two (times 30) about watching football on subpar screens out in public.

What can you do about it?

Personally, I'd buy an OLED TV. I’ve watched nearly all of my football at home on OLED panels since 2015. If you have the budget for it, and watch to enjoy the World Cup with the best image quality and least distracting visual issues, check out the best OLED TVs. If you go OLED, your eyes will never be bothered by LCD’s biggest deficiency when watching footy/soccer. The LG G5 is a bargain while stocks last, as is the cheaper LG C5. The Samsung S95F, with its anti-reflective screen, is particular good for daytime sports viewing.

However, big-screen OLED TVs are expensive. They're also nowhere near as bright for fullscreen viewing as decent mini-LED TVs, meaning they're more prone to distracting reflections if you're watching during the day (though the Samsung S95F and LG G6 are better for this — but they're still pricey).

So here's some very basic advice: get a mini-LED TV instead of a regular LED TV and you're less likely to have a noticeable dirty-screen problem. All mini-LED TVs use a grid of LEDs across the whole back of the screen with support for local dimming — and more premium sets use much smaller LED and fit in many more of then, which helps with the uniformity of lighting. And they'll pack in more LEDs are larger sizes, to avoid any problems from going big.

If a mini-LED doesn't fit in your budget at the size you're thinking, you should drop down a size, rather than getting a poorer-quality but larger screen. You don't want to spend a whole tournament getting distracted by a strange shadowy effect on the screen.

The cheapest TV TechRadar's reviewers recommend to avoid a major dirty screen effect is the TCL QM6K in the US, or the TCL C6K in the UK. The uniformity on this set still isn't always perfect, but it's as good as you get for the price.

If you step up to the TCL QM7K (US) / TCL C7K (UK) or the Hisense U7N, you're at the point where you're unlikely to notice it.

Going further to the premium Samsung QN90F (which we rate as the best TV for sport), the TCL QM8K (US) / TCL C8K (UK) or the Hisense U8N means you won't need to worry about DSE.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

We are less than one week away from the start of the World Cup, with the first game kicking off on June 11, and if you're still deciding on a new TV, I'm here to help.

As TechRadar's TV tester, I've reviewed tons of the best TVs over the past few years and I always include sports viewing in my testing routine and I pretty much always use Soccer as my sport of choice.

For a TV to be good for sports, some of which feature in our 5 essential features to look for in a World Cup TV, it needs to have excellent motion handling, high brightness and ideally good reflection handling. Good color reproduction and screen uniformity (the ability to display a large area of the same color effectively) is key too.

Below, I've picked three TVs that I think fit the bill, all of which I've personally tested.

Samsung QN90F

Reasons to buy

• Superb motion handling
• Anti-reflection matte screen
• Excellent price for a flagship TV

The Samsung QN90F was the brand's 2025 flagship 4K Neo QLED model and earned the full five stars in our review. It was our pick as the best TV for sports last year on several of our best-of lists: here's why.

The QN90F has excellent motion handling, perfect for accurately delivering all the fast-paced action of the World Cup. Whether it's a trailing ball or a winger charging down the field, the will look smooth on the QN90F.

Equipped with the Glare Free anti-reflection matte screen first introduced in the Samsung S95D OLED, the QN90F is perfect for viewing in bright rooms. It expertly handles mirror-like reflections that can plague other TVs. This will be perfect for the earlier, daytime games of the World Cup.

The QN90F also has solid fullscreen HDR brightness (661 nits in Standard mode) and effective local dimming, meaning it has very good screen uniformity which is necessary to display the green field. Both of these will make the picture even better.

Right now, a 65-inch QN90F costs $1,399 / £1,399 (stock seems low in Australia) which is a great price for this TV. But, stock looks like it's running very low across big retailers (it's gone from Amazon US).

TCL QM7K/C7K

Reasons to buy

• Very affordable for what it offers
• Bright, vibrant picture quality
• Solid motion handling

TCL delivered a strong lineup of mini-LED TVs last year, but the best in terms of value was the TCL QM7K, knows as the TCL C7K/Q7C (depending on retailer) in the UK.

The QM7K/C7K first and foremost delivers excellent brightness levels for an affordable mini-LED TV. Clocking in at over 600+ nits fullscreen brightness in both HDR and SDR, it's a seriously bright TV for the money which is important for daytime sports viewing and accurately rendering the field during World Cup games. We noted in our QM7K review that it did have a reflective screen, but if you can control this, the QM7K/C7K is worth the investment.

With the right settings, the QM7K/C7K also solid motion handling. When I tested the C7K, setting judder reduction to between 3 and 5 produced a smooth image that didn't look artificial as I watched footage of soccer games on it.

The QM7K/C7K also has new Halo Control technology for more effective local dimming and blooming reduction and it works. Expect uniform picture when watching the World Cup.

The QM7K/C7K's real highlight is the price. A 65-inch will cost $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, which is a superb price for this TV. Stock seems stable in most places, but these will fly out the door: especially when Prime Day hits June 23-26. You can even pick up a 98-inch version of the QM7K for $2,199 right now!

LG C5

Reasons to buy

• Razor-sharp performance
• Rich picture quality
• At a great price right now

So, while we do generally recommend mini-LED over OLED for sports, I'd be remiss not to include the LG C5: one of the best OLED TVs I tested last year. It doesn't have the brightness of a mini-LED so it isn't as good for daytime viewing, but here's why you should consider it.

The C5's motion handling is brilliant. By simply switching to the Natural present in the TruMotion settings, I found the C5 was excellent for sports viewing, expertly handling the sharp twists and turns of the camera during an intense soccer match. The image looked natural and smooth throughout, regardless of what happened on screen. If you're a purist who hates motion smoothing, it doesn't do a bad job then either.

Putting the C5 in Standard mode, it delivers bold, rich colors that are sure to make player's uniforms stand out on screen. It also delivers crisp textures and detail that OLED are renowned for that will make World Cup games look very good. The C5 is also excellent at upscaling, which will be great for any games shown in HD/SDR.

The C5 does have a reflective screen so if you've got a seriously bright room with no means of controlling it, then one of the mini-LEDs above will be better. But while the C5 in a 65-inch is available for $1,399 / £1,399 / AU$2,599, it's hard not to recommend it. Stock looks good now, but with Prime Day happening soon and the excellent LG C6 now on the scene, the C5 may not have long left.

The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11, so that still gives you plenty of time to upgrade your TV if you’re looking for a bigger and better view of the tournament.

Over the last few years, bigger screens — 75 inches and over — have become a lot more popular, and they certainly will be for the World Cup. The big question is what kind of TV to get at these size, because the prices can get really expensive.

When it comes to big-screen sports, there’s one type of TV we recommend above the others: mini-LED.

Why would I recommend mini-LED over OLED? There are several key reasons, and they're mostly practical concerns about getting the best value, but I’ll get into them properly below. As TechRadar’s TV tester, I always include sports as part of my testing, so I'm speaking from experience of actually watching sports on every kind of TV.

Brightness

OLED TVs are getting brighter, but mini-LED will always have the advantage in the brightness department. But, where mini-LED has a big advantage is in fullscreen brightness. The same G6 OLED I mentioned earlier hit 387 HDR fullscreen brightness in Standard mode. The same Hisense U75Q mini-LED I mentioned above? 887 nits: bordering on three times the brightness.

Fullscreen brightness is important for sport, as it not only means it can give a large area on the screen more impact, say the field during a soccer game, but it’s crucial for helping with viewing in bright rooms.

The brightest OLED I’ve measured to date is this year’s LG G6, which clocked in at 2,524 nits peak HDR brightness in Standard mode (the picture mode I often recommend for sports viewing). While this is a great result, even mid-range mini-LEDs will dwarf this number. Last year’s Hisense U75QG (the US mid-range mini-LED in Hisense’s lineup) hit 3,372 nits in the same Standard mode.

This peak brightness will make a huge difference when it comes to highlights on screen, such as the sun on the horizon, giving them more impact. This will likely have an effect on the color brightness of a team’s kits during the World Cup, giving them more punch.

While peak brightness is important, fullscreen brightness is a game changer when it comes to bright rooms, often limiting mirror-like reflections compared to OLED — and let's talk about those now.

Reflections

As games during this year’s World Cup are being played at all sorts of times, including during the day, this brightness can make or break your viewing, because you don't want reflections in a bright room to obscure your enjoyment.

While OLEDs like the Samsung S95F, with its OLED Glare Free matte screen, and the LG G6, which has effective anti-reflection layer, are getting better at limiting reflections, most OLEDs still struggle. Their glossy screens are often magnets for reflections.

Even budget mini-LED TVs do a pretty good job of limiting reflections, purely thanks to their high fullscreen brightness — reflections being visible is a simple question of whether the light shining through the screen is brighter than what's being reflected, so a super-bright screen is a major advantage.

While they can still be subject to some screen glare, during my testing of TCL’s models last year (called the C-series here in the UK and headlined by the TCL C8K) I found that they more than held up to the scrutiny of the overhead lights in our testing labs. The same couldn’t be said for LG’s mid-range and budget OLEDs.

Samsung introduced the Glare Free matte screen to its Neo QLED (mini-LED) last year in the flagship Samsung QN90F, which was our pick as the best TV for sport and bright rooms in a lot of our best-of lists. Coupled with its high brightness and excellent motion handling, it made for a superb sport for TV, though it's a pricier model, and obviously value is important if you're buying a really big screen — so let's dig into that side of things.

Value for money

OLED TVs come at a premium. A mid-range model, such as last year’s LG C5, will set you back $1,399 for a 65-inch model at the time of writing. A 65-inch Hisense U75Q will cost you roughly $699, again at the time of writing. That’s 50% cheaper. As great as the C5 is, double the price is a tough ask.

In the UK, the numbers get a bit tighter, but it’s still a similar story. A 65-inch C5 costs around £1,299 right now, whereas a 65-inch TCL C7K (also called the TCL Q7C at some retailers) will cost £849. It's another big price gap that’s tough to justify if you’re on a budget, especially when the C7K boasts a lot of similar features, such as a 144Hz refresh rate for gaming.

The gap gets bigger as the screen sizes get bigger. A 75-inch Hisense U8Q costs $1,599, whereas a 77-inch LG C5 costs $2,199. And the gap gets even bigger when stepping up a size as an 85-inch U8Q costs $1,799, while an 83-inch LG C5 will set you back $3,299: almost double the price. The same is true on budget and premium models for each as well. If you're looking for the best value screen, it's mini-LED.

Stadium-sized screen? No-brainer

If you’re looking for a big screen for the World Cup, a mini-LED is your best bet. As more people look for cinema-sized screens at home, mini-LED has proved itself to be the better value option.

The largest OLED TV you can currently get is 97-inch, and these models are at the very premium end of the market. A 97-inch LG G5 will set you back $24,999 / £24,999. You can now get a 100-inch mini-LED screen for $2,999 / £2,999: just under 10% of the price of a big-screen OLED.

While you may think these 100-inch mini-LEDs will be super-cheap and dodgy models, you’d be wrong. The Hisense U8Q and TCL QM8K (TCL C8K in the UK) are just two of the models available in this 100-inch size, and these are two of the best mini-LED TVs available.

If you're in the UK, you can even pick up a 115-inch Samsung QN90F, our pick for the best TV for sport that I mentioned above, for £7,999, still a fraction of a 97-inch OLED. It’s available in the US too, but at a much higher $24,999 price. So, if you’re after the largest, readily available screens for the best price, mini-LED is your best bet.

The arrival of RGB

RGB TVs made a big splash when they were announced at CES 2025, with the Hisense UX serving as the first model. Since then, brands including Samsung, TCL, Sony and LG have followed suit, announcing their own RGB TVs.

These TVs use RGB LEDs to boast incredible colors with the contrast of premium mini-LEDs. While we worried that it would take years for these screens to become more affordable, smaller screens, it only took a year.

The Hisense UR9, TCL RM9L and Samsung R95H are the headliners for 2026. We’ve tested the UR9, and as well as a staggering 93% BT.2020 HDR color gamut coverage, it has incredible brightness. While the HDR numbers are high, it’s the SDR number that impressed us.

In Standard mode, we measured the UR9’s peak brightness at 2,486 nits, which is the kind of level that elite OLEDs reach in HDR — it's way beyond what they can do in SDR. Considering some sports are broadcast in SDR, this number means watching in daytime sports should be a breeze for RGB TVs, especially because the Hisense UR9 and Samsung R95H both have a matter anti-reflective coating.

You’d think this new tech will cost seriously premium money, but again you might be pleasantly surprised. The UR9 75-inch is available for roughly $3,000 / £3,500: again, that's cheaper than rival OLEDs. We’re waiting on prices for other brands, but we’d expect them to be in a similar region.

We’re still early doors in our testing of RGB TVs, but it’s an exciting tech for sure, and for it to be priced at this level this early is only good news. If these TVs prove to be the real deal, they could become the number one choice for sports.

Wondering what size of TV is right for your space? Use our screen size calculator!

You tell us how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts.

If you're thinking about upgrading your TV in time for the World Cup, you may already be discovering that the world of TVs is incredibly confusing these days. With different screen-tech options, a wide range of sizes, and prices ranging from a few hundred dollars or pounds to several thousand, making a decision isn't straightforward.

Don't worry, because we're here to help. Our team of reviewers has tested the best TVs on the market, paying particular attention to sports viewing, since live sports demands smooth handling of fast-moving action. And in this guide, I'll explain the features that matter most when buying a TV for sports, and why they're important.

Note that not everything you should consider will be listed on the box. I've highlighted the key things to look out for, but much of this information is more likely to be found in reviews and online store descriptions, rather than on the packaging itself.

Good upscaling and motion handling

Technically two features, but upscaling and motion handling go hand in hand to deliver clarity when watching sport — and if only one of the two is good, you’ll end up disappointed.

Upscaling is the process by which a 4K TV takes lower-resolution video and turns it into higher-resolution video to fill all of its pixels. Most people won’t be able to watch the World Cup in 4K natively, so upscaling will be necessary. There are many ways that TVs can do this, and many models these days will advertise themselves as using AI-assisted upscaling.

Motion handling is a similar process but for the movement of objects on the screen. A TV will tweak the image to improve the appearance of objects in motion, because in digital video, fast movement of something like a ball being kicked is difficult for video encoders to keep up with. This means it can lose a lot of detail in motion, causing fast-moving objects — such as a football — to appear blurred or smeared, or even leaving ghostly trails behind them.

Motion handling is designed to track fast-moving elements such as the ball and players, then process them to reduce blur and other motion issues to action is clear and easier for the viewer to follow. Some TVs can even generate new frames, creating the impression of a higher frame rate and smoother-looking motion.

The downside of poorly implemented motion handling – in some cheaper models, for example – is that such changes can look odd and unnatural. The ball might have an odd halo around it, players will appear strangely hard-edged, and the overall look will be very artificial, instead of naturally more detailed.

And this is the reason motion handling and upscaling tech need to work together to deliver the best results. For example, an upscale might be adding plenty of detail, but if motion processing is poor, that detail can become blurred in fast-action shots and difficult to see . Equally, if motion processing is great but the upscaler is adding weird edges to the ball, that again will undo the hard work.

LG’s OLED TVs, such as the LG C5 or LG G6, are excellent at upscaling and motion, as are Samsung’s higher-end TVs, including the Samsung QN90F and Samsung S95F. Sony’s TVs had a great reputation for this for years, but most recently we’ve found LG and Samsung to be superior. TCL and Hisense TVs generally handle these elements well in the more mid-range models, with the Hisense U8QG and TCL QM7K (both are US models) being especially impressive for their respective prices. Amazon’s Ember QLED TV is also decent out of the box compared to most budget-friendly TVs, as is the Roku Plus Series in the US.

