While Prime Day is behind us, 4th of July is just days away and that's given retailers another excuse to slash prices. Over at Best Buy, for instance, there's a huge range of TVs on sale right now, some with discounts of over $1,000.

On this page we've pulled together nine of our favorite TV deals: big, beautiful screens from trusted brands like Samsung, LG, TCL, and Toshiba. These are just the thing for upgrading your home entertainment setup or perhaps adding a second TV for a bedroom or kitchen. We've selected a range of different price points too, so there should be something for most budget here, from great value QLED screens to the most lavish LG OLED Evo AI TVs. (For more deals, check out our guide to the best 4th of July sales).

I've always loved Roku's straightforward, deliberately simple interface as an alternative to the ever-more-cluttered experiences on other TVs. It’s helped previous models in its TV lineup like the Roku Plus Series to become one of the best budget TVs.

But competition has heated up in this price range, and I don't think the Select Series is keeping up. Poor brightness is the dealbreaker for this TV, with dark and even some light scenes looking muddy or faded. Color is often quite good, and the audio is better than expected, but they can't make up for the often-dim screen.

For around $400, it’s a cheap TV that has a few merits, but if you want a screen with better brightness and color performance for around the same price, check out the TCL QM6K, Hisense QD7 or Vizio Mini-LED Quantum 4K TV instead.

Roku Select Series review: Pricing and availability

Priced at $379 at Best Buy (regularly $449), the 65-inch Roku Select Series 4K QLED (65R5D5) is the upper-middle tier of Roku's three-series TV lineup for 2026. Within the Select Series itself, the 43-inch model uses standard LED rather than QLED (incorporating quantum-dot color technology), while the 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch sets all upgrade to QLED panels.

Stepping up from Select, Roku's Plus Series ($649 for a 65-inch screen) adds Mini-LED backlighting, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for more faithful video and audio play, Wi-Fi 6 (the latest standard), and an enhanced voice remote. Plus models from 2025 have fallen considerably, with last year's 65-inch Plus model selling for under $500 on Amazon. The flagship Pro Series is the only Roku-made line with a 120Hz refresh rate, currently around $899 in 65-inch trim.

Roku Select Series review: Design and ports

At 3.3 inches deep, the 65" Roku Select TV is a bit chunky. It has the standard design of all budget TVs: two plastic feet bear the ends of the panel and thin black bezel with minimal branding (a smallish silver "Roku" at the bottom-middle). On the back are VESA-standard screwholes in a 400 x 300 mm pattern for attaching to a wall mount.

When viewed from behind, the TV's power cord plugs in at the right, and all input and output ports are grouped in a column on the left. They include four HDMI ports (one with eARC, which can supply digital audio output to a soundbar or speaker system). They support only the 2.0 standard, which doesn't support capabilities such as 120Hz video input, though that might not matter much as the screen’s native refresh rate is limited to 60Hz.

The Select Series also features a SPDIF optical digital audio port and a single USB-A port that could load photos or videos from a USB stick. An ethernet port is on hand, as is a Cable/Antenna input that feeds an ATSC 1.0 tuner. The latter is limited to 1080p, standard dynamic range broadcasts, but that only matters if you use an antenna, rather than onboard streaming apps or a cable box that connects over HDMI.

How we test TVs at Tom’s Guide

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom's Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set's performance. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays's Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV's gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our "How we test TVs" page.

Roku Select Series review: Performance

The 65-inch Roku Select shows pleasing, rather-accurate color in HD/SDR; but it's simply not bright enough to show a lot of content clearly — especially not in HDR. That’s a problem because HDR is no longer exotic: It's become standard on top streaming services and on Blu-ray discs. A TV that can't display HDR well, like this one, is hard to recommend.

To put it through its paces, I used Netflix's Strangers Things, Season 5, Episode 8 as it’s full of dark, forbidding scenes. They looked a bit muddy and grayish on this screen. Selecting the HDR+ Bright setting lightened up the shadows, but at the expense of black levels.

Chapter 4 of the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" Blu-ray fared better, but it’s still not up to par with some of its rivals. In some scenes, characters were lit well, such as the firelight illuminating the faces of Peter Parker and Dr. Strange, but in other scenes that wasn’t the case.

"Bridgerton" was especially disappointing. Season 1, Ep 3 (17:00-19:00 minutes in) displays complex indoor scenes/outdoor scenes, candlelight/sunlight, warm skin tones/pale complexions — and none of them looked especially good. One character's mop of blond hair nearly disappears in a sunny afternoon shot. There is a pallor over the colorful pastel dresses of four women in the same scene.

Indoor party scenes were also rather shadowy. Here toggling between the Standard, Bright, and Dark HDR+ settings made little difference. It's worth noting that this set does not support Dolby Vision, which includes extra metadata in content to help a TV display it more faithfully.

The Roku Select is fine for standard HD content, however. I found the YouTube edition of the gorgeous Bruno Mars video "Risk It All" to be an enjoyable watch. It begins with an outdoor scene and then transitions to a sunlit church interior. There aren't those challenging shadows where lower luminance can obscure detail, though. The Select also displayed motion smoothly, such as a difficult shot when the camera moves towards Mars, then rotates 90 degrees to show him from the side while backing away.

A few photos I shot while reviewing cameras for Tom's Guide also looked nice — including one with women of different skin tones by a fountain and another of a woman sitting on a bench. These were all outdoor shots by bright to very-bright light, however.

There's minimal difference between all other modes. With photos, Sports made images a tad warmer, sometimes livening skintones; and Vivid made them a bit cooler, deepening green foliage. (It also improved black levels, for instance in a photo of a blue neon sign at night.) The differences come down to a matter of personal taste.

Roku Select Series review: Test Results

*As measured in Filmmaker mode

Using its out-of-the-box Standard mode, we measured peak luminance (on a square covering 10% of the screen) at 397.6 nits, vs. an average of 927.0 for 65-inch TVs from 2025 and 2026. (They range from 228.7 to 2,908 nits.)

This Roku has several other picture modes, including Movie, Vivid, and Sports. Movie is the most color-accurate, by far. Similar modes on other TVs tend to be dimmer, but this TV was really dim. We measured 334.6 nits, vs. an average for rivals of 438.2.

To my eye, Standard beat Movie mode with Fellini's 1963 black-and-white surrealist film "8½." Standard gave light shades the hint of yellow you would expect in a black and white film shot over half a century ago, without overdoing it. The film looked quite yellow in Movie mode.

Color fidelity in Standard mode is better than average. We determine that with Delta-E, a measurement of how far colors on the screen vary from the signal we send to the TV. The lower the number, the more accurate the TV. We measured this Roku at 10.2. That's way higher than its value in Movie mode (2.45) but beats the average 11.9 for comparable TVs in Standard mode from the past couple years. Movie Mode color is also a skosh better than average — a Delta-E of 2.45 vs. 2.9 — but both numbers are firmly in the "too small to notice” range.

In practice, Movie Mode handled that aforementioned photo of the woman on the bench very well. She has a mid-tone complexion that could easily go wrong with bad color performance, as well as a wine-colored felt hat that could have gotten exaggerated.

Still, things are gloomy for fans of 4K/HDR content. In lab tests in Movie Mode, the TV's HDR brightness gave us a new all-time low against similar TVs: 334.6 nits vs the average of 1533.1 and max of 3685.4. This TV is in the lower half among peers for covering the Rec. 2020 gamut (72.36%) — though this will matter more when content actually is mastered in Rec. 2020. Right now, high coverage is more for bragging rights than anything else.

Roku Select Series review: Audio

The Roku Select offers pleasant audio, especially for a basic built-in system with minimal specs. The TV packs two speakers with the industry-minimum 10 watts each. It features basic Dolby audio technology, but not the richer Dolby Atmos standard (a feature of the step-up Plus Series).

The Bruno Mars "Risk It All" video sounded crisp and clear — from bright trumpets to the resonant guitar notes and his soulful voice. I recommend switching from Standard to Movie sound mode for all content for a more expansive experience.

A music video isn't too tough for a low-power speaker system. But I was especially impressed with the sound of Stranger Things, especially the crisp voices against the roaring background noise. Explosions had a booming sound without much distortion.

This is all graded on a curve, of course. For home theater sound, you can connect to a soundbar or speaker system over the eArc HDMI port or the SPDIF digital audio output. We have a list of the best soundbars if you’re not sure where to start.

Roku Select Series review: Interface and remote

I've been a fan of Roku's minimalist interface (on TVs, streaming sticks and streaming boxes) from early days. It's my interface of choice at home.

Popular apps are pre-installed and featured at the top of the app grid. You can easily move or delete them or add apps from a list of thousands (called Channels) that are supported. My one complaint is that the interface is a bit sluggish on this model.

The remote is streamlined without being too sparse. It features shortcuts to Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV+, and Amazon Prime Video, as well as a handy enhanced voice remote for easy searches. Roku's mobile app is equally handy should you misplace the clicker.

The ad-supported Roku Channel is shown discretely at the right side of the screen, instead of in-your-face as for other TV companies' video services (looking at you, Vizio). It doesn't have the latest blockbusters, but I have found noteworthy TV shows and movies such as "Frasier," "Longmire," "The Heat," and "Silence of the Lambs."

But make no mistake: Roku is a data and advertising company that may collect a lot of personal information. Like Vizio, Roku has found itself involved in several lawsuits over privacy. (The most recent of which is happening in Florida where the Florida Attorney General is currently suing the company, alleging that it "collected, sold, and enabled reidentification of sensitive personal data — including viewing habits, voice recordings, and other information from children — without authorization or meaningful notice to Florida families.")

No matter which smart platform you choose, however, you’re going to have to deal with a company that wants your viewing information. Roku is not substantially different in this regard, but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention Roku’s robust data collection policy.

Roku Select Series review: Verdict

I’m a huge fan of Roku TVs (as well as the brand’s streaming-device add-ons), but this model line won't make our list of recommendations. At under $400 for a 65-inch QLED, the Select Series competes most directly with the Vizio Mini-LED Quantum 4K Smart TV (also $398) and the Samsung Q6F ($449). The Hisense QD7 (currently $599 at the 65-inch size but found as low as $435) is a small step up in price but is one of my favorite models in this range.

If you’re dead-set on a Roku TV for the lowest absolute price, I wouldn’t fault you for choosing the Select Series — there are some redeeming qualities. Roku TV is set to get its biggest overhaul in years, and the Roku Channel offers some free streaming options if you don’t mind dealing with ads every few minutes.

Would this be the TV I’d pick out for a home theater or a living room that gets a lot of afternoon sun? Probably not, but you could certainly do worse.

If you set aside their screens, TVs are kind of boring. Most of the time, you know what to expect: gray-and-black panels attached to a pair of pointy-shaped feet. That’s been the design standard since I started testing TVs over a decade ago.

This formulaic approach is exactly why I’m intrigued to see a brand like Hisense crumpling up the predictable playbook for its newest TV. It’s an affordable, offbeat QLED dubbed the Hisense Deco TV (or Déco, to be precise).

In a sea of garden-variety, gray-colored rectangles on sale at Amazon during Prime Day, this breezy, artful little number caught my eye. It’s precisely the sort of TV I can see people placing in a dorm, a cozy studio apartment or a colorful, neon-soaked bedroom. Even more intriguing is its price: Right now, the 43-inch Hisense Deco TV is just $299 at Amazon for Prime Day.

• shop all Prime Day deals at Amazon

The Deco TV's design is destined to garner double-takes. In an era of straight lines and shrinking bezels, its round, cherub-like visage is the Bouba to the modern TV's Kiki.

Sure, some folks might not be too keen on the Deco TV's bubbly personality. But, to these jaded, TV-testing eyes, I see a TV that might exist in the retro-futuristic dwellings of Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

In a room with contrasting décor — warm wood tones, vintage furniture and such — the Deco TV takes on a form that fashion-forward folks might call a statement piece. In a colorful, neon-lit bedroom with a baddie-style aesthetic, it fits right in.

As a TV-tester and all-around picture purist, I've got to hit you with some facts. For one thing, I've not seen the recently released, 43-inch Deco TV up close, so I can't speak to its performance.

The Deco TV sports a 43-inch QLED display, so I assume that its colors are bit punchier than what you'd get on any number of ultra-cheap, $200 TVs that don't look like they belong in the living room of Joaquin Phoenix's character from the movie "Her."

It supports Dolby Vision (one of the most popular enhanced HDR formats), but I suspect that the Deco TV's HDR support isn't much to write home about, given its modest display technology. File that feature — as well as the Deco TV's Dolby Atmos support — under the "just nice to have" column.

Another perk is the Deco's built-in, Fire TV-based streaming software. While Amazon's software suite isn't my top choice for streaming movies and shows, it's a pleasant-enough backdrop for your quirky, goofball-of-a-TV.

The bottom line? I wouldn't go into the Deco TV experience expecting to be blown away by its picture quality, but it's got smart features, looks like nothing else on the market and doesn't cost much. If you're committed to buying a super-cheap TV, you may as well get an adorable one that catches people's eye.

Let me know what you think. Is the Deco TV a stylish screen or a design disaster?

More from Tom's Guide

• These 51+ Prime Day deals are like a summer Black Friday: Amazon's, Best Buy's and Walmart's best savings of the year, hand-picked by experts
• It’s going to be a massive year for some of the most elegant-looking TVs on the market — here’s what you need to know about 2026 lifestyle TVs
• 'TV brightness matters more than anything else' and 4 other myths that I need to debunk after a decade of testing TVs

Prime Day doesn't technically kick off until June 23, but Amazon isn't waiting to start slashing prices on the best TVs from Roku, Insignia, Hisense, Samsung, and more. Whether you're looking for a bigger screen to catch every match of the World Cup or are overdue for upgrading your streaming set-up, these early Prime Day TV deals are well worth a look.

Amazon already has smart TVs starting at just $99 — the lowest prices I've seen outside of Black Friday. My favorite deal right now is the Insignia 55-inch 4K Fire TV for $169. I got one on sale for a few hundred bucks several years ago, and it has stood the test of time. If you're after something even bigger, Insignia 85-inch 4K QLED TV is down to just $659 — a 39% savings. That's an incredible price for an 85-inch TV and easily one of the standout TV deals on the market today.

For even more ways to save, make sure to check out our full Prime Day deals coverage and our Tom's Guide Saving Squad recommendations.

Quick Links

• shop TV deals from $99 at Amazon
• Insignia 55" F50 4K Fire TV: was $349 now $159
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369
• TCL 55" QM7K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $677 now $597
• Insignia 85" 4K QLED TV: was $1,099 now $659
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,199 now $997
• Hisense 75" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,999 now $1,197
• TCL 65" QM8L 4K SQD Mini-LED TV: was $2,499 now $1,799

My Top Picks

80 inch +

60-75 inch

50-59 inch

We live in the era of the lifestyle TV. These thoughtfully designed TVs are meant to look like a portrait, complete with a frame around the screen and, in most cases, a matte-style screen, which adds an oil painting-like texture to the pictures on display.

Brands have seen great success selling these artful TVs, with Samsung's version (dubbed The Frame) leading the pack in popularity. Unfortunately, their elevated design tends to be priced at a premium. That's why I'm laser-focused on Amazon Prime Day lifestyle TV deals — it's a great opportunity for our readers to save on such premiums.

And, if you're fast enough, you can swing a killer deal on Hisense's frame-forward lifestyle TV before Prime Day officially starts. Right now, you can get a 50-inch Hisense S7 Canvas TV for just $749 at Amazon — a full 42% off its usual price.

Its 50-inch screen is rather modest, but folks with smaller living spaces will appreciate the versatility of its size. As mentioned, the S7 Canvas TV is adorned with a replaceable, Teak-style frame, which allows it to nestle into a wall full of paintings or photographs.

Another feature that will help the Canvas TV find a home among your artwork is the wall-mounting hardware that Hisense has included in the box. Because of how the Canvas TV and its mount are designed, there's no gap between the TV and the wall.

The S7 Canvas TV may be designed for style points above all else, but it still comes stocked with plenty of features: It's built around the Google TV smart platform (one of my preferred streaming platforms), so you're covered if you don't want to plug an extra device into your portrait-like TV. It also supports Dolby Vision, a popular, enhanced HDR format found across streaming platforms.

If you're the type of person who values the aesthetic qualities of a TV over fancy features and eye-popping performance, the S7 might be your cup of tea. I suspect it'll be a high-selling TV once Prime Day officially kicks off, so getting ahead of the crowd could be a wise move.

More from Tom's Guide

• It’s going to be a massive year for some of the most elegant-looking TVs on the market — here’s what you need to know about 2026 lifestyle TVs
• 9 early Prime Day deals on Hisense TVs — starting at just $99
• Just got a Hisense TV? Change these 5 settings before you start watching

The first Prime Day TV deals of 2026 are finally here and they're arriving right in the nick of time. Now that the World Cup is underway, there's never been a better time to upgrade your TV. Whether you're upgrading to a bigger screen or investing in better display technology, these early Prime Day TV deals merit your full attention.

For example, right now Amazon has smart TVs on sale from $69. It's one of the lowest prices I've seen outside of Black Friday. The deal I'm most excited about is the Roku 65-inch 4K QLED TV for just $399. I have the smaller non-QLED version of this TV in my bedroom and I absolutely love it. Alternatively, you can get the Insignia 85-inch 4K QLED TV for just $659. That's an unheard of price for a TV this size and one of the best TV deals you can get right now.

For more deals, make sure to check out our full Prime Day deals coverage and our Tom's Guide Saving Squad recommendations.

Quick Links

• shop TV deals from $69 at Amazon
• shop 55" TV deals from $379 at Best Buy
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369
• TCL 55" QM7K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $677 now $597
• Insignia 85" 4K QLED TV: was $1,099 now $659
• LG 55" B5 4K OLED TV: was $999 now $899
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,199 now $997
• Samsung 55" S90F 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $997
• Hisense 75" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,999 now $1,197
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• TCL 65" QM8L 4K SQD Mini-LED TV: was $2,499 now $1,799

My Top Picks

OLED TVs

80 inch +

60-75 inch

50-59 inch

I spend most of the year testing and reviewing the newest TVs from brands like LG, Hisense and Samsung. But when a major sales event like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day rolls around, I swap my TV-testing cap for a deals-hunting hat.

On the eve of Amazon's biggest sale of the year, I typically tell folks to keep two things in mind: The best TV deals tend to be attached to year-old models, and many of those deals are available days before Prime Day even begins.

With this in mind, I spent my week tracking all of the top TV deals available at Amazon ahead of Prime Day and plucked out the nine worth shopping. There's something here for every budget, including my favorite deal of the bunch, the 55-inch Roku Plus Series for just $368.

Quick Links

• shop all smart TV deals at Amazon from $69
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $368
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $547 now $397
• TCL 55" QM7K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $677 now $597
• LG 55" B5 4K OLED TV: was $999 now $899
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,199 now $997
• Samsung 55" S90F 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $997
• Hisense 75" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,999 now $1,197
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• TCL 65" QM8L 4K SQD Mini-LED TV: was $2,499 now $1,799

My top early Prime Day TV deals

When it comes to TV-shopping, Memorial Day weekend is somewhat of a perfect storm of opportunity. This is because the holiday happens to arrive at the time of year where TV brands are busy rolling out their latest lineups, so last-year's models are already at (or close to) their lowest price. Combine that with Memorial Day sales events and you've got a recipe for really, really good deals.

Best Buy is one of the stores marking down everything from entry-level QLEDs to world-class OLEDs this weekend. And, in the interest of deal-hunters everywhere, I've pored over pages of listings and plucked out my top 10 favorite deals.

I've covered the gamut and included sets for every budget, but there are some particularly good deals here worth highlighting. My favorite is easily the 55-inch LG B5, on sale for $799 at Best Buy this weekend. LG's budget-friendly OLED was already one of the best value propositions in its class, but this deal makes it a no-brainer.

Quick Links

• shop all smart TVs at Best Buy from $69
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $368
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $799 now $399
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $599
• TCL 65" QM6K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $999 now $649
• Hisense 65" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,499 now $699
• LG 55” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,499 now $799
• Samsung S90F 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $999
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,199 now $1,199
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• Hisense 65" UR9 4K RGB LED TV: was $2,199 now $1,999

My favorite Memorial Day TV deals

It’s widely known that the week of Memorial Day is a pretty good time to shop for a TV. It’s perhaps less known that many of the biggest brands themselves get in on the action along with big-box stores and online retailers. It’s a nifty opportunity to order directly from the manufacturer while still saving a ton of money.

For instance, Samsung’s Memorial Day TV sale is already live, and while I initially wasn’t expecting to find much to recommend, there’s a ton of QLEDs, Mini-LEDs and OLEDs on sale for prices rivaling those at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.

