We’re finally getting a glimpse into what TV brands have in store for the best TVs of 2025. As I take stock of the news to date, I’m met with the realization there are more surprises in the world of TVs this year than I had anticipated.
Sure, some of these developments were telegraphed months ago, but several announcements — new display hardware and the expansion of wireless TV technology, for instance — were not on my radar heading into the new year.
If you’ve been out of the loop for the last few weeks, allow me to welcome you back into the fold. These are the most noteworthy TV trends emerging in 2025.
1. New OLED technology puts QD-OLED on notice
Heading into 2025, if you had told me that the successors to LG and Panasonic’s top-performing OLED TVs (the G4 OLED and the Panasonic Z95A) would not make use of Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology, I’d have told you that their finest OLED TVs would not be standing up to the bright, colorful qualities of Samsung’s quantum dot-enhanced OLED without the help of MLA tech. But I’d have been wrong.
This year, LG Display recently announced Primary RGB Tandem technology is replacing MLA on top-shelf OLEDs from LG and Panasonic. According to LG Display, the fourth-generation OLED panel is about 33% brighter than previous panels that leveraged MLA technology while consuming 20% less power (on a 65-inch model).
Right now, the only OLED TVs confirmed to use LG Display’s fourth-generation panel are the flagship LG G5 OLED, the LG M5 OLED and the Panasonic Z95B. The latter even uses a unique airflow system that is said to dissipate heat, cooling the panel down.
Having seen the new panel in person, I can confirm that its brightness is impressive. We’ll have to see how it compares to QD-OLED TV later this year.
2. Mini-LED gets an upgrade — without the help of quantum dots
At CES 2025, both Hisense and Samsung announced Mini-LED TVs that will redefine the display technology, ostensibly bridging the gap between the popular, premium QLED TVs of today and the self-emissive Micro-LED TVs of tomorrow.
Hisense has been the most forthcoming about its new display hardware. The brand refers to the tech as RGB Local Dimming, but on shelves, the name that has stuck is Hisense TriChroma LED.
The only TV we’ve seen that taps the new tech is the Hisense 116UX TriChroma Mini-LED TV. This room-dominating, 116-inch TV sets itself apart from the Hisense Mini-LEDs of years past by replacing blue light-driven quantum dots with clusters of tiny lenses, each of which react to red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs. According to Hisense, its TriChroma LED displays offer better brightness, class-leading color volume and lower energy consumption than traditional Mini-LED displays.
Samsung touted a similar technology at the trade show, but details remain scant. It harnesses “micro-sized” red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs (much like the Hisense 116UX), but the technology is not self-emissive like the prohibitively expensive Micro-LED technology we’ve seen in the past.
However, rather than shy away from Micro-LED branding, Samsung has chosen to lean into it, calling this new hardware RGB Micro-LED. The 98-inch, 8K TV (seen above) was available for all to see at CES, and yes — it’s marvelous to behold.
Samsung insists that some version of this TV will find its way onto the market in 2025, with a possible expansion into other series next year.
3. Wireless functionality spreads to more models
This year, LG’s wireless Zero Connect Box is back, and unsurprisingly, there’s a new OLED to go with it. Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned LG M5 will pick up where last year’s M4 left off.
Samsung is getting in on the wireless action, too.
What is surprising, however, is that LG is bringing the same technology to its LCD/LED lineup. The LG QNED9M will also come with the Zero Connect Box, which can be placed anywhere within 10 meters of the TV for wireless audio and video transmission from connected devices.
Meanwhile, Samsung is getting in on the wireless action, too. The brand’s Wireless One Connect Box will ship with the all-new version of its lifestyle TV, The Frame Pro.
4. Lifestyle TVs are here to stay
Speaking of lifestyle TVs, it appears as though we’re entering their golden era. In addition to Samsung’s better, brighter update to The Frame, brands like TCL and Hisense are putting their spin on lifestyle TVs front and center in 2025.
The TCL Nxtframe and Hisense Canvas TV both aim to give your living room an elegant touch, offering thoughtful, portrait-like designs and libraries of displayable artwork.
With the rise in popularity of lifestyle TVs, these brands have begun to take these displays seriously. As mentioned, The Frame Pro will be arriving with wireless technology, and Samsung has even upgraded its display to a new, edge-based mini-LED lighting system, which delivers a much better picture than its non-Pro counterpart.
5. For gamers, 165Hz is the new 144Hz
It didn’t take long for 144Hz to lose its spot at the top, but the 165Hz native refresh rate has officially arrived. The upgraded spec won’t have much of an impact on console gamers’ experience (since all current-gen consoles max out at 4K/120Hz), but PC gamers planning on linking up to their next TV will get their shot.
Of the TVs announced so far, only the LG G5, the Samsung S95F OLED, the Hisense 116UX TriChroma LED TV and Samsung’s 8K QN990F can showcase 4K content at 165Hz. That said, I’m expecting more 165Hz TVs to be announced before the year’s done.
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