When Sony officially unveiled its 2026 TV range, there was plenty of disappointment that it didn’t include a new OLED model – much of it from me.

These days, Sony tends to work on two-year lifecycles for its TVs, so I wasn’t expecting a successor to last year’s Bravia 8 II; but a replacement for 2024’s Bravia 8 seemed a fairly safe bet – as did a successor to the A90K, which is now an incredible four years old.

The omission prompted some (again, mostly me) to theorise that Sony had in fact turned its back on OLED entirely, and that the Bravia 8 II could be the brand’s last OLED model.

Last month, though, we reported on rumours that Sony was bracing to launch a brand-new OLED TV. And now, those rumours have been all but confirmed by the appearance of this new OLED set on several of Sony’s own websites.

The listings, first spotted by High Def News (thanks, The Walkman Blog), confirm that the new OLED is indeed the Bravia 6. And, if the name wasn’t a big enough hint, the TV’s tagline – “OLED essentials, now within reach” – also confirms that this is indeed an entry-level OLED TV.

Naturally, I’m disappointed that Sony isn’t launching a new flagship OLED at this stage, but if the Bravia 6 is indeed Sony’s most affordable OLED TV yet, as the tagline suggests, that’s rather exciting news in its own right.

Full tech specs are currently absent from the live pages (another suggestion that they have gone live earlier than planned), but there are some nuggets of information to be gleaned.

First, the TV is listed in sizes ranging from 48 inches to 83 inches. That’s a broader range than Sony typically offers for its OLED TVs, but it’s also highly suggestive of the Bravia 6 using LG Display’s new OLED SE panel, which is available in exactly those sizes and notably not in 42 inches.

While it’s not confirmed, we believe this is the panel that is already found in the LG B6, a set we will be reviewing very soon.

Another encouraging detail is that the Bravia 6 sports four HDMI 2.1 sockets. Gamers (myself included) have long lamented Sony’s models being limited to just two HDMI 2.1 sockets, with that limitation even being true of the new flagship Bravia 9 II, so this is very good news.

The listing also confirms that Dolby Vision is supported on the video side, and that Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are present on the audio side.

Unsurprisingly, like every other modern Bravia TV, the Bravia 6 also features the Google TV platform, which can be operated via voice control (though it’s not clear whether this is via a microphone built into the remote control or the TV itself).

We do know the TV includes ambient sensors, with the listing promising automatic picture adjustments based on room conditions.

None of the leaked listings includes pricing, so we don’t yet have any indication of where the Bravia 6 will sit in Sony’s range.

We don’t even know, in fact, whether the Bravia 6 will even come to the UK. Sony has a recent habit of releasing some models in certain regions but not others.

If it does launch the new model in the UK, there’s no guarantee that it will do so in all sizes: I note that Sony Hong Kong is listing the Bravia 6 in 48-, 55- and 65-inch sizes, while Sony Gabon is listing the 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch sizes.

We have approached Sony UK for comment. We don’t expect the company to confirm the Bravia 6 ahead of an official announcement, but with multiple regional Sony websites now listing the TV, that announcement surely can’t be far away.

Stay tuned for more on the Sony Bravia 6 as we get it.

MORE:

These are the best TVs you can buy right now

Will the Bravia 6 be good enough and cheap enough to hit our list of the best cheap TVs?

Buying a new TV is a major investment.

As a massive home cinema fan, I know I'm in a privileged position; I’m constantly surrounded by the latest flagship OLEDs, and it’s easy to become desensitised to the huge prices that are attached.

That is why I always try to stay grounded when offering buying advice – especially during massive sales events like Black Friday and Prime Day.

Take the LG C5, for example. This Award-winning set was an absolute steal during recent sales, with the 55-inch model plummeting to £989; a massive £910 saving. But even at a heavy discount, it's still a serious chunk of change.

It's easy to get swept up in the hype, but if a new screen isn't in your budget right now, the endless onslaught of deals can be frustrating.

Fear not. If you're craving an upgrade but need to eke out the lifespan of your current display, I’ve got a few tips to tide you over. These simple, free adjustments – ranging from a bit of late Spring cleaning to a deep dive into your picture settings – can make your old TV feel almost brand new.

1. Update your software

First and foremost, you should head to the settings menu within your TV's operating system. Under "about", "system", or "support" (depending on your model of TV), you should see an option to initiate a software update.

There may also be an option to switch auto-updates on, which I would recommend doing to ensure your TV is always up to date.