To keep things simple, I combed through pages of listings and plucked out my 10 top picks. Most of these models are from 2025, but that’s by design — these are the best TVs to shop right now.

Quick Links

• Samsung 55” QN70H 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $799
• Samsung 75” Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $1,399 now $899
• Samsung 85” Q7F 4K QLED TV: was $1,499 now $899
• Samsung 55” S85F 4K OLED TV: was $1,499 now $899
• Samsung 65” S90F 4K OLED TV: was $2,499 now $1,199
• Samsung 55” R85H 4K Micro RGB TV: was $1,599 now $1,499
• Samsung 65” S95F 4K OLED TV: was $3,299 now $2,099

My top Samsung Memorial Day TV deals

Memorial Day is still a week away, but some retailers have already started discounting everything from OLEDs to QLEDs. I should know, too — I've been tracking the top TV deals from places like Amazon and Best Buy for the last several weeks.

As with all Memorial Day TV sales, the steepest discounts can be found on models from last year. Don't let that throw you off, though; these TVs are still every bit as good as they were when they first hit shelves.

Take the LG C5, for instance. LG's mid-range OLED from 2025 is not only the sole TV to earn our five-star rating in the last year, it's also one of my favorite TVs ever made. Right now, you can get the 65-inch LG C5 for $1,399 at Best Buy, which is roughly half the price of its successor, the LG C6.

But there are plenty of QLEDs, OLEDs and Mini-LED TVs already on sale ahead of Memorial Day weekend, and I've made sure to corral sets for every budget.

Quick Links

• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $799 now $399 @ Amazon
• TCL 55" QM5K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $699 now $449 @ Best Buy
• LG 48” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $649 @ Best Buy
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $699 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 85" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,397 now $999 @ Amazon
• Samsung 55" S90F 4K OLED TV: was $1,599 now $999 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,199 now $999 @ Best Buy
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 65" UR9 4K RGB LED TV: was $2,199 now $1,999 @ Best Buy

My top early Memorial Day TV deals

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been fielding a flurry of requests for TV-buying advice ahead of the biggest event in sports: the FIFA World Cup. It would seem as though footy fans from all around the globe are using the competition as an excuse to kick their old, out-of-date TVs to the curb.

The vast majority of people I’ve spoken to are trying to save as much money as they can on a new set, and I don’t blame them. Everything is expensive right now, and if the TV you’re looking to replace is old enough, you don’t need to shell out thousands of dollars in order to get an impressive-looking upgrade.

The 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $599 at Best Buy right now, and it meets my criteria for a World Cup upgrade. It’s big, bright and remarkably affordable.

The U65QF sets itself apart from other ultra-affordable, big-screen TVs with one key feature: Mini-LED backlighting.

Sure, you’re not getting the sort of eye-popping performance of a flagship-level Mini-LED TV, but at the U65QF’s price point, it’s not easy to find Mini-LED backlighting at all.

So while you won’t be basking in the glow of a multi-thousand-dollar TV, you’re getting better brightness and contrast control with the U65QF than what you’re likely to find on an edge-lit, 75-inch TV.

Trust me: If you’re going to go as big as 75 inches, the last thing you want is a chintzy, edge-lit panel. The U65QF’s modest array of Mini-LEDs will illuminate the pitch better than those bottom-of-the-barrel sets.

According to our test results (which you can peruse in our Hisense U65QF review), this is the brightest TV in its class. No other entry-level Mini-LED TV we’ve tested in the last year comes close to the U65QF’s punchy performance.

Look, I’ve got to be real with you: I don’t yet know where all of these World Cup games are going to be shown. But I do know that you’ll be able to watch most of them on the U65QF. This TV is built around the Fire TV smart platform, and while it’s not my top pick for streaming, it still supports YouTube TV, Fubo, Tubi or whatever app is piping-in all of the action.

The World Cup just happens to arrive at an already-awesome time to save a bunch of money on a TV, as sets like the U65QF are crashing in price as newer models hit the market.

This TV’s original price was $1,299. Today, it’s $599. If you want a big, bright screen ahead of the World Cup and don’t want to feel it financially for the rest of the year, I can’t think of a better option.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

Early on in my TV-testing career, Roku TVs were a bit of a tradeoff. They offered a simple way to stream movies and shows via the built-in Roku interface, but most of the time, their so-so hardware left a lot to be desired.

Nowadays, Roku TVs are built better. Take the Roku Pro Series, for instance. Unlike many of its Roku-branded predecessors, this set leverages some relatively sophisticated display technology: Mini-LED backlighting. Today, the 55-inch Roku Pro Series is just $599 at Amazon — its lowest price ever.

The Pro Series is equipped with both quantum dot-color and Mini-LED backlighting. If you care about securing decent picture quality with the purchase of an affordable TV, these are two enhancements you'll want.

Thanks to its Mini-LEDs, the Pro Series' backlight control is better than what you'll see on basic LED TVs (especially edge-lit models). Better backlight control spells better contrast, and contrast is a cornerstone of picture quality. With quantum dots in the mix, the Pro Series is working with a bigger palette than most ultra-cheap sets, too.

Once upon a time, Roku TVs didn't come with this sort of hardware. Roku offers a Plus Series TV, too, but the Pro model is the one I'd recommend to people who want a bit more oomph during HDR movies, shows and sports.

If you've ever used a Roku device, you probably understand the appeal of its software. I love the simple-but-powerful interface of Roku so much that I stopped using my TV’s built-in software in favor of a dedicated Roku box. The Pro Series delivers that same experience without the need for an external device.

Of the major streaming platforms available today, Roku is arguably the easiest to use, regardless of how experienced you are with TV software. Its home screen features big icons arranged in a basic grid, and at any given time, there are usually only one or two non-video-based ads on the screen.

As one of the most popular streaming platforms, Roku is also connected to a massive library of downloadable apps. As a Roku-user myself, I've never had an issue finding content. It's this combination of simplicity and power that makes Roku a great choice for both dedicated streamers and casual viewers.

It's not a bad choice for gamers, either. The Pro Series is equipped with a pair of HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs (out of four total) that support 4K gaming up to 120Hz.

If you're looking for a TV that won't exhaust you to learn how to use (but whose picture might actually impress you), the Pro Series is on my short list of recommendations.

More from Tom's Guide

• Roku rolling out big Spring OS update to millions of TVs and streaming devices — here's the biggest changes
• 7 hidden Roku tricks everyone needs to know
• 5 Roku tips to instantly improve your TV experience

Forget Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day. Even though it's not a widely known fact, springtime is a great time to shop for a TV — you just have to know what to look for.

Why is it such a convenient time to upgrade your living room? It's not just because the World Cup is on the horizon (though that's a tantalizing reason to treat yourself), but because the biggest brands in the industry are busy rolling out their latest lineups. This means that many of last-years models — some of which are still among the best TVs you can buy — are at (or approaching) their lowest price ever.

To help you shop, I've done a deep dive into Best Buy's seemingly endless list of TVs and plucked out my ten favorite deals. Some of my favorite models are wildly cheap right now, including the Best Buy-exclusive, 48-inch LG B5 OLED for just $649. I've found something for every budget, though, starting well below $400.

Quick Links

• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369
• TCL 50" QM5K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $649 now $399
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $799 now $399
• LG 48” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $649
• TCL 65" QM6K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $999 now $699
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $699
• Hisense 65" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,499 now $699
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,199 now $999
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• Hisense 65" UR9 4K RGB LED TV: was $2,199 now $1,999

My favorite Best Buy TV deals

Given the relatively recent rise of big-screen TVs, it doesn’t surprise me that I often field questions about how to shop for one without spending a ridiculous amount of money. Giant screens don’t just give people a taste of the movie theater experience at home, they’re also a great fixture for social gatherings centered around sports and shows.

There aren’t too many super- affordable, 85-inch TVs that I would earnestly recommend to people who want to avoid scraping the bottom of the barrel. But right now, the 85-inch Hisense U65QF is just $799 at Best Buy. It’s a $1,200 discount on a big-screen TV that’s actually worth buying.

In our full Hisense U65QF review, we commended this entry-level model for punching well above its weight when it comes to picture quality. The U65QF offers better brightness and backlight control than just about every 85-inch model in this price tier, and it's all thanks to its nifty display hardware.

Unlike most cheap 85-inch TVs, the U65QF leverages Mini-LED backlighting, which goes a long way towards maximizing this set's value. These ultra-small LEDs tend to result in better overall contrast (and higher brightness) than what you'll see on TVs that tap rudimentary, edge-lit screens.

The U65QF is also much, much brighter than most of the entry-level LED TVs we've tested in the last year. This makes it a viable choice for people who watch a ton of TV during the day in a sunny room.

This TV isn't lacking in features, either. If you're a casual or dedicated gamer, you'll appreciate that the U65QF supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs. This is the highest 4K spec for current-gen consoles, and even though there are only two high-bandwidth ports, that's more than you'll find on most entry-level LED TVs.

Unlike most of the mainline Hisense TVs, the U65QF is built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform rather than Google TV. Personally, I prefer the look and feel of Google TV, but this is a concession I am more than willing to make for an 85-inch model at this price point.

If you're in the market for a TV like this but 85 inches is too big for your living space, it's worth noting that the 65-inch Hisense U65QF is just $548 at Best Buy right now. It's not quite as eye-popping a deal as what's being offered on the 85-inch version, but it's worth a look if saving money is one of your top priorities.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

Roku TVs put the convenience of a Roku streaming device right into the TV itself. At one point during my TV-reviewing tenure, that was their only selling point. But in 2026, Roku TVs actually come with pretty decent performance, too.

Because of this development, I’m always on the lookout for worthwhile deals on certain Roku TVs. That’s why I’m sounding the alarm about this: a 55-inch Roku Pro Series TV for just $599 at Amazon. Unlike many of its predecessors, this Roku TV is equipped with relatively sophisticated display technology in Mini-LED backlighting. And, of course, it’s all built around my favorite smart platform: Roku.

It's the best of both worlds: the simplicity of Roku with the power of Mini-LEDs. As the "Pro" designation suggests, the Roku Pro Series is a step above the Roku TVs of yesteryear.

The Pro Series is equipped with both quantum dot-color and Mini-LED backlighting — a combination of hardware that only recently made its way to Roku TV lineups. With Mini-LEDs, the Pro Series' backlight control is better suited for sports, movies and shows than most run-of-the-mill LED TVs.

There was a time where Roku TVs didn't come with this sort of hardware. For those shoppers who want an impressive picture to go along with a simplified software experience, the Pro Series is very much worth a look.

If you've had an opportunity to use a Roku streaming device in the past, you probably understand the appeal of this easy-to-use software. I recently decided to switch from webOS to Roku and my day-to-day streaming experience has improved.

Of all the streaming platforms available today, Roku's interface is easily the most straightforward. It consists of big icons, legible menus and a minimum amount of ads.

Roku won't let you down when it comes to app availability, either. The Roku library is vast. This makes Roku a great choice for both dedicated streamers and casual users who might be averse to streaming software.

And, not for nothing, but the Pro Series is also a pretty powerful gaming TV, too. It's equipped with a pair of HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs (out of four total) that support 4K gaming up to 120Hz. This is the maximum 4K spec for current-generation consoles. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro are here, too, for smooth, tear-free gaming.

Thanks to its mix of nifty hardware and easy-to-use software, the Pro Series is a true crowd-pleaser. Amazon has given this listing its limited-time deal tag, though, so this deal has an expiration date.

More from Tom's Guide

• Roku is adding the worst part of Fire TV to its streaming devices
• 7 hidden Roku tricks everyone needs to know
• 5 Roku tips to instantly improve your TV experience

I want to start this review by saying that I really wanted to love Hisense’s latest addition to its lineup of RGB Mini-LED TVs, the UR9. I’m usually an OLED guy, but after hearing about the hype behind the UR9 — which is basically a more compact version of the Hisense 116UX that dazzled us at CES 2026 — I was excited to see how the brand’s RGB Mini-LED technology could be miniaturized in one of the best TVs of the year.

Unfortunately, after spending some time with the UR9, I walked away with mixed feelings. While the TV certainly excels in the brightness department, it ultimately falls short in a few key areas, including inconsistent color depth and balance, and just-okay gaming features. While I could be more forgiving of its flaws at a more budget-friendly price point, that’s a lot harder to do at its launch price of $3,500.

There are some highlights that I think show promise for the future of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LEDs, and the price should dip in just a few months, but it might be best to hold off on buying a UR9 until later this year — or, if that feels too soon, until 2027 when the next iteration of RGB Mini-LED comes out.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Price and release date

The UR9 is the latest addition to Hisense’s 2026 lineup of RGB Mini-LED TVs. The UR9 is currently up for preorder, and was officially released on April 23.

Below is a breakdown of the available sizes and pricing (we reviewed the 65-inch model):

• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (65-inch): $3,499.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (75-inch): $4,999.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (85-inch): $5,999.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (100-inch): $8,999.99

The UR9 is the only mid-budget model of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LED TVs that you can buy right now. The next step up would be its flagship model, the 116UX, which will run you anywhere from $19,999.99 to its original MSRP of $29,999.99, depending on sales and discounts. In other words, if you’re at all interested in trying out one of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LED TVs without having to take out a loan, the UR9 is going to be the most accessible option at this time.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Design

The UR9 is a bulky TV. It has thick bezels and feels heavy to move around, but the sturdiness you get in return may be a good tradeoff for you, depending on your preferences.

The TV still looks nice from a design standpoint, but it will definitely take up a lot more space compared to something like an LG C6 OLED or TCL QM8L Mini-LED TV. If you’re thinking of mounting it, I could see it being more of an eyesore just because of how much it’ll protrude from the wall.

I will say, I thought the setup of the Hisense UR9’s central pedestal was a little overcomplicated. Although very durable, I thought the way it all fit together wasn’t very intuitive, and the assembly instructions didn’t help all that much.

The multiple layers of screws felt like overkill, but one thing’s for sure: This pedestal will stay attached, barring some sort of disaster.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Ports

The TV has a nice suite of ports, including three HDMI 2.1 ports (one of them being eARC-compatible in case you want to connect a soundbar), two USB-A ports, a LAN port, an antenna port, and an optical digital audio out port. A pretty standard setup without any glaring omissions.

One extra port that’s definitely worth mentioning, though, is the unique USB-C DisplayPort that works perfectly with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. I was able to plug in all of my devices on the fly and mirror their displays on the UR9’s screen, which was really convenient.

Not everyone has a DisplayPort cable on hand, but I’m willing to bet almost everyone has a spare USB-C cable lying around. That alone will encourage more people to get a lot of use out of this port. It’s a great addition that you’re not going to find in other mainstream TVs.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Performance

While testing out the Hisense UR9, I watched a variety of films, TV shows, and YouTube videos to get an idea of how it would perform during daily use. I also played a few PS5 titles to judge its gaming performance and features.

Upon booting the UR9 up and starting to watch some content, I immediately noticed how bright the TV was, even in the fully lit room I was testing it in. I was definitely impressed, but I quickly started to notice some issues. While watching 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in the UR9’s standard picture mode, I couldn’t help but become distracted by the near-blinding whites in multiple scenes from the movie, and the color balance just felt “off.” I’d seen this movie at least ten times by now, and the range of colors felt way less vivid than ever before.

Even with all the lights in the room turned on, I was having trouble focusing on the film because of the brightness and lack of balance. With the lights off, I had to squint to avoid discomfort. Switching to a dimmer picture preset like filmmaker modes helped ever so slightly, but the picture felt even more washed out and muted in terms of color depth. So, I switched up what I was watching to see if the problems persisted.

Unfortunately, they did, to varying degrees. I watched a bit of “Thrash,” a new shark-attack thriller from Netflix, and had the same brightness issues, especially when it came to the TV’s whites. Trying to tone them down had negative effects on the contrast and blacks, and I just couldn’t get the color saturation to look right. I eventually settled on switching over to the vivid picture mode and tweaking the brightness myself, which looked better, but I was still frustrated that I had to do so much work to get a brand-new flick to look good.

I had better success watching an episode of Hulu’s “The Bear” in filmmaker mode, but still had to make some adjustments to balance everything out. No matter what I put on, I had to go through a bunch of extra steps to get the settings right, and it got old fast.

Switching over to YouTube to watch some Coachella 2026 highlights and 4K travel videos yielded similar results, but the UR9’s vivid mode played nicer with the YouTube app than it did with Netflix and Hulu. When viewing in 4K, the details actually looked really nice, but had just a slight grain over it — a product of the TV’s lackluster upscaling. I did notice some blooming around the YouTube logo, but didn’t encounter that issue within any other apps.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Gaming performance

The UR9’s gaming mode also left me wanting more, especially after reviewing the LG C6 OLED just a few weeks ago, which has some of the most stellar gaming performance I’ve experienced on a TV. Still, there’s some worthwhile stuff here: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro mitigates screen tearing, a dedicated HDR gaming picture mode, and 120Hz support.

I also liked the UR9’s game bar interface, though, which lets you hop between different game genre presets, make brightness adjustments, and add helpful overlays like aiming reticles and an FPS counter.

The Hisense UR9 isn’t necessarily a poor gaming TV, but I wouldn’t buy one solely for gaming purposes.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Test results

From our test results, you can see that the Hisense UR9 is a super-high performer in the brightness department. In HD/SDR, it blows the TCL QM8L Mini-LED, LG C6 OLED, and Samsung QN90F QLED out of the water with a peak SDR brightness of 2,486 nits. That is extremely bright, and explains why the UR9 is at its best during daytime viewing. It has a peak brightness of 3,327 nits in HDR mode, which is also impressive and on par with TCL’s QM8L Mini-LED TV (3,772 nits). The LG C6 (1,251 nits) and Samsung QN90F (2,109 nits) fall pretty far below those two.

Our Delta-E test results, which is how we measure a TV’s color accuracy, paint a different picture. The Hisense UR9 scored only a 2.72 Delta-E, which isn’t terrible, but illustrates why the TV’s depth of color seemed a bit “off” during my testing period. When it comes to Delta-E results, the lower the number, the better, and as you get closer to a Delta-E of 3 and above, color accuracy issues start to become noticeable to the naked eye.

Compared to the TCL QM8L, which scored a Delta-E of 3.74, the UR9 is definitely better in this category, but when compared to the LG C6 (1.62) and Samsung QN90F (1.83), there’s something left to be desired.

When it comes to gaming, the UR9 isn’t great compared to the competition. It scored 12ms in our input latency test, which underperforms against the TCL QM8L, Samsung QN90F, and LG C6. Even in the UR9’s gaming mode, there was no way to boost this, which resulted in a choppier experience overall. You can still definitely enjoy gaming on the Hisense UR9, but there are much better options out there if it’s your top priority.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Audio

If you don’t go into the settings to tweak them, you likely won’t be impressed by the UR9’s built-in speakers, which sounded a bit tinny and crackly to me, especially at higher volumes. During action sequences or scenes where music takes the foreground, the speakers’ flaws became even more noticeable.

The good news is that the TV does have different sound modes that you can play around with, including modes designed for sports, music, speech, gaming, and more. The speech-enhancing mode, in particular, was a lot better than some of the other TVs I’ve reviewed — it didn’t wash out all the other noise in a given scene as a lot of other speech modes do, and was overall pretty balanced while still giving spoken dialogue a nice boost. I actually thought the TV’s theater audio mode sounded best, and it became my default audio mode for the remainder of my time with the UR9.

Still, I always think it’s worth investing in a great soundbar to go with your TV. Stock TV speakers are almost always lackluster (at least in my experience), and the best soundbars will enhance your media setup by a wide margin.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Interface and apps

The Hisense UR9 uses Google TV with Gemini as its OS of choice, and I thought it worked well. The home screen was situated in a way that everything I needed was easy to find, and menu navigation was simple in the best way. Just a solid, uncomplicated OS that I expect most users won’t have an issue getting used to.

The implementation of Gemini wasn’t bad either, although I wasn’t able to use it long enough to really get the most out of its personalized recommendations. In theory, those recommendations should suit you more and more over time as Gemini learns your content preferences.

However, I was able to get some good use out of the TV’s Gemini search function, which can help you find specific movies and shows, or even suggest something to you based simply on the vibe that you’re looking for. I can see this coming in handy whenever you encounter the all-too-common choice paralysis that we experience when it comes to streaming apps today.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Remote

If you regularly lose your remote in between the couch cushions because they just make them too small nowadays, you’ll appreciate the Hisense UR9’s larger remote. That being said, it will definitely take up more of that precious coffee table real estate. I personally like more compact remotes, but that’s just me.