Good screen uniformity

You might have heard this talked about as the "dirty screen effect". Basically, screen uniformity is a TV's ability to display an evenly lit image across the entire screen, without patches that appear darker. It's an issue that mainly afflicts LCD-based TV, including LED, QLED, mini-LED and RGB models.

LCD TVs work by shining a backlight made of LEDs through a grid of pixels, and the design of this backlight plays a major role in screen uniformity. If LEDs are unevenly arranged or lit, some areas of the screen can appear slightly darker or brighter than others. This is especially noticeable in scenes where there are large areas of solid colour – the grass on a football field, for example.

If your TV's screen uniformity is poor, you'll see odd dark patches rippling across the field as the camera follows the ball. Some people might mistake it for dust, hence the informal name.

The larger a TV, the more susceptible it can be to the dirty screen effect, simply because there’s a bigger area that needs to be lit evenly. This is why opting for a super-large budget model can sometime work against you, since they're less likely to come with the higher-quality backlighting required to maintain consistent screen uniformity.

While you can’t know for sure how a particular TV will perform, you can get a clue by considering the number of "dimming zones" listed in a TV's specs. In general, more dimming zones means more control over the backlight, which often goes hand in hand with a higher number of LEDs in the panel and better screen uniformity.It's also worth checking out reviews where people discuss screen uniformity.

I’ve talked about LED TVs a lot here — but what about OLED? In theory, OLED TVs display issues with screen uniformity, because every single pixel is its own LED. OLEDs can have problems with the evenness of the image, but it’s more likely to be the result of an actual fault rather than just a poor-value TV.

A reflection-beating screen

Watching sports generally means a lot of daytime viewing, and that tends to mean a lot of light. Even if you’re watching in the evening, you might still have lots of lights on in your room. The glossy screens of most TVs means they reflect like a mirror, making it difficult to see what’s on-screen.

Mirror-like reflections are particularly distracting, not only because they pull your attention away from the game, but also because your eyes will naturally try to focus on the reflection, rather than the image on the TV. Since the reflection appears to sit at a different distance to the TV image, constantly refocusing between the two can cause eyestrain.

TVs use a several methods to reduce reflections, and almost all TVs have a polarizer built in to help control how light travels through the panel. However, in budget TVs this can be very basic, and so won’t appear to make a huge difference in bright rooms.

So, in a more affordable TV, higher brightness can often present the best method of counteracting any reflections. Mini-LED TVs excel here because they use a huge number of tiny LEDs, allowing them to produce much higher brightness across the whole screen over what OLED TVs can achieve.

Some TVs also have specific anti-reflection layers. Samsung’s higher-end mini-LED and OLED TVs come with a “Glare Free" coating, which is basically a matte layer that scatters light rather than reflecting it. Any reflections instead appear as a dim haze rather than an object of focus, making it more easily handled by the TV's own brightness to overcome and therefore less distracting for the viewer. Hisense has also added a less-aggressive matte layer to its high-end and mid-range mini-LED TVs. The LG G6 OLED TV includes a very impressive layer that massively reduces the brightness of mirror-like reflections.

Basically, if you’ll be watching your TV in a bright room, then the higher the level of brightness in your TV the better — and a premium TV with an extra anti-reflection layer will help even further.

Sound that extends beyond the screen

When you're watching the World Cup, you want to feel immersed in the atmosphere of the event, and the sound is a major part of that. If the crowd noise seems confined to the TV itself, it’s hard to forget that you’re simply watching a screen. But when the sound feels like it's coming from beyond the box, you'll feel more like you’re part of the action.

Similarly, audio with deeper bass and clearer highs will deliver a more immersive feeling, because drums, stamping feet, voices and the roaring of a whole crowd will sound more full and realistic.

Once again, while there’s no way to know for sure from the specs alone if a TV will deliver a decent, you can make an educated guess.

Budget TVs are likely to have a very basic speaker system, usually comprising just two small speakers that point downwards. As such, their ability to engulf you in audio will be limited. If a TV has just a 2.0-channel speaker system, odds are that will be small-sounding.

A TV with forward-firing or side-firing speakers is far more likely to deliver expansive audio. Look for models whose specs feature a bass system (either a subwoofer or just passive bass radiators), which achieve a much fuller sound.

The good news is that mid-range TVs and upwards are increasingly capable of delivering full, well-handled sound straight out of the box. Models such as the TCL QM7K and Hisense U7 perform well in this area, but step up to the TCL QM8K, Hisense U8 or especially the Samsung QN90F, and you'll experience a much bigger and more spacious feel.

Of course, another way to ensure superb sound quality is with a soundbar or speaker system. Around this time of year, you'll find plenty of TV deals with soundbars thrown in, or offered at a low price, so keep a lookout. It’s possible that a mid-price TV with an affordable soundbar turns out to be the best-value combination overall for mixing a big screen with big sound.

A big screen size balanced with price

A lot of people looking to buy a TV for World Cup viewing will be tempted to go for the biggest screen possible, and there many huge sizes available for not much more than the cost of an 65-inch model, which will tempt people even more so to go big.

But big isn't necessarily best, because of all the factors I’ve mentioned above. All the potential dangers I’ve mentioned. Poor motion handling, weak detail, uneven screen uniformity, distracting reflections and limited sound are all more noticeable on a larger screen, where flaws have nowhere to hide.

If you have a budget of $1,000 to spend, you could buy a basic 85-inch TV, or a good 75-inch model, or a higher-quality 65-inch set. How you balance size, quality and budget is ultimately a personal choice, but it's important to note that unless your budget increases alongside the screen size, you’ll usually be trading performance for acreage.

If you're wondering what the "right" screen size is for your particular setup, check out this calculator, which will help you figure it out:

• "Now is the time to start thinking about pointing input" for Google TV says Google
• No Google TV manufacturers currently use pointy remotes
• Gemini AI features seem to be the reason for the push

I believe there are two kinds of TV user in the world: people who hate LG's Magic Remote, and people who haven't used LG's Magic Remote. I'm in the former camp, so I'm bemused by Google's latest announcement: it looks like something very similar is coming to Google TV.

If you're not familiar with the Magic Remote, it uses Wii-style motion control with similar accuracy, so trying to point at anything can be frustrating: the cursor drifts with even the slightest movement, turning channel hopping into what feels like a round of Wii Tennis. It's an attempt to solve the ongoing challenge of controlling a smart TV from a distance, and I don't think it's a successful one: my kids' TV has a Magic Remote and they, and I, hate it.

But Google seems to disagree. "Now is the time to start thinking about pointing input", Google TV developer relations engineer Paul Lammertsma told app makers at Google I/O this week (via FlatpanelsHD)

What's the point of a pointing remote?

To the best of my knowledge, the only mainstream TV manufacturer using pointing remotes is LG, and LG doesn't use Google TV. So what's going on?

It's all about Gemini and ever more feature-packed TVs, it seems. As Lammertsma explained: "The TV experience that we once knew is changing. Gemini is changing the way we discover and stream content with voice, but how we use the remote is evolving too. Pointer remotes bring motion-controlled input to the big screen, unlocking faster user navigation across the Google TV Home page and within content-heavy apps."

It seems unlikely that LG is going to dump its own webOS platform in favor of Google TV, so Google encouraging the adoption of pointing remotes in apps strongly suggests that either Google or one of its partners is developing pointing remotes for Google TV sets. It's unclear whether the support will be backwards compatible or limited to new TV models only.

Making TV remotes is hard, I know: some are far too complicated and others are far too simple. I hope Google has cracked the drift and accuracy problems that plague handheld remote controls and that the movement looks like it does in the animation above — and not like the remote control in my kids' room that drives us all mad.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• TCL's new Google TV update brings new audio and visual features
• Upgrade is for 2023, 2024 and 2025 TCL TVs, matching 2026 model features
• Requires Google TV and MediaTek Pentonic 700 chip

TCL is rolling out an upgrade to older TVs that adds Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode and wireless subwoofer support. It also fixes an irritating sound bug in the Disney+ app and delivers the usual performance improvements and bug fixes too.

As FlatpanelsHD reports, the upgrade is coming to 2023, 2024 and 2025 TCL Google TVs powered by MediaTek's Pentonic 700 chip and it's already began rolling out.

The firmware version number is v643 and it's an over-the-air update.

TCL is pretty good at keeping its existing TVs up to date; earlier this year it provided a firmware update that boosted the Android version from 12 to 14 and added support for HDMI 2.1 Quick Media Switching.

What's new in the TCL Google TV update?

Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode is the replacement for Dolby Vision Dark, and it's designed to deliver movies just as the filmmakers intended; it's the most accurate of all the picture modes for serious cinema fans, but limits the brightness in order to achieve this, so is better for dark room viewing.

The upgrade also fixes an issue in the Disney+ app with IMAX Enhanced DTS:X audio, which should now work properly; you should now be able to switch between Dolby Atmos and DTS:X on supported movies without any issues. Those movies include the likes of Tron: Ares and Marvel movies.

The third important change is an upgrade to the Dolby Atmos FlexConnect support. That's Dolby's wireless system for TV and home theater, and when it launched last year it enabled you to use up to four TCL wireless speakers with your compatible TV.

That's now been upgraded and you can now add a wireless subwoofer, the TCL Z100-SW, for extra low-end thump. That makes FlexConnect a more compelling alternative to a soundbar setup for those of us who like a lot of impact.

The upgrade will be coming to TVs including the X11K; C8K and QM8K; C7K and QM7K; C6K and QM6K; C855; C805; C955; and X955 and QM851G. You can check if the upgrade is coming to your own TV in FlatpanelHD's TV database.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

The 2026 World Cup is only a few weeks away, so if you're thinking of upgrading your home setup, now is the time. With new 2026 TVs appearing in stores now, 2025's models are at some of their cheapest prices, meaning you can grab a real bargain.

But, while you may be looking at a new TV or a new soundbar, I've come up with a few TV/soundbar combos in case you're looking to overhaul your whole home setup.

To be clear, any of these TVs will go great with any of these soundbars if you're looking to mix and match, but I've picked pairs to hit particular budgets that are ideal matches.

I've chosen some of the best TVs from the likes of Samsung, Hisense and TCL and the best soundbars from Sonos, Samsung and more.

Setup 1: Budget bang-for-buck

TV: TCL QM6K/C6K

The TCL QM6K, known as the TCL C6K in the UK, is a budget gem. It uses a mini-LED panel that delivers punchy colors, strong contrast with deep black levels and solid brightness all for an affordable price.

With a measured HDR fullscreen brightness of 594 nits in Standard mode for the QM6K and 706 nits in the same mode on the C6K, these TVs are more than bright enough to handle daytime viewing without distracting reflections. With games played at various times throughout the day in the World Cup, this is crucial.

The QM6K/C6K also make for great gaming TVs when you're not watching the World Cup. They support 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM: an excellent suite of features for a TV this price.

The QM6K/C6K's best feature is its price. A 65-inch model will cost $699 / £649 respectively, which is a bargain for what you're getting. This is easily the best option for the budget conscious.

Soundbar: Sony HT-S150F

The Sony HT-SF150, know as the Sony HT-S100F in the US and Australia, is our current pick for the best super-cheap soundbar on our best soundbars list. Why? Because it delivers impressive depth, clear speech and decent power and bass for a very low price: $99 / £99 / AU$199.

It also has a decent feature set including Bluetooth support for music streaming, an elegant design and easy setup and use: all big positives for a budget soundbar.

While it isn't the most sonically diverse soundbar, it's superb value and will really help add another level to your World Cup experience by boosting commentary and crowd noise more than your TV's speakers would.

Setup 2: The step-up option

TV: Hisense U8Q

The Hisense U8QG is an excellent-value mini-LED TV. It produces rich colors and powerful contras,t and has a strong feature set including both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, plus 4K 165Hz and VRR for gaming.

The U8Q also produces super-high brightness for a TV at this price point. A measured 3,337 nits and 2,888 nits peak HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode and Standard respectively really help highlights pop on screen as well as producing strong perceived contrast.

With 744 nits HDR fullscreen brightness and even 600 nits of SDR fullscreen brightness, the U8Q is more than capable of handling bright rooms — perfect for daytime World Cup games.

At $999 / £1,299 / AU$1,599 for a 65-inch model, the U8Q is fantastic value for the performance it delivers and the features it comes with. If you're looking for a substantial upgrade at a fair price, this is top-notch value.

Soundbar: Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) may be a few years old now, but it's still one of the best all-in-one, mid-range soundbars you can get. It delivers spacious, punchy sound quality with plenty of detail. This compact soundbar is mightier than it looks.

Not only does it tick the boxes for movies, but it's fantastic for music too. It delivers the same detail it does for movies, offering a layered sound with strong, well-controlled bass, clear highs and natural sounding mid-tones.

The Beam also supports hi-res audio and Dolby Atmos, as well as Wi-Fi streaming support for better sound quality. At its usual $499 / £449 / AU$799 price tag it's a great value soundbar that will give any World Cup game an extra dimension — and occasionally it gets nice deals, too. It's great in its own right, but can be expanded with a subwoofer and rear speakers too for a fuller experience.

Setup 3: The premium option

TV: Samsung QN90F

The Samsung QN90F really is the perfect for TV for sport. Not only does it deliver high brightness thanks to its mini-LED panel, but it comes equipped with a Glare Free matte screen that makes it the ideal TV for those in a bright room because it totally squashes reflections even in darker scenes. Daytime sports viewing will be no issue for the QN90F.

Aside from the brightness, the QN90F has excellent motion handling. With the right settings (judder and blur adjustments set to 3), it delivers a smooth picture that will help deliver the games from the World Cup accurately and more clearly than basically anything else on the market.

The QN90F also delivers excellent contrast and color for movies and is a gaming powerhouse with 4K 144Hz, VRR and ALLM all supported across four HDMI 2.1 ports.

Since its release in 2025, its prices have dropped significantly. A 65-inch set costs $1,599 / £1,399 / AU$2,899 so while it's at the pricier end of the mini-LED market, it is excellent value, made even better by the big drop in price from its original $2,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,499 price tag.

Soundbar: Samsung HW-Q800F

The Samsung HW-Q800F sits at the top of our best soundbars list. It delivers a powerful, immersive sound with solid Dolby Atmos reproduction. Its subwoofer, which is a new compact, dual-driver unit, produces some serious bass that's precise and well controlled.

Speaking of precise, this is one of the Q800F's greatest strengths. Not only is its sound immersive, it's accurate too. Its mapping of different effects is pinpoint and is has excellent directionality. It will do a great job with the fast-paced action of a World Cup game and the feeling of crowd's ambiance exploding out of the soundbar and into the space all around the TV.

The Q800F also supports Wi-Fi music streaming and supports 4K 120Hz gaming in its HDMI in ports. And, it does all this for a fairly reasonable price too, costing $799 / £599 / AU$799. While that is getting to the pricier side of the soundbar market, it's worth every penny.

Setup 4: The elite OLED & surround experience

TV: Samsung S95F

The Samsung S95F was one of 2025's best OLED TVs. It delivers excellent picture quality, with vibrant, bold colors and strong contrast, as well as crisp textures and refined detail. It's also fully stocked for gaming with four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz, full VRR including G-Sync, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming.