While it's not always a miracle cure, a software update can help to fix sluggish software, and you might find that your TV suddenly has new features and an updated look, and apps may run smoother too.

2. Clear your apps cache

Another software-related tip that can help speed up a chugging operating system is to clear your TV's applications cache.

Usually found within the apps section of your TV's settings menu (I recommend consulting your TV's manual or searching the model number online to find the setting), clearing your apps cache will declutter unnecessary stored files, which should result in quicker loading times, prevent crashes, and even free up space in your TV's internal storage.

The best part is that you shouldn't be logged out of your apps, and any settings you've changed will also remain.

This is a quick, easy trick that not many people will think to do, but it can help fix those annoying app niggles.

3. Clean that screen

Here's one I'm guilty of not doing enough.

It's simple science: your TV generates static electricity during use, which attracts dust and fibre in the air. That dust build-up becomes more visible over time, which, unsurprisingly, can impact the picture performance of your TV.

Now, if you're anything like me, you'll only have noticed that your TV has gradually been building up dust when the light hits it just right, and then you'll be immediately horrified at how you haven't noticed this sooner.

But fret not! Simply turn off your TV, let it cool down for a short while if you've been using it (especially if it's an OLED, which tends to run especially hot), and then gently wipe the screen with a clean microfibre cloth to clean it, without damaging the screen.

If you want to take things further and wish to give your TV screen more of a deep clean, then you can invest in a screen cleaning kit. We're partial to this Screen Mom set in the TV testing room. Just be sure to spray the cleaner onto the cloth to avoid streaks.

4. Take another look at your picture settings

Diving back into the picture settings can make the TV you've been using for years feel brand new.

Trying out a new picture mode, or tweaking simple settings such as motion, can unearth improvements that you may not have known your TV is capable of.

If you've left your TV in the standard picture mode after unboxing it years ago, then now is the time to try out the movie mode, or delve into Filmmaker Mode (or, if you're using a Sony TV, the professional picture mode) for a more cinematic experience.

Tweaking the motion settings can help to smooth out judder, but if you have it turned up to the maximum setting, then you might find that turning it down will make your TV look much more natural.

Feel free to take a trial-and-error approach here to find the best settings to suit you; most, if not all, TVs we've tested feature an option in the settings menu to reset the picture settings to default if you get a little bit too creative.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best OLED TV

As well as the best cheap TVs

And read our full LG C6 65-inch OLED TV review

LG has launched its latest moveable screen display to deliver “a more flexible and enjoyable entertainment experience”.

That comes in the form of the rather clunkily named StanbyME 2 Max (does anyone else have Ben E. King stuck in their head now?), which expands on the first iteration five years after it came out.

The idea is to take the screen with you from room to room, as it features a detachable display that can be mounted on a wheeled stand. You can use it in either portrait or landscape mode, and you can use the screen-mirroring function with your phone.

The previous model was available in 27 inches; the new version bumps that up a little to 32 inches. This display supports up to 4K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision HDR.

There is also a built-in battery that offers up to 4.5 hours of use before needing to be plugged into the mains, so it should last for at least the runtime of Oppenheimer (and then the start of Barbie).

In terms of audio, there is Dolby Atmos support to provide “an enveloping soundscape with richer detail”. The system is also powered by LG’s Alpha 8 AI Processor Gen3, which uses AI to deliver a virtual 11.1.2-channel surround sound.

When not in use, it can display artwork from the LG Gallery+, which will possibly make it less of an eyesore.

We are still waiting on UK or Australian pricing, but it costs $1299 in the US (around £970 / AU$1870). That seems pretty steep for a 32-inch display, even if it can be wheeled around the house.

Whether it will be a practical portable addition to your home or just a bigger screen to doom scroll on remains to be seen, but we are certainly curious to find out.

MORE:

These are the best TVs

Check out the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Here is our LG C6 OLED TV review

I've been totally open about my love for the Sony Bravia 8 II. Not only is it the current What Hi-Fi? Awards TV of the year, it's also the TV I use at home.

Seeing as I've been reviewing TVs for almost 20 years, that hopefully says a lot.

The Bravia 8 II is also on sale right now, with the 65-inch version available for £2099 at Richer Sounds.

That's not the cheapest it's ever been (that would be £1979), but it's still a good price for what is an absolutely awesome TV.

If I were looking to buy a premium TV right now, though, it's the 65-inch LG C5 I would go for.

It's a step-down OLED rather than a flagship like the Bravia 8 II, but it's still an absolutely cracking all-rounder of a TV, and it's currently available for £1299 at Amazon.