In terms of buttons, the UR9’s remote is well-rounded, with five streaming app buttons, voice controls, and a dedicated mute button. I appreciated having the customizable star button, which you can assign to your go-to app, most-used input, or specific TV functions like a sleep timer, audio output adjustments, and more. Also, I like that silver, brushed metal finish.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Verdict

The Hisense UR9 isn’t perfect, but it actually has a lot going for it. The TV generally looks good in a bright room as long as you have the patience to make some settings adjustments, the UI is clean and unobstructive, and fresh additions like the USB-C DisplayPort show that the brand is interested in pushing TV tech forward.

However, due to the inconsistent performance I experienced throughout my time with the UR9, I just can’t say it’s a “run out and buy this now” type of TV. This TV should have dazzled me with an excellent balance of cutting-edge brightness and depth of color, but it just didn’t. If you’re dead-set on trying a UR9 on for size because you’re intrigued by the brand’s RGB Mini-LED technology, your best bet is to at least wait for it to go on sale.

Considering this is Hisense’s first iteration of RGB Mini-LED tech, I have a feeling the next RGB Mini-LED from Hisense will be a big step up in almost every way.

We're weeks away from the first whistle blow of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and one thing is for certain: Scores of footy fans are scrambling to swap out their old TV ahead of the tournament. In the last two weeks, I've helped three separate people secure a new screen for the express purpose of holding World Cup watch parties. Even the owner of my favorite pub picked my brain about which TV would be best suited for their outdoor patio.

Fortunately, FIFA fever couldn't be happening at a better time for TV-shopping. Right now, brands are rolling out their latest lineups, which means in many cases, last-year's TVs have never been cheaper.

Not every TV is worth buying, which is why I've narrowed it down to my ten favorite picks. There are QLEDs, Mini-LED TVs and even some OLEDs in the mix, but by and large, these are the discounted sets I recommend specifically for sports.

Quick Links

• TCL 50" QM5K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $649 now $349 @ Best Buy
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $379 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 75" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $899 now $499 @ Amazon
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $597 @ Amazon
• LG 48” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $599 @ Best Buy
• TCL 65" QM6K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $999 now $649 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 65" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $798 now $696 @ Amazon
• TCL 65" QM8K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,499 now $999 @ Best Buy
• Hisense 75" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,698 now $1,249 @ Amazon
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399 @ Best Buy

My favorite TV deals

Everyone wants to save money, but nobody wants to buy something that ends up being too cheap. This is especially true when it comes to TVs, as ultra-affordable sets often come with such poor performance that they don't even seem worth the sale price.

This is why I recommend shopping strategically — especially when shopping for a big screen. Need an example? The 75-inch TCL QM5K is just $549 at Best Buy right now. This TV already represented one of the most affordable ways to lock down Mini-LED backlighting in an extra-large size point, but this deal catapults it near the top of my list of best TV deals of the year.

What sets the QM5K apart from other affordable options? Its nifty display hardware. Take it from someone who's been testing and reviewing TVs for over a decade: If you're planning on putting a 75-inch screen in your home, you absolutely want Mini-LED backlighting instead of direct- or edge-lit LEDs.

Although the QM5K's array of Mini-LEDs isn't as advanced as what you'll find on higher-end Mini-LED TVs, it still makes a noticeable difference. Compared to garden-variety LEDs, Mini-LEDs typically result in better contrast and higher overall brightness.

75-inch TVs don't go on sale for $549 very often, and 75-inch Mini-LED TVs very rarely get this cheap. This is one of the reasons why I've been recommending this TV to people who want to save money, but who also want to avoid buying a so-so model.

The QM5K is also ready to take on your daily streaming duties, since it comes with the Google TV software suite built right in. Along with Roku, Google TV is one of my preferred smart platforms right now. It offers a relatively easy experience (thanks to a straightforward interface) as well as a ton of downloadable apps.

Having a reliable, built-in smart platform is especially important for the QM5K, too, because it's only equipped with three HDMI ports. With a reliable platform in tow, you won't have to burn one of these ports on a dedicated streaming device.

If you're trying to save money on a new, big-screen TV but don't want to get stuck with a lousy set, I recommend that you avoid scraping the bottom of the barrel for one that doesn't offer Mini-LED backlighting. The QM5K won't blow you away, but it's better than most of the alternatives under $600.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony just handed its TV business to TCL — here’s what it means for you
• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• TCL finally added this key feature to its 2025 TVs — here's why you should use it

TCL introduced a raft of complex display technologies earlier this year, but reserved them for its rather expensive X11L line (one of this year’s best TVs).

Now those technologies have made their way down to the cheaper (though not cheap) QM8L models. They include upgraded Mini-LED backlighting and smaller nanoscale color filters that have brought LED-LCD TVs up to par with OLED in a number of categories. The result is a new TV line with impressive picture quality — especially its deep blacks with fine detail, powerful dynamic range, and impressive brightness that holds up in well-lit rooms.

The QM8L compares favorably to the best 75-inch TVs available in stores right now, and while it might not be the cheapest Mini-LED on the market this year, I still recommend it for folks who want the latest in cutting-edge TV tech.

TCL QM8L review: Pricing and availability

The QM8L sits just below the flagship TCL X11L line, but comes at a significant price decrease. The 75-inch version we evaluated lists for $2,999; a 65-inch version (the most-popular size for households buying a new set) has a $2,499 price tag.

All things considered, that's a big discount from the 75-inch X11L's $7,000 price tag, but if three grand is too much for you (perfectly understandable) you can find still-impressive quality in cheaper 75-inch models from 2025, such as TCL's own 75QM6K (under $1000), or the Hisense 75U8QG (around $1600).

To get better black levels, however, you might have to move into OLED models with pricing similar to the QM8L's, such as the excellent LG C5. The 77-inch C5 originally listed for $3,699 but can now be had for less than $2000.

Like the C5 mentioned above, expect the QM8L to drop in price later this year; If that’s not something you can wait for, TCL is also launching another new TV line, the QM7L, which incorporates similar — though less high-end — screen technologies at lower prices. That 75-inch model will be available for $1,999, while a 65-inch will only set you back $1,499. We opted to test the QM8L first, but will shortly call in the QM7L for review.

TCL QM8L review: Design

This TV is not especially skinny by modern standards, at two inches thick; but that's the reasonable trade-off for its sophisticated full-array LED backlighting behind the screen. The QM8L also leaves room for a speaker system, with mid-bass speakers for deeper tones.

As with most flat panels today, the QM8L's bezel is of negligible thickness, leaving essentially all screen and just the letters "TCL" at the bottom.

The screen sits on a central pedestal, allowing you to place it on a smaller table. (Cheaper TVs tend to have feet close to each end of the screen.) That's especially useful for the 75-inch model that measures nearly five-and-a-half feet wide.

TCL QM8L review: Ports

The QM8L TV has a full array of connectivity. It starts with four HDMI ports, all supporting the 2.1 standard that allows input up to 4K at 144Hz (the panel's max refresh rate). Most video sources top out at 120Hz, although some high-end gaming rigs do go up to 144Hz. Pair that with the 9.5ms input lag (one of the fastest we've measured), and you have a cutting-edge gaming screen.

One HDMI port features eARC, providing Dolby Atmos and DTS Premium Sound digital audio output to a soundbar or home-theater system. The QM8L also has optical S/PDIF audio output for legacy systems, however. In addition, this TV offers a range of wireless speaker options (more about them below).

The set sports a pair of USB ports. One supports the 2.0 standard, with adequate power (0.5 amp) for the best streaming sticks, such as those from Amazon and Roku (providing an option if you don't like the Google TV interface). The other supports USB 3.0, with up to 0.9 amp — generally enough to power a small external hard drive and with the bandwidth to smoothly deliver large video files from it.

There is a LAN networking port (pretty much a vestigial organ in the era of fast Wi-Fi), and the RF input attaches to a tuner supporting the latest ATSC 3.0 standard for higher-quality broadcast TV features, such as high dynamic range (HDR). It has no bearing on content from online streaming or cable-TV boxes.

Aside from the power-cable input on the right, all ports cluster on the left side of the TV, when viewed from behind.

How we test

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

TCL QM8L review: Performance

Image quality from the QM8L is generally excellent, with some minor caveats. Deep blacks and wide dynamic range are undisputed strengths. TCL emphasizes that this LCD-based screen is not an "OLED Killer," but it's pretty darn close. The claims for color reproduction are equally grand compared to the brand-new LG C6 OLED, though the test results are mixed.

The QM8L leverages a full-array LED backlight, with 2,584 illumination zones behind the 75-inch screen, each zone tunable to over 67 million (26-bit) discrete brightness levels. (The 75-inch X11L is more expensive in part because it has even more zones, although TCL declined to specify how many.)

That fine degree of control is combined with other features, such as microlenses to concentrate the backlight and an LCD panel that TCL says better blocks light from bleeding through. The result is amazingly dark blacks, which could appear next to extremely bright items with none of the "blooming" or ghostly halos around them. We saw this in a photo of a brilliant blue neon sign against a deep-black background. Even the brightest, overexposed parts of the sign had distinct boundaries, with no gray zones around them.

Deep black is of little value if a TV can't also retain detail in the slightly less-than-black areas. The QM8L accomplishes that task. In a photo of a woman wearing a black straw hat, for instance, the details of the weave were clearly visible, as were the strands and shading in her dark brown hair. Yet the brighter elements also shined, without being washed out.

We saw the same in a digital restoration of "8½," Federico Fellini's 1963 black-and-white fever dream of a movie. One scene, set in a dim bedroom, shows details equally fine in people's dark clothing and a brilliant white sheet. A later scene in a sun-drenched garden achieves equal fidelity across the range of shades.

Both extremes were a bit overpowering in Standard Mode, however. The film had more subtle elegance in the TV’s Movie mode. While Filmmaker mode is meant to be the most accurate setting (and the benchmark for instrument testing), I tend to find it a bit dreary on all TVs: too warm and muted. For dark room viewing, I found the slightly livelier Movie mode more enjoyable.

The QM8L leverages its technology with newer high-dynamic range material, such as Chapter 4 in the Blu-ray of "Spiderman: No Way Home." Details are perfectly clear and luminous in the firelit conversation between Peter Parker and Dr. Strange, as well as the later scene in which Strange weaves his ill-fated fiery spell in a nearly black room.

I enjoyed the broad yet subdued range of hues in "Bridgerton" (Season 1, Ep 3, 17:00-19:00), especially the riot of colorful sundresses in a glittering outdoor scene. The QM8L also captured detail well in highlights, such as strong sunlight glinting off a woman's forehead. Like this Netflix series, the QM8L supports Dolby Vision, which embeds extra data to ensure that the TV more faithfully reproduces the content. I found the nearly identical Dolby Vision Light and Dolby Vision IQ best for preserving detail for faces that were shaded in an indoor party scene. Colors in our test photos were also pleasing, such as the muted-orange ribbon on the woman's hat.

TCL QM8L review: Test results

*As measured in Filmmaker Mode

Lab tests back up these results: an astronomical HDR brightness of 3,719 nits (measured in the 10% window method). That's one of the highest we've recorded (the top TV being over 5,000 nits) and about twice the average for TVs tested in 2025 and 2026. These results were recorded in the set's Filmmaker mode, the benchmark setting for our tests of all TVs, although it was an equally impressive 3772 nits in Standard Mode, the default setting that many people will likely watch the TV in.

Color is a more nuanced story: TCL certainly packs the technology, which it dubs SQD-Mini LED. Instead of generating light from blue LEDs as many TVs do — or a pricey trio of red, green, and blue LEDs — this TV starts with white light. It passes through a quantum-dot layer (common in modern TVs), with crystals that re-emit deeper reds and greens, before reaching the color filters in each pixel. TCL went higher-end in these aspects, as well.

The company claims that its quantum-dot crystals are engineered to produce richer shades, and that the smaller nanoparticles in its color filters (just 5nm across) can dial in better hues at the pixel level. TCL puts a number on this technology, claiming it covers 100% of the massive BT.2020 color gamut.

In our lab tests, however, we measured a bit less, at 90.34% in Filmmaker mode, which is the most color-accurate mode on this and generally all other TVs. The results were virtually identical in the Standard, Movie, and Vivid modes. It's worth noting, however, that little or no content is made to fill this color space, so the stat is more for theoretical bragging rights.

While the QM8L has big color guns, it doesn't aim them as accurately as other TVs: We saw that in Delta-E, a measure of how far a screen's colors differ from how they should appear, in which a lower number is better. In Filmmaker mode, the QM8L posted a Delta-E of 3.7. That's one of the worst in a field with a lowest measure of just 1.1 (essentially perfect) and an average of 2.5.

Few people watch TV with a colorimeter in hand, however, and the 3.7 measured in Filmmaker mode is just on the edge of perceptibility for a casual viewer. Instruments aside, the real-life experience of watching the QM8L is quite pleasant.

TCL QM8L review: Audio

TCL also claims bragging rights for the QM8L's sound system, provided by big-name audio company Bang & Olufsen. It's labeled as "2.2-channel" sound, indicating a pair of mini-subwoofers for deeper tones. However TCL describes these as mid-base drivers, not true subwoofers. The company did not respond to our request to clarify, nor to specify the wattage of the speakers.

In practice, I found performance to be on the higher-end of built-in speaker systems, but not radically better than other TVs I've heard. For instance, the Hisense QD7 (about $500 for the 65-inch model I tested or around $550 for a 75-inch) produces rumbling bass from its 30-watt stereo system.

I found the Movie audio mode to be the best in all respects. Versus Standard, it produced a clearer and richer sound in the deep, soulful voiceover of the "Stranger Things: Part 3" trailer, for instance. (That clip also showed brilliant HDR detail, too.) The aforementioned conversation was a bit crisper in "Spiderman," as well.

The difference was less dramatic in music from the "K-Pop Demon Hunters Sing Along" trailer, however. It still sounded better in Movie mode, but not by much, over Standard and Intelligent modes. Music mode also didn't yield the improvement one might expect. In fact, I scarcely noticed a difference between Standard and Intelligent modes with anything I listened to. Perhaps Intelligent was a bit clearer, but it's hard to say.

The QM8L also supports both the Dolby Atmos and DTS Premium Sound formats for enveloping spatial audio: either virtualized using the built-in speakers or in full effect with a surround sound system. The set also supports Dolby's new FlexConnect 4.1.4 system for attaching up to four wireless speakers (in addition to a wireless subwoofer) to provide true Dolby Atmos surround sound.

TCL QM8L review: Interface and remote

Navigating the QM8L's Google TV interface is a mixed experience. On the plus side, accessing device settings is as simple and intuitive as I've seen. Simply press the three-line "hamburger"-icon in the upper right of the remote to pull up a ribbon of settings at the bottom of the screen. These include brightness, picture mode, sound mode, and display & soundsettings. Tapping any one of these brings up the full set of controls for the category.

If you’re someone who’s concerned about personal data collection, I recommend going to Settings > Privacy and poking around. If you have signed in with your Google account, the TV will be collecting a lot of information on you. You can limit that by turning off location tracking, for instance, or deleting your Advertiser ID. Also take a look at what apps may be accessing other information, such as your calendar or email.

In the future, you may be able to put the remote down to do some of this. TCL plans to roll out new Google TV capabilities that allow Gemini to make adjustments based on natural language voice prompts such as, "my screen is too dark." Those features were not enabled when I tested the QM8L, however.

But I could take advantage of the current ability to ask Gemini for content recommendations, and it's up for the challenge. For instance, my colleague asked Gemini: "Can you suggest a romantic comedy that's also an action movie that's also a racing movie that also has Brad Pitt in it." Gemini suggested the 2025 film "F1," probably the best possible answer to that ridiculous request.

Although it’s not something I’ve seen reported elsewhere, I had issues initially getting Google TV set up: The Google TV app either failed to realize that I was trying to set up a TV, or it failed to transfer the wireless network settings from my phone. Signing into my Google account was also hit or miss. What's more: Setup often timed out as I was dealing with these glitches, forcing me to start all over again.

Issues aside, the Google TV interface is attractive, easy to navigate and responsive. I’m not sure if I’d say it’s better than Samsung’s Tizen or LG’s webOS platform, but those aren’t without their own set of flaws, either.

TCL QM8L review: Verdict

TCL's X11L and now its QM8L TV lines show how far LCD technology can be pushed into OLED territory. It may not quite reach perfect black-level performance, but it's getting closer. Its elegant, local-dimming white LED technology achieves far higher brightness levels than OLEDs. That huge brightness range can help blacks appear deeper than they actually are and achieve impressive high dynamic range.

Lab results for color are a bit mixed, with lackluster Delta-E in the Filmmaker mode — but the real-world effect is less significant than the numbers might indicate. The QM8L is a relatively strong performer on color fidelity in the other modes, such as Standard.

Then there's the price. It's reasonable for the cutting-edge tech and OLED-adjacent performance, but it's your call if bleeding-edge tech is worth bleeding your wallet. If not, you have two options: Select a still-good, cheaper top 75-inch TV or wait six months to a year for the price to drop. Either way, the QM8L proves SQD is here to stay.

While Black Friday is widely known as one of the best times of the year to find good TV deals, fewer people will tell you about the benefits of shopping for a TV in early spring. As we speak, many of the most popular models from last year are on sale for wildly low prices, as brands are busy launching their newest lineups.

Such is the case for one of my favorite entry-level Mini-LED TVs, the TCL QM6K. Right now, you can get a 55-inch TCL QM6K for just $449 at Best Buy. It's a full $350 off one of the only affordable Mini-LED TVs I'd actually buy with my own money.

What makes the TCL QM6K such a good value proposition is its Mini-LED backlighting. If you spent even less on a cheaper TV, there's a good chance you'd end up with a set that doesn't offer Mini-LEDs.

Thanks to this more-sophisticated type of display, the QM6K delivers higher brightness and better overall contrast than most direct- or edge-lit LED TVs. Mini-LEDs allow for a punchier, more-cinematic picture compared to bog standard LED TVs.

In his TCL QM6K review, my colleague Malcolm McMillan described being "blown away by the picture quality." Mini-LEDs are to thank for that.

For its price, the QM6K also offers a better-than-average array of features for streaming and gaming. This TV supports 4K gaming at 120Hz across two of its HDMI inputs, which is super useful for console gamers, as this is the highest 4K spec for current-gen consoles.

If you're constantly streaming shows and movies, you'll be pleased to learn that the QM6K's built-in streaming software is reliable enough for everyday use. The QM6K is built around Google TV, which is one of my favorite streaming platforms. Google TV combines an easy-to-use interface with a huge selection of downloadable apps, making it the perfect companion if you'd rather not shell out for an external streaming device.

At its original price, the 55-inch QM6K was a pretty good deal. At $449, it's a downright smart way to spend money on a budget-friendly, 4K upgrade.

More from Tom's Guide

• I test TVs for a living — 5 signs it's time to replace your TV
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV
• 5 TCL TV settings to change for the best possible picture

In 2026, nearly every major TV brand — including TCL — is rolling out a whole new type of TV: RGB LED. But TCL wasn't satisfied to simply follow the rest of the industry and call it a day. In addition to launching its own RGB LED TVs in the coming months, TCL is also busy debuting a new type of quantum-dot TV, too.

Dubbed Super Quantum Dot (or SQD for short), the TCL QM8L and QM7L are souped-up Mini-LED TVs that shake up the tried and true formula for quantum-dot color. These sets will live alongside the RM9L as an alternative to TCL's RGB Mini-LED TV this year.

Recently, we put the flagship-level QM8L through its paces in our test lab, and there's one aspect of its performance that truly surprised me: its color.

The TCL QM8L delivers incredible color

If you're looking for the brightest, purest color money can buy in 2026, there are three types of TV that ought to be on your radar: quantum dot-enhanced OLED (QD-OLED), RGB LED, and now, SQD Mini-LED.

We got our first taste of SQD Mini-LED earlier this year when we tested and reviewed the TCL X11L, the top TV to tap this cutting-edge technology this year. The X11L's gobsmackingly good color immediately made an impression, setting the stage for how this display type might perform on a more-affordable model like the QM8L.

We'll publish a full list of the TCL QM8L's test results soon, but for now, let's take a look at how its color volume compares to its both its predecessor and some of the most colorful TVs we've ever reviewed.

The QM8L delivers significantly brighter, purer color than its predecessor, the TCL QM8K. The QM8K is a Mini-LED TV that leverages quantum dots the good ol' fashioned way, so this gives us a pretty clear indication that color volume has improved quite a bit year over year.

The Samsung S95F is a quantum dot-OLED TV that has set the bar for color within the entire OLED class. According to our tests, the QM8L just barely edges out the S95F when it comes to color volume. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Most impressive is how close the QM8L's color result is to the wildly expensive TCL X11L, a TV whose color is at the very center of its own marketing campaign. The QM8L starts at $2,499 for the 65-inch model, while the 75-inch X11L starts at a whopping $6,999. If you're looking for a similar presentation at a lower cost, the QM8L could be your best bet this year.