What sets the S95F apart from other OLEDs is its anti-reflection screen. A matte coating means mirror-like reflections are reduced to haze, making it a fantastic OLED for bright room viewing. With this TV, you'll get to watch daytime sports with OLED's color, detail and perfect viewing angles without worrying about reflections. While mini-LED is our typical recommendation for sports, this OLED changes the game.

However, as a flagship OLED, the S95F is in the premium price bracket. A 65-inch model costs $2,499 / £2,299 / AU$3,799 which is pricey, but if you're after an elite World Cup experience, then this OLED TV should definitely be on your list.

Soundbar: Samsung HW-Q990F

The Samsung HW-Q990F is a multi-box soundbar system that delivers serious power across 11.1.4 channels. It's sound is expansive and precise, creating a real Dolby Atmos experience at home thanks to its two rear speakers and subwoofer.

The subwoofer is a new, compact size but thankfully, none of the hefty, detailed bass has disappeared. The dual-driver sub delivers raw power which works wonders for movies. The rear speakers are excellent at delivering surround effects and the soundbar itself delivers clear speech, punchy audio and excellent separation.

If you're looking for a soundbar to capture the stadium atmosphere of the World Cup, this is it. This level of performance comes at a price though. At $1,599 / £999 / AU$1,399, this is a premium soundbar.

But for the performance and features it brings, including hi-res audio and Wi-Fi streaming support as well as 4K 120Hz passthrough for gaming, the Q990F is worth the investment if you have the budget.

• TCL's SQD mini-LED TVs get UK pricing, ranging from £1,099 to £3,999
• Sizes from 55 inches to 98 inches
• We're impressed with the tech in our first review

TCL's C8L premium TV and its C7L mid-range TV have launched in the UK, and they're priced very competitively against the LG C-series OLED TVs.

The TVs use mini-LED with TCL's new Super Quantum Dot (SQD) technology, with sizes ranging from 55 inches to 98 inches. Pricing is very aggressive, with the cheapest model coming in at just £1,099 and the range-topper a still reasonable £3,999.

We haven't tested the UK-focused TCL C8L TV just yet. But we've spent weeks testing the same tech in the US-focused TCL QM8L TV, and we're very impressed. It delivers a bright picture, minimizes the light blooming effect of LCD screens in high-contrast scenes, and comes with effective hands-free voice control.

Why we're tempted by these TVs in the run-up to the World Cup

A lot of people will be thinking of buying a new TV for the World Cup, and the excellent performance of the LG C6 OLED TV will mean it's probably high on people's lists as an option — but TechRadar's TV team has been discussing it, and we think that for a lot of people, the TCL models will be a more tempting proposition.

Obviously, the panel technology is very different, with TCL going for mini-LED rather than LG's OLED. That means the TCL is very bright, although it's backlit where the LG is self-emissive.

That usually means a dramatic difference in contrast levels compared to the inky blacks of OLED, but in our review of the TCL QM8L (the equivalent of the TCL C8L in the UK) we were very impressed by how well it controlled backlight bloom. In fact, we thought it was a pretty strong contender for our best TVs of 2026 line-up.

The C7L model has up to 2,176 precise dimming zones and the C8L up to 4,032, and the two ranges come with HDR10+, Dolby VIsion HQ and IMAX Enhanced viewing. Bang and Olufsen-branded audio delivers a 2.1-channel across the range with Atmos support.

We were also impressed with the color range offered in the SQD tech, which is now able to hit the same kind of coverage of the DCI-P3 HDR color gamut as OLED TVs can.

And the brightness is a major factor — the QM8L is capable of 760 nits of fullscreen brightness, which will really help it to overcome reflections if you're watching during the daytime. The LG C6, by comparison, hits 245 nits. Yes, the TCL can be three times brighter — you'll really see that difference in practice.

And then this is all balanced with what screen size you can get for the price, because people are increasingly looking to buy bigger TVs.

The recommended retail prices for the TCL C7L, TCL C8L and LG C6 are:

LG's range includes two smaller sizes, but if we compare like to like you're looking at £1,799 for a 55-inch C6 and just £1,199 for the same sized TCL C8L, before the inevitable retail discounting kicks in.

That's a lot of money, and if you've been thinking of getting a big TV in time for the World Cup that means you could get a much bigger and even brighter TV from TCL than you would with an LG OLED: the same £1,799 for the 55-inch LG would get you a 75-inch TCL C7L with money to spare.

There are lots of reasons to choose the LG OLED still: we prefer its smart TV software to the Google TV used on the TCL, and the contrast of OLED is ultimately better, especially for cinephiles.

But TCL's tech took a step up this year, and the two are on par in so many ways, including on having four HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming. And at these prices, we think a lot of people will be tempted to get a bigger TV for the same price.

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• Google TV's home screen will get a "personalized feed of snackable videos"
• New generative AI features on TCL Gemini-ready TVs arrives today
• Improvements to Google Photos and screensavers

Google TV is getting an upgrade (such as it is) that many people are going to dislike. This summer, it'll be bringing vertical video to US viewers' homescreen in the form of YouTube Shorts clips.

According to FlatpanelsHD it could get worse: Google hasn't ruled out adding vertical video from TikTok and Instagram too.

Google isn't the first big tech firm to add vertical video to its TV viewing. Disney+ did it earlier this year, and Instagram has a TV app too — but those are within apps, not just piped straight to you when you turn the TV on.

Why is Google adding vertical video to Google TV?

Adding Google Shorts to your homescreen is part of Google's wider mission to keep you inside its ecosystem and watching its ads. At the moment, the homescreen recommendations are for movies and shows, often sending you other services; by adding YouTube Shorts to the mix, you might potentially watch lots of videos from Google's own services, each with ads.

Vertical video isn't the only addition coming to Google TV. As of today, if you're a US owner of a TCL TV with Gemini (such as the TCL QM8K) you can access more generative AI tools in the form of the Nano Banana and Veo apps, for generating images and video respectively. They'll roll out to more Gemini-enabled TVs and devices in the coming months.

There's a new Remix feature in Google Photos that enables you to change existing photos' styles and backgrounds via voice commands, and you'll be able to search for specific photos via voice. There's also a Dynamic Slideshows feature that'll display a selected Google Photos album as a screensaver. That one doesn't require Gemini.

Whether these features delight or disgust you is going to depend on what you use your TV for. As Google describes it, the new features are "designed to help you connect, create and share laughs together" by "unlocking the TV’s potential as a shared creative canvas."

The new generative AI tools will be available on compatible US TCL TVs today, and most of the new features will roll out to US users this summer. Dynamic Slideshows will be available worldwide, again in the summer.

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• IJP OLED could be 30% to 35% cheaper than current OLED production
• Challenges remain, especially power consumption and blue OLED lifespan
• Expect to see the tech in premium laptops first, but TVs are on the cards

A new report says that the long-awaiting arrival of inkjet-printed OLED will slash the price of OLED production, making the tech much more cost-effective and the resulting displays much more affordable.

That's good news in the relatively short term for laptops (such as a near-future OLED MacBook Pro), and for smaller displays in devices such as phones and in-car consoles. And in the longer term it's good news for TV buyers too.

The dominant production technology in OLED production is FMM, which is short for Fine Metal Mask. According to display analysts Omdia, FMM costs are getting lower — but inkjet printing will be even cheaper, with a price difference of between 30 to 35% compared to FMM production. Given that OLED is an expensive tech to produce, that could make a big difference.

And price isn't the only benefit. Inkjet printing offers some significant advantages over FMM. However, it's important to note that those lower costs are a prediction for the future, not a measurement of how much IJP OLED costs to produce at the moment.

This is still a very new screen tech, and that means it's still expensive to manufacture because the yields — meaning the amount of panels produced that are good enough to sell — still need to be improved.

We've been told by TCL, the biggest player in the IJP OLED game right now, that it'll be several years before it's affordable in mass-market TVs — but in laptop and even monitor-sized panels, the tech is rolling out.

What's so exciting about inkjet-printed displays?

For manufacturers, the lower cost of inkjet printed displays isn't the only benefit. It's set to be much more efficient once it's working at full quality — Omdia says that for 16.3-inch OLED laptop displays, manufacturers can produce 10% more panels from a single substrate compared to FMM processes — and the machines cost less to buy.

That's the good news. But there are still some challenges for inkjet-printed OLEDs to overcome. One of the key challenges has been the lifespan of blue OLEDs made using the IJP process: according to TCL CSOT, in 2020 the lifespan of its blue pixels was just 40 hours. Power consumption was also a significant issue.

However, by late 2025 TCL CSOT had improved the longevity of its blues by ten times to 400 hours, and it had reduced power consumption by one-third — the technology has continued to develop since then.

This is a very fast-moving sector, and there's big money being spent on developing it: TCL CSOT alone has invested $4 billion in its T8 plant, which will be located in Guangzhou in China. It's intended to produce 22,500 substrates per month.

Those panels will be destined for monitors, notebooks and tablets, but TVs are on the roadmap too: as we reported last year, TCL has been showing off TVs with panels up to 65 inches in size. Mass production of the first panels from the plant is likely to commence in late 2027.

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• TCL adds three more models to its 2026 lineup
• This includes the TCL P8L, another QD mini-LED model
• Two other QLEDs have been introduced, including a Fire TV model

TCL has announced three new models its adding to its 2026 TV lineup, including another mini-LED.

The three new models include the TCL P8L, a new QD mini-LED in the vein of last year's C-series; the TCL P7L, a new QLED model and finally the V6D, another QLED that uses Fire TV as its smart TV platform instead of Google TV as most other TCL models do.

TCL has also released pricing for each of these TVs which you can find, along with full announced specs, below.

These three models join the previously announced 2026 TVs which include the flagship X11L Super Quantum Dot (SQD) mini-LED, RM9L and RM8L RGB mini-LED TVs and the C8L and C7L. The C8 and C7 will also feature SQD mini-LED for the first time, an upgraded panel over their predecessors the TCL C8K and C7K, two of 2025's best TVs.

TCL also confirmed that the TCL C6K, easily one of the best budget mini-LED TVs I tested last year, will be carried forward into 2026.

TCL P8L

The TCL P8L will be available in 55, 65, 75 and 85-inch sizes. Prices for each of these models are as follows:

• 55-inch – £649.00
• 65-inch – £849.00
• 75-inch – £1,049.00
• 85-inch – £1,399.00

The TCL P8L is another QD mini-LED TV, similar to the C-series we've come to rate highly over the past couple of years. It will feature an HVA panel to the step-up C8L's WHVA 2.0 Ultra SQD mini-LED panel and the C7L's HVA 2.0 Pro SQD mini-LED panel, and will come with TCL's AiPQ processor built-in and support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR formats. There will also be a Filmmaker Mode included, which was introduced last year.

It will also have a gaming feature set up there with the best gaming TVs, including 4K 144Hz (with a 288Hz accelerator mode), FreeSync Premium, ALLM and an improved TCL Game Bar.

The P8L will use Google TV as its smart TV platform, and it will support Google Assistant, Google Cast, Miracast and Airplay 2.

TCL P7L

The TCL P7L is a QLED TV and will be available in sizes 43, 50, 55, 65, 75 and 85-inches. Prices for these models are as follows:

• 43-inch – £399.00
• 50-inch – £449.00
• 55-inch – £499.00
• 65-inch – £699.00
• 75-inch – £899.00
• 85-inch – £1,299.00

The P7L comes equipped with a QLED panel that TCL says will offer 93% coverage of the DCI-P3 HDR color space (a decent result for a mid-range QLED if proven true). It will also use the AiPQ processor with AI features such as AI Game Agent and AI Cinematic Agent. The TCL P7L will support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR formats.

While gaming features haven't been fully confirmed, there is only one HDMI 2.1 eARC port listed, so it's likely this TV is limited to 4K 60Hz for gaming.

For audio, the P7L's 43-75-inch models will use a 2.0 Onkyo speaker system. The 85-inch will use an Onkyo 2.1 speaker system.

The P7L will also use Google TV as its smart TV platform and will support Google Assistant, MiraCast, Google Cast and Airplay 2.

TCL V6D

The TCL V6D is a QLED TV that will be available in sizes 43, 50, 55, 65 and 75-inches. Prices for this model are as follows:

• 43-inch – £379.00
• 50-inch – £399.00
• 55-inch – £449.00
• 65-inch – £599.00
• 75-inch – £699.00

The TCL V6D is the most entry-level model of this lineup, but it will still come with a QLED panel. While there's no Dolby Vision support, it will support both HDR10+ and HDR10. There is also support for VRR and ALLM, and while no refresh rate has been given, we'd again assume it's going to land at 4K 60Hz. There's also support for Dolby Atmos.

The big difference between the V6D and the rest of the lineup is that it will use Fire TV as its smart TV platform. It will come with the Voice Remote and will support Alexa.

Even more budget mini-LEDs

TCL's mini-LED TVs were some of the best I tested last year, with the mid-range C7K in particular striking the right balance between performance and price.

Last year, the P8K (the new P8L's predecessor) was a QLED TV, but this year, the P8L is getting mini-LED. It's encouraging to see that mini-LED is being introduced further down the range.

Interestingly, while the P8L shares many specs with the 'step-up' C7K and C8K, its launch prices aren't dissimilar to those of the entry-level TCL C6K. The 65-inch P8L is set to launch for £849, while the C6K 65-inch launched at £799.

It's unlikely the P8L's price will actually stay that high for long, as we've often seen a massive price decrease several weeks after launch with TCL's mini-LEDs in previous years.

If the P8L can deliver the picture quality and performance similar to the C-series models, but potentially hit a lower price point quickly, it could be yet another affordable, mini-LED gem in TCL's catalogue.

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Ever since I saw my first RGB-backlit TV at CES 2025, from Samsung (immediately followed by Hisense and TCL later in the show), I've been really bullish on the technology's potential — even going so far as to call it "a huge danger to OLED TVs".

2026 is really the year of the RGB TV, with major launches coming from nearly every huge TV maker, and I've been really excited by the models I've seen in previews, ranging from Samsung's first-of-its-kind 130-inch RGB TV to Panasonic's tease of a future RGB model it may launch, to Hisense's UR9 RGB TV that's unique by offering a DisplayPort connection, to Sony's demonstration of the tech it plans to launch in 2026.

So, having finally seen so much of these TVs in action, my anticipation of them actually arriving must be only growing, right?

My friends, they haven't even launched yet, and I'm already exhausted by the whole RGB rollout.

They're not even here and they're too confusing

A major part of the problem is that there are already just too many variations — or possible variations — and considerations to track.

You can read our full explanation of RGB-backlit TVs here. Still, the gist is that because it uses a colorful backlight, that means it can deliver a wider range of colors than regular mini-LED and can have less light bloom from bright areas to dark area potentially, because colors don't always leak as obviously (as my colleague Jake Krol noted on his more recent trip to see Sony show off its RGB tech again).

So, this is a new technology that's better than regular mini-LED, right? It's the most premium tech, ready to take on the best OLED TVs?

Well, not according to TCL, which is including two RGB TVs in its new TV range, and neither of them is its flagship TV. The flagship is the TCL X11L, which uses a new-and-improved version of regular mini-LED tech to deliver some impressive results compared to other mini-LED models in our testing.

Here's what's most confusing: one of the RGB TVs that TCL is launching is its second-fanciest model, sitting just below the X11L, but the other is one of its least-premium models, sitting below its mid-range 7-series mini-LED TVs, due to its limited number of dimming zones and middling brightness.