That price difference is just too big to ignore.

In our review, we awarded the C5 five stars, praising it for delivering "excellent all-round performance" that punches well above its price.

It's one of those rare TVs that doesn't have any glaring weaknesses, making it an easy recommendation whether you're a movie buff, sports fan or gamer.

Picture quality is the obvious highlight. The C5 produces rich, vibrant colours without sacrificing authenticity, while its contrast is superb, delivering the deep blacks and bright highlights that OLED TVs are famous for.

It's also wonderfully sharp and detailed, with excellent motion handling that keeps everything from fast-paced football to blockbuster action films looking smooth and natural.

Gaming is another area where the LG excels. All four HDMI sockets support the full HDMI 2.1 specification, including 4K/165Hz, VRR and ALLM, making it one of the most comprehensively equipped gaming TVs around.

Now, let's be clear: the Sony Bravia 8 II is still the better TV. It's brighter, more vibrant and more refined, producing an even more cinematic and authentic picture. Its built-in sound system is also leagues ahead of the LG's, delivering audio that's fuller, weightier and more immersive than almost any other TV.

If money were no object, I'd still tell you to buy the Bravia 8 II.

But money almost always is an object. And when you're looking at an £800 price difference, the LG C5 becomes the smarter buy.

MORE:

Here are all of the best TVs and best TV deals available right now

And here are the best soundbars

Within the world of technology, there is often a misguided notion that newer always means better.

That is certainly true in the world of TV, especially with OLED sets. And OLED is a key tech on which readers, friends, family and random passers by often ask us for advice.

That has been especially true during this year’s Prime Day, when more than a couple of people have asked if there are any decent deals going on the two big-name flagship sets we recently reviewed – the five-star LG G6 and Samsung S99H.

If you’re dead to rights hellbent on one of them being your next TV, then I am pleased to report that, yes, there are deals running on both.

The best I have spotted is Richer Sounds’ deal on the 55-inch S99H. You can grab the 55-inch Samsung S99H for £2149 right now, if you use the TRADE250 code at checkout. You can then save a further £250 by claiming cashback from Samsung after purchase, letting you grab the cutting-edge set for £1899.

For the LG G6, numerous retailers, including Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds, have lopped £400 off the set’s original asking price, letting you grab one for £2099.

Both, in isolation, are pretty good deals, considering how recently the two TVs launched. But they’re not the TVs I, or any of the home cinema reviews team, would recommend right now.

Yes, they are top performers. The Samsung S99H in particular is a brilliant set that we describe as “the best Samsung has ever made”. We don’t give praise like that lightly.

The problem is that, even discounted, the S99H and G6 are expensive luxuries that are considerably pricier than a key rival, the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Our current Product of the Award winner, the Sony Bravia 8 II, is on sale at Richer Sounds for £1699, when you use the discount code, RSTV100, at checkout. That makes it £200 cheaper than the Samsung and £300 less than the LG.

Despite being older, the Bravia 8 II is still extremely competitive – we ran it against the G6 and S99H when we reviewed the new sets.

The upgrades offered by the S99H and G6 are limited to a smidge more peak-brightness here, a tad more colour-volume there. Even then, the Sony occasionally beats its newer rivals, offering a touch more dark detail and bit more finesse with its contrast in certain scenes. And that’s before we start talking about its better audio.

All of which helps to explain why we don’t tend to recommend buying the latest OLED TVs so soon after launch.

Year-on-year upgrades tend to be incremental (though there are exceptions to this rule). Still, TV makers launch new sets with incredibly high starting RRPs, just as the older models are plummeting in price.

And that’s the point we’re at with the S99H and G6. If you really want one of these sets rather than the older Bravia 8 II, we recommend waiting until later in the year, when the newer sets’ prices will almost certainly have dropped a little deeper. This usually happens in November, around Black Friday.

Until then, I strongly suggest looking at the much cheaper Sony Bravia 8 II. It represents significantly better value right now.

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs we have tested

We rank the best 55-inch TVs

Check out our Prime Day 2026 home cinema deals live hub

If you’re looking for a new OLED TV over Prime Day, you will be pleased to learn that the five-star LG C6 we christened “the firm’s finest step-down model to date” mere weeks ago has had its price slashed.

Right now you can grab a 55-inch LG C6 for £1427.98 at Amazon. That is a solid £371.02 saving on the TV’s launch price.

But, before you go rushing to grab one, I’d urge you to check out the even better deal I have spotted on the older LG C5. You can pick one up on Amazon for £906.09. That’s a solid £993.91 saving on its launch RRP and the best price we have seen for it.