The power of Super Quantum Dot color

The Super Quantum Dot recipe is made up of a few ingredients: reformulated quantum dots, a new color filter for said quantum dots and some algorithmic tweaking (which TCL is calling its Advanced Color Purity Algorithm) designed to keep colors consistent.

Together, all of these elements make up TCL's all-new Deep Color System. To date, the X11L, QM8L and QM7L are the only three SQD Mini-LED TVs slated for 2026.

As mentioned, the QM8L starts at $2,499 for a 65-inch model. A 75-inch version will set you back $2,999, and an 85-inch QM8L is available for $3,999.

I expect the step-down QM7L to be a popular choice for A/V enthusiasts on the hunt for a good deal, as this version is available in a smaller, 55-inch screen size and costs less than the QM8L. The 55-inch QM7L starts at $1,199, and the 65-inch version comes in at $1,499.

TCL QM8L SQD Mini-LED TV: outlook

There are a ton of TVs hitting shelves this year that promise bright, captivating color, and the QM8L is right in the mix. We've only just begun to measure some of the recently released RGB LED TVs from Samsung and Hisense, but from what we've seen so far, their red-, green- and blue-colored backlights appear to have a slight edge over TCL's reformulated quantum-dot display.

Nevertheless, it's exciting to see some of the biggest names in the TV industry upping the ante in the LED space. For a while now, QD-OLED TVs have been the top option for viewers looking for the most-colorful experience, but there seems to be a worldwide effort at work to rewrite the script.

More from Tom's Guide

• TCL’s “Super QLED” TV is the new king of color — here’s what our test results say
• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• TCL and Sony are joining forces to sell more TVs — but is that bad news for shoppers?

Spring is finally here, and with it arrives some of the best TV deals of the year. Many of the most popular brands in the industry are rolling out their latest lineups, and as a result, stores need to make shelf space.

Take a stroll down the digital aisles of Best Buy’s website and you’ll find a multitude of marked-down models, including many of the best TVs we tested and reviewed over the past year. Saving money on one of these sets is one of the smartest things you can do if you plan on shopping for a TV this year.

Not every TV is worth shopping, which is why I've narrowed it down to my ten top picks. There are QLEDs, Mini-LED TVs and even some OLEDs in the mix, like my favorite deal: the 48-inch LG B5 OLED for just $599. Of course, if you're looking for something bigger (or cheaper), there are several options you shop with confidence.

Quick Links

• shop all TV deals at Best Buy
• TCL 50" QM5K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $649 now $329
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $799 now $399
• TCL 65" QM6K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $999 now $529
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $599
• LG 48” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $599
• Hisense 75" U75QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,999 now $899
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,199 now $1,299
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• Samsung 65" S90F 4K OLED TV: was $2,499 now $1,399

My favorite TV deals

When friends, family and readers ask me about buying a big-screen TV on a budget, I typically tell them to be careful. If you settle for the cheapest 75-inch screen you can find, there’s a good chance you’ll be setting yourself up for a dim, disappointing picture.

But today, Amazon is running a deal on an affordable big-screen TV that I actually recommend. The 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $499 at Amazon right now, and this TV features that rare combination of being cheap, big and bright. (Note: Best Buy offers the same price).

You can learn all about this model in our full Hisense U65QF review, but in a nutshell, here's what you need to know: The U65QF offers better brightness and backlight control than most 75-inch TVs in this price bracket. A major reason why has to do with the U65QF's hardware.

Unlike most ultra-affordable, big-screen TVs, the U65QF is built around Mini-LED backlighting. These teeny-tiny LEDs typically allow for better overall contrast than what you'll see on TVs that use basic, edge-lit screens. Even modest Mini-LED backlighting is immensely helpful at the 75-inch size point, given how much screen real estate is in play.

The U65QF is also sensationally bright, especially for a $500 TV. Of all the affordable Mini-LED TVs we've tested in this price range, the U65QF is the brightest of the bunch. This makes it a reliable pick for people who watch a ton of TV during the day, or for anyone in the market for a punchy picture.

The U65QF isn't just packed with performance-related value — it's also equipped with more features than most TVs that occupy its price range. Gamers get a TV that supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, which meets the 4K benchmark set by current-gen consoles.

As far as streaming-related features go, it's a bit different than most TVs in Hisense's catalogue. The U65QF is built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, and in the past, Fire TV hasn't been my favorite software suite due to its sluggish interface. That said, there are major updates to the Fire TV software rolling out this year that aim to improve the user experience.

Previously, I sounded the alarm when the 75-inch U65QF dropped down to $549. Now that its price has crashed even further, it's hard to imagine this TV getting any cheaper before stock runs out.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

The TCL QM9K is a great TV and one that I actually quite like, with a panel so bright it’s tailor-made for rooms with lots of windows and ambient light. However, its unfortunate release timing really hurt its chances of becoming the best TV of 2025. It launched at the last-minute and followed on the coattails of the ultra-popular (and more affordable) TCL QM8K.

These days the QM9K bumps up against other carryovers from 2025 like the Hisense U8QG and the Samsung QN90F, two of the best TVs from last year when it comes to show-stopping Mini-LED screens. It’s also around the same price as the LG C5 OLED, the only TV to be awarded a perfect score from our editorial team in 2025.

Given its current price of $1,499 and its above-average performance, it’s certainly still a compelling buy in the face of new 2026 models that are priced much higher (see: the $6,999 TCL X11L) but the QM9K’s biggest mistake is that it’s a casualty of circumstance: There’s better value below it and better performance above it, plus new models that leverage Mini-RGB technology right around the corner.

TCL QM9K review: Price and release date

The TCL QM9K is the ultimate TCL Mini-LED from 2025. It launched back in September in 65-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch screen sizes.

Here are the current sale prices for the TCL QM9K:

• 65-inch 65QM9K: $1,999 at launch | $1,499 on sale
• 75-inch 75QM9K: $3,499 at launch | $1,999 on sale
• 85-inch 85QM9K: $2,999 at launch | $2,499 on sale
• 98-inch 98QM9K: $5,999 at launch | $3,999 on sale

If you’re looking to buy the QM9K, I think the 75-inch model is the best bang for your buck. You’ll get all the performance and features of a flagship TV at a slightly more affordable price.

If $2,000 is more than you wanted to spend — and I certainly wouldn’t blame you — you can find both the 65-inch QM8K and 75-inch QM7K for just under $1,000. You’re losing out on some specular highlights and better on-board audio by buying one of the two cheaper TCL Mini-LED TVs, but I wouldn’t let that stop you.

TCL QM9K review: Design

For review, Tom’s Guide was sent the 75-inch version of the QM9K. All models use a QD-Mini-LED backlight and color system with Full Array Local Dimming, but larger sizes come with more dimming zones (up to 6,000). The 75-inch model, as the middle child between the 65- and 85-inch models, offers a nice compromise between the upper and lower limits.

All models in the lineup except the 98-inch version use a central pedestal stand that allows you to place them on smaller tables. It’s not something I’d recommend, as TVs with pedestal designs are easier to tip thanks to a higher center of gravity — but not everyone has to worry about an overly curious one-and-a-half year old toddling around their office.

Should you decide to hang it on the wall, the 75-inch model is compatible with a standard 400mm x 400mm VESA mount.

Wall-mounting is going to be slightly problematic, however. The QM9K isn’t exactly slim at roughly two inches thick and, even without the stand, you’re looking at lifting around 63 pounds. It’s definitely a two or three person job.

For what it’s worth, though, I do like the limited brushed aluminum bezel that beautifully frames the glossy, perhaps-slightly-too-reflective screen.

TCL QM9K review: Ports

On the TCL QM9K you’ve got four full HDMI 2.1 ports — two more HDMI 2.1 ports than you’ll find on the more affordable QM8K and QM7K. Most folks probably won’t need all four of them right now in 2026, but it’s good to be prepared for the future.

In addition to the HDMI port selection, you’ve got USB ports to pick from (one of which is 3.0 compliant), an ethernet port, optical audio out and a coaxial port for an HD TV antenna.

Inside the TV is a tuner that supports ATSC 3.0 for 4K over-the-air broadcasts (these are location-dependent so be sure to check before buying it based on this one spec alone) and Wi-Fi 6. There’s also support for Dolby Atmos FlexConnect in addition to standard Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast Built-in. FlexConnect, Dolby’s latest technology that allows you to place speakers anywhere in your living room and get calibrated spatial audio sound tuned to wherever you want to sit, is one of the biggest advancements in audio in the last five years, so it’s great to see it included here.

TCL QM9K review: Performance

Under the glass, the QM9K has a lot going on. According to TCL, the QM9K has more than 6,000 local dimming zones in the largest screen sizes that are all powered by the AIPQ Pro Processor and WHVA panel.

Wide High-vertical alignment (WHVA) panels are TCL’s advanced version of the industry-standard VA panels that, in theory, offer better off-axis viewing angles and wider color gamut. Our test results do show a small boost in color saturation, and anecdotally, this is one of the best LED-based TVs for off-axis viewing I’ve ever seen as color almost never desaturated no matter where I moved in the room.

On top of all that, the additional local dimming zones do create better overall contrast with less bleed. “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse” is chock full of scenes where bright, ultra-vivid colors sit directly next to inky blacks and dark greys — and they look phenomenal on the QM9K. I actually might like the look of this movie on the QM9K more than on the much more expensive Samsung QD-OLED I own.

Sports and darker content like “The Batman” both looked decent on the QM9K, but not earth-shatteringly better than on other Mini-LED TVs I saw in 2025. Scenes with lots of dark details could sometimes get lost due to some light black level crushing and motion artefacting cropped up a few times while watching MLS on Apple TV+.

Are the latter points absolute deal-breakers for me? No, especially considering how much vibrancy the QM9K retained when viewed off-axis and its blinding (in a good way) levels of peak brightness. They’re just small flies in what is otherwise excellent ointment.

To test its gaming chops, I played a few hours of Final Fantasy XVI on PS5. The game’s fast-motion action sequences looked great at 4K/60 — and keep in mind that it’s possible for the QM9K to hit refresh speeds of 144Hz when connected to a gaming PC. The downside is that its input latency (the time it takes for a signal to come in, be processed and reach the screen) is a bit high at 13ms.

I mostly play single-player games where input latency really doesn’t affect the gameplay, but gamers who want to shave every millisecond off their reaction times might want to go for an OLED instead.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subject tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we use a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman TV-calibration software to take measurements. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer, but usually feature anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV.

TCL QM9K review: Test results

When it comes to Mini-LED TVs, the QM9K is really the pinnacle of performance. It’s bright in SDR (4,802 nits in Vivid mode) and even brighter in HDR (5,413 in Standard). Comparable models from Hisense and Samsung have a hard time keeping up here.

Now, I should note that the QM9K doesn’t produce a wall of light every time you turn it on. What our tests look for is the peak brightness in a 10% window — basically one small portion of the screen that could represent, say, a sunrise or an explosion. The only real competition the QM9K has in that category right now is the $8,000 TCL X11L that we measured at over 6,000 nits.

While peak brightness is the real highlight here (pun absolutely intended), the color volume and color accuracy of this TV — measured by the Gamut Coverage percentages and Delta-E score, respectively — are also top-notch. The QM9K’s Delta-E score of 1.82 is the lowest of any Mini-LED TV we tested in 2025. It doesn’t beat the LG C5 OLED’s nearly perfect score of 1.25, but it’s still incredibly impressive. (Keep in mind, of course, that any score under 3.0 is almost imperceptible to the human eye.)

But — and you knew this was coming — 2026 models are nearly here and they’re both brighter and more colorful than what we’re seeing with the QM9K. The newest Mini-LED TVs like the Samsung MR95F, LG MRGB95 and Hisense UR9/UR8 use Mini-RGB backlighting systems that simply produce purer colors and have Rec2020 scores in the 90% and up range and actually output 8,000 nits (again only in small portions of the screen). The QM9K still offers flagship performance… just at a very inconvenient time.

TCL QM9K review: Audio

To make the QM9K sound the best it can, TCL teamed up with Bang & Olufsen. The result is a multi-channel Dolby Atmos that sounds pretty good … under most circumstances. Calmer scenes, like ones with ongoing dialog between two characters, or action sequences without any dialog in it all, sound totally fine.

But the QM9K’s audio performance takes a hit when there’s a lot of audio overlapping. Take, for instance, the fight with Spot near Miles’ school in “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse.” Spider-Man is tussling with a villain, so we’ve got the sound of two teleporting around plus the dialog between the characters. While that’s happening, Miles’ father is chasing them on the street, which has its own set of sounds — traffic noise, footsteps pounding on the pavement and his dad’s reactionary dialog — while chaos ensues all around him. Scenes with this much happening struggle to separate all the different sounds. Dialog might make it through OK, but the rest of what’s happening blends together in an amalgamation of noise.

The good news? The TCL QM9K is one of the only TVs that currently supports Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which allows you to place compatible speakers anywhere in your room and get calibrated spatial audio sound tuned to wherever you want to sit. I wasn’t able to get a pair of TCL’s new FlexConnect home speakers to try it out for this review, but I’m currently testing the LG H7 FlexConnect Soundbar in a different room of the house and it’s great.

TCL QM9K review: Interface and apps

The QM9K uses the latest version of Google TV with Gemini. It’s one of the first TVs to host Google’s AI agent and while I didn’t find it all that helpful on a day-to-day basis, I could see it being handy to have down the road as AI continues to integrate into our everyday lives.

Google TV works supremely well here. Everything loads quickly and there’s no real negatives to speak of. It’s one of the best smart TV platforms for a reason. It’s well-stocked with all the major streaming services and, thanks to the Play Store integration, there’s even a few game streaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now and Boosteroid. (Sadly, Google TV doesn’t have Xbox integration yet, but that’s likely to appear at some point in the future.)

The only real issue I have with it is that the QM9K has a built-in microphone for voice support. There’s a physical switch at the bottom of the TV to turn it off — which I really appreciate — but I know some folks are adamantly (and rightfully) against having a microphone built into their TV.

TCL QM9K review: Remote

There’s nothing to dislike, aesthetically, about the QM9K’s silver-and-black remote. It looks premium when it’s sitting on the table and feels weighty in the hand.

Practically, however, there are a few places for improvement. For starters, the remote has a lot of empty space that could’ve been used to include more quick access buttons. You’ve got three of the main players there — Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video — as well as the company’s own TCL TV channel, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have buttons for Hulu/Disney+ or Max… or even Peacock and Paramount+. You’ve got the space, you may as well use it.

The other issue I have here is that the remote is still using regular batteries instead of rechargeable ones. Not every remote needs to be equipped with a rear solar panel like Samsung’s SolarCell remotes, but having USB-C rechargeable batteries seems like a more sensible, planet-friendly option.

TCL QM9K review: Verdict

The TCL QM9K is under siege from all sides. There’s TCL’s own QM7K and QM8K models from 2025 that aren’t quite as bright but deliver most of the same performance for almost half the price, and new models that use Mini-RGB tech arriving shortly. There’s also the LG C5 OLED to consider — it’s Tom’s Guide’s 2025 TV of the Year for a reason.

With all that in mind, there’s still a case to be made for the QM9K. It’s incredibly bright with wonderful specular highlights that help to make it a better fit for rooms with lots of ambient light. Its four HDMI 2.1 ports mean that it’s well-equipped for the future, and its Google TV smart platform runs effortlessly thanks to the TV’s advanced processor. It’s simultaneously smooth and sharp when it comes to performance, and that’s not something I say about a TV very often.

It’s going to be up against some tough competition throughout the rest of the year, but if you’re someone who wants an ultra-bright screen for a sun-drenched living room at a decent discount, you’ll find something special with the QM9K.

If you're looking for a big-screen bargain, the Hisense QD7 should be on your shortlist. Colors are generally pleasing and accurate; contrast and high dynamic range (HDR) performance are adequate; and sound, especially bass, is quite booming from the built-in speakers.

Of course, Hisense had to cut corners somewhere. A slow 60Hz native refresh rate is sometimes noticeable in action scenes, although tweaking the motion settings can help. Middling brightness levels can be a challenge in well-lit rooms; and the Amazon Fire TV interface can be agonizingly slow.

Despite the drawbacks, however, this TV offers a lot for the money, and could very well be one of the best TVs under $500

Hisense QD7 review: Pricing and availability

With a list price of about $500, regularly discounted, QD7 sits in the middle of Hisense's 2025 model year TV offerings. Below it are sets like the new QD6 (selling for about $380), which lacks local dimming for improved contrast and dynamic range, runs at 60Hz native refresh rate, and provides just 20W of audio output.

Above it, the Hisense U7QG (also a 2025 TV, priced around $1,500) upgrades to HDMI 2.1 ports (vs. the QD7's slower-frame rate HDMI 2.0), a native 165Hz refresh rate (vs. 60Hz), up to 3,000 nits peak brightness (as advertised, vs. 600 nits, as measured for the QD7), and 50W multi-channel audio (vs. 30W).

However, the QD7 is no slouch and a solid deal, holding its own on content standards, supporting Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision Gaming, and the full HDR10+ Adaptive suite (more on those, below). The 65-inch QD7 is also priced competitively against rivals from companies and quite cheaper than the pricier 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED QN70F (at about $900), which we tested side-by-side and found lacking in most respects.

It's worth noting that the larger versions of the Hisense QD7 line — the 75-, 85-, and 100-inch screens — provide significant upgrades, especially for gaming. These include a native 144Hz refresh rate (vs. 60Hz) and two HDMI ports supporting the 2.1 standard for full-bandwidth PS5, Xbox Series X, and high-end PC gaming.

Hisense QD7 review: Design

The Hisense QD7 is virtually all screen, save for a slim bezel measuring about 8mm on the top and sides. A 15mm strip on the bottom is empty, save for a barely legible "Hisense" in the lower-left corner.

The TV's a tad chubby, measuring roughly 7 mm (2.76 inches) at its thickest point on the bottom. This wouldn't be very noticeable if the TV is on a table, as the stand would push it out even farther from the wall, but it could look a bit chunky if wall mounted. Should you decide to pair it with one of the best TV wall mounts, the QD7 has the four VESA standard screw holes forming a 400 x 400 mm square on the back of the TV.

The 65-inch QD7 rests on the common two-foot design, with feet extending perpendicularly about 4.5 inches beyond the front and back of the panel. They are spaced about 44 inches apart, so you'd want a table at least a few inches wider on both sides to hold it safely.

Hisense QD7 review: Ports

When viewed from behind, the QD7's power cable connects in a well on the left side. All ports are to the right, in two groups: a LAN, digital audio out, and one HDMI port point straight out the back.

A recess to the right holds the remaining three HDMI ports, an RF-in for cable or antenna reception, a 3.5mm headphone-style jack, a mini combo analog audio/video port, and two USB ports. All these ports face to the side, so the cables are parallel to the TV panel.

The HDMI ports are limited to the 2.0 standard, supporting up to 4K input but at just 60Hz — the native refresh rate of the panel. One of the HDMI ports supports eARC to provide lossless Dolby Atmos audio to a soundbar or home theater system. The USB-A ports provide power at 5 volts and 0.5 amps — which should suffice to power streaming sticks from Roku or Google. I’d highly recommend either as an alternative to the TV’s sluggish Fire TV interface (more about that below).

An RF-in port takes input from terrestrial (over-the-air), cable, and satellite broadcasts. The set includes an analog tuner and an ATSC/Clear QAM digital tuner. Supporting only the aged ATSC 1.0 standard (we're now on ATSC 3.0), it's limited to the 1080i standard dynamic range versions of TV broadcasts, which could be phased out in the U.S. in two or three years (though nothing has been set in stone).

How we test

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

Hisense QD7 review: Test results

*As measured in Filmmaker Mode

Hisense QD7 review: Performance

Aside from a sluggish 60Hz refresh rate and older HDMI 2.0 ports, the QD7 ticks some key boxes for a modern LED LCD TV. These include some key terms we'll discuss below: quantum-dot color technology, full-array LED backlighting, and support for the Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio formats. These features boost overall quality compared to simpler models.

Pretty common in today's TVs, the QD7 uses quantum dot crystals to absorb a portion of the backlight and re-emit it as more-saturated green and red (blue isn't generally a problem with LED backlights). More important: This TV makes good on the tech's promise. I saw faithful colors in a wide range of content, including an NFL Super Bowl recap reel on YouTube, “Bridgerton” on Netflix, and the Blu-rays for “Dune: Part One” and “Spider Man: No Way Home”. I especially appreciated the fine tonality that brought skin tones of all shades to light with subtle shading. This was true in both the Filmmaker mode (that aims for greatest precision) and the brighter Standard mode that the TV is set to out of the box.