LG is also launching RGB TVs, which might come as a surprise given that it's the standard-bearer for OLED. Well, guess what? It's positioning its RGB TVs below the LG G6 and LG C6 OLED TVs in the range, and it really just seems to be offering them so it can provide an affordable, larger-screen option than its OLEDs can deliver.

Philips is similarly launching an RGB TV model that seems to replace the mini-LED models it's always had that sit below the OLEDs in its product range, so it's the same deal there.

So all three of these companies think that RGB TVs are not going to be the flagship. But Hisense disagrees! Its flagship TV this year is an RGB TV, and the TV just below that will also use RGB tech, and then it switches to regular mini-LED tech once you get to the mid-range U7-series (which looks great this year thanks to a new anti-reflective layer).

Samsung is also making RGB TVs the flagship of its LED range, with mini-LED models only coming in lower down the range with the QN80H and below (including some models that are mini-LED without QLED, which genuinely shocked me).

Except Samsung has a kind of split flagship TV personality these days: is the flagship the Samsung R95H RGB TV, or is it the Samsung S95H/S99H elite OLED TV (which has impressed us in our early testing at home)? It's basically both!

Sony will launch its 'True RGB' TV sometime this year, but we have no idea what the price will be, or how it will compare to the Sony Bravia 8 II OLED TV in the line-up — but I expect it to sit above it, based on Sony's pursuit of 4,000 nits reference-quality TVs to match its studio monitors.

So to recap, is RGB tech the new premium OLED-killer tech? Well, LG and Philips seem to think it's not, and OLED is still the top dog. Samsung hasn't chosen a side. TCL doesn't like OLED anyway, and yet still says RGB tech doesn't even beat its own mini-LED tech.

Only Hisense is fully committed, and is even removing its sole OLED TV from sale in 2026.

So what's the average TV buyer supposed to think? Obviously, the TechRadar TV team is going to be testing them to work out which are indeed very premium and which should be genuine alternatives to OLED as the premium TV pick… but for someone who's just trying to understand the options available to them and level of quality you get from a particular type of technology, the RGB launch looks like a total fumble.

And that's before you get to trying to reckon with what's in the panels themselves.

Not all RGB tech is created equal, probably

Since mini-LED launched around 2021, the technology has become… complicated. There's no rule on what can be called "mini-LED," so some of the TVs marketed that way today are just TVs we would have known as direct-LED TVs in the past. Samsung even released edge-lit TVs that it markets as mini-LED, which I think is pushing the definition too far.

But also, do you get better results from something with very small LEDs packed in, but terrible control of light bleeding from one area to another, or from something with bigger LEDs in fewer zones, but with better shaping of the light as it passes through the panel?

At first, the technology was very samey, but it's developed into something complex over time with a million ways to approach its simple concept.

RGB TVs are launching with a ton of confusion around the specific implementation already built in, even though they offer such a clear original concept (of having a colorful backlight instead of a single color).

For example, did you know that some RGB TVs might not actually use red, green, and blue LEDs in each backlight element, as is the whole promise of the technology? There are versions of the tech that use two LEDs (blue and green) with a phosphor color filter to create the full range of hues. This would be cheaper to make, but it will surely perform less well.

Sony has been making a big fuss about how its upcoming TV will have individual red, green, and blue LEDs for each backlight element, because it's a premium piece of tech. Sony seems to be briefing against other brands that might be cutting corners, to make clear that its (probably high-priced) TV is worth the cash.

Who would be launching a cheaper TV that cuts corners this way? Most people would probably guess the Chinese brands that have been undercutting the likes of Sony and Samsung on price for years.

But Hisense is doing the exact same briefing as Sony against unnamed competitors who may use the cheaper version. The company told me that its two new RGB TVs use all three LED colors, unlike some that might be using the dual-LED system.

Okay, what about TCL? The company certainly gets some side-eye from TV enthusiasts following the result of a lawsuit saying that it can't call certain TVs "QLED" anymore. Well, TCL told me explicitly that its higher-end RGB model not only uses all three RGB LEDs, but it actually has two of each LED per element to provide better light performance.

The company said that the red element even uses an individual control chip per red LED, because the red wavelength needs the most careful management. For green and blue, the two LEDs are each controlled by one chip.

Now, Sony's made a big song and dance about having one LED per color, and TCL's out here with two LEDs per color — who's the more premium now, eh, Sony? The answer is: I have no idea! We'd have to test both, but this whole thing leaves me exhausted rather than excited about a new technology that hasn't even launched yet. Multiple companies are pointing fingers at others for cutting corners, but everyone is also successfully emphasizing how they're absolutely not cutting corners.

The good news is that it should be very obvious if TVs are using the cheaper system once we get them in our labs, because the spectrum power distribution of a TV screen is like a fingerprint for different technologies, since it measures the inherent luminance of different wavelengths within the panel, which gets adjusted for the content.

But the thing is, we're not even done with the technology being confusing yet, because at CES in 2026, Hisense literally didn't show its two new RGB TVs at all, instead opting to show the next version of the tech, which is no longer RGB anymore. It's RGBC, because the company is apparently adding a cyan LED in addition to the red, green, and blue.

Am I excited about this? I don't know, man, why don't you let me see what I think of the RGB ones first!

And I haven't even talked about how RGB TVs will often "color zones" instead of the "dimming zones" you get with mini-LED, meaning you need to divide the number of color zones by three in order to get the equivalent number to simple dimming zones, because color zones count all three RGB elements as independently dimmable (but this is silly, because we only care about the number of zones in terms of their ability to turn things black).

What do you tell people in your own advertising?

Look, it's obviously great that the TV world is more innovative and competitive than it's ever been right now. It's going to mean better results and cheaper TVs for people buying them, so I'm far from mad about all this.

But I'm bemused, because the TV companies are making it both harder for themselves and for me by rolling this tech out in such a chaotic manner.

Take Hisense, valiantly betting on RGB as being the flagship top-of-the-line TV. It will surely just advertise that RGB is the best you can get — nice and easy, right? Except TCL will offer an RGB TV that massively undercuts both of Hisense's TVs, so Hisense's own advertising may work against it because it makes that TV look incredibly tempting in comparison to its own — and both companies have opted to name their versions of the technology 'Mini RGB', so they'll sound incredibly similar to most people.

When someone asks me whether one type of TV technology is better than the other, or even just whether something is good for a particular purpose, I can normally give a succinct answer, even if it starts with 'depends'.

I really don't know how to answer with RGB tech this year. I'll probably have to tell people to ignore the name and just think of it as mini-LED because of how interspersed it is with mini-LED tech between different manufacturers at similar prices.

But that seems like such a waste of a new screen technology, doesn't it? OLED has such a simple dominance of branding as the premium TV tech, and RGB could have challenged it, but collectively, the branding has been diluted before it even launched fully.

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Every week we put together our ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) round-up of the top stories that have hit the TechRadar website over the last seven days — just in case you did miss any of the big happenings in the world of tech since last week.

The ICYMI series has been running for a long time at this point, and we've yet to have a quiet week. However, even by the standards of this feature, we're coming to the end of a particularly packed seven days in tech-land.

We've had NASA launches, 50 years of Apple, Samsung TVs, controversial changes to Netflix apps, and more besides. Get comfortable and dive in.

7. Sony and TCL’s new TV venture went official

Two of the biggest names in TVs are teaming up: Sony and TCL this week announced a new partnership under the name 'Bravia, Inc'. While TCL will have a (slightly) bigger stake in the enterprise, the TVs themselves will continue to have Sony Bravia branding, and we can apparently look forward to the same "premium" experience that Bravias are known for.

Also included in the deal are the Sony home theater projectors that have also been a hit with consumers serious about their living room setup. We're hoping the deal means better value TV sets at lower prices, although it's not clear exactly what this will mean for future models — particularly the high-end OLED TVs that Sony is currently so well known for.

• Read more: It's official — TCL will make Sony's future TVs in a new joint venture, so say hello to 'Bravia, Inc'

6. Samsung gave its watches a big health upgrade

While blood pressure monitoring via Galaxy Watches has long been available in markets such as South Korea and the UK, users in the US have had to wait patiently for the feature to get regulatory approval. That has now happened, and Samsung has announced that US owners of a Galaxy Watch 4 or later can now get started with blood pressure monitoring.

It's not quite as simple as strapping a Galaxy Watch to your wrist and pressing a button though, because the smartwatch will still need calibrating with a proper blood pressure cuff every 28 days (this makes sure the readings you're getting on your wrist match up with your actual blood pressure). You'll need the Samsung Health Monitor app installed too.

• Read more: Got a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or later? You'll be able to 'monitor your blood pressure right from the wrist' very soon

5. We tried the AirPods Max 2

The wait for the AirPods Max 2 was a long five years after the original headphones launched, but they're here now — and TechRadar editor Jacob Krol has been thoroughly testing them out. If you want to know whether they're worth the upgrade, and how much difference the updated H2 chipset makes to audio quality, this is where to find out.

As well as that new chipset, the AirPods Max 2 headphones bring with them improved active noise cancellation technology and a new Adaptive Audio mode that really impresses. However, there's also a lot that's the same here, including 40mm drivers in each earcup, the colors you can buy them in, and battery life (said to be up to 20 hours).

• Read more: I tried the AirPods Max 2, and they're an upgrade worth waiting five years for — it’s the smarter, more immersive listening experience that stands out

4. Netflix hobbled its Apple TV app

Netflix rolled out a pretty major change to its app for the Apple TV streaming boxes this week, and it's not a change that's gone down well with viewers. The app now uses Netflix's own on-screen control system rather than the standard one baked into tvOS, which means certain playback features that have been there for years are now no longer available.

Buttons on the Apple TV remote that previously did one action now do another, for example, and online reactions to the inconvenient changes have been rather negative to say the least — for some it's even a move worth unsubscribing over, especially as Netflix recently bumped up its monthly fees again. Maybe it's time to go back to physical media...

• Read more: 'Time to unsubscribe' — Netflix made a big change to its Apple TV app, removing a ton of useful functions

3. Artemis II took off with iPhones on board

NASA launched its first mission to the moon in over 50 years this week, and while the crew of the Artemis II mission will be going around our nearest celestial neighbor rather than landing on its surface, records will be broken: this is the furthest human beings will have been from Earth ever, as the Orion spacecraft passes the moon and then slingshots back.

So what's the tech angle? Well, in addition to all the sophisticated instruments NASA has put on board Orion and is using to monitor its progress, astronauts have been allowed to take iPhones into orbit for the first time. We're looking forward to seeing the photos and videos that get captured, even if some of the same tech bugs happen up in space too.

• Read more: Smartphones in space — the Artemis II crew are throwing an iPhone around in zero gravity

2. Apple turned 50

Apple as a company turned 50 years old this week, and it's no exaggeration to say it's responsible for some of the most important and iconic gadgets in history. To celebrate the milestone, we've been running a host of different features and retrospectives, including a look back at the best Apple devices in history (as voted for by you, the TechRadar readers).

We've also got some rare personal insights from Apple CEO Tim Cook, a rundown of the best retro Apple accessories you can buy, a look at how Apple and the iPod impacted the music industry forever, and a huge quiz on all things Apple. It's not been a completely smooth ride for Apple though: we've also covered some of the company's biggest fails.

• Read more: 50 years of Apple — all our coverage in one place

1. We lived with Samsung’s new flagship OLED TV

Hopes are high for the Samsung S99H/S95H OLED TV leading Samsung's television lineup for 2026, and after TechRadar's John Archer spent a week in the company of the 77-inch version of this model, our anticipation levels just went up a few more notches. He describes it as having "the potential to be seriously special" when it arrives in stores.

The predecessor to this model — the Samsung S95F — was crowned the TechRadar TV of the Year in 2025, and this 2026 model comes with a refreshed design, a notable boost in screen brightness, and improved HDR performance, among other upgrades. There's also the option to cut down on cabling by picking up a Wireless One Connect box as well.

• Read more: I've lived with Samsung’s new flagship OLED TV — and I've never seen anything quite like it

• Sony and TCL will officially form a new TV joint venture called 'Bravia, Inc'
• It's expected to begin operations in April 2027
• It'll be based in Sony's HQ, and led by members of both companies

Sony and TCL have announced that they're officially going ahead with building a new joint venture to take over Sony's TV business — something they announced plans for earlier in the year. At that time, it was still in the proposal stage, but now the agreement has been signed.

The new joint venture is owned 49% by Sony and 51% by TCL, and will be called Bravia, Inc. A Sony representative told TechRadar that the TVs will still be badged as Sony Bravia models, and despite TCL being the larger owner of Bravia, Inc, the new company will be headquarted in Sony’s Osaki office in Tokyo.

The Sony representative said: "BRAVIA Inc. brings together Sony’s high-quality picture and sound technology, premium brand value, and operational expertise, alongside TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale, manufacturing footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertically integrated supply-chain capabilities."

Sony veteran Kazuo Kii will be the CEO of the new venture, and there will be a board of four members overseeing it, with two from Sony and two from TCL.

The new venture won't just cover Sony's much-loved TV business, but also its legendary home theater projectors, which are generally considered to be about as good as these things go — and it will incude Sony's business displays. A Sony representative said: "BRAVIA Inc. will succeed Sony’s home entertainment business, and includes product development and design, manufacturing, sales and logistics, and customer service for products such as consumer TVs (BRAVIA), B2B Flat Panel Displays (B2B BRAVIA), B2B LED Displays, projectors, and home audio equipment such as home theater systems and audio components."

The new joint venture is supposed to start operations in April 2027, which is interesting — we're expecting Sony to announce more TVs in the coming months, including its first 'True RGB' TV (after a couple of years of showing off prototypes to us).

Uncertainty over future tech

Sony's OLED TVs are much beloved by the AV community, because of the company's commitment to accuracy — Sony makes reference monitors used in video productions for 'perfect' imaging, and it tried to make its TVs match as closely as possible. This has led to the company winning TV 'shootouts' where accuracy is the most important element.

But TCL has no love for OLED in its TVs. The company doesn't use the technology at all (though its display development arm, TCL CSOT, is a leader in developing next-gen inkjet-printed OLED, but the company has told me we're years away from seeing that in TVs), and is all-in on mini-LED.

Sony's expect launch of an RGB TV is interesting in the context of the merger, because TCL is also going in deep on RGB-backlit TVs. However, TCL actually doesn't see this technology as its flagship screen option currently — the TCL X11L uses a technology the company is calling SQD mini-LED instead, to maximize brightness and dimming zone counts — and I expect that Sony very much will make the technology its best option.

What will this mean for Sony's more elite sets, then? Who knows, the representatives of the two companies will have to hash that out.

Where I expect to see the biggest differences is in the more affordable models. Sony's TVs have struggled to deliver good value in the mid-range and budget TV brackets, and TCL knows exactly how to deliver this. I wouldn't be surprised if the new joint venture is quiet about high-end models at first, but comes in hard with a lot of more affordable options with Sony branding (and, hopefully, image processing) and TCL panels.

TCL has now announced its new mini-LED TV range for the UK — it had announced its new range for the US back at CES, but now we know what to expect over here as well.

The good news is that TCL is finally bringing its flagship sets to the UK — it usually skips the UK with its highest-end and largest TVs, but the TCL X11L is coming to the UK in 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch sizes.

The X11L is an 'SQD Mini-LED' set, meaning that it uses 'super quantum dots' as part of its colour-filtering, which promises an even wider range of colours than regular quantum dots. This is combined with a new LCD colour filter that uses "xanthene dye" for improved colour accuracy.

