We've spent more than 100 hours reviewing dozens of TVs in the past year, and most of the best smart TVs out there come in a variety of sizes. While 65-inch TVs are popular, many people find that the best 55-inch TVs are a great fit for their circumstances. If a 55-inch TV sounds just right for your living room – and according to our size guide, many people will feel that way – there are plenty of options available.
Our favorite smart TVs, like the affordable Vizio M-Series Quantum, all offer models in the 55-inch screen size.
While most of the TVs we test and review are 65-inch models, two smart TVs in the same model line should be extremely similar, apart from screen size. Overall performance is likely to be of the same quality, and core features, like port selection, smart TV capabilities and design, are extremely consistent from one size to another, letting us recommend with confidence. When a manufacturer makes a great 65-inch TV, it's a pretty safe bet that the smaller model will be just as good, so we've picked our favorites to bring you the best 55-inch TVs available.
And we've got plenty of sets to recommend. Whether you want a premium smart TV with incredible picture quality, an outdoor TV that can survive the elements or a budget TV that will save you a bundle, we've got advice backed up by hours of lab testing and in-depth evaluation.
The Vizio M-Series Quantum delivers a premium quantum-dot display for a reasonable price, and adds SmartCast 3.0 – Vizio's evolving smart-TV platform – to make it a great value, giving you a truly premium viewing experience for less.
The M-Series Quantum has color-boosting quantum dots for impressive picture quality and local dimming for great HDR performance, complete with Dolby Vision support. A built-in Google Chromecast gives you thousands of possible apps and services, and the newest version of SmartCast software supports Apple AirPlay2 and HomeKit, making it just as good for iOS users.
When it comes to naming our favorite TVs from 2018, the TCL 6-Series Roku TV easily climbs toward the top of the list. Excellent picture quality, stylish design and a refined smart-TV experience combine to make this a truly premium smart 4K TV — and the affordable price makes it even better.
The display offers rich color, smooth action and excellent black levels for an LCD TV, but the features don't stop there. TCL's refined brushed-metal design looks better than the basic black used on many more-expensive sets, and the Roku TV interface is enhanced with voice search, using a built-in mic in the remote. Throw in some unexpected premium touches, like Dolby Vision support, and you've got a smart-TV bargain that we recommend to anyone shopping for TVs.
The TCL 5-Series Roku Smart 4K TV has an attractive sub-$500 price, great picture and sound quality and a slew of genuinely exciting features. It's the 55-inch model of the best cheap TV out there.
TCL's reputation for better-than-average quality is well-earned, and the TCL 43S517's feature set makes this TV one of the best values we've seen. Despite the inexpensive price, you'll get Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio support and integrated Roku voice search, giving you an outsize smart-TV value.
The Sony Master Series A9G OLED looks and sounds superb, delivering the best performance we've seen on TV this year, and that performance carries over to the 55-inch model. The OLED panel has excellent color, top-notch HDR support with bright highlights and rich shadows, and the pixel-perfect contrast and lighting that only OLED can provide. The sound might be even better than the display, thanks to Sony's impressive Acoustic Surface Audio+ which turns the entire glass panel into a high-end speaker with sound that comes right from the screen and better bass than even many soundbars provide. It's easily one of the best 55-inch TVs you can buy.
But Sony goes above and beyond simple picture and sound with the best version of Android TV yet and Sony's redesigned remote control, which combine into a truly great smart TV experience. The only question people need to ask themselves about the Sony Master Series A9G OLED is whether the category-leading performance and premium smart TV features are worth the the ultra-premium price.
Just when we were about to write off all Amazon-powered TVs, the Insignia 4K Fire TV Edition showed up to make us reconsider. With better-than- average picture quality, sound, and built-in Alexa voice support, it's the best Fire Edition TV we've seen, and the only Amazon TV (so far) to get our recommendation. If you want a smart-TV built around Amazon's Alexa voice assistant and Prime Video, this is the model to get.
With decent color accuracy and a wide color gamut, the Insignia 4K Fire TV Edition is not only the best Amazon TV we've tested and reviewed, it's also got excellent picture quality compared with other sets in the sub-$500 price range. Throw in a sleek design and decent audio performance and it all shapes up into a pretty great TV.
Most TVs are made for living rooms; drag them outside and they die a quick death from heat, water or even bugs. But the SunBriteTV Veranda Series 55-inch outdoor TV has a rugged design that takes it all in stride. Whether it's a hot garage in the summer or a cold, covered patio in winter, the SunBriteTV can handle it, thanks to a weather-sealed chassis and a screen made to be viewed in shady conditions where even ambient sunlight would trip up a normal TV.
With HDR capability and strong overall performance, it's a great TV for any outdoor setting. And thanks to some excellent built-in speakers, there's no need to get a soundbar. It's our favorite outdoor TV, rain or shine.