Lab results back this up. Its Delta-E score (a gauge of color fidelity in which lower numbers are better) was 1.75, which fell in the middle of the pack among similarly priced 65-inch TVs.

The TV has thousands of individually controlled LEDs in a grid behind the LCD screen. This full-array backlight is a step up, even from some more expensive sets. The local dimming this enables should help the screen produce a better dynamic range from dark to bright; and it does, to some extent, after some tweaking.

I saw it in clearly rendered shadowy content in clips from Netflix's “Stranger Things” (Trailer 1, Part 3). Chapter 10 of “Dune” is a great test for this: It begins with Duke Leto waking up in near darkness and proceeds to an epic battle that lights up the night. The Duke's face was easy to make out at the beginning, and the orange and blue explosions popped against the night sky.

Despite the name, Filmmaker mode is not best for high dynamic range content. It produced a dull, muddy appearance in the meeting between Peter Parker and Dr. Strange in Chapter 4 of “Spiderman,” for instance. Switching to Movie mode improved both highlights and shadows.

The QD7 supports Dolby Vision, which provides extra metadata to help the set render images as the director intended. (One feature I especially like: Movies play in the original 24 fps format, rather than being soothed into a newscast-style 60 fps.) In “Bridgerton,” the set kicked into Dolby Vision Dark, producing a grayish cast that obscured detail in shadows — especially noticeable in faces during a candlelit party scene (Season 1, Ep 3). Switching to Dolby Vision Natural or even Vivid (there's not much difference) cleared up faces that had been lost in shadow and managed to retain detail in highlights, such as sunlight glinting on a character's forehead.

The need for these tweaks is obvious from our lab tests. In Filmmaker mode, HDR brightness peaks at just 659 nits (measured in 10% window), vs. an average of 1260 among TVs we've recently tested. Brightness with standard dynamic range (SDR) content is also poor, at 449 nits in Standard mode, vs. an average of 831. All this poses challenges for viewing in a bright room with the lights cranked up or daylight streaming in. The QD7 could do little to dispel glare from bright overhead lights in our tests. This isn't a dealbreaker, just something you have to consider when placing the TV.

The set's weakest specs are the HDMI 2.0 ports and a native panel refresh rate that are both limited to 60Hz. This was noticeable with some content, such as some choppiness in the Super Bowl clips. Switching on Smooth Motion Processing noticeably reduced the effect, however.

I was perhaps most impressed not with how the 65QD7QF renders top-quality content, but how it cleans up lousy material. My torture test is the 1975 premiere episode of police procedural comedy “Barney Miller,” streamed from Amazon Prime. Scenes are often overexposed, blurry, or sometimes woefully lacking any detail. The QD7's upscaling to 4K was stupendous, filling in an almost blank face in Barney's wife and rendering fine texture in his hair, moustache, and face.

Hisense QD7 review: Audio

Audio is another standout feature — again, after some tweaking. The pair of downfiring speakers produced such powerful bass that several colleagues in the office took notice (one of them, with slight annoyance). One colleague even asked if we were using a soundbar. The audio was powerful enough to fill a room at just 25% volume; even 50% could be overwhelming.

The downside is that, in the default Standard audio mode, voices sounded a bit muffled and flat, as if the speaker were inside a wooden box. This occurred with both music, as in the trailer for the “KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along,” and dialogue, such as an intense conversation in “Spiderman: No Way Home.” But the fix is simple: Switch to the Movie audio mode.

Hisense QD7 review: Gaming

This TV has an incongruous collection of specs and performance for gaming.

With our Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester, we measured input lag (the time between a video signal entering the set and appearing on the screen), at a miniscule 9.4 milliseconds. That's the lowest of the rival TVs we tested (next-fastest: 9.8 ms, average: 10.9). This should help save you from getting fragged because the images can't keep up with the pace of the game.

That 60Hz refresh rate is the downer, however, in a field where 120Hz is becoming the norm. The QD7 offers some image interpolation and smoothing that may help. I tested it with the low-impact Astro's Playroom on a PlayStation 5 Slim. Video seemed smooth enough, so this shouldn't be a hindrance for casual gaming, but the QD7 would not be a top choice for serious gamers paying high-end titles rigs: consoles that output 120Hz content and high-end gaming PCs at up to 144Hz.

Hisense QD7 review: Interface

The Amazon Fire TV interface, or at least its performance on this model, is the QD7's glaring weak spot, due to its agonizingly slow response (possibly the result of bloated software, an underpowered processor, or both).

The TV took 50 seconds to start up — which may not sound like much, until you're forced to stare at the screen all that time. Amazon Prime Video (the house brand of this OS) took about seven seconds to launch — still slow, but lightning fast compared to the full minute for Netflix. If this drives you batty, adding a streaming device such as a Roku stick or box is an easy fix.

Snail's pace aside, the TV's operating system is easy to navigate and similar to other interfaces, such as Samsung Tizen's. A massive graphic for rotating featured content takes up nearly the top-half of the screen. A bar below it shows a selection of your video apps: Click one to see its featured content, without having to launch the app.

Other key items include broadcast TV mode, input selector, search, and the full suite of settings: both picture and audio as well as nuts-and-blots items like Wi-Fi setup. The right-side menu provides all the day-to-day items you need, such as input selection, TV mode, and screen mirroring. It also gives access to full picture and audio adjustments — even the most advanced items such as Dolby Vision modes, local-dimming level (for HDR performance), and Dialog Enhancer. This is far more complete than the quick-settings popup in Samsung Tizen, for instance.

Hisense QD7 review: Remote

The remote control is a straightforward affair with the standard four-direction ring and central button and shortcuts to select video apps, plus video play, TV channel, and audio controls, as well as a menu button.

Up top is a light-blue button for launching the Alexa voice assistant to answer questions about and make recommendations for what to watch.

Hisense QD7 review: Verdict

It’s never easy knowing which features to leave on the cutting room floor, but Hisense did a commendable job in its selection with the QD7.

It would be nice, of course, to have a 120Hz refresh rate like the TCL QM7K, and Fire TV doesn’t quite function as well as it does on, say, the Hisense U65QF, but the colors are good and the upscaling is exceptional given the sticker price.

The competition for the best TV under $500 is fierce — but its lower-than-average price and above average performance makes the 65-inch QD7 worthwhile bargain in a world where most prices keep climbing.

Broadly speaking, the two best times to shop for a TV are as follows: Black Friday weekend and right now. Many of the most popular TV brands and the biggest retailers are slashing prices on inventory ahead of the release of new models. This is why I've been recommending folks shop for a TV in early spring for my entire career.

For folks on the hunt for a bright, impressive-looking TV that won't cost an arm and a leg, I've yet to see a better deal this week than this: The 65-inch TCL QM7K is just $777 at Amazon. The limited-time deal brings this bright, vibrant Mini-LED TV down to its all-time lowest price.

While ultra-affordable TVs typically make use of basic LED backlighting, the QM7K uses Mini-LEDs. These are smaller-sized LEDs that offer better backlight control due to their tiny size. But improved backlight control is only part of the story. Mini-LEDs are also why the QM7K delivers a bright, cinematic picture.

According to the performance tests we conducted for our TCL QM7K review, this set can deliver over 1,700 nits of highlight brightness in HDR. For context, TCL's entry-level model — the TCL QM6K — tops out at around 700 nits.

Its bright, colorful picture is supported by an impressive slate of features. The QM7K comes with Google TV's robust, easy-to-use smart platform pre-installed. Google TV is my second-favorite smart platform (behind Roku), and most people will feel comfortable using it as a daily driver.

Gamers stand to wring even more value out of the QM7K due to its thorough array of gaming features. It comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K gaming up to 144Hz, which means the QM7K can take full advantage of newer titles on the Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro.

When this TV made its debut, you had to shell out a full $1,499 for the 65-inch model. This deal drops that price all the way down to $777. I wouldn't sleep on it, though — Amazon has slapped its limited-time deal label on this listing.

More from Tom's Guide

• TCL QM7K QD-Mini LED TV review
• I saw Sony's True RGB up close — and the downfall of OLED TVs might come sooner than expected
• Are flagship Mini-LED TVs on their way out? Here’s how RGB LED technology is already reshaping the industry

The Samsung QN70F is a handsome TV with an array of first-rate features, such as HDMI 2.1 and minimal lag for gamers, a clean smart TV interface, a voice assistant and, most impressively, Samsung's AI Mode. That final feature helps to make up for an often-mediocre viewing experience.

The highlights here are the QN70F’s enhanced brightness in Standard mode that makes for good daytime (or brightly lit room) sports, news, or sitcom viewing, and fast refresh rates for gameplay (further aided by minimal input lag).

Unfortunately, rival TVs from the likes of Hisense and TCL — like the Hisense U65QF and TCL QM7K — offer better backlight technology, Dolby Vision support, and greater color performance for around the same price or, in Hisense’s case, less.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The QN70F is at the low end of Samsung's "Neo QLED" line of LCD TVs. This is the company's nomenclature for Mini-LED backlighting and quantum-dot color technology (which we'll get into further down). The Neo QLED line goes as high as $2,699 for the flagship 65-inch Samsung QN90F, so there’s plenty of headspace if you want better performance.

For right around $900, the 65-inch QN70F's performance — especially in brightness, HDR, and color accuracy — trails rivals from other companies we've tested, such as the Hisense U75QG ($799) and the TCL QM7K ($997), and you can expect similar performance from the series’ 55-, 75-, and 85-inch screen sizes.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: DESIGN

The QN70F is virtually all screen, with just a miniscule bezel that leaves no room for branding. Consider it "quiet luxury" for your home electronics.

While many TVs have feet towards the two edges of the screen, the QN70F sits on a rectangular central stand, so you could place it on a table narrower than the set.

Spin it around to the back and you’ll find VESA standard screw holes (400 x 300 mm) for attaching to a wall or freestanding mount. With a maximum thickness of about one inch, it would fit snugly in place — a feature it shares in common with Samsung’s The Frame.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: PORTS

When viewed from behind, the QN70F's power cable connects in a well on the right side; all other ports are on the left, facing to the side, so the cables are parallel to the TV panel.

They include four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 120Hz refresh for video sources (including game consoles) providing this extra-smooth output, and up to 144 Hz for high-end gaming PCs.

One of the HDMI 2.1 ports supports eARC for outputting lossless Dolby Atmos audio to a soundbar or home theater system, providing a remedy for the TV's meager pair of built-in speakers. Other options are S/PDIF optical audio output and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity.

An RF-in port takes input from terrestrial (over-the-air), cable, and satellite broadcasts. The set includes an ATSC/Clear QAM digital tuner and an analog tuner — though, like all 4K Samsung TVs, it’s limited to ATSC 1.0. That's limited to the 1080i, standard dynamic range versions of TV broadcasts. The current ATSC 3.0 standard can support up to 4K resolution, high dynamic range, and better audio (for the growing list of broadcasters that support it). It's also more resistant to interference.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: HOW WE TEST

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: PERFORMANCE AND TEST RESULTS

The QN70F is a case where results from the lab closely track real life impressions, especially in color fidelity and brightness in several settings. Performance may be limited in part by a Mini-LED edge-lit screen, which is less-capable of matching the high dynamic range of a panel with a full array of LEDs behind the screen.

* As measured in Filmmaker mode

As you can see from the chart, comparably priced full-array models we have tested have delivered better brightness and high dynamic range (HDR), as well as more accurate color.

In a high-quality extended recap of Super Bowl LX that the NFL published on its YouTube channel, the lack of tonality made the faces of lighter-complexion players look a bit flat and less detailed. The field had a slight neon-green hue.

This tracks with a notably poor Delta-E, a measure of color accuracy in which lower numbers are better. Four of five other LCDs we tested ranged from 8.57 to 13.91 in the out-of-the-box Standard Mode. This model came in at 26.18 (in Standard Mode). The second-worst TV, Samsung's QN80F, came in at 22.56.

In its Standard mode, the QN80F only slightly trails four of five other TVs we've recently tested for reproducing the range of hues in the benchmark Rec. 709 color gamut. But that didn't translate on the football field. In comparison, brightness was in line with most rivals, reaching 733 nits in Standard mode. For perspective, most of the five other TVs cluster around 700 nits — excluding the insanely bright Hisense U75QG model at 2,222 nits.

Though subdued, color and shading were at least applied equally well across a wide range of skin tones and lighting conditions in several scenes of Netflix's “Bridgerton”, streamed in 4K HDR. We recorded a brightness of 625 nits for HDR content in Filmmaker mode. Most competing models came in between about 1,100 and 3,000 nits, or 1,100 to 1,700 nits without the Hisense model.

In either case, the QN70F is quite dim, beating only the 65-inch Samsung Q70C, at 444 nits. Delta-E color accuracy in this mode was nearly as poor, at 3.48, vs. a range of 2.83 to 1.44.

Switching to the “Dune: Part One” 4K Blu-ray, the experience was quite underwhelming: Leto's face was lost in grayness in the early bedroom scene on Arakis, and a general pallor covered the raging battle that follows. Unlike some rival sets, this model does not support Dolby Vision, which provides metadata to help the TV match the intended image characteristics of the original content, and its absence is felt here.

Then I engaged AI Mode, running on the TV's NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor. It was a dramatic improvement and made the content look a lot closer to what I saw on a TV supporting Dolby Vision. Leto's face was suddenly far clearer, without the set noticeably blowing out the darkest tones to make that happen. The explosions gained some pop, and audio also boomed.

There are limits, though: The QN70F did virtually nothing – even in AI mode – to upscale standard-definition video. I used especially challenging material, however. The 1975 premiere of the police comedy “Barney Miller” streamed from Amazon Prime, is notably blurry and overexposed. Thankfully, the 1970 debut episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” looked much better on the QN70F, but Amazon's copy was of far higher quality than “Barney Miller”.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: AUDIO

You can't expect much from tiny speakers squeezed into a thin panel and firing downward at a table (as we tested) or the floor. This TV's two-channel stereo system is especially low-powered, with just 20 watts driving both speakers. Some other TV speakers run on 40W, which does not make them sound twice as loud, but still helps.

Big speakers are better for deep tones, however I found the highs and mids to be more pleasing than expected, for instance in the earworm songs of “K-Pop Demon Hunters”. Dialogue was clear across the sources I tested. Deeper tones, as in the should-be-soaring music of “Dune” and a trailer for “Stranger Things” sounded hollow — but that’s not surprising.

Switching the Sound Mode from Standard to Amplify helps a bit with this kind of content. But when I engaged AI Mode, the QN70F sounded like a different TV. It filled out the bass in music; thundering explosions were fuller; and the throaty voiceover in the “Stranger Things” trailer was deeper.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: GAMING

In comparison to middling performance with video, this TV is well equipped for gaming. The time from a signal entering the TV to showing on the screen was just 9.8 milliseconds, according to tests with our Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester. Anything below about 16ms (the length of a single video frame) is good, and this TV's result is excellent. The QN70F tied two TVs in terms of input lag and handily beat three others.

The high frame-rate HDMI 2.1 inputs ensure smooth animation, and features like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low-Latency mode (ALLM) provide additional boost.

Translation: Games will play smoothly, and you have less worry of getting fragged because the screen can’t keep up with the action.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: INTERFACE AND REMOTE

Samsung’s house-made Tizen OS is basic and clean. A splashy recommended content item (such as Olympics coverage when I tested) appears across the top, with smaller images for more below them. App icons appear across the bottom (all major video and audio streaming platforms are supported). Apps launch quickly, even notoriously sluggish Netflix. Samsung includes an app for its own TV Plus streaming service featuring free, ad-support video.

I appreciated the ease of getting to the settings shortcut menu, which pops up in the lower-left of the screen with one button-press. The main options for casual viewers are here: Brightness, Picture Mode (Eco, Movie, Filmmaker, Dynamic, Standard), Audio Mode, and the all-powerful AI Mode.

The remote is tiny: small enough for most people to operate one-handed. But everything you need is there, including the standard four-direction ring and central button, shortcuts to select video apps, and the shortcut menu button. A button with the multiple-stars symbol that has come to denote "AI" launches the Bixby voice assistant for content recommendations and other chatbot question-answer features. The remote charges via USB-C or a solar panel on the back.

SAMSUNG QN70F REVIEW: VERDICT

The slim, spare design makes the TV as unobtrusive as a 65-inch screen could be. The remote control is minimal and intuitive, and the Tizen OS smart TV interface is fairly intuitive.

Its out of the box picture quality leaves something to be desired, especially in HDR, but don’t sleep on the AI mode that makes substantial improvements to image as well as audio quality, without introducing noticeable oddities.

I feel that other TVs around the same price and lower offer better native picture performance — an issue that I’m chalking up to the edge-lit backlight — so I recommend auditioning sets from TCL and Hisense before settling on this Samsung.

Released in 2025, the Samsung Q7F is one of the most affordable Samsung TVs to come with a QLED display. This means that, unlike run-of-the-mill, ultra-affordable sets with a standard LCD display, the Q7F arrives with an air of sophistication.

But while this TV’s price is pleasantly low (especially if you manage to find it on sale), it faces some stiff competition in the form of budget-friendly TVs like the Hisense U65QF that include both quantum dot-color and Mini-LED backlighting — the latter of which goes a long way toward improving brightness and overall contrast.

My testing of the Q7F bears this out. The display offers well-saturated, accurate color, but without a backlight with full-array local dimming, the picture looks flat and HDR content lacks the visual impact it’s known for. There’s also a dearth of features for gamers that makes the Q7F tough (but not impossible) to recommend.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV review: Pricing and availability

Like many affordably priced Samsung TVs, the Q7F is available in a wide range of size options. Right now, many of these sets are seeing discounts, so I’ve included their sale prices at the time of publishing.

• Samsung UN43Q7FAAFXZA (43 inches): $399 | on sale for $329
• Samsung UN50Q7FAAFXZA (50 inches): $449 | on sale for $379
• Samsung UN55Q7FAAFXZA (55 inches): $529 | on sale for $379
• Samsung UN65Q7FAAFXZA (65 inches): $629 | on sale for $499
• Samsung UN75Q7FAAFXZA (75 inches): $999 | on sale for $699
• Samsung UN85Q7FAAFXZA (85 inches): $1,499 | on sale for $1,099
• Samsung UN98Q7FAAFXZA (98 inches): $2,499 | on sale for $1,999

Our review unit is a 43-inch model that we purchased ourselves. I don’t expect there to be any major differences in performance from one model to another since all sizes leverage a similar direct-LED backlight without local dimming.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV review: Design and remote

The Q7F’s rudimentary display hardware frees it up to be slightly more breezier-looking than many TVs in its price range. It won’t earn itself any compliments from friends and family members that come over to check out the new TV, but at the very least, the Q7F plays the part of a premium set quite well.

The panel is kind of a chonkster (that’s an official TV-testing term, by the way), but it’s wrapped in a textured plastic, giving it an air of, if not sophistication, something approaching sophistication. Admittedly, “textured panel” isn’t high on my list of nice-to-have TV features, but considering how cheap-looking lower-end TVs often look, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the touch.

I appreciate a no-nonsense stand situation on my affordable TVs, so I was pleased to see a pair of super-slim feet when I unboxed the Q7F, and doubly pleased when I realized that they connect to the panel without screws.

The Q7F comes with one of Samsung’s best innovations in the last decade: the Solar Cell remote control. Do I hate that this clicker comes without a dedicated input button and a backlit face? You bet. Does its solar-powered, rechargeable battery make up for this deficit? Yes — one thousand times over.

You’ll probably never have to manually charge this remote, and even if you need to in a pinch, its built-in USB-C port will erase the problem. As someone who hates collecting and disposing of dead batteries, I can’t overstate how friendly this feature is.

Overall, the Q7F’s design falls squarely between “basic” and “thoughtful,” which is good enough for budget-conscious shoppers.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV review: Ports

Take a trip behind the Q7F and you’ll find all of its ports located in a rectangular, right-facing cutout. There’s not much to go over: three HDMI inputs (one of which stands in as the eARC-enabled port), a USB-A port, an ATSC tuner and an Ethernet port, should you decide to use a wired internet connection over a wireless one.

There are a few things you should keep in mind about these options. Most importantly, all three of the Q7F’s HDMI inputs are of the 2.0 variety, meaning they are not HDMI 2.1 compatible. I’ll break down why this matters later in the review, but gamers ought to be aware of the Q7F’s lack of HDMI 2.1-related features.

Secondly, the Q7F’s ATSC tuner is 1.0 rather than 3.0, so this TV won’t be able to showcase over-the-air broadcasts in its native 4K resolution. This content remains scarce for the time being, but without the proper tuner, the Q7F is shut out.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV: Performance & Test Results

The Q7F offers decent overall performance compared to many cheaper, entry-level LED TVs, but its decidedly simplistic display renders its picture quality unimpressive unless you’re making the leap to 4K for the first time.