The set also includes a new generation of mini-LED tech, which promises higher luminance and better control of the light direction to avoid blooming.

We've already had a chance to measure the US version of the X11L (which TCL says is the same as the UK version, outside of smart TV software changes), and while it produced some extremely strong results compared to other mini-LED TVs, we found that the X11L didn't totally match up to TCL's claims for how well it can perform. However, it has massively impressed everyone who's seen it, so we still have high hopes for it, even if RGB TVs are coming to try to beat it on colour range.

Speaking of RGB-backlit TVs, though, TCL is launching two models of those. There will be a higher-end set called the TCL RM9L, which sits just below the flagship X11L in TCL's line-up. The RM9L will be available in 85-inch, 98-inch and 115-inch sizes, so is only for those who want the largest sets.

A cheaper model called the RM7L, will sit much further down TCL's line-up — below the two sets I'm going to tell you about next, interestingly, despite having next-gen tech in it. This will be available in 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch sizes. It's interesting that TCL isn't launching a 55-inch version of its sets — most other companies have committed to a 55-inch budget RGB models in 2026.

Still, when it comes to budget mini-LED, the next two sets will almost certainly be the most popular anyway.

The TCL C8L is the new higher-mid-range mini-LED set from TCL, and sits just below the RM9L in TCL's 2026 range. TCL says it will include the same SQD tech and next-gen mini-LED tech as the X11L, just with fewer dimming zones and lower brightness. This TV will come in 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch sizes.

The TCL C7L will sit below that, and will again include the SQD tech, but with fewer dimming zones and lower brightness levels than the C8L. This TV will come in the same sizes as the C8L, and is likely to be the sweet spot for most people, just as the TCL C7K, released in 2025, has been.

In fact, the C7K has done well enough that TCL is keeping it around in two sizes: 50 inches and 115 inches. You can see that the C7L isn't coming in these sizes, so the C7K will only stay to fill those gaps.

Finally, TCL is also launching a regular QD (ie, not 'super' QD) mini-LED model called the P8L. This seems to fill the same role in the line-up as the TCL P8K from last year, but is branded as having the QD mini-LED screen.

There's no official UK pricing yet but in Europe the 98-inch TCL X11L is retailing at €9,999. That's roughly £8,655 at current exchange rates.

TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TV

TCL RM9L RGB-Mini LED TV

TCL C8L SQD-Mini LED TV

TCL C7L SQD-Mini LED TV

TCL RM7L RGB-Mini LED TV

Thinking of buying a new TV?

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I recently got to see a lot of Hisense's new TV range in person, including not only its higher-end RGB-backlit TVs, but also its new mid-range traditional mini-LED models.

These models — the U7 series — have hit a real sweet spot between price and image quality in larger sizes over the last couple of years, and while in most ways the new models looks like more of the same, they have one upgrade that makes them stand out over their predecessors, and it's an area that I'm really glad to see TV companies addressing more aggressively: reflections.

Hisense is launching the U7 models in both the US and the UK, though it's a little complicated to explain exactly what's on offer. In the US there will be two models, and the only difference will be the smart TV platform: the Hisense U7SG will have Google TV, and the Hisense U7SF will have Amazon Fire TV.

in the UK there will also be two models, but one of them is more premium across the board than the other — and it's the latter that's equivalent to the US models for specs, and has the feature that impressed me. The cheaper model is called the Hisense U7S in the UK, and the higher-spec model that I'm mostly going to talk about is called the Hisense U7S Pro.

The key feature that's new this year is an extra anti-reflective coating. Hisense says this is a matte layer, very much like the Glare Free finish used on the Samsung S95F or Samsung QN90F.

The idea with a matte coating is that it stops mirror-like reflections, which are the really distracting kind. Not only do they have the most detail to them, meaning they catch your eye more easily, but the reflections are on a different focal plane to the image on the screen itself, so your eye refocuses any time it catches the reflections, making them more fatiguing too.

The idea of a matte coating is to scatter light into a haze rather than reflecting it like a mirror, and this is what Samsung's coating does. The downside is that this haze can also raise black tones and reduce the contrast, which is why it's not been more popular in the past.

Hisense's matte coating is much less aggressively matte than Samsung's, though. This means it doesn't totally haze out strong reflections — in fact, knowing it has a matte coating, I was surprised at how clear more brightly lit objects still appeared — but it does massively eliminate less-strong reflections, while still taking the edge off brighter ones.

This is in combination with really strong brightness level (a claimed 3,000 nits of peak brightness, though it's full-screen brightness levels that affect how well something overcomes reflections, and those are always much lower. Last year's Hisense U75QG model hit a very impressive 760-880 nits of fullscreen brightness, which is around twice as much as even the best OLED TVs can manage, making it highly effective at busting reflections on a bright image that fills the screen.

But obviously you can't use brightness to beat reflections in parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark, and a matte layer can help.

The clearest demonstration of what this coating can do is the image below, showing three TVs. The TV on the left is a Samsung S90F OLED, the center TV is a Hisense UR9 RGB mini-LED TV with the same coating as the Hisense U7S/U7S Pro (I double-checked, and Hisense says it's 100% the same treatment, even though it's a higher-end TV), and the TV on the right is the LG C5 OLED.

The two OLED screens are very glossy, and have very clear reflected images; the Hisense just has some fuzzy shapes.

When I looked at the Hisense U7S/U7S Pro itself playing demo footage, I was impressed with how well it handled local dimming for strong contrast, and I did get the sense that the black tones were being aided by the matte layer.

These demo exhibitions are usually nightmares for cheap TVs because there are lights and other TVs everywhere, so any dark scenes show up the strong reflectivity they usually have — but on this model, black areas stayed deadened, in a good way.

As another example, here are two photos: the first is the cheaper Hisense U7S UK model at the same exhibition with no matte screen; the second is the U7S Pro. (Sadly, they weren't next to each other and reflecting the exact same thing, so it's an imperfect comparison. But they were in the same space under the same lights, and I think the difference in this image is representative of what I saw in the room.)

This all could make the U7SQ/U7S Pro the best mid-range TV for bright rooms, where sunlight and strong reflections aren't your friend. This is commonly a problem for sports and other daytime TV viewing, or gaming during the day. (With a 165Hz refresh rate, variable refresh rate support, plus four HDMI 2.1 ports, it looks like a great gaming TV in general.)

It also looks like the clearest upgrade over the current models, which already offer great brightness and color depth, and a 144Hz refresh rate (though only two HDMI 2.1 ports).

So, should you wait for this model if you were thinking of buying a mid-range mini-LED soon? Well, it depends on how long you want to wait, because price is a huge factor here.

We don't have prices for the UK yet, but in the US the Hisense U7SG will be initally available soon for these prices, in these sizes (100-inch and 116-inch sizes are coming later, too):

Now, you might be thinking that this doesn't sound quite as mid-range as I promised, and I'd agree — because no one actually pays these full prices for mid-range TVs. The sets start dropping in price shortly after launch, and reach the really good prices around Black Friday, of course.

So if you were thinking of buying sooner than that — ready for the World Cup maybe — last year's mid-range mini-LED models can be found for far, far cheaper than the new model.

For example, right now you can grab the following options from Hisense and TCL:

Today's best Hisense mini-LED TV deals in the US & UK

• View the full Amazon Big Spring Sale

So, would I recommend waiting for the new one? Well, if a TV isn't urgent at all, I think the new Hisense might be worth waiting for. The matte screen makes it better able to handle a wide range of lighting conditions — but improvements beyond that look thin.

Still, bear in mind that we haven't actually reviewed it yet, so the new model may have flaws we don't know about, or be improved in ways that aren't obvious.

Either way, you can definitely get really excellent deals on the current range, and they're great TVs that we highly recommend.

More of today's best Amazon Big Spring Sale deals

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks, Echo & tablets from $18
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods, AirTags & iPads from $17
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Easter: gifts under $50 for all ages
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Toys: 57% off Lego, Tonies & board games
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

• The good news: TCL launches 163-inch micro-LED for under $40K
• The bad: currently only in China, and it's also quite large
• TCL is also launching a mainstream SQD mini-LED TV in China

TCL has unveiled two enormous micro-LED TVs — and while they're expensive, they're not as costly as you might expect.

Micro-LEDs have been ruinously expensive to manufacture, which is why you'd expect a 100-inch micro-LED TV to cost around $100,000. But TCL's micro-LEDs are much cheaper than that.

As Notebookcheck reports, the more affordable of the two models, the TCL Max163M, has a price in China of 249,999 yuan. That's about $36,375 / £27,410 / AU$51,615. The more expensive is TCL Max163M Pro is 349,999 yuan, which works out at roughly $50,925 / £38,375 / AU$72,259 before taxes and tariffs.

These are amazingly low prices for micro-LED TVs, and looks like a game-changer. While we can't assume that the Chinese price will translate directly to what it would cost in the US (the shipping alone…), consider this: the 116-inch Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED costs $30,000, so paying $36,000 for a 163-inch TV actually looks right in line with that.

TCL's micro-LED and Super Quantum Dot TVs: key features

The TCL Max163M TVs both feature a 163-inch micro-LED screen that the company says is capable of up to 10,000 nits of HDR brightness and 100% of the BT.2020 color gamut.

The screens are low-reflection and smart functions are powered by TCL's Control System 3.0. Ports are four HDMI 2.1, one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0. The Pro model has a higher refresh rate than the standard model: 4K at 120Hz. TCL hasn't shared the spec of the other TV just yet, but I guess we can assume 60Hz.

Both TVs are currently exclusive to the Chinese market and it's unclear whether they'll be coming to other markets.

Chinese customers can also buy a new quantum dot mini-LED, the TCL Q9M Pro SQD. This will be available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch sizes. The SQD stands for Super Quantum Dot, and we've just measured a version of this technology in the TCL X11L TV. The panel has a native 150Hz refresh rate that can be boosted to 300Hz (presumably at a lower resolution).

It's very similar to the previous generation, the Q9L Pro, and retains the Onkyo 2.2.1-channel sound system of its predecessor, but the panel is brighter, with TCL claiming 5,000 nits compared to 4,500 in the Q9L Pro. There are four HDMI 2.1 ports and Wi-Fi 6.

As with the micro-LED TVs, there's no news of pricing or availability outside China just yet, but the price in that market ranges from 6,199 yuan for the 55-inch to 19,999 yuan for the 98-inch. That works out as roughly $898 / £677 / AU$1,275, rising to $2,899 / £2,185 / AU$4,110 for the largest model.

TCL's current X11L SQD range in the US tops out at just under $10K for the 98-inch model, so these new TVs could be significantly more affordable — based on the name, it seems like it may sit above the TCL Q9M RGB TV but below the X11L super-flagship.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• German court tells TCL to stop advertising and selling QLED TVs
• Rival firms' complaints allege deceptive advertising
• Standardized certification might help buyers

TCL has been ordered to stop selling some of its TVs in Germany. A court in Munich has ruled that TCL had broken the country's unfair competition law by advertising supposedly QLED TVs that "do not deliver the color reproduction expected from QLED TVs," as reported by Korea Times.

The court decision means that TCL can no longer advertise or sell current certain specific QLED TV models in Germany.

The case was filed by Samsung, which claimed that TCL was running deceptive advertising, and more court cases on the same topic are coming in other countries, including the US.

The lawsuits all make the same claim: that what TCL calls a QLED isn't a QLED as it's commonly understood, and that consumers are being mis-sold TVs as a result.

Tests for quantum dots found not a lot

The court found that TCL's quantum dot TVs, such as the QLED870 series available in Germany, didn't deliver the characteristics of a quantum dot LED, and that consumers were being misled as a result.

This isn't the first time it's been claimed that TCL's quantum dots don't deliver the goods. In late 2024, the South Korean news website ET News published details of tests that didn't detect the chemicals required to make quantum dots on TCL quantum dot TVs.

The tests were commissioned by Seoul chemicals company Hansol Chemical (which, it's worth noting, works with Samsung, a key TCL rival, and which heavily promoted the results of these tests alongside launching the court case) and carried out by Geneva's SGS and the UK's Intertek.

According to ET News (via Google Translate), "no indium (In) or cadmium (Cd) was detected in three TCL QD TV models. Indium and cadmium are essential materials that cannot be omitted for QD implementation… if neither is present, QD technology cannot be said to have been applied." You can see the test results here.

TCL disputed the findings — "The QD content may vary depending on the supplier, but it definitely contains cadmium," it responded — and published its own tests, including a test by SGS, the same firm that conducted tests for Hansol.

The results contradicted Hansol Chemical's tests, but those tests used a different methodology: where TCL's tests focused on TCL's quantum dot films, Hansol's commissioned tests were on finished TCL TVs.

It seems very unlikely that TCL would get away with selling quantum dot TVs that didn't contain any quantum dots, and the performance of TCL's QLED displays in our reviews has been consistent with the stated specs and color performance, regardless of what tech was used inside to get there, within the usual margins for error we expect when going from marketing claims to real-world use.

Hansol Chemical has filed a complaint against TCL with the US Federal Trade Commission, alleging false advertising, and TCL is also facing class action lawsuits in several US states making the same claim. TCL isn't alone here: Hisense has also been targeted in the US.

The claims and counterclaims indicate a problem with TV tech: without independent certification, we have to take manufacturers' claims on trust. And in Germany at least, the court decided that TCL was making promises it hadn't kept.

While independent certification might help consumers, right now it's all very confusing: Germany's TÜV Rheinland has awarded official certification to both Samsung and TCL for quantum dot TVs, but for different things: Samsung has been certified as "Real Quantum Dot Display" while TCL was awarded "Realistic Visual Experience".

TCL declined to comment for this article, and we approached Samsung but have yet to hear back. We'll keep you posted with any further response.

Update 12th March: The TCL Q6C has gone back up by £40 (from £359 to £399), which is still a great price but sadly not the deal advertised below. For the latest TV deals in the sale, check out our Amazon Spring Deal Days live hub.

Value for money is a make-or-break factor when it comes to finding the best TVs on the market. Does the new TV you're shopping for deliver a strong list of features and performance for a fair price? One of the best budget models I've tested that ticks this box is the TCL C6K.

Not only is it cheap, but it delivers picture quality and gaming features way above its station. Right now, it's even better value, as the 55-inch TCL Q6C has just dropped to £359 at Amazon as part of the Amazon Spring Deals Day sale. (The Q6C is a retailer specific name, it's the same TV as the C6K).

• View the full Amazon Spring Deal Days sale

There are some good TV deals in the Amazon Spring Deal Days sale, but this is easily one my top picks.

A cheap mini-LED that made me change my mind

In my time testing TVs, I've been hesitant about cheaper mini-LED and QLED TVs. While they promise a ton of features and boast better-than-their-price picture quality, this hasn't always turned out to be true.

When I first tested the TCL C6K, I was impressed by its overall picture quality. Not only did it deliver vibrant colors that did movies like Wicked justice, but it also offered strong contrast. Blacks are deep for a cheap mini-LED TV, which is good news for gloomier movies like The Batman and Nosferatu. I was also impressed by how refined details looked. While there were some setbacks, such as uniformity and black crush in places, its picture was still solid.

On top of that, the C6K has some impressive features such as Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support (which isn't common on cheaper TVs).

I was also impressed by the C6K's gaming performance and features. It supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming— a feature list that's up there with the best gaming TVs. Its 13.6ms input lag time was also low enough to deliver smooth gameplay during big, chaotic gunfights in Battlefield V.