Why pick the LG C5 when the C6 offers a performance upgrade? It’s a good question, especially when our reviewers reported:

“[The LG C6] is a big upgrade by C-series standards. We don’t typically get too excited about processor upgrades, but the Alpha 11 Gen 3 has forced a brighter and richer performance out of the same OLED EX panel technology, and improved upscaling and shading subtlety. The extra brightness and richness have benefits across the picture, resulting in a more enticing, dynamic and three-dimensional delivery.”

The answer comes down to another key metric we always factor into our buying advice: value for money.

Yes, the C6 offers improvements on the C5. But, having run the two head to head in our test rooms, we don’t think they currently justify the difference in price. £423 is a lot of money, especially during a cost of living crisis. Even if you do have the spare cash, we can think of a better investment that will fix both TVs’ biggest weakness: their middling audio.

Neither set offers good enough audio quality for a truly immersive home cinema experience. So, even if you do have the cash to buy the C6 right now, we still recommend investing in the LG C5 and then using the money you have saved to buy a decent Dolby Atmos soundbar.

If you pull the trigger now, the five-star Sony Bravia Theatre System 6 featured in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide is selling for £399 at Amazon (save £150) right now. It will match wonderfully with the LG C5.

That price will even leave you with enough cash to invest in a cold pint, or iced coffee, to help get through the heatwave…

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs we have reviewed

Check out our Prime Day 2026 home cinema deals live hub

Our picks of the best 55-inch TVs

If you want a satisfyingly cinematic or sporting experience at home, there really is no substitute for screen size.

The good news is that a big TV needn't cost big money. These days, 65-inch TVs go for much less money than you might imagine, and if you wait for a big sales event, your cash can go even further.

And it just so happens that we're right in the middle of a big sales event – Amazon Prime Day – and I've sifted through all of the deals to find three super-cheap 65-inch TVs that I can recommend as great buys.

• View all the Prime Day deals on Amazon

What do I know about it? I'm so glad you asked!

I've been testing TVs for almost 20 years now, so I know the good from the bad (and the ugly, for that matter). I've also been personally involved in every What Hi-Fi? TV review in probably the last 10 years – and that includes the reviews of the three models I'm recommending here.

Happy with those credentials? Excellent! Here are my three picks, ranked in order of quality.

1. TCL Q6C

Deal price UK: £529 at Amazon
Deal price US: n/a

If you're looking for the best-value 65-inch TV in the Prime Day sales, this is the one I'd buy.

The TCL Q6C impressed us so much in testing that we awarded it five stars and described it as "an absolute steal". That's high praise for any TV, but it's especially impressive when you're talking about a 65-inch set that's currently selling for well under £600.

What makes the Q6C stand out is that it brings technologies normally associated with much more expensive TVs down into the budget category. It uses a Mini LED backlight with local dimming, alongside Quantum Dot colour technology, and the result is a picture that's far more sophisticated than the price suggests.

In our review, we were particularly impressed by the TV's contrast and black-level performance. Dark scenes look surprisingly deep and convincing, while bright HDR highlights have real punch.

Colours are another strong point, delivering plenty of vibrancy and richness without tipping into the sort of exaggerated look that often plagues cheaper TVs.

It's also an excellent option for sport and gaming. Motion is handled confidently, helping fast-moving action stay clear and composed, while gamers get features such as 4K/144Hz support, VRR and low input lag.

No TV at this price is perfect, of course. The sound is merely decent rather than exceptional (something that can be rectified with one of the best budget soundbars), and you'll get the best results by spending a little time tweaking the picture settings. But those are minor caveats when the overall performance is this strong.

Simply put, if your budget stretches to the TCL Q6C, it's the best cheap 65-inch TV I've seen in the Prime Day sales.

2. Amazon Ember QLED

Deal price UK: £600 at Amazon
Deal price US: $710 at Amazon

The TCL Q6C is my top pick, but the Amazon Ember QLED isn't far behind, given its current Prime Day price.

In fact, one of my colleagues recently described the deal on this TV as "impossible to ignore", and it's easy to see why. Amazon has cut the price dramatically, turning what was already a solid mid-range TV into one of the most tempting bargains in the sales.

The Ember QLED is a significant step forward from Amazon's previous QLED efforts. It features a full-array backlight with 160 dimming zones and a panel that's considerably brighter than its predecessor, resulting in a picture that's sharper, punchier and more three-dimensional than you might expect at this sort of money.