So, what do I mean when I call its hardware simplistic? The Q7F leverages a direct LED backlight but lacks local dimming. This setup is affordable to manufacture but comes with a major downside: poor contrast.

Without local dimming, the Q7F can’t brighten or dim independent LED zones. As a result, bright objects don’t look as bright as they might on a TV with local dimming, nor dark areas as dark. It’s why the teeny-tiny lights found in Mini-LED TVs are so desirable. The contrast woes will be present to varying degrees on each size in the series.

The Q7F’s presentation in Samsung’s Movie and Filmmaker modes look fine — not garish in the way affordable TVs sometimes look, but not captivating, either. I only occasionally notice visual artifacts while the TV upscales 1080p and 720p content, but this is mostly dependent on the source. Live TV via Samsung TV Plus, for instance, looks pretty rough, but there are plenty of reasons for that outside of the Q7F’s performance chops.

For everyday, good-ol’-fashioned TV-watching — cable TV, sports and the like — the Q7F will get the job done, but I highly recommend keeping it in dimly lit rooms, and especially out of the sunlight.

The Q7F is brighter than many bottom-of-the-barrel sets you can find for shockingly low prices, but it's not that much brighter than those options. It looked fine in my dimly lit study, but moving it next to a window in my living room created visibility issues.

This limitation is especially disappointing during HDR content. The Q7F isn't appreciably brighter in HDR than it usually is during basic, garden-variety SDR content. When you combine this with the shallow black levels brought about by the Q7F's lack of local dimming, you're left with HDR performance that doesn't really look like HDR at all.

On balance, the Q7F's performance will probably satisfy people who just want an affordable 4K that doesn't look weird while streaming Netflix shows or watching the nightly news. For folks who want more of a cinematic presentation, the Q7F will likely disappoint.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV: Smart Platform & Features

This TV comes with Samsung’s own smart platform, Tizen, pre-installed. The Q7F’s entire experience is built around this software, and even if you plan on pairing the TV with the best streaming device for your viewing habits, you’ll probably still bump up against its interface every now and then when the time comes to swap inputs or juggle settings.

On one hand, Tizen offers access to streamable content, including all of the major streaming services you’re likely to want. This is important, because I suspect that most folks shopping in the Q7F’s price range will want to lean on their smart TV’s streaming features for daily use.

On the other hand, the Tizen experience isn’t perfect. There are huge ads that take up large portions of the home screen and it often takes several extra steps to carry out basic functions due to the software’s meandering layout. This is tough enough to deal with on a top-shelf Samsung TV with a lightning-fast processor — it feels a lot worse on a TV with a less-capable chipset like the Q7F.

Without as much processing power, I find myself pushing buttons more than once, then accidentally needing to undo something because the software finally caught up with the inputs. It can be especially tough to navigate an on-screen keyboard to type in login credentials.

If you’re dead-set on using your next TV’s built-in smart platform for everyday use, the Q7F is good enough for the job, albeit occasionally frustrating. If you want a silky-smooth software experience, adjust your expectations accordingly.

Gamers will have to settle for the Q7F’s severely limited spread of gaming-related enhancements. You’ll get access to Samsung’s cloud-based gaming hub (appropriately named Samsung Gaming Hub), but unless you plan on doing console-free gaming via Xbox, GeForce Now or another supported service, this doesn’t account for much.

Nuts-and-bolts-wise, the Q7F is equipped with a trio of HDMI 2.0 inputs that are capped at 4K/60Hz support. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and FreeSync support aren’t included. Casual gamers might find that sufficient, but high-level players looking to get the most out of an Xbox Series X and/or a PlayStation 5 risk disappointment.

Samsung Q7F QLED TV review: Verdict

The Q7F is a relatively affordable TV that doesn't particularly excel at any one thing. Unlike some competitive sets in its price range, the Q7F doesn't sneak in a surprising amount of extra features for gamers or A/V enthusiasts, which is a bummer.

It's a better — but pricier — pick than ultra-cheap TVs that drop to ridiculously low prices during sales events. Unfortunately, it's priced higher than it ought to be given its lackluster performance and minimal features.

Consider the Hisense U65QF. This entry-level Mini-LED TV comes with local dimming, and in our Hisense U65QF review, our reviewer praised its terrific, class-leading brightness. Right now, the 55-inch U65QF is $399 at Best Buy — just $20 more than the Samsung Q7F. The U65QF comes with Dolby Vision support, to boot.

Alternatively, you might want to check out the TCL QM5K, whose 55-inch version is $349 right now. That’s $30 less than the 55-inch Samsung Q7F. Although we’ve yet to formally test it, the QM5K arrives with basic Mini-LED backlighting and local dimming. It also comes with Dolby Vision support.

The Q7F isn’t a bad TV by any means, but it’s just not the best option for most shoppers looking to spend between $350 and $500.

While a ton of focus is on the newest and priciest TVs that are beginning to hit shelves, some of the best TV deals this side of Black Friday are flying under the radar. This is why, on most mornings, I start my day with a tall cup of coffee and perusal of the deals available at various big-box stores.

For a handful of TVs, prices have been plummeting for a while now. But in recent weeks, some of my favorite sets have cratered in price ahead of the release of new models. For instance, the 65-inch version of the Hisense U75QG is $699 at Best Buy right now — a full $800 off its original price. With new Hisense TVs fast approaching, there's rarely been a better time to save on a TV like the U75QG.

In fact, it's been my go-to recommendation for anyone who's tired of not being able to see their TV during the day. For much less than the cost of a high-end TV, the U75QG delivers a sensationally bright picture that will hold up in nearly every viewing environment.

Like many flagship-level TVs, the U75QG taps Mini-LEDs for higher brightness and better backlight control than what you'll typically see on cheap LED TVs. If you're going to get a non-OLED TV, a Mini-LED model is one of the best options available to you.

Additionally, if you watch a ton of TV during the day (or if your living space is well lit), the U75QG offers a reliable performance profile. In our Hisense U75QG review, we reported well over 3,000 nits of HDR highlight brightness, making it one of the brightest TVs in its class.

It's also a solid pick for people looking for gaming- and streaming-related features to go along with a punchy picture. The higher-end Hisense U8QG offers an even brighter picture, but the U75QG comes with almost all of the same features. That's a great value proposition.

Like many Hisense TVs, the U7 Series is built around the Google TV smart platform. Its snappy, easy-to-navigate interface and robust app support make it good enough to use as a daily streaming hub if you'd rather not deal with an external streaming device.

Gamers also get a ton of features, too, as the U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz and up to 165Hz for PC gamers. Combine that with a bright HDR picture and you've got a recipe for a good time.

If you're in the market for something a little smaller, the 55-inch version of the Hisense U75QG is just $579 at Best Buy today. It likely won't get quite as bright as the 65-inch model, but it still packs a powerful punch and comes with all of the same features.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

If you missed the Amazon Big Spring Sale last week, I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that many of the 4K TVs that were previously on sale have jumped back up in price. The good news is that one of my favorite TV deals from Amazon’s sales event is back — and better than ever.

Right now, the 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $549 at Amazon. That’s a wildly good deal for a bright, punchy Mini-LED TV at the 75-inch size point. In fact, it’s the lowest price ever for this model, beating its previous sale price by about fifty bucks. (For more discounts, check out our guide to the best TV deals).

You can get the full scoop on this TV by checking out our Hisense U65QF review, but if you're looking for the basic gist, here's what you need to know: The U65QF offers better brightness and overall contrast control than most 75-inch TVs in this price bracket.

This is because the U65QF's display features Mini-LED backlighting. These super-small LEDs typically allow for better overall contrast than what you'll see on TVs that rely on more rudimentary backlighting. And, given the sheer amount of screen real estate you're looking at with a 75-inch TV, you definitely want a set with Mini-LEDs.

As mentioned, the U65QF is also sensationally bright — especially for a TV that costs $550. Of all the entry-level Mini-LED TVs we've tested in this price range, the U65QF is the brightest. This makes it a terrific option for people who watch a ton of daytime sports, or for people with well-lit living spaces.

As far as features go, the U65QF offers more than you might expect for an ultra-affordable model. Gamers will appreciate that the TV supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, since this is the meets the 4K benchmark set by current-gen consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Unlike other Mini-LED TVs from Hisense that are built around Google TV, the U65QF leverages Amazon's Fire TV smart platform for all of its built-in streaming functionality. In the past, Fire TV hasn't been one of my preferred pieces of software for streaming movies and shows, but there are some upcoming updates to the Fire TV software rolling out this year that aim to improve the user experience. This could improve the U65QF's entire software experience.

There aren't very many examples of a 75-inch TV for under $600 that I'd actually feel comfortable buying, but the U65QF is one of them. Its Mini-LED backlighting and bright presentation make it an easy recommendation.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has come and gone, but if you missed your chance to shop for a new, heavily discounted TV, don't sweat it. Best Buy is currently running a huge sale on QLEDs, OLEDs and Mini-LED TVs, and many of their sale prices rival those that we just tracked during the Amazon Big Spring Sale.

Not every on-sale TV is worth shopping, however. The best of the bunch combine an array of useful features along with performance that's worthy of its price tag. My favorite of these deals involves an entry-level OLED TV. You can land the 48-inch LG B5 for just $649 at Best Buy. It's not quite as cheap as the B5's Black Friday price of $599, but it's still half off its original price. It's also a Best Buy-exclusive model, so you won't find it anywhere else.

There are several deals on QLEDs and Mini-LED TVs, too. If you're looking to save as much money as possible on a dependable smart TV, the 55-inch Roku Plus Series is just $369 at Best Buy right now. That's cheaper than its price at Amazon's Big Spring Sale.

Quick Links

• shop all TV deals at Best Buy
• Roku 55" Plus Series 4K Mini-LED TV: was $499 now $369
• Hisense 55" U65QF 4K Mini-LED TV: was $799 now $399
• TCL 65" QM6K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $999 now $529
• Samsung 65" Q8F 4K QLED TV: was $899 now $599
• LG 48” B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $649
• TCL 65” QM7K 4K Mini-LED TV: was $1,499 now $799
• Hisense 65" U8QG 4K Mini-LED TV: was $2,199 now $999
• LG 65” C5 4K OLED TV: was $2,699 now $1,399
• Samsung 65" S95F 4K OLED TV: was $2,599 now $2,199

My favorite TV deals

The Amazon Big Spring Sale will soon enter its final days. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade your living room or home theater, there's only a few more days to do so.

As Senior TV Editor, I've spent the sales event separating the good deals from the bad. If you're shopping at the 75-inch size point, your options are limited, but there's one 75-inch deal that towers above the rest.

Right now, you can score the 75-inch Hisense U65QF for just $597 at Amazon's Big Spring Sale. It's an all-time low price for Hisense's entry-level Mini-LED TV, and if you're trying to keep costs down while maximizing screen size, it's the first deal I'd shop this weekend.

• shop the entire Amazon Big Spring Sale

As we noted in our Hisense U65QF review, this set offers one of the brightest pictures for a 75-inch TV in this price range, thanks to the inclusion of Mini-LED backlighting. These extra-small LEDs also allow for tighter contrast control than what's on offer from ultra-cheap 75-inch TVs with edge-lit panels.

Take it from someone who's been testing and reviewing TVs for over a decade: If you're shopping at the 75-inch size point, you definitely want Mini-LEDs instead of edge-lit LEDs. With this much screen to look at, the performance issues associated with lesser LED displays especially impactful. The U65QF's backlighting isn't as tightly engineered as that of higher-end Mini-LED TVs, but you'll be happy to have Mini-LEDs nonetheless.

The U65QF also has a surprising amount of features up its sleeve for an entry-level model. It supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, so it's ready to get the best possible 4K performance out of current-gen consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

It's built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, which comes with a slate of preinstalled streaming apps and plenty more to download later. I'll be the first to admit that Fire TV hasn't been my top software choice in the past, but imminent updates to the Fire TV software to improve the user experience could very well have me singing a different tune.

If you've got your heart set on a 75-inch TV but you want to keep the price under $700, the U65QF is one of your best options. Even at this price, you shouldn't settle for a model without Mini-LEDs.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

When I found out that Best Buy was holding its Tech Fest Sale this weekend, I didn’t check the sale prices of the fanciest TVs first. Instead, I looked up the sale prices on the models that were already affordable to begin with. Oftentimes, the best TV deals during a sales event are the discounts on entry-level TVs.

Case in point? The 75-inch TCL QM5K is just $649 at Best Buy this weekend. This particular model was already one of the most affordable ways to lock down Mini-LED backlighting in an extra-large size point, but with Best Buy’s deal factored in, the value is off the charts. (For more deals, check out our guide to the best March Madness TV sales).

The QM5K's best feature is its display hardware. Take it from a TV expert: At the 75-inch size point, you definitely want Mini-LED backlighting instead of regular ol' LEDs.

Sure, the QM5K leverages a more modest array of Mini-LEDs when you compare it to higher-end Mini-LED TVs (like the TCL QM7K), but it's still a gamechanger. This type of backlighting typically results in better contrast and higher brightness, and it's not exactly easy to come by in the QM5K's price range.

In other words, you're likely to enjoy a brighter, higher-contrast presentation on the QM5K than what you'll get with a similarly priced edge-lit TV. This is one of the reasons why I've been recommending this TV to folks whose number-one priority is saving money, but whose second priority is not ending up with a lousy picture.

The QM5K isn't exactly flush with features, but that's OK, as it's not really trying to be a the type of TV that would satisfy hardcore A/V enthusiasts. It comes with the Google TV software suite built right in, which is one of my preferred smart platforms.

Google TV offers a relatively easy experience in addition to a boat-load of downloadable apps. Its inclusion here is especially appreciated because the QM5K only comes with three HDMI inputs instead of the standard set of four. Google TV makes up for that omission by being a reliable platform for everyday use.

If you're trying to save some cash on a new 4K TV, I recommend that you avoid scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ultra-cheap, big-screen TV that doesn't offer Mini-LED backlighting. I also recommend that you jump on this deal before Best Buy's Tech Fest Sale ends this Sunday.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony just handed its TV business to TCL — here’s what it means for you
• TCL TV lineup 2026: new SQD Mini-LED enhancement, Mini-LED TVs, and an RGB Mini-LED TV
• TCL finally added this key feature to its 2025 TVs — here's why you should use it

Spring has sprung, and so have some sensational, seasonal TV sales. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best times of the year to shop for a new TV, since most of the biggest brands in the business are gearing up to release their newest models. This means that many of the best sets you can buy are falling in price.

Look no further than the TCL QM6K, one of my favorite affordable Mini-LED TVs. Right now, you can get the 55-inch QM6K for just $478 at Best Buy during the store’s Tech Fest sales event. It’s one of the best entry-level Mini-LED TVs you can buy right now, as it blends an excellent set of features with terrific performance for the price.

The key to the QM6K's success is its Mini-LED backlighting. If you were to spend just a bit less on a cheaper TV, you’d probably end up with one that doesn’t offer Mini-LED. This would be a mistake.

With Mini-LEDs in tow, the QM6K delivers higher brightness and better overall contrast than most garden-variety LED TVs. This array of teeny-tiny LEDs allows for a more cinematic presentation, and it's the main reason why my colleague, Malcolm McMillan, described being "blown away by the picture quality" in his TCL QM6K review.

The QM6K also arrives with a nifty set of features for streaming and gaming. It supports 4K gaming at 120Hz across two of its HDMI inputs, which is the highest 4K spec for current-gen consoles. With a gaming PC linked up, the QM6K supports 4K/144Hz performance. This gaming support is about as good as you'll find in the QM6K's price bracket.

Folks who do their fair share of streaming will appreciate the fact that the QM6K is built around Google TV. It's one of my favorite streaming platforms, as it combines an easy-to-use interface with a vast selection of downloadable apps.

Best Buy's Tech Fest Sale comes to an end this Sunday, March 22. If you're ready to upgrade to a new 4K TV and you'd rather not spend an arm and a leg, the QM6K is a terrific pick.

More from Tom's Guide

• I test TVs for a living — 5 signs it's time to replace your TV
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV
• 5 TCL TV settings to change for the best possible picture

One of the benefits of waiting until March or April to buy a new TV is that many of the best models are heavily discounted. This is because big-name brands like Hisense are gearing up to launch a new slate of TVs, leaving the prices of last-year’s models at (or close to) all-time lows. Additionally, Amazon is gearing up for its Big Spring Sale.

Every March, I recommend to friends and readers that they take advantage of these sales in order to save big on TVs that were much pricier just a few months ago. Case in point? Right now, you can get the 75-inch Hisense U75QG for just $899 at Amazon. That's about two bucks short of its lowest price ever, and closer to the price we saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events.

As someone who's spent a ton of time with the U75QG over the past several months, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people who want to prioritize saving money, but who nevertheless want an impressive, cinematic picture.

The U75QG makes use of Mini-LEDs for higher brightness and better backlight control than what you might find on a lower-end LED TV. Mini-LEDs are especially valuable at the 75-inch size point, as they're better equipped to deliver deep black levels and minimal blooming than garden-variety LEDs.

The U75QG is also one of the brightest TVs in its class. It's bright enough for daytime viewing, which makes it a fantastic pick for people who want a punchy picture for daytime sports. (Baseball, anyone?)

The U75QG is also jam-packed with streaming- and gaming-related features. The higher-end Hisense U8QG might offer a brighter overall picture, but the U75QG comes with almost all of the same features as its pricier sibling.

The U75QG leverages the Google TV smart platform. Its clean, easy-to-use interface is good enough to use as a daily streaming hub if you don't want to plug in a dedicated streaming device.

Gamers get a ton of bells and whistles, too. The U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz and up to 165Hz for PC gamers. Despite its mid-range status, the U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smooth, artifact-free gameplay.

If you're looking for something a bit smaller, the 65-inch Hisense U75QG is on sale at Amazon for just $786. That's a sensational deal on one of the brightest 65-inch TVs you can buy.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

Hisense has begun rolling out its 2026 ULED Mini-LED TVs today with the Hisense U7 Series. The series will come in two variants: the U7SG, which supports Google TV, and the U7SF, which supports Fire TV.

Besides a difference in smart platform, both versions feature the same native 165Hz refresh rate and Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor alongside a 50W 2.1.2 Dolby Atmos speaker system — perfect for World Cup watching.

As of this morning, the 65-inch U7SG is already available to order on Best Buy for $1,499.

A confusing (but affordable) Mini-LED lineup

Hisense’s 2026 lineup is a little more complicated than last year — last year, the Hisense U7QG sat above the U65QF and below the U8QG. Pretty logical, right?

This year, it’s more confusing: The U7 sits above the U6SF Pro, which itself sits slightly above the base U6 (both of which were also announced today).

The U7 will sit below the brand’s new UR8 and UR9 RGB Mini-LED TVs, which we first saw at CES 2026. The latter will obviously use a more advanced backlight that promises better color volume — a claim I'm taking with a grain of salt.

At the top of the pyramid this year is the Hisense UXS that I called “the best-looking LCD TV at CES 2026.”

According to Hisense, the U7 will start at $1,299 for the 55-inch model, and the U6 will cost even less when it begins rolling out in a few weeks.

More mid-range models to come this month

With flagship models already announced at CES, expect several new mid-range models to be announced this month.

TCL has already hinted at its new L-Series mid-range models (the QM8L, QM7L and QM6L), and Samsung won't be far behind with its 2026 Neo QLEDs.

LG will push on with its QNEDs, though they no longer occupy a spot as the brand's top-tier LCD TVs; that honor now belongs to its MicroRGB TVs.

Overall, 2026 will be an interesting one for TV shoppers — and we're already starting to receive review samples for our in-depth lab tests. We should have full reviews ready to roll out sometime in the next few weeks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• RGB LED TVs are flagship killers, but there's one big catch
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

If you followed our CES 2026 coverage, you probably heard about a new technology coming this year called RGB Mini-LED or MicroRGB. Every company has a different name for it, but they all work by shrinking the size of red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs in the backlight of an LCD TV (hence the name).

The benefit of these shrunk-down LEDs, as it was explained to me at CES, is better color saturation — and early testing results have been promising — but it turns out that the truth is more complicated.

See, instead of using their native colors to boost color volume to its maximum extent in your favorite shows and movies, some TV makers' LEDs mostly default to the same old white backlight that we’ve had on Mini-LED TVs for years. Here’s why that’s a problem.

RGB TVs: Impressive for TV testers, but less so for the everyday viewer

If you search up RGB TV technology, one of the first big claims that you'll see is for 100% Rec.2020 color coverage. It looks good on the box, but as you'll soon learn, it's not the whole truth.