The first time I reviewed the C6K, I gave it 3.5 / 5 stars, which is a respectable score for a budget mini-LED. But, it was after testing the bigger 75-inch Q6C for a head-to-head with the Samsung Q8F that I realized I'd been too stingy. So much so, I upped my score to 4 stars, the only TV I've changed a score on.

If you're looking for a cheap but great TV, you really won't find many better than the TCL C6K/Q6C.

More of today's best Amazon Spring Deal Days deals

• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Blink & Echo from £13.99
• Apple: AirPods & Apple Watch from £139
• Appliances: up to 30% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Clothing: up to 50% off Sketchers & Crocs
• Essentials: from £5
• Gaming: up to 50% off PS5 & Switch games
• Headphones: Sony & Shokz from £59
• Health & Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Smart home: up to 50% off cameras & doorbells
• Smartwatches: Apple, Samsung & Huawei from £99
• Tablets: Fire & Galaxy Tabs from £59.99
• Toys: up to 30% off Lego
• TVs: from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 30% off Shark & Vax

During the six years I’ve been writing and editing home theater reviews, the recurring complaint I’ve seen time and again about even some flagship TVs is how awful their sound is. Thanks to their increasingly razor-thin panels, there’s less and less room to squeeze in drivers, so sound is sacrificed on the altar of style. As a result, the stock warning for buyers is: ‘You better also budget for a soundbar.’

But my faith in this particular sacred cow has begun to waver. Having recently upgraded my mid-range TV with a mid-range soundbar, I’ve experienced firsthand how the sonic gap between the two is narrowing fast. So I’ve started to wonder: is the soundbar still as essential as it once was?

This crisis of faith was first sparked when I upgraded my TV to last year’s stellar TCL QM8K. Aside from its seriously vivid mini-LED screen, perhaps its most headline-grabbing feature is its sound. I’ll admit, when I heard my new TV had sound designed by Bang & Olufsen, I was skeptical. Surely even such a giant of audiophile-grade audio couldn’t eke a high standard of sound out of a TV, given their notoriously tinny sound?

Let me tell you: my cynicism was misplaced. Thanks to its chunky rare-earth neodymium iron boron drivers, the TCL QM8K has really compelling sound that rivals the best TVs, offering both clarity and a pretty credible low-end. On top of this, B&O’s signature tuning allows you to tweak the TV’s audio along two axes of bright/warm and relaxed/energetic to reflect your personal preferences.

As a result, rather than the mewling, timid sound many TVs dribble out, the TCL is capable of rendering dialogue crisply while granting the soundtrack a decent sweep and heft. It’s honestly a little too effective sometimes: every time I pull off a counter-attack on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the impact feels appropriately seismic but also causes my girlfriend to flinch like a pet on July 4th. For native TV audio, it really doesn’t hold back.

And it’s not the only TV that’s trying to buck the trend here. For example, the Panasonic Z95B offers a 160W, 5.1.2 channel, 160W sound system starring a front external speaker array that offers powerful bass and a strong soundstage. Meanwhile, the Sony Bravia II features built-in actuators that turn the screen itself into a speaker, which allows it to accurately position dialogue and effects according to their position on the screen and produce spacious yet well-rounded sound.

Raising the bar?

Despite this, I was excited to get my first soundbar. While I’m not quite as obsessive as some about unlocking cinema-quality sound in my home, getting even more gravitas for movies is a really tempting offer. And as a gamer, I love spatial sound – the idea of being encompassed in a hemisphere of true Dolby Atmos audio sounds like the perfect way to make my visits to Lumiere even more engrossing.

So when a colleague asked if I wanted to rehome their recently discontinued Samsung HW-Q800D, I jumped at the chance. Yet when I first set it up, I was honestly a bit surprised by how little it was able to improve on the TCL’s already impressive sound.

With the soundbar operating in isolation, it was able to achieve a slightly more spacious sound – thanks to its side-firing drivers, the width of its soundstage is far more substantial than the QM8K is capable of. But it also sounded thinner: lacking the larger diameter drivers of the TV, its output didn’t feel like it had quite as much substance as the sound I was used to. Dialogue still maintained a decent level of clarity, but soundtracks felt more neutered, taking me out of the moment as I watched Hijack or The Night Manager.

However, it is important to note that there are some things that a soundbar like the HW-Q800D can do better. While it sounds meeker in isolation, once it’s paired with its packaged sub… oh boy, is it able to achieve some gravitas, with spaceships in Avatar: Way of the Water sounding like they were literally landing in my living room. And while the HW-Q800D’s upfiring drivers can’t achieve quite the ceiling-bouncing spatial effects of more premium soundbars, it does a good job of situating sounds in the right area of the screen.

Still, though, after many years of accepting it as a given how necessary soundbars are, I was a little surprised by how marginal some of the improvements were. Don’t get me wrong: adding a soundbar of a decent enough spec can definitely unlock superior sound, particularly as your budget increases. But my experience here does show that the gap is narrowing here, and rather than getting a soundbar as a default, it is becoming more important to consider where your sound is in most need of improvement and whether a given soundbar will deliver it.

Because, honestly, it may be time that the assumption ‘TV sound is always terrible’ is laid to rest.

• Amazon's first major Fire TV software rework in five years
• Initially for Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023), Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED
• Rollout is currently US-only; will be expanded in the Spring

Amazon is now rolling out its most exciting Fire TV device upgrade to date, featuring the first major redesign of this software in five years, and some important under-the-hood change that promise to majorly speed up your devices.

The rollout has started in the US, and it looks like Amazon is taking it slow: it's coming to just three devices to begin with. Those devices are the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023, 2nd Gen), the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, and the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV.

The update will roll out to more countries and more devices in the Spring of 2026, with third-party Fire TV devices (such as TVs from TCL, Panasonic, Hisense, Insignia and more) getting upgraded too.

What's new in the Amazon Fire TV upgrade?

This isn't just a minor refresh, although everything has been tweaked to make it look better. There's much more room for pinned apps and subscriptions, giving you 20 slots instead of the current six. There's a new streamlined navigation bar too.

One of the key goals of the update is to reduce the amount of time you spend searching for something to watch, with improved recommendations and easier access to live content too.

The focus on watching means that less commonly used features such as games, photos, music videos and the Appstore are tucked away in a three-line hamburger menu.

Alexa+ will enable you to ask questions using natural language, ask follow-up questions and generally chat with Amazon's digital assistant. If it's as good as Amazon says you'll be able to do interesting things such as ask Alexa to recommend movies that have a similar visual style. Alexa+ is included in your Prime subscription; non-subscribers can pay separately to enable the feature.

Perhaps most excitingly, Amazon says that its reworking of the underlying code makes the update "20–30%" faster – and responsiveness has always been an area where Fire TV could use a little nudge.

This also comes hot on the heels of Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming coming to Fire TV devices, albeit not quite in the full quality that we'd hoped for – but it's still a great combo.

According to TechCrunch, the spring rollout will cover more countries and more Fire TV models including the latest Fire TV 4K streaming players, the Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series, and the Omni QLED Series. You'll also have it on the new Amazon Ember Artline TVs.

For the longest time, I’ve held a bitter grudge against LCD TVs. I still vividly remember buying my first flatscreen back in 2007, and immediately recoiling in disgust upon seeing how much worse the on-screen text looked in Xbox 360 games than they had on my ageing CRT set. Fast forward 20 years – a period in which I became obsessed with OLEDs – and I’m ready to give LCD another chance.

Alright, it's not quite as simple as that. When I say ‘LCD’, I specifically mean ‘RGB mini-LED’, but hey – it’s still a traditional liquid crystal display, just with (quite a few) bells and whistles. But this tech ditches so many of the drawbacks of LCD, while also potentially improving on the few weaknesses OLED has – I think it could be the premier screen type for AV snobs going forward.

As managing editor of entertainment Matt Bolton recently argued, RGB TVs are a huge danger to OLED TVs… and I’m right there with him on that. Brighter, potentially cheaper (more on that shortly), and sporting incredible color deptch, the most tantalizing TV technology coming out of CES 2026 has made my obsessive eyes oh so excited.

Easy as RGB

The technology behind RGB mini-LED (or Micro RGB, as you will sometimes see it called) is fascinating… providing you’re a massive AV dweeb. Rather than use a single color of backlight behind the pixels, as LCD TVs always have, every LED in the backlight now has red, green and blue elements, meaning they can shine the correct color for the part of the picture they're behind. This means much less color-filtering is needed, and yet you get a wider range of colors at the same time. It also makes them more efficient.

What does that mean for my inner OLED obsessive? A good chance of higher brightness compared to my go-to TV tech, combined with a precision level of backlight control that should limit the ‘halo effect’ that has dogged the corners of even the best LCD TVs for decades, where light leaks from bright areas to dark areas.

Even though Samsung has already shown us its giant 115-inch Micro RGB TV, I’m particularly excited to see what LG and its ‘Micro Dimming Ultra’ feature can produce in its first RGB panels.

Sure, OLED TVs can self-dim every single onscreen pixel. But then again, thanks to my Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip, and the fact it projects the colors of whatever content I’m watching onto my lounge wall, I don’t really need every dark scene in my favorite film to be perfectly inky because the wall-illuminating technology boosts perceived contrast anyway.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m currently extremely happy with my 77-inch LG G3 OLED. What. A. TV. Thanks to its infinite black levels, incredible contrast and peerless screen uniformity, the South Korean manufacturer’s flagship panel of 2023 is comfortably the best television I’ve ever owned. And hoo-boy, have I bought a lot of them during my four decades on this spinning rock.

Still, a part of me will forever be enticed and intrigued by the shiniest new form of TV tech. Hence why I’ve owned 12 separate OLED panels since 2016. Somewhat pathetically, I can remember every single model number; be it the 10 LG sets or the Philips and Sony screens that made me cheat on my favorite OLED manufacturer.

OLED down the garden path

Over that time I’ve been jazzed by all the latest advances on the ‘Light-emitting Diode’ front. MLA brightness-boosting solutions. Primary Tandem 2.0 panels. Glare-ending ‘Reflection Free Premium’ screens. For all I appreciate the drastic increase in peak HDR brightness with the best OLED TVs year on year, my hyper focused eyes are now obsessed with the potential of RGB mini-LED sets.

Every manufacturer is boasting that RGB TVs will deliver well over 100% of the HDR color gamut, and I'm excited by the promise of going super-deep on colors. As someone who is bothered by color banding (where tonal changes that should be a smooth gradient have clear 'bands' dividing them) on his current LG OLED to an unhinged degree, this statement has me hoping that RGB tech can overcome this, either by delivering more advanced HDR color 'upscaling' on streamed content, or just with less color limitation on the panels.

When you’re playing one of the best PS5 games, it can be all too obvious when spotting the differences in gradients of certain hues while panning across a bright blue sky. I’m not saying Micro RGB panels can entirely cure this issue, but I’m hopeful they can reduce it.

I also have a slight problem with my LG OLED’s preset modes when it comes to colors. I tend to favor Vivid (hersey, I know) in most situations. That’s mainly because I prefer a cooler tone in movies over the earthier hues that my TV’s Filmmaker and ISF Expert modes offer.

Even still, I can’t shake the feeling my G3’s color accuracy isn’t quite on the money, which is only making me thirst more and more for Micro RGB.

Huge punch at smaller sizes

There’s also a good chance I’m going to have to plump for a smaller (and crucially cheaper) TV than my G3 in the not too distant future. I’m currently in the process of selling my apartment, and in all likelihood, the place I end up staying next won’t be able to accommodate a 77-inch screen.

Though the first, colossal Micro RGB sets that launched last year are pricey, that's because they were huge. Considering they’re far closer tech-wise to mini-LED than they are to OLED, it’s not far fetched to expect them to drop lower than comparable mid-range OLEDs over the next few years.

Considering I may well have to channel my inner Scrooge Mode going forward while I downsize to a smaller place, the fact that Micro RGB TVs can potentially be more energy efficient is seriously seductive too. As much as I adore wall-dominating screen real estate, the notion of a super-bright 55-inch Micro RGB with amazing colors and almost OLED blacks has my Spide… AV sense tingling.

As I gradually make peace with a future that involves a smaller screen, I find my TV horizons are broadening. Five years ago, I would have rather taken a bath in sulphuric acid than own an LCD screen. Yet with Mico RGB becoming increasingly attractive? I say bring on the sulphur.

People tend to think of Black Friday and other sales events, such as Prime Day, as the best time to buy a TV. But there is another great time of year that is often overlooked: the end of a TV’s life cycle. The best TVs usually have a lifespan of 1-2 years before they are replaced by their successors. Most major TV manufacturers will release a new model every year, often around the same time.

LG and Samsung are first out of the gates in March and April, followed by TCL and Hisense in June/July, and Panasonic and Philips are usually in the latter part of the year, say August/September. Sony used to release in July, but has since reverted to a biannual release schedule for most of its flagship models.

But what does this mean for older models? Well, it usually means you can expect big discounts! Companies will be eager to clear the stock of said older models before the arrival of the new sets, meaning you can usually get a nice price cut. It’s not always the case, but it happens more often than you think.

While there are tons of models each year to choose from that could get discounts, I’ve picked a few of my favorites from 2025, looking at current pricing and what you should aim to pay.

LG C5

• Current price (65-inch) - $1,399 / £1,599
• Ideal price (65-inch) - $1,199 / £1,299

The LG C5 was one of the best OLED TVs I tested in 2025, delivering the perfect balance between price and performance. Its picture quality delivers strong contrast, bold colors, refined detail, crisp textures, and accurate motion. It’s got all the features you could want from the best gaming TVs, including four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 144Hz, full VRR including FreeSync and G-Sync, Dolby Vision gaming, and ALLM. Plus, its smart TV, webOS 25, is intuitive with useful AI features.

While OLED is a premium-priced technology, the C5 has been one of the most consistently discounted TVs since its March 2025 release, often offering huge discounts. You can pick up the 65-inch C5 for $1,399 / £1,599: a nice drop from its release price of $2,699 / £2,699.

We have, however, seen the 65-inch C5 drop to $1,249 / £1,349 in its lifetime, and while this is a great price, if you can get it for $1,199 / £1,299 before it disappears, that’s an excellent deal.

TCL QM7K (US) / TCL C7K (UK)

• Current price (65-inch) - $799 / £849
• Ideal price (65-inch) - $699 / £699

The TCL QM7K/C7K is TCL’s mid-range model in its 2025 mini-LED lineup, and it’s seriously impressive. Boasting brilliant picture quality, which is bright and rich with refined local dimming, great gaming features, including 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, and Dolby Vision support, with performance to match: all for a staggeringly low price. While this is an excellent value TV at full price, you can get this TV for a bargain if you know what to look out for.

Upon its release, the 65-inch TCL QM7K cost $1,499, while the TCL C7K cost £1,000. The QM7K’s price quickly dropped to $999, and while these are both excellent prices for these TVs, we’ve seen them drop lower. The QM7K has hit $799 (its current price), and the TCL C7K (also known as the Q7C at some retailers) has hit £740.

If you can pick up the QM7K 65-inch for $699 and the C7K/Q7C 65-inch for £699, that’s a phenomenal price for a TV with this much to offer.

Samsung S95F

• Current price (55-inch) - $1,899 / £1,499
• Ideal price (55-inch) - $1,599 / £1,299

The Samsung S95F is the flagship model in Samsung’s 2025 OLED TV lineup. I gave it five stars in my review, and it earned the title of TV of the Year at the TechRadar Choice Awards. Its picture quality is superb with vibrant colors, rich contrast, and crisp textures, and thanks to its OLED Glare Free anti-reflection screen, it can be watched in a bright room. This means it's fully equipped for gaming and has a visually appealing design that’s slim and modern.

Naturally, as a flagship OLED TV, the S95F wasn’t cheap on release. The 55-inch model launched for $2,499 / £2,199, and while prices have dropped, it is still at the premium end of the TV market. However, it is worth the money.

You can now pick up the 55-inch S95F for $1,899 / £1,499, which is a reasonable price, but it has dropped to $1,799 / £1,449 before. An ideal price for this would be $1,599 / £1,299. It’s an extremely ambitious price, but the S95F’s predecessor, the Samsung S95D, fell to around this price. If you can pick up the S95F for a similar price, that’s a superb deal.

LG B5

• Current price (48-inch) - $599 / £799
• Ideal price (48-inch) - $499 / £649

The LG B5 is the entry-level model in LG’s 2025 OLED TV lineup. It may not have the brightness of step-up OLED models, but it does deliver crisp textures, powerful contrast, rich colors, and great motion handling. It also carries all the gaming features you could need, with 4K 120Hz, FreeSync and G-Sync, Dolby Vision gaming, and ALLM supported across all four HDMI 2.1 ports. It does all this for cheaper than other OLEDs.

The B5 48-inch model, a perfectly sized screen for gaming, launched at $1,299 / £1,299, which was a steep price for a model this size, but its price quickly dropped, creating a larger gap between it and the step-up C5.

The LG B5 48-inch is currently available for $599 / £799, which is actually a very good price for an OLED at this size. However, I’d hope it drops to $499 / £649 before the end of its life. This would be a superb deal worth jumping on.

Have you ever been watching a movie or tv show and found it doesn’t look right? Almost like the movement of the picture looks too smooth? Well, that's commonly called called the ‘soap opera effect’.

Why is it called the soap opera effect? It stems from the fact that soap operas were shot at higher frame rates compared to movies particularly (but also some TV shows), giving them a kind of 'hyperreal' smoothness to the movement.

So why is this a problem on movies on modern TVs? It's because even the best TVs tend to come with some hidden settings active by default, called ‘motion smoothing’ or ‘motion interpolation’. On some TVs, such as Samsung, they are also now referred to as ‘clarity settings.’

If you’ve been fed up with this weird looking motion on your TV but don’t know how to solve it, we’re here to help. But first a quick explanation as to what’s going on.

Why does the soap opera effect happen?

Modern TVs are very bright and work at a range of different frame rates (how often the image on-screen changes) and this can cause a problem called 'judder' in movies (which are shot at 24 frames per second), where you can really see gaps in the movement sometimes, which you can't see in the dim, custom-designed world of movie theaters.

On top of that, many cheaper or older TV literally can't show a clean 24fps image. Many of these TVs have screens that refresh at 60fps, and can only cleanly show motion at a number that 60 divides into (such as 30fps, which is common in HDR video). This means you'll get more judder, because 24fps movies are having frame moved forward or backward in timing to fit the world 60fps TVs.

(More advanced TVs are 120fps, and these actually can show a clean 24fps image, because 120 divides by 24).

On top of that, lower-quality streaming or digital broadcasts lose a lot of information in fast-moving scenes, because the amount of data they can include is pretty limited. Anytime there is a quick, panning shot or fast moving sequence, there will be a loss of detail on the screen.

This is where motion smoothing settings come into play. TV manufacturers began to add motion settings into their lower frame rate TVs to help reduce motion blur and judder during fast paced content, but it's used in all TVs.

With motion smoothing activated, a TV will artificially insert new frames within content to improve clarity. The TV essentially guesses what the next frame is going to look like based on the previous few frames, and adds new frames in – in order to make the image appear smoother and more detailed.

This may sound great for sports, and it usually is – but it has a weird effect on 24fps movies, or cinematic TVs shows. When a TV tries to artificially add more frames into a movie, the movie starts to look too smooth, almost like it's moving too fast – because the low frame rate of movies is very distinctive.

A long panning shot will suddenly look like it’s moving at a higher speed, taking on a soap opera appearance, hence the name ‘soap opera effect’. People will feel like they've move too twitchily. Things will also appear artificially 'clear' in a way that's really off for how we're used to films.

Thankfully, in most cases, these motion settings can be controlled or turned off. Here’s how – but bear in mind, you won't always want to turn them off.

Turning off or adjusting motion smoothing

If you head to your TV’s picture settings, often under 'more' or 'advanced' settings, motion settings can often have their own sub-category. Sometimes, they can be found under another menu and can be referred to as 'clarity' settings.

Below I've done a quick step-by-step guide on how you would access motion settings to turn them off or adjust using our reference LG C5 – there's no way I can run through it for every TV, but it will hopefully give you a useful example.

An indicator of motion settings will be two headings called ‘blur reduction' and ‘judder reduction’, or can be referred to under different names. I found, for example, that while testing Philips OLEDs, judder is referred to as ‘smoothness’.

Another quick fix, if you’re looking for film-accurate picture, is to set your TV to Filmmaker Mode picture mode. Not all TVs have one, but most do nowadays. This picture mode is designed to turn off any enhancement features, including motion smoothing (though some brands have started to keep some more minimal motion settings on).

Where motion smoothing can help

While home theater purists often say motion smoothing is no good, as someone who's tested a lot of TVs of every kind, there are many situations where it can be helpful.

We loved TCL’s mini-LED range in 2025, with the TCL QM7K (the TCL C7K is the UK equivalent) being a particular highlight. While this TV is great, its motion handling is less so, despite it being a 120Hz TV.

When I tested the C7K, I found that without motion settings tweaked, there was a lot of judder while watching sports. However, setting blur and judder reduction to 3 (out of 10) resulted in a smoother image that didn’t result in the soap opera effect.

I’ve found this to be the case with a lot of budget TVs, especially 60Hz panel ones for the reason mentioned above – 24fps movies literally can't show correctly on these screens, so a minimal amount of motion smoothing is the best option.

In fact, I found that LG’s OLEDs, including one of my top sets of 2025 the LG C5, benefitted from keep a motion setting on. In its motion settings menu, activating Cinematic Movement, a mild form of motion smoothing designed purely to preserve the look of 24fps movies, resulted in a much more stable image. A panning shot of a rocky cliffside in No Time To Die had a lot less judder with this setting activated – more like how it's supposed to look.

Really, motion smoothing is all about personal preference. It will require some time experimenting, but it’s worth the investment. It will depend on what TV you have and what content you’re watching as well, but if you’re looking to get away from the soap opera effect, this is how to do it.

• LG no longer makes its 8K OLED TV, nor any 8K LED TVs
• 8K panel production is "on hold", but could come back if things change
• Even Samsung isn't pushing 8K as hard – it's starting to look a lot like 3D

Stop me if you've heard this before: a TV technology has failed to excite customers due to high prices and a lack of compatible content. It looks like 8K may be going the way of 3D TVs and is winding down, as LG reportedly abandons a market that TCL and Sony have already exited.

LG was the only maker selling 8K OLED TVs worldwide, but its Z3 OLED TV was discontinued last year and there's no replacement model in this year's line-up. Panel producer LG Display has confirmed to FlatpanelsHD that the development of 8K panels is on hold for the foreseeable future unless market conditions improve.

The Z3 was one of our picks of the best 8K TVs. But the fact that our list only includes three TVs, one of which is still available but is no longer being made, is a bit of a clue to why LG is apparently getting out.

What's the state of the 8K TV market?

With LG getting out of the 8K TV market, Hisense's 8K plans apparently on hold, and both TCL and Sony gone, that leaves Samsung as the sole carrier of the 8K torch – and Samsung enthusiasm doesn't look that strong either.

A few years ago, Samsung offered a range of 8K TVs aimed at different budget levels. Last year, it only bothered with a really high-end model, and that seems to be the case in 2026 as well – unusually, though, Samsung didn't showcase this TV at CES 2026, focusing RGB TVs and QD-OLED instead.

Perhaps even more notably, when Samsung first demoed its Micro RGB backlight tech at CES 2025 it was in an 8K prototype – but the only RGB TVs it's actually launching are 4K.

We identified 8K TV as one of our losers for 2025, and explained that a huge part of the problem is that 8K TV doesn't solve a problem: "there’s only so much information the human eye can actually perceive. In a world where the best 4K TVs continue to dazzle, native 8K UHD panels (7860 x 4320 pixels) are overkill." At normal viewing distances "you’d be hard pressed to tell the fine details of your favorite Ultra HD movie or show on the 8K display from the current best 55-inch 4K TV".

I think another key issue is the ongoing and probably fatal lack of content for it. Blu-ray tops out at 4K resolution, as do all the major streamers' most premium tiers, and there will not be an 8K disc format; last year Warner Bros said it had scanned some big-name movies in 8K, but the number of films was just 20 and it wasn't clear how those movies would be distributed. As I wrote at the time, "the dearth of 8K content is clearly worrying the TV firms and keeping sales numbers low."

I think that's a shame, but as the former owner of a 3D TV who struggled to find much worth donning the silly specs for, I'm well aware that sometimes TV tech's usefulness doesn't always live up to the hype (although maybe 3D isn't as dead as it looks: a new TV tech delivers glasses-free 3D TV. The big question is whether enough of us will want it).

I think there's a place for 8K technology: Samsung's The Wall is extraordinary, and it can be useful in monitors where you want a lot of pixel acreage.

But given the cost of the kit, the lack of content and the sheer brilliance of the best 4K TVs, I'm just not sure that place is in my living room or yours. And it looks like the manufacturers are increasingly coming to that conclusion too.

CES 2026 didn’t just feel like a victory lap for bigger and brighter TVs – it also made the whole “big screen at home” conversation a lot more interesting.

On one side, you’ve got genuinely enormous TVs pushing into the 130-inch range, with brands leaning on next-gen tech such as micro-LED, RGB mini-LED or possibly SQD mini-LED to argue that a giant panel is the way to get punchy, colorful, and premium images in a normal room.

On the other, projectors aren’t quietly accepting defeat. Instead, they’re turning up with brighter laser models and increasingly living room-friendly setups, while still holding the ultimate trump card: sheer scale.

When demos of the latest consumer-friendly models are talking about images up to 300 inches, it’s hard not to wonder whether the next upgrade is a bigger TV on the wall, or a projector that turns your entire wall into the screen.

Either way, CES this year pointed to a new battle for the living room, and it’s one where both sides – TVs and projectors – have a real case.

Why 130 inches suddenly feels realistic

A few years ago, a 130-inch TV felt like something you’d only see in a showroom, or a high-end sports bar – impressive, but wildly impractical, not to mention astronomically expensive.

CES 2026 suggested that’s starting to change, and not just because brands want a headline-grabbing centerpiece.

As our CES 2026 TV roundup made clear, the show’s big story wasn’t only 'bigger', but 'better at being big', with next-gen backlights pitched as the route to higher brightness, stronger color, and fewer of the expected compromises, such as problems with screen uniformity.

Samsung’s 130-inch Micro RGB prototype is the clearest example: a giant TV positioned less as a novelty and more as a direct challenger to the reasons people buy projectors in the first place. It's big, it's immersive, and it's designed in a way that's realistic for fitting into a home (if your home is large).

The key point is that display tech is now evolving with 'real rooms' in mind, not just darkened home theaters, and CES was full of signs that multiple brands are treating giant TVs as a genuine battleground in 2026 and beyond.

Hisense used CES to talk up its fresh RGB mini-LED direction, including an 'Evo' approach that adds a cyan element to the red, green and blue light modules.

Meanwhile, TCL used the show to push its own next-gen mini-LED message – including its TCL X11L SQD mini-LED flagship – while also flagging new RGB mini-LED models in the same breath.

Both those brands, plus Samsung and LG, also offer micro-LED TVs ranging from 130 inches to 160 inches, though these cost a lot more, and are less designed for standard living rooms.

CES's projectors: bigger and more flexible

If giant TVs were the loudest at CES 2026, projectors seemed to be making the more pointed argument: 'we can still go bigger, and we’re easier to live with in most rooms'.

As we found in our CES 2026 projector roundup, there was a good mix of brighter portable models, gaming-friendly options, and even a more mobile home-theater concept that underlines how far projectors have come.

Hisense did the clearest job of framing projectors as the natural rival to the 130-inch TV push.

Ahead of CES, the company unveiled the XR10 – a 4K laser projector pitched for screens up to 300 inches – alongside the Hisense PX4-Pro, positioned as the sequel to its highly regarded Hisense PX3-Pro (which we regard as the best ultra-short throw projector), with many features aimed squarely at living rooms.

And then there’s the other trend that the CES launches kept reinforcing: convenience.

Samsung’s updated Freestyle+ portable projector isn’t trying to beat a home-theater laser projector on sheer impact, but it does show where the category is heading: higher brightness and smarter automatic picture optimization.

The 2026 living room battle: TV or projector?

This is where the giant TV vs projector debate stops being about CES spectacle and starts being about what your living room can realistically handle.

A huge TV’s biggest advantage is that it behaves like a TV: bright, consistent, and largely indifferent to the type of media or environment.

The push among the best TVs around next-gen backlights (especially RGB mini-LED) is effectively an attempt to stretch that advantage to extreme sizes, keeping colors looking rich and highlights looking punchy, even if your room is brightly lit.

The best projectors are getting brighter, and the laser models shown around CES underline how far performance has come, but they’re still more sensitive to the room and factors such as ambient light, which makes them look washed-out very quickly, and makes black tones look gray.

While ultra-short-throw projectors can make projection far more living room-friendly in terms of setup, you’re buying into the idea that the space is part of the system.

Reflections are the other unglamorous factor. The bigger the screen, the more it can behave like a mirror in a bright room, which is why premium TV makers keep pushing reflection-reducing approaches alongside raw brightness and colour gains.

Projector screens don't reflect light at all – but they do suffer from ambient light in the way mentioned above, which can be more harmful to the viewing experience, depending on your setup.

What CES really signalled

If CES 2026 proved anything to us, it’s that 'the biggest screen for your home' is no longer a settled question.

Giant TVs are pushing into the 130-inch class with a new argument – not just that they’re enormous, but that next-gen backlights like RGB mini-LED can deliver top-end quality at scale.

At the same time, projector makers are making compelling upgrades to their latest models. Hisense’s XR10 and PX4-Pro explicitly pitch around living room practicality, while still dangling that headline-grabbing 300-inch screen.

So the battle for the home theater isn’t really TV versus projector in the abstract: it’s two competing versions of convenience.

Right now, it comes down to: do you want the appliance-like certainty of a wall-sized TV, or the flexibility of projection, where the room is part of the system, but the payoff can be truly theater-scale?

2026 is going to be the year of RGB TVs. The biggest TV makers have sets coming out using next-gen RGB backlight technology, which basically replaces the blue or white backlight of a traditional mini-LED LCD TV with one that has full RGB color support, meaning that these TVs are more efficient, offer richer and more accurate colors, and can suffer less light leakage into dark areas.

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.

• Telly promised to deliver 500,000 TVs, available for free. Spoiler: it hasn't
• These smart TVs are free in exchange for high numbers of ads and tracking
• Use of content recognition tech can be controversial

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.

Sony and TCL have announced plans for a new "joint venture" business that will run Sony's "televisions and home audio equipment business" in the future. The new venture will handle "product development and design to manufacturing, sales, logistics and customer service", according to a report via Morningstar.