To test color vibrancy, we measure what the TV outputs against one of the three major color spaces: Rec.709, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020. The last one, Rec.2020, has the widest color volume and is physically impossible for an LCD-based TV to cover.

But, interestingly, if you use a software called Calman to grab some data points on how colorful RGB TVs are, you'll actually see that they surpass the Rec.2020 color space. Usually Mini-LED TVs don't come close.

While some the newest Mini-RGB TVs might reach 100% of the Rec.2020 color gamut, they can only do it when you’ve got one of these test patterns pulled up. Turn on real content, like the latest episode of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, and the output of these LEDs go from red, green and blue back to pure white (at worst) or some combination of two of the RGB LEDs (at best) then use a color filter to transform it into another color.

Here’s a less technical explanation

Imagine you’ve built a supercar that, thanks to your cutting-edge engineering, can reach blistering speeds. In simulations it’s the fastest car ever made, but on a real-world racetrack, it never gets higher than third gear.

That’s what it feels like is happening with Mini-RGB TVs.

Now, in their defense, both Samsung and LG have shown me a version of the technology that actually uses these Mini-RGB LEDs for their intended purpose, however that was in their flagship MicroRGB TVs, which is just two of about a half-dozen new RGB TVs coming our way in 2026.

What separates 'good' RGB TVs from 'bad' ones?

It all comes down to how the TVs use those RGB LEDs. The bad RGB TVs, due to their low number of zones, will need to default to a white backlight more often than the good ones will.

The good ones will also use less power because they won't be running all three RGB LEDs at all times. They'll just use the one or two LEDs needed to create the color in that particular part of the screen.

The better the processor and the more LED zones on the TV, the more saturated the colors will be.

In lab tests, good and bad TVs might offer similar results, but real-world content will be the ultimate deciding factor.

Real-world testing is going to be key

The good news is that, here at Tom's Guide, we don't rely on lab test data alone — we actually bring each TV into one of our living rooms to test for a few weeks.

We watch regular content, not boring test patterns, to give you a better idea of what you’re going to experience if you buy whatever TV you’re reading about.

For these new Mini-RGB TVs, it’s that part that’s going to be absolutely critical. Our lab tests might say that these TVs cover 90% or more of the Rec.2020 color space, but until I see color saturation in real-world content that justifies the high sticker price, I'm not sold.

Now I just need to find myself some more Rec.2020 test content. (That's a joke, it doesn't exist yet.)

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As someone who reviews TVs for a living, I don’t often see a downside to recommending older models. Take, for example, the 2025 LG C5 OLED. It’s one of the best TVs we’ve ever tested, sure, but the 2024 LG C4 OLED is still an incredible TV that, to most folks, would look great.

However, sometimes there’s such a leap in performance between one year and the next, that it becomes hard to recommend buying a previous year’s model.

That’s exactly how I feel about the TCL QM9K — the brand’s flagship Mini-LED TV from 2025 that is, by all accounts, a very good-looking screen, but one that just pales in comparison to the new TCL X11L SQD Mini-LED and the upcoming 2026 Mini-RGB TVs from Samsung, Hisense and LG. Here’s why.

Not enough color where it counts

When we talk about color on TVs, we’re talking about two distinct metrics — color volume and color accuracy. To make your favorite movies and shows look their best, you need both.

The QM9K has rock-solid color accuracy. In our lab tests, the QM9K was incredibly accurate with a Delta-E score of 1.8 (the lower the score, the more accurate it is). That rivals most OLED TVs. But its color vibrancy is comparatively lacking — it only covers 97% of the DCI-P3 color space and 79% of the more-advanced Rec.2020 spectrum.

Five years ago, these numbers would’ve blown my mind. Even last year, these numbers were relatively good. But in 2026, the year that we’re getting Mini-RGB and TCL's own SQD TVs, these numbers just aren’t as impressive as they once were.

So why aren’t they good enough? Well, the QM9K has been superseded by the TCL X11L, the brand’s first SQD TV and its flagship model for 2026. In our lab tests, the X11L not only had a similar Delta-E score of 1.8, but it covered a lot more of the DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 color spaces (97.82% and 91.77%, respectively). That’s a lot of extra color.

We’re still awaiting the new Mini-RGB TVs from Hisense, Samsung and LG, but each claim that their Rec.2020 coverage will all be in the 90% range or better.

But brightness in spades

While color isn’t exactly a strong suit for the QM9K, it’s very good at combating ambient light thanks to its high peak brightness stats. In our lab tests, we measured the QM9K’s peak brightness at 4,207 nits in a 10% window in Standard mode — and we probably could’ve pushed that number even further had we played around with more of the settings.

To help combat potential haloing from this ultra-bright backlight, the QM9K uses TCL’s new Halo Control system that includes 5,000 contrast control zones. I haven’t seen any haloing in my time with the TV so far, so that’s incredibly impressive.

I’ve been watching it in a room with a side-facing window that just lets light in like you wouldn’t believe. Again, the QM9K isn’t phased by it.

The jury is still out on how bright these new Mini-RGB TVs will be — but I don’t think we’ll see a precipitous drop off in peak brightness once they arrive in our test labs later this year. As it stands, the aforementioned X11L can reach upwards of 6,000 nits in the same settings without breaking a sweat, thanks to its Super Quantum Dot (SQD) display. Ambient light, watch out.

How good is good enough?

This is the question that’s delayed my review of the TCL QM9K. It’s a good TV — and for a 2025 model I’d even say it’s great. But I keep coming back to the issue with its color saturation. It’s good enough for now, but it pales in comparison to what’s coming.

The problem, however, is that those TVs could come at untenable prices. The X11L, for example, starts at $6,999 for the 75-inch model. Conversely, the 75-inch QM9K can be purchased for $2,299 at Best Buy.

Should we give up the pursuit of vibrant color for a lower sticker price? I'm not sure. As a reviewer, it's something I'm still grappling with.

What I do know is that, after seeing them in-person, Mini RGB TVs are at the top of my wish list for 2026 and the QM9K... well, probably won't be.

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There are two types of people shopping for a 75-inch TV: those who don't mind splashing out on a high-end, top-of-the-line TV, and savvy shoppers looking to save some money while still securing a sizable screen. Every now and then, a TV deal comes along that satisfies both.

I've been keeping tabs on Hisense's mid-range Mini-LED TV for several weeks now, tracking the price of the 75-inch version in particular. A few weeks ago, it dropped below $1,000. Today, it's fallen even further.

Right now, you can get the 75-inch Hisense U75QG for just $899 at Amazon. That's all the way down from it's original price of $1,297. This is one of the best deals I've seen on a big-screen, Mini-LED-powered TV since Black Friday, but it's also a phenomenal TV in its own right.

I spent a ton of time with the U75QG in the past year, and as someone who knows this set quite well, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people seeking two things: impressive performance and a reasonable price. This is why the 75-inch version makes a ton of sense for both budget-shoppers and A/V enthusiasts.

The U75QG leverages Mini-LEDs for better brightness and backlight control, the latter of which is critical for producing excellent contrast at the extra-large size of 75 inches. It's bright enough for daytime viewing, but its local dimming is engineered well enough to give the U75QG a truly cinematic presentation during dark-room viewing, too.

The truth is, you could save even more money on a less-impressive TV that may or may not offer Mini-LED backlighting, but there's a very good chance that those sets wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting to watch as the U75QG.

The U75QG is also stuffed with streaming- and gaming-related features. The higher end Hisense U8QG might come with a brighter picture, but the U75QG offers nearly all of the same features as the U8QG.

For one thing, it's built around the Google TV smart platform. Its speedy, easy-to-use interface is plenty good to use as a daily driver.

People who own current-generation consoles will feel right at home with the U75QG, since it supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz for PC gamers). Despite its mid-range status, the U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smoother gameplay.

Amazon has slapped its limited-time label on this deal, so there's no telling how long it'll ultimately be available. If you're looking for something a bit smaller, the 65-inch Hisense U75QG is on sale at Amazon for just $796. It's not as steep of a discount as that currently being offered for the 75-inch model, but it's still a terrific deal for a Mini-LED TV of this caliber.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

If you’re kicking yourself for missing out on Presidents’ Day TV deals, I’ve got some good news: This is still an excellent time of the year to find some under-the-radar deals on excellent TVs. This is because most major brands are gearing up to launch their 2026 models in the coming months.

Basically, if you know where to look, there are TV deals out there that are very much worth buying. For instance, this morning I noticed that the 75-inch Hisense U75QG is just $997 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on this TV to date — who needs Presidents’ Day?

Hisense’s mid-range Mini-LED TV is a match made in heaven for folks who want to save money on a 75-inch TV but still seek an impressive, cinematic picture. After spending a great deal of time with the U75QG in the past year, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people shopping for a bright, versatile TV with a ton of features.

What sets the Hisense U75QG apart from more affordable 75-inch TVs is its higher-end hardware. This TV leverages Mini-LEDs for better brightness and backlight control, the latter of which is extra important at this extra-large size point.

Because the U75QG's Mini-LED display is bright and its local dimming well-engineered, this set is great for both daytime viewing and movie nights. It's a mid-range TV, sure, but it's also downright fun to watch.

The U75QG is also packed with features. In fact, while the higher-end Hisense U8QG features a brighter, punchier picture, the U75QG arrives with a nearly identical set of features. In other words, it offers a flagship slate of features for a mid-range price.

Console-owners will get all of the support they need, since the U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz. The U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smoother gameplay.

And, for folks who'd rather not waste an HDMI slot on an external streaming device, you'll be happy to learn that the U75QG is built around the Google TV smart platform. It's fast, easy to navigate and offers a ton of downloadable apps to customize the streaming experience.

Amazon has slapped its limited-time label on this deal, so I don't expect to it to be around for very long. If you've got your heart set on something smaller, the 65-inch U75QG is on sale for $796 at Amazon (though this isn't quite its lowest price to date).

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• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

So, you missed all of the weekend’s best Presidents’ Day sales and you’ve got nothing to show for it. Well, if you’re in the market for a new 4K TV, I’ve got some good news: Best Buy has extended a deep discount on one of the most affordable Mini-LED TVs you can buy.

Today, you can land the 55-inch TCL QM5K for just $379 at Best Buy. That’s $320 off its original price, and easily one of the most affordable ways to bring Mini-LED backlighting into your home. (For more deals, check out our guide to this week's best TV deals).

The QM5K is a Best Buy-exclusive model, so you won’t find it anywhere else. If all you’re looking for is an affordable smart TV that doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel, the QM5K is a good pick — especially at this price.

The QM5K's best feature is its hardware. It's not easy to find Mini-LED backlighting at this price point, and it truly makes a difference.

The QM5K makes use of a more modest array of Mini-LEDs when compared to higher-end Mini-LED TVs (like the TCL QM7K and the TCL QM8K). Still, it's better to have Mini-LEDs than a garden-variety, edge-lit LED display, as it typically results in better contrast and higher brightness.

If you're hoping to lean on your next TV's built-in smart features for all of your streaming needs, the QM5K is a reliable pick. It arrives with the Google TV software suite right out of the box, which is one of my preferred smart platforms in 2026 due to its relatively straightforward interface and vast library of downloadable apps.

The QM5K isn't going to blow you away with its performance, but it's a much better option than most 55-inch LED TVs in its price range based on its Mini-LED backlighting alone. It's an especially good pick for people who are upgrading to 4K for the first time.

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Throughout my career, I've often reminded readers that the first few months of the year are one of the best times to save on a new TV. This is because, come spring, major TV brands are gearing up to ship their newest models. The closer we get to launch day, the cheaper last year's TVs become.

You can see this process playing out if you take a look at the Hisense U8QG, one of the best Mini-LED TVs we tested in 2025. Right now, the Hisense 65-inch U8QG is just $859 at Amazon. That's over $1,300 off its original price, and easily one of the best TV deals you'll come across this week.

I've spent a good amount of time with the U8QG, and I'm confident that this set is a great pick for casual streamers, gamers and A/V enthusiasts alike. Here's what you need to know about it.

The U8QG's best feature is its powerful panel. With close to 4,000 nits of HDR highlight brightness under its belt, the U8QG is near the top of the list of the brightest TVs we've tested in recent years. It's crackling brightness makes it reliable TV for viewers who do most of their viewing in a brightly lit room, but this punchy presentation also makes for a an immersive, cinematic picture on movie night, too.

The U8QG also comes with a ton of features for gaming and streaming. It supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz), so it's capable of making the most out of 4K titles on current-gen consoles.

The U8QG also comes with the Google TV smart platform built right in. I appreciate Google TV both for its relatively straightforward user experience and the robustness of its app library.

This Hisense TV also has a pretty nifty trick up its sleeve: excellent onboard audio. In his Hisense U8QG review, Ryan Epps described the U8QG's built-in sound system as “one of strongest audio systems of any TV in the last six months.”

Even before Amazon's limited-time discount, the U8QG was already one of the most value-forward Mini-LED TVs of the year. This deal makes it a no-brainer.

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So the biggest televised sporting event of the year is mere hours away and you’ve suddenly been struck with the overwhelming desire to upgrade your living room with a flashy new TV. Perhaps you’ve also decided to be a savvy spender rather than to throw a stupendously large amount of cash at a high-end, ultra-premium TV.

If you’re about to grab your keys and high-tail it out the door to Best Buy, Walmart or any other brick-and-mortar store for a last-minute deal on a brand-new TV, let me bend your ear for a second about one of my favorite affordable TVs on shelves right now: The TCL QM7K is a popular, mid-range Mini-LED TV that I’ve been suggesting to friends, family and acquaintances for months now, and as luck would have it, it’s on sale in every one of its screen sizes.

You can get the 55-inch TCL QM7K for just $599 at Best Buy today, and that’s a full $700 off its original price. This is a TV whose bright, colorful picture will not only do the big game justice, but it’ll serve you well for future games, movie nights and afternoon TV binges. Let me tell you why you should keep your eye out for it when you’re browsing the TV section.

While ultra-affordable, entry-level TVs typically leverage simplistic LED backlighting, the mid-range QM7K makes use of Mini-LEDs. This is its best feature, and one of the reasons I've been recommending it to sports fans for a while now.

As the name suggests, Mini-LEDs are smaller-sized LEDs that usually deliver better backlight control due to their size. Better backlight control not only allows for better overall contrast, it's the primary reason why the QM7K delivers a bright enough picture for watching daytime sports.

And when it comes to brightness, it's worth noting that the QM7K has more horsepower under the hood than entry-level LED TVs, as well. According to the tests we carried out for our TCL QM7K review, this TV is capable of over 1,700 nits of highlight brightness in HDR.

For context, the QM7K's little sibling — the entry-level TCL QM6K — tops out at around 700 nits. If you're hosting a Super Bowl watch party and you've got a relatively bright living space, you'll definitely appreciate the QM7K's added brightness.

If you're streaming the Super Bowl this year, the QM7K will get you there in a smooth, fuss-free style. It comes with Google TV's easy-to-use smart platform pre-installed. It's my second-favorite smart platform behind Roku, and its robust app support and friendly interface makes it a superb daily driver.

Those planning on doing some gaming in the months and years ahead stand to squeeze even more value out of the QM7K due to its fantastic array of gaming features for this mid-range price point. It comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K gaming up to 144Hz. This means the QM7K can take full advantage of the Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro.

In the last week alone I've recommended the QM7K to two people in my personal life. Neither of them were looking to upgrade specifically for a Super Bowl watch party, but in both cases, the QM7K proved versatile enough to earn my recommendation.

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Last month at CES, while nearly every major TV brand was showcasing tantalizing RGB LED TVs featuring exciting new display technology, TCL was putting the X11L SQD Mini-LED TV on its highest pedestal. Unlike the parade of RGB LED TVs (which make use of an all-new type of display technology), the X11L — named after TCL’s Super Quantum Dot technology — is built around a souped-up, refined version of a classic Mini-LED screen.

We’re still weeks away from getting our grubby paws on an RGB LED TV from Samsung, LG or Hisense, but we have had a chance to test drive the TCL X11L. And, while our official review is still being prepared, I can give you a sneak-peek.

TCL has boasted about the X11L’s color, and I can see why. The question now is whether or not these incoming RGB LED TVs can give the X11L a run for its money.

TCL X11L color: how does it stack up?

I'll let our upcoming TCL X11L review speak for itself in the coming weeks, but I wanted to highlight one of the TV's color metrics for a few reasons. First, color volume has been an area of performance where Mini-LED TVs (like the X11L) have lagged behind quantum dot-enhanced OLED TVs in recent years.

Secondly, color is at the heart of what TCL's new TV is all about. This so-called Super QLED leverages TCL's all-new Deep Color System, which I'll explain shortly.

So, while we don't yet have data from any competing RGB LED TVs, we can see how the X11L stacks up to the Hisense U8QG (a Mini-LED TV with excellent color volume) and two quantum dot-enhanced OLED TVs that feature some of the best color we've ever measured.

Here's a quick refresher: BT.2020 (also known as Rec.2020) is an international color space standard for newer displays. The percentages describe how much of that color space these TVs are capable of covering.

As you can see, the Sony Bravia 8 II and the Samsung S95F — two QD-OLEDs that previously put up some of the best BT.2020 measurements we've ever measured — are a hair behind the X11L.

The X11L is significantly ahead of the Hisense U8QG, another quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LED TV that specializes in bright, punchy color. In other words, the bar for Mini-LED-based color was just raised — all the way above QD-OLED.

To be fair, with the right content and the best picture mode, all of these TVs look absolutely stunning. They're bright, high-contrast screens backed by powerful picture processing algorithms. There's a good chance that, from a color perspective, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between these sets unless they were set up side by side.

Nevertheless, what we have here is a proof of concept. TCL just demonstrated that a Mini-LED display can be pushed into the color realms we've come to expect from premium, quantum dot-enhanced OLEDs, provided you have access to TCL's engineering.

Now, all we have to do is wait and see how RGB LED TVs from Samsung, LG and Hisense stack up. These brands, too, have promised big performance numbers when it comes to RGB LED's color capabilities.

Super Quantum Dot vs RGB LED: what's the difference?

The TCL X11L's secret sauce is made up of a few ingredients: reformulated quantum dots (now dubbed "Super Quantum Dots"), a new color filter for said quantum dots and some algorithmic tweaking designed to keep colors consistent (which TCL is calling its Advanced Color Purity Algorithm). Together, these elements define TCL's Deep Color System.

It's all very familiar in the world of traditional Mini-LED displays, albeit upgraded and refined. RGB LED, meanwhile, is a whole different story.

Like the best Mini-LED TVs, RGB LED displays leverage an array of ultra-small LEDs that can be broken up into dimmable zones. This goes a long way towards enhancing contrast and brightness in TVs like the TCL X11L.

Unlike the X11L, however, RGB LED TVs have a secret weapon: Their LEDs are red-, green- and blue-tinted. While the white light of Mini-LEDs like the X11L rely on a color filter, RGB LEDs do not.

Like TCL's Super QLED TV, the primary purported benefit of RGB LED TVs is color, and in some reported cases, brands are reporting that their RGB LED TVs are capable of reaching up to 100% of BT.2020.

Here's the thing: In a TCL X11L press release, TCL also claims that SQD TV can reach "100% of BT.2020 color." We, of course, only measured 91%.

Crucially, they add the following footnote: "Actual results may vary based on specific units, environmental conditions, source material, and testing equipment." This qualifier makes sense, too — TV-testing is a finnicky process.

TCL 2026 TVs: outlook

The TCL X11L SQD Mini-LED TV will be available in 75-, 85- and 98-inch sizes, so if you were hoping to buy a new 55- or 65-inch TV in 2026, the extra-large nature of the X11L may not be for you.

The good news is that the 2026 TCL TV lineup will also feature two new TVs that are reported to make use of the brand's SQD technology: the QM7L and the QM8L. They're new versions of the TCL QM7K and the QM8K, two quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LED TVs that have proven quite popular. I'm eager to see how their performance compares to the ultra-premium X11L.

TCL is also launching an RGB LED TV of its own. Not much is currently known about the TCL RM9L, but so far, it's been announced exclusively in big-screen sizes: 85, 98 and 115 inches.

It may not be a matter of if these TVs make our list of the best TVs, but a matter of when.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went hands-on with TCL’s first SQD Mini-LED TV — and it made me forget about RGB TVs
• 5 TCL TV settings to change for the best possible picture
• Buying a TV in 2026? Here are the 9 terms you need to know

Buying an ultra-affordable, big-screen TV can be tricky. Many TVs in the 75-inch range are, frankly, not very good. They typically lack the hardware needed for a punchy picture.