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.

Before we even get started here, I'll start with a disclaimer: I don't think 3D TVs are coming back to the home any time soon. However, after a couple of demos at CES of a new kind of seamless glasses-free 3D viewing on TVs – and this coming just a few weeks after seeing Avatar: Fire and Ash – I now think they should come back.

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.

The recent CES 2026 was, as usual, a showcase for the best OLED TVs, with LG and Samsung trotting out new flagship models with brighter screens, sleeker designs, and all manner of AI-based features to enhance both picture quality and the overall user experience.

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.

• QD-EL / NanoLED TVs promise exceptional brightness and color
• It uses self-emissive quantum dots – like OLED, but better
• Quantum dot maker Nanosys says the tech could be ready in 2029

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.

• The AI-driven memory shortage doesn't just affect PCs
• More capacity is coming, but not before 2027
• Low-margin budget products are likely to be hit hardest

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

Every year CES 2026 is brimming with technological marvels highlighting the gadgets of tomorrow, and in no other category does that feel more true than with smart glasses. So I’m finding the best smart glasses of CES 2026 and shouting them out here.

There are plenty to choose from. Following the success of the Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta collab, as well as the hype being driven by Android XR the field featured a lot of new players alongside several returning favorites.

These five have risen above the crowd, however. Be it thanks to innovations such as eSIM integration or HDR, or just sophisticated simplicity, these are the smart glasses to watch from the Las Vegas show.

RayNeo Air 4 Pro

• The best glasses for entertainment

If you’re after big (virtual) screen entertainment, the new RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses will be tough to beat, especially at their very low $299 (UK and Australian pricing to be confirmed) price tag.

They still have a 1080p resolution limit, but in a first for these kinds of specs they offer HDR10 support on their micro-OLED panels, which are made even more vivid with 1,200 nits of brightness. The audio has been tuned up as well, thanks to the expertise of Bang & Olufsen.

The screen expertise of TCL, which makes these glasses, is on show here, and while they lack some of the bells and whistles of their rivals, these specs are also relatively inexpensive – and while I have yet to put them through TechRadar’s rigorous testing, I expect they’ll be a shoo-in for the best cheap smart glasses on the market if you want that entertainment focus.

Asus ROG Xreal R1 AR

• The smart glasses gamers will want to buy

Meta who? Following the breakup between Meta and its third-party HorizonOS partners it seems at least one has already moved on to a new collaborator, because Asus and Xreal have debuted these gamer-friendly specs.

Lenovo announced some smart glasses of their own (Meta’s other HorizonOS partner) but as they’re only a prototype and not the most interesting prototype at that, I’ve omitted them from this list.

Anyway, back to Asus, the R1 glasses are basically the splendid Xreal One Pro glasses with two benefits: a 240Hz refresh rate for buttery smooth gaming, and an included ROG Control Dock. The dock includes DisplayPortTM 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 ports so you can switch between using the glasses with your PC or your console with just a single click.

We don’t yet know the glasses’ price but I expect they’ll be on the pricier end. The One Pro glasses cost $649 / £579, and I wouldn’t hold my breath for these Asus specs to cost any less (certainly not much less).

RayNeo X3 Pro – Project eSIM

• The biggest smart glasses innovation at CES 2026

TCL's AR glasses brand is back on this list again with something a little different. We’ve already seen the RayNeo X3 Pro glasses before – I saw them at CES last year – and they’re your run-of-the-mill AI smart glasses. They boast cameras, speakers and in-built microphones to facilitate AI interactions.

So why have they made this years’ list? This new model boasts an eSIM with 4G capabilities – so no external connection is required.

Now some big questions related to cost, battery life and, importantly, what apps and features the eSIMs will enable still remain – but in the prophesized post-smartphone world that smart glasses are said to enable, this is a much-needed step.

However well this Project eSIM model does, expect others to follow TCL’s lead.

Rokid AI Glasses Style

• The CES 2026 smart glasses to love if you're on a budget

I tried the Rokid Glasses at IFA in late 2025, and this new for CES model is basically those without a display, which is certainly no bad thing – especially when they’re so darn cheap.

The Rokid AI Glasses Style are just like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. They even look a little like them too. You’ll find AI voice commands, a 12MP camera that can shoot in up to 4K, a 12 hour battery life and they’ll cost you less than Meta’s specs. Though Rokid’s glasses don’t come with a charging case by default, which gives them an edge price-wise against the Meta Ray-Bans which do. These cost $299, which is $80 less than Meta's option.

While not mind-blowing in any sense of the word, ecosystems are built on these more budget-friendly offerings. Cheaper options help to get new gadgets in the hands of folks who really want them but can’t afford to spend massive amounts, and so this cheaper option absolutely deserves a shoutout.

MemoMind AI glasses

• The AI smart glasses to watch from CES 2026

Rounding off my list are the XGMI MemoMind AI glasses. The projector brand is a newcomer to the space but has impressed testers with its useful AI features, comfy design, a lightweight display, and a decent battery life – a winning combination in the smart glasses world.

Early impressions are one thing, and tech is difficult to properly judge at a tech show. So while things certainly look positive my advice would be to wait for reviews. I remember being impressed by smart glasses at events like CES and then hating them when I have to spend longer than 10 minutes with them.

At $599, the MemoMind glasses are on the cheaper end of things for display glasses, but that’s still a fair amount to shell out.

None of this is meant to be overly critical of these new specs, of course. I’ve included them on this list because of how good an impression the glasses have left early on. Just maybe keep an eye on them for the next few months to see if they can maintain that positivity before hitting ‘buy now.’

TechRadar is extensively covering this year's CES, and bringing 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!

New TVs could be found in abundance at CES 2026, but soundbars proved to be more elusive as I stalked the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the surrounding hotels.

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!

• Gemini for Google TV is adding new visual, voice-driven features
• Users can remix personal photos, create AI-generated videos, and explore complex topics with narrated Deep Dives
• The update will debut on TCL TVs first

Google TVs are upgrading the Gemini AI assistant with a lot of new features. The company showed off the revamped version of Gemini for Google TV at CES this year, boasting that Gemini will be a lot more than just a way of searching for shows by voice. Google is aiming to make Gemini a full conversational partner when you're watching the screen.

The update is rolling out first on some TCL Google TVs. The new version of Gemini will be more visual and interactive. You'll be able to get comprehensive answers to questions, complete with images and videos. There's even a new “Deep Dive” experience for very tricky queries that will incorporate AI narration and interactive visuals.

The upgrade will also help Gemini fix your everyday TV annoyances. If your screen feels too dim or the dialogue is drowned out by music, you can mention it to the AI, and it will fix the sound or brightness automatically. This alone may be the killer feature for those who don't want to pause a movie to go through the settings menu.

On the personal front, Gemini will also be able to search your Google Photos library from your TV, letting you pull up photos and albums upon request. The Photos Remix feature from Google Photos will also be available if you want to give them an AI-powered filter.

If you'd rather make a picture from scratch, Gemini on Google TVs will also have access to the new Nano Banana image model, and you can simply ask the TV to make or edit photos with your voice. The same goes for making short videos by asking Google Veo. It's basically the same tools as you can pull up on your phone or computer.

Gemini TV

Google seems to want Gemini on your TV to understand exactly what you’re doing and help you do it faster and better. For the average person, that might simply mean finding out real-time sports scores or explaining science to your kids without scrolling through menus or juggling apps.

Mostly, it looks like Google wants Gemini to be everywhere, on all your screens, and have it be the go-to tool at any time, including when watching TV. Embedding Gemini into TVs will serve as a test for how well AI assistants like Gemini do when made part of the background of a home.

Gemini may or may not become the trusted TV companion Google is aiming for, but it looks like there will be another arena for competition among AI and smart home platforms. just on your biggest screen.

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. 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!

The TV world’s heavy hitters are all showing new models at CES 2026, with cutting-edge TVs that use new RGB mini-LED tech grabbing attention via their exceptionally rich color.

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.

OLED has been at the very top of the TV market for several years now and is arguably the most popular of panel technologies. Thanks to its self-emissive pixel design, it generates the most accurate blacks and contrast available, along with vibrant colors and excellent detail.

One area where OLED used to struggle, however, was its brightness. The best OLED TVs used to cap out at roughly 1,000 nits peak brightness a few years ago, making them difficult to view in brighter viewing conditions. This is where mini-LED came in. Even more affordable, mid-range mini-LED TVs were capable of hitting higher peak brightness, making them the top choice for brighter rooms.

But OLED TVs are getting brighter. At CES 2026, OLED panels capable of hitting 4,500 nits were introduced by LG and Samsung, and although this will be under specific testing conditions, we’ve seen flagship models such as the LG G5 and Samsung S95F hitting 2,268 nits and 2,135 nits peak HDR brightness respectively. This means OLED is chipping away at mini-LED’s advantage, necessitating an evolution in mini-LED.

Cue RGB mini-LED. Touted as the ‘OLED killer’, RGB mini-LED was introduced by Hisense at CES 2025. Whereas standard mini-LED uses a layer of single color LEDs (usually blue and sometimes white), which are then filtered through a layer of color changing pixels, RGB mini-LED uses red, green and blue LEDs. This results in brighter, bolder colors, improved contrast and better blacks.

So, can RGB LED really de-throne OLED? Let’s take a deeper look.

The RGB mini-LED story so far

The only RGB mini-LED currently available is the Hisense 116-inch UX. I actually got the chance to test it in 2025 and I was impressed by its striking, vibrant colors, staggering brightness and impeccable detail. Textures were given a real 3D-effect while still looking natural. With some of my testing discs, it also showed solid blacks and contrast.

However, I noticed a clouding effect in some really dark scenes in movies such as The Batman and Alien: Romulus that reminded me of cheap mini-LED TVs I’d tested before. And in some instances, blacks took on a gray tone, especially when viewed from an angle. It wasn’t quite the OLED killer I thought it would be but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Cut to 2026 and RGB mini-LED has been seemingly embraced by most major TV brands. Referred to as Micro RGB by LG and Samsung and RGB mini-LED by Hisense and TCL, all these brands have plans to release sets in 2026. The good news is that it’s not going to be reserved for super-sized screens either, as Hisense is set to introduce models starting from 55-inch with its UR9 and UR8 series. Samsung is also set to release Micro RGB sets starting from 55-inch as well.

So, RGB mini-LED/Micro RGB has definitely captured the attention of some of the biggest TV manufacturers, even those who make OLEDs. But what do these RGB TVs need to do to de-throne OLED?

What RGB needs to do

As you may have noted above in my summary of the Hisense 116UX, while I was impressed by its overall picture, its clouding effect in dark scenes and its blacks with a gray hue held it back from toppling OLED. This is where the battle is hardest fought: contrast and screen uniformity.

As OLED uses self-emissive pixels, it can generate ‘true’ blacks. This is where its biggest strength lies, as LED TVs can only rely on their backlight's dimming capabilities. While mini-LED does improve this over standard LED, it will always be a limitation compared to OLED. Screen uniformity, the ability to display a single color such as black evenly over a whole screen, can be a real issue for LED TVs. If RGB mini-LED really can improve its local dimming and blacks to a rate where it stands toe-to-toe with OLED, then RGB mini-LED has a shot at rivalling, if not beating it.

Mini-LED already has brightness won. I talked about OLED’s general brightness above, but how do RGB mini-LED and OLED compare? We measured the 116UX RGB at 6,014 nits peak HDR brightness (in Vivid mode), meaning there’s scope for the smaller screens to hit big numbers too. Even if the newer generation of OLED realistically hits closer to 3,00 nits peak HDR brightness, RGB mini-LED has still won.

The 116UX also clocked over 1,000 nits fullscreen brightness, which OLED won’t hit anytime soon. The highest we’ve measured is 390 nits on the Samsung S95F. Standard mini-LED hits over 600 nits fullscreen brightness now. So what will the smaller RGB sets hit?

RGB mini-LED could create stronger perceived contrast if it really can get the blacks right, as it already has the brightness part of the contrast nailed. From what I’ve seen and tested of RGB mini-LED so far, its colors and textures are already rich enough to rival OLED. Contrast and blacks are the missing piece of the puzzle.

What about the price?

Pricing is another area where things will be interesting. The LG G5, LG’s flagship 2025 OLED, cost $2,499 / £2,399 / AU$4,199 for the 55-inch model. We don’t have any confirmed pricing for the 55-inch RGB mini-LED/Micro RGB TVs from Hisense or Samsung set to launch in 2026 yet, but if it can get close to OLED numbers, it’ll be a big win.

I suspect that RGB mini-LED, as it’s a new panel technology, will be pricier to begin with. OLED was a real premium on its debut and prices have now seemed to hit a steady pace, only really rising or falling with inflation each year. If RGB TVs can drop their prices fast however and sort its screen uniformity and contrast, OLED may need to take notice.

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. 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!

• Dolby Vision 2 is coming to select Hisense, TCL and Philips TVs in 2026
• This follows news that Peacock will be the first streamer to support Dolby Vision 2
• There will be two versions of Dolby Vision 2: Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max

Select Hisense, TCL and Philips will be the first to support Dolby Vision 2, Dolby has confirmed at CES 2026.

Dolby Vision 2 is the next generation of and successor to the popular HDR format Dolby Vision, which is used by some of the best TVs and best 4K Blu-ray players. Dolby Vision enhances color, detail, and contrast compared to regular HDR10 by using dynamic metadata to improve picture quality.

At IFA 2025, it was confirmed that Hisense would be the first TVs to support Dolby Vision 2, but specific models weren't confirmed at the time.

Dolby has now verified that Hisense's 2026 RGB mini-LED TVs including the UX, UR9 and UR8 models will all support Dolby Vision 2, while its cheaper mini-LED TVs should receive support via a future software update.

TCL's 2026 X QD-mini LED TV series and C series TVs will also get a future software update to support Dolby Vision 2.

Finally, TP Vision's Philips 2026 OLED TVs will support Dolby Vision 2 in their OLED811, OLED911 and OLED951 models.

This follows the news, first announced at CES 2026, that Peacock is the first streaming service to support Dolby Vision 2 and next-gen Dolby Atmos audio encoding.

There will in fact be two versions of Dolby Vision 2 on offer: Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max (more on that below). It's not clear which of the above TVs will support which version yet, but we'll be keeping an eye out.

Dolby Vision 2: the new generation

We've actually seen Dolby Vision 2 in action on cheap TVs and were impressed by how much perceived difference it made to black tone handling, contrast, and color. It seemed like a clear step up from its predecessor, Dolby Vision.

Dolby Vision 2 will have several new features in its arsenal. Firstly, Precision Black, which is designed to make blacks more natural and answer consumer frustration with 'too dark' scenes on streaming services. Next is Light Sense, which will adapt the picture on screen to suit the ambient light conditions of the room. And, live sport optimization for more accurate motion processing and picture.

Dolby Vision 2 Max will have these features, plus an even more optimized image engine and Authentic Motion. This is a tool designed to reduce judder, but maintain natural and authentic motion by having filmmakers adjust motion themselves rather than relying purely on the TV's motion settings. We've seen Authentic Motion in action, and were again impressed.

Dolby Vision 2 looks to be an exciting upgrade over its widely used predecessor. The fact that it's coming to Hisense's RGB mini-LED TVs, which could be a real threat to OLED now it's set to be used in smaller sets, is an exciting development for 2026, and I for one can't wait to get some real testing time with Dolby Vision 2.