That is not typically the case with ultra-affordable Mini-LED TVs, which almost always offer better brightness and contrast than garden-variety LED TVs. And, if you’re looking for a last-minute deal on a big-screen TV ahead of Super Bowl weekend, I have good news: The 75-inch Hisense U65QF is on sale for $599 at Amazon right now. That's its lowest price on record.

The U65QF delivers a bright, well-tuned picture — better than what you’ll find on most 75-inch TVs in this price range that don’t come with Mini-LEDs. If I had $600 to spend on a 75-inch TV, the U65QF is the one I’d get.

If you're committed to a 75-inch screen, there most important thing to consider is display hardware. With this much real estate, the blemishes of a simplistic, subpar display are very easy to spot.

This is why I always recommend that folks shopping for a big screen on a budget prioritize Mini-LED backlighting above all else. The 75-inch U65QF isn't as bright or impressive-looking as a higher-end Mini-LED TV with pricier parts, but it's a Mini-LED TV nonetheless, and that goes a very long way.

Thanks to Mini-LEDs, the U65QF is brighter than every other TV we've tested in its class. The TV's local dimming functionality allows it to control that brightness for better overall contrast.

The U65QF also arrives with a handful of nifty features, too. As we noted in our Hisense U65QF review, this TV supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two of its four total HDMI inputs, so it's well equipped for current-gen consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

One thing to keep in mind about the U65QF is that it's built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform. We weren't too keen on its built-in Fire TV software suite when this set first launched, but imminent updates to the Fire TV software could be a game-changer for the U65QF.

If you're absolutely dead-set on buying a 75-inch TV for under $700, I truly think you'd be doing yourself a disservice to get a set without Mini-LEDs. That makes this limited-time deal is a savvy choice.

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It doesn't matter whether you're upgrading your living room specifically for the Super Bowl or beyond, everyone wants a TV that's both easy to use and impressive to watch. The latest Roku Pro Series is my favorite Roku TV on the market for exactly these reasons.

Right now, Amazon is running a limited-time deal on this TV ahead of the Super Bowl. You can get the 65-inch Roku Pro Series for just $798 at Amazon today. It includes the Roku Voice Remote Pro, too. It's one of the best Super Bowl TV deals I've seen.

The Pro Series is easy to use because it's built around the Roku smart platform. It's impressive to watch on account of its elevated display hardware. Simply put, it's one of the most approachable, user-friendly TVs you can buy, and it's got the performance to back it up.

As the "Pro" designation suggests, the Roku Pro Series is a step above most Roku TVs you'll find on shelves right now. For one thing, it's equipped with both quantum dot-color and Mini-LED backlighting. It also comes with some nifty features that you won't find on lesser Roku TVs.

First, let's talk about its display hardware. With Mini-LEDs in tow, the Pro Series' backlight control is better suited for sports, movies and shows than typical, direct-LED (or edge-lit) TVs that don't offer local dimming.

We're still chipping away at our full review of the 2025 Roku Pro Series, but according to our test data, it's capable of highlight brightness well north of 1,000 nits in its brighter picture modes. This is plenty bright for daytime TV and sports, and because the Pro Series also offers Mini-LED backlighting, dark-room viewing stands to look much more cinematic.

If you've ever used a Roku streaming device before, you probably understand the appeal. I recently decided to switch from webOS to Roku and I couldn't be happier about my decision.

Roku's basic, clean-looking interface is easy to navigate, and when it comes to downloadable streaming apps, the Roku library is vast. This makes it a great choice for both casual users and couch potatoes (like myself).

The TV’s display and Roku functionality are its best features, but the Pro Series is also a pretty powerful gaming TV, all things considered. You're getting a pair of HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs that support 4K gaming up to 120Hz, which is the maximum 4K spec for current-generation consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

As mentioned, this deal arrives with the second-gen version of the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which many find to be an essential upgrade for Roku-owners. This clicker offers backlit buttons, a rechargeable battery and programmable buttons that can be customized to suit your streaming habits.

If you're interested in this 65-inch set, I'd pounce on this deal soon. Amazon slapped its limited-time deal tag onto the listing and I'm not sure how long it'll be active.

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The biggest televised sporting event of the year is less than a week away, and if you’re in the market for a big screen on a budget, listen up: The 75-inch TCL QM5K is just $599 at Best Buy right now. It’s the best deal I’ve seen on a 75-inch TV ahead of the Super Bowl.

As a Best Buy exclusive, you’re not going to find this deal available at any other retailer. The QM5K is a better pick than most ultra-affordable 75-inch TVs, too, thanks to its Mini-LED backlighting. Here's what you need to know. (For more deals, check out our full Super Bowl TV deals guide).

Take it from someone who's been testing and reviewing TVs for over a decade: At the 75-inch size point, you definitely want Mini-LED backlighting.

The QM5K taps a more modest array of Mini-LEDs relative to higher-end Mini-LED TVs (like the TCL QM7K and the TCL QM8K), but it still makes a world of difference when compared to a garden-variety, direct- or edge-lit LED display.

Mini-LED backlighting typically results in better contrast and higher brightness. You'll almost certainly enjoy a richer picture with the QM5K than what you'll see on a cheap, edge-lit TV, and that's a big plus if you're planning on entertaining a room full of people next Sunday.

The QM5K also comes with the Google TV software suite built right in, which is one of my preferred smart platforms in 2026. I mention this because the QM5K only has three HDMI inputs rather than the typical four. Google TV takes some of the sting out of this situation, as it's easy-to-use interface and terrific app support makes it a viable daily driver.

Unlike some bottom-of-the-barrel options in this price range, the QM5K delivers decent hardware and software. It's a fantastic fit for folks favoring a bigger screen size over high-end performance.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony just handed its TV business to TCL — here’s what it means for you
• TCL TV lineup 2026: new SQD Mini-LED enhancement, Mini-LED TVs, and an RGB Mini-LED TV
• TCL finally added this key feature to its 2025 TVs — here's why you should use it

The Sharp Aquos QLED TV is a budget screen with little going for it beyond its low price. Despite its 4K resolution, Dolby Vision support, and enticing affordability, it pales in comparison to major rivals due to its subpar performance and frustrating TV interface.

The picture quality is extremely lackluster, with perpetual visual noise, blooming, and washed-out colors highlighting some of the most egregious setbacks. Off-axis performance and minimal brightness also make the Aquos QLED a poor choice for angled viewing and sunnier environments.

Even if you’re not in the market for one of the best TVs and solely want an ultra-affordable display to fill a slot in your home, the Sharp Aquos QLED likely isn’t the best option for your living room. A wide swath of more reliable TVs at similar prices, such as the Hisense U65QF and the TCL QM5K, make for better alternatives. Here’s why.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Price and release date

Sharp launched the Aquos QLED TV range in October 2025, putting it up against Roku and Amazon with five size variations. It’s a budget-conscious set that rounds out Sharp’s 2025 TV catalog.

Here’s a full breakdown of the sizes and prices of the Sharp Aquos QLED TV:

• Sharp Aquos QLED TV 4T-C50HP7050U (50-inch) – $349 | $259 on sale
• Sharp Aquos QLED TV 4T-C55HP7050U (55-inch) – $399 | $309 on sale
• Sharp Aquos QLED TV 4T-C65HP7050U (65-inch) – $499 | $389 on sale
• Sharp Aquos QLED TV 4T-C75HP7050U (75-inch) – $749 | $529 on sale
• Sharp Aquos QLED TV 4T-C85HP7050U (85-inch) – $1,099 | $829 on sale

There are no major differences in speaker setup, stand design, and picture quality across screen sizes. We tested the Sharp Aquos QLED in its 55-inch configuration.

For what you get in terms of performance and features, the Aquos QLED feels expensive and mispriced, especially against major rivals. Amazon is currently selling the 55-inch model for $379, which puts it into contention with several Mini-LED models, such as the TCL QM5K, Hisense U65QF, and 2025 Roku Plus Series TV.

However, each of these TVs has Mini-LED backlighting, whereas Sharp’s Aquos TV uses a standard direct LED backlight (among other notable downgrades). It’s also similarly matched with the 2025 Amazon Omni QLED TV, which is currently $519 for the 55-inch model.

If you’re unsure about which size TV you need, check out our ‘What TV size should you buy?’ guide to help you pick the right one.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Design

As QLEDs go, the Aquos TV is built similarly to market counterparts. The 55-inch model is thin and lightweight, measuring 3.2 inches in depth and weighing 21 pounds, both without the stand. The Aquos TV also has particularly thin bezels, denoted by Sharp as its “Frameless Design,” but the borders are still perceptible when watching content.

The setup is fairly breezy. This QLED TV is equipped with two V-shaped legs, which are very easy to install and offer suitable sturdiness. However, you will need a screwdriver to install them. Wall-mounting is another option, as the 55-inch Sharp Aquos QLED is equipped with a 300 x 300 VESA pattern. (Note that the VESA pattern will be different across sizes.)

It’s not the most gorgeous set on the block, but it should look fine on most countertops and surfaces. One neat aspect Sharp added is a handy cable management system that minimizes clutter and offers a cleaner setup.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Ports

Swivel the Aquos TV around, and we’ll find a full set of ports located on the right-hand side of the TV’s rear. The Sharp Aquos TV features three HDMI 2.0 ports, which is expected given its lower price, as well as two USB 2.0 ports, a LAN network connection, digital audio output, and an audio jack for wired headphones.

Given that the Sharp Aquos QLED is built on a 60Hz refresh rate, don’t expect any extreme gaming features. It also doesn’t have an ATSC 3.0 tuner, as you might find on Hisense and TCL Mini-LED TVs. However, the Sharp Aquos QLED does support Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1 wireless connectivity, and it’s also equipped with Alexa and AirPlay voice controls.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Performance

I tested the Sharp Aquos QLED TV in various settings using content primarily from streaming services, such as Prime Video, Netflix, and HBO Max. I typically would switch back and forth between the Standard picture mode and Sharp’s version of Filmmaker mode, called Theater.

Overall, picture quality is very poor on this set. “Sinners” on Prime Video was totally blown out, with visual noise taking up most of the screen. Colors were washed out, with the blue sky in day scenes overexposed. Night shots looked even worse, with shadows and darker portions looking more gray than black.

The “Fallout” TV show didn’t look much better. Certain scenes were filled with visual noise and over-processing, particularly in the TV’s Theater mode. This mode washes the screen in a subtle yellow hue, which is very distracting and makes content look suboptimal. It doesn’t help that the Sharp Aquos QLED has very poor luminance, making highlights drab and unrefined.

I even tried watching some anime to get a taste of the TV’s color volume, which didn’t lead to great results. Shows like “Frieren,” “Lazarus,” and “Jujutsu Kaisen” were off as colors looked abnormal, and I noticed subtle blooming in the subtitles. I also noted choppy, fast-paced action sequences, highlighting the TV’s poor motion processing.

The wonkiness in colors also extends to close-ups. “Oppenheimer” and “Wake Up Dead Man” are two great examples of this, offering several close-up shots of characters with oddly-colored skin tones. There was also a great deal of artefacting around the subject’s faces, as well as the persistence of visual noise throughout scenes.

One thing the Aquos TV does have going for it is Dolby Vision support, which you can freely adjust across three main settings, including Dolby Vision Dark, Dolby Vision Bright, and Dolby Vision Dynamic. The “Dark” setting offered the best picture quality in most content that supports it, but it didn’t help minimize other picture quality concerns.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subject tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we use a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman TV-calibration software to take measurements. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer, but usually feature anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Test results

I measured the Sharp Aquos QLED TV against similarly-priced budget TVs, such as the Fire TV Omni QLED Series, Sony Bravia 3, and Hisense U65QF.

The Aquos QLED clearly struggles to contend with similarly priced market rivals. Luminance is a major setback, largely because this QLED TV isn’t equipped with a Mini-LED backlight. Even the Sony Bravia 3 LED TV offers slightly better luminance, which is surprising given it doesn’t have a quantum dot layer like Sharp’s QLED.

Another debilitating factor for the Sharp Aquos QLED is its higher-than-average Delta-E score, which means colors on the screen don’t appear accurate and lifelike. Still, its Delta-E isn’t quite as bad as the Fire TV Omni QLED, but picture quality takes a hit in everything from anime to close-ups of faces.

Color coverage is largely similar across the board. However, the Sharp Aquos QLED tested with the highest input latency at 15.2ms, making it a poor choice for gamers. With its 60Hz refresh rate and barebones gaming features, it’s to be expected.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Audio

The Sharp Aquos QLED TV doesn’t offer the most robust audio experience. On the one hand, the Aquos QLED can hit a very high ceiling in loudness, which is great if you want the entire neighborhood to hear your movies. On the other hand, audio quality is very lackluster, sounding tinny and flat.

This poor performance is largely due to the dual 15W internal speakers inside the TV, giving it a total 30W output. It’s also only equipped with a 2.0-channel system, so it makes sense why audio isn’t robust on this TV. Fortunately, you can pair it with one of the best soundbars for improved audio performance, especially given its Dolby Atmos support.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Interface and apps

The Xumo interface is at the heart of the Aquos TV experience… and it’s not great. Everything from the layout to the performance is problematic in one way or another, leading to a rather frustrating experience. On the bright side, it offers a slew of free channels via Xumo Play, and many of the best streaming services are available on the Xumo store.

Xumo's layout is similar to Google TV: At the top of the home screen is a row of most recently opened apps and inputs, followed by another row with your featured inputs and apps, which you can customize. Under this row are various collections, such as “My list,” “TV Shows,” and “Movies,” but it also includes “Search” and “Settings,” which are oddly out of place.

When I first turned the TV on, I couldn’t find the settings page for the life of me. It would make more sense to place the settings menu at the top right of the screen, similar to Google TV, or at the start of the “My List” row, so it’s much easier to find and access.

Xumo is also very slow and cumbersome to use. It’s noticeable in both navigation and startup, with the TV often taking over a minute to hit the Home Screen after being powered back on. While it is frustrating to use right now, the interface could see major enhancements over time. After all, this is only version 1.3 of the OS, so there’s room for improvement.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Remote

Sharp’s remote is a vast detour from other TV remotes in the space — it’s wider with a more rounded feel versus the slimmer options from rival brands. Despite its size, the remote is surprisingly lightweight and ergonomic. It also offers four quick access buttons to Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, and Xumo Play.

One notable absence on the remote is a dedicated settings button. Instead, there is a button with three dots that pulls up a quick access settings bar, where you can adjust only a handful of things, such as the picture mode, audio output, closed captions, and more.

In theory, these quick settings are a handy addition for adjusting things on the fly, similar to Samsung’s quick access settings bar, but it would be much better if it could access the full settings tab. Otherwise, you have to navigate from the home screen to the settings page, which is clunky and time-consuming.

Sharp also opted to put the mute button at the top of the remote, away from the volume controls. While it’s a minor gripe, it can prove confusing at first, especially since the voice controls are located right next to the volume sliders, which is slightly jarring.

Beyond these minor gripes, I have no major complaints about the Sharp TV remote. It’s a bit larger than I would prefer and has a convoluted button arrangement, but its lightweight and ergonomic design should still work fine for most people.

Sharp Aquos QLED TV review: Verdict

There’s no getting around it, the Sharp Aquos QLED TV isn’t a strong contender in the budget TV space. It offers subpar picture quality even for its budget price, and doesn’t match up to its rivals. It’s also built on a TV interface that’s plain frustrating to use.

If you want to save a buck on a new TV, I recommend the Hisense U65QF. The 55-inch model is currently $399, putting it right up against the Sharp Aquos QLED, and is equipped with Fire TV, which offers a wider array of fancy features. You can also opt for the TCL QM5K Mini-LED TV for $379 if you want Google TV, but we don’t have any testing data on that particular display.

Although the Sharp Aquos QLED looks enticing at its $259 sale price, and even comes with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to boot, there’s not a whole lot else that makes it worth the investment. Visual noise, blown-out backgrounds, and washed-out colors make it truly hard to recommend, and if you’re really in need of a budget TV under $500, there’s a wealth of better models to choose from.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading to a bigger screen ahead of the Super Bowl, you won’t hear me trying to talk you out of it. That’s because the slice of time between the holidays and spring is a great time to find TV sales. Brands are gearing up to launch their latest models, but until they arrive, many of their best sets are deeply discounted.

Case in point: The 75-inch TCL QM5K fell to just $599 at Best Buy. It was already one of the most affordable Mini-LED TVs on shelves ahead of this 50% price drop, but now it’s one of the best deals around on a 75-inch TV. It's a Best Buy exclusive, so you won't see it anywhere else.

While the QM5K isn’t one of the best-performing 75-inch TVs on shelves, it comes with one key feature that sets it apart from ultra-cheap 75-inch TVs: Mini-LED backlighting.

The QM5K leverages a more modest array of Mini-LEDs relative to higher-end TVs, but trust me: This is a feature you definitely want, especially at this extra-large screen size. This type of backlighting typically results in better contrast when compared to TVs that tap garden-variety, edge-lit panels. (Though I’d still hesitate to recommend the QM5K to folks with sun-soaked living rooms.)

It’s worth noting that the QM5K is outfitted with just three HDMI inputs — one fewer than what most TVs offer. Fortunately, the QM5K comes with Google TV built right in, and the software is good enough for daily use. The interface is easy to navigate, and the app support is robust.

If you’re looking to prioritize screen size over performance ahead of the Super Bowl, but you still want to avoid buying a TV that scrapes the bottom of the barrel, the QM5K is currently one of the best options available.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony just handed its TV business to TCL — here’s what it means for you
• TCL TV lineup 2026: new SQD Mini-LED enhancement, Mini-LED TVs, and an RGB Mini-LED TV
• TCL finally added this key feature to its 2025 TVs — here's why you should use it

CES 2026 was the epicenter of innovation in the tech industry. In keeping with tradition, new TV innovations were on display, and the brands behind the best TVs in the business unveiled many of their newest models.

But while LG and Samsung showed off some (if not most) of their mainline 2026 TVs at CES, Hisense focused almost exclusively on its souped-up, cutting-edge displays. Instead of the immensely popular U6, U7 and U8 Series that shoppers have gravitated toward in recent years, we were treated to the big-screen models with fancy technology and lofty price tags.

That raises some questions: Why are all of the Hisense 2026 TVs we know about the sets that are bound to be more niche in their appeal, and probably pricier than the company’s perennially popular, mainline series? If Hisense is gearing up to launch another slate of Mini-LED TVs in 2026, why haven’t we seen them yet?

New Hisense TVs are almost here

Over the last couple of years, Hisense has treated CES almost exclusively as an opportunity to showcase its biggest TVs and its fanciest display innovations. This is why we’ve learned all about the Hisense UR9 and UR8 (the brand’s first RGB Mini-LED TVs to be made available in smaller, more-popular screen sizes), as well as its 116-inch and 163-inch models (the latter of which uses an ultra-premium Micro-LED display).

Most TV-makers treat CES similarly, the difference being that we also usually learn a lot more about the rest of their lineup. Hisense will almost certainly wait until late March or early April to reveal the successor to the entry-level U65QF, the U75QG, and of course, the Hisense U8QG — one of the brightest TVs we’ve ever tested.

After last year’s CES, Hisense didn’t unveil its primary Mini-LED TV lineup until the last week of March. I haven’t received any advanced notice about such an announcement, but I’m inclined to believe that the brand will follow a similar trajectory in the coming months.

Hisense's main TV lineup probably won't feature RGB Mini-LED backlighting

Hisense is remaining tightlipped about the newest versions of the Hisense U6, U7 and U8, so for now, these model names remain unconfirmed.

However, the U7 and U8 were briefly shown on screen during Hisense's CES keynote, which momentarily caused me to believe that Hisense's primary TV lineup would also feature RGB backlighting. Today, a representative from Hisense informed me that the models shown belonged to the brand's global RGB Mini-LED lineup.

They added, "the 2026 U.S. lineup will only feature the 116UXS RGB Mini-LED evo, and the RGB Mini-LED UR8 and UR9 Series. We’ll have more to come on our US lineups in the next couple of months."

If you read between the lines, it's not a stretch to interpret the "more to come" as a sign that we'll eventually get a formal announcement about more TVs, and that these models are wholly separate from the brand's premium, RGB Mini-LED catalogue.

Does that mean that Hisense will skimp on the innovations in its mid-range Mini-LED TVs? I doubt it. But, for now, all we can do is speculate as to what's to come for some of the most affordable, value-priced TVs on the market.

More from Tom's Guide

• Hisense’s new RGB Mini-LED is probably the best-looking LCD TV at CES 2026
• Should you buy a Micro RGB TV this year? Here are all of the RGB TVs coming in 2026 from brands like Samsung, Hisense and LG
• Micro RGB TVs vs OLED TVs — here's the TV I'd buy in 2026