During testing, we were particularly impressed by its detail levels and colour performance. Images look crisp and vibrant, while upscaling of lower-quality content is handled well enough that everyday broadcast TV remains enjoyable.

The TV also supports every major HDR format, including Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, so you're covered regardless of which streaming service you use.

Another advantage over many budget rivals is the sound. Built-in TV audio is rarely worth talking about, but the Ember QLED produces a fuller, clearer and more spacious presentation than most affordable sets manage.

Why isn't it above the TCL? Primarily because the Q6C's Mini LED backlight delivers superior black levels, contrast and gaming performance. The Amazon also tops out at 60Hz, making it less appealing to serious gamers.

Still, if you're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem or simply want a big, capable and easy-to-use 65-inch TV for as little money as possible, the Ember QLED is an excellent Prime Day buy.

3. Samsung U8000F

Deal price UK: £367 at Amazon
Deal price US: $400 at Samsung

The Samsung U8000F is the TV I recommend if your budget is as tight as possible.

At £367/$400 during Prime Day, it's substantially cheaper than both the TCL Q6C and Amazon Ember QLED, and that price difference is impossible to ignore. In fact, it's one of the least expensive big-brand 65-inch models you can buy.

Of course, some compromises are inevitable at this sort of money. Unlike the TCL and Amazon models above, the U8000F doesn't have a Mini LED or full-array backlight, and its picture isn't as bright or as impactful when displaying HDR content. Black levels are also less convincing, meaning movie nights won't have quite the same cinematic punch.

That said, Samsung has done a commendable job with the fundamentals. In our testing, we found the U8000F delivered a balanced, natural picture that avoids many of the exaggerated traits often seen on budget TVs. Colours are pleasingly authentic, detail levels are respectable, and standard-definition and HD content are handled particularly well.

Samsung's excellent Tizen smart platform is another big plus. It's packed with streaming apps, easy to navigate and generally feels more polished than many rival smart TV systems.

The biggest reason to choose the U8000F over the TVs above is simple: value. While the TCL Q6C is undoubtedly the better performer and the Ember QLED offers a more advanced specification, both cost considerably more. If spending £500-£600 on a TV still feels like a stretch, the Samsung gives you a huge screen from a trusted brand for comfortably under £400.

No, it's not the best TV in this list. But when price becomes the priority, the U8000F makes a very strong case for itself.

MORE:

Here are all of the best TVs and the best TV deals you can get right now

Don't forget the sound: here are the best budget soundbars

On Monday, I wrote about how tempted I was to buy the 42-inch LG C5, which had dropped to a record-low £649.

I already own what I consider to be the best OLED TV available – the awesome Sony Bravia 8 II – but, at that price, the C5 was well worth buying for use in my spare room, where it could perform gaming and work monitor duties, as well as the odd streaming binge.

But yesterday, I updated that story to point out that the price for the 42-inch had dropped to £623. The previous price that I had thought was unbeatable had been beaten.

And now, would you believe, it's been beaten again: the 42-inch LG C5 is down to just £611 at Amazon.

That's a nuts price for a TV this good.

At £611 from Amazon, the 42-inch LG C5 is one of those deals that feels almost too good to be true.

In our five-star review, we praised its wonderfully balanced OLED picture, excellent motion handling, natural colours and superb contrast, all of which combine to deliver a brilliantly engaging and authentic viewing experience.

It's also among the most comprehensively specified gaming TVs available, with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets supporting 4K/144Hz, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming.

The sound is fairly ordinary, but that's a common weakness among TVs at any price and one that's easily fixed with one of the best budget soundbars.

Everything else about the C5 feels premium, making this deal particularly impressive. At £611, you're getting a TV that performs like a flagship for little more than the price of many mid-range rivals.

MORE:

Here are all the best TVs you can buy right now

And here are all of the best Amazon Prime Day TV deals

Prime Day 2026 is finally here, and while it’s set to last a whole week, Amazon’s kicked the event off with a bang, offering a solid saving on one of the best Mini LED TVs money can buy.

You can grab the 55-inch Sony Bravia 7 Mini LED TV for £1099 at Amazon right now. That’s a £400 saving on its regular price and the cheapest we’ve ever seen it retail for.

And if, for whatever reason, you are dead against getting an OLED TV as your next set, it is a fantastic saving on a TV we openly describe as “a marvel”.

But, there is one issue, stopping us from wholly recommending it: you can get a Sony Bravia 8 OLED for only £100 more.

There are reasons you may want to pick the Bravia 7 over its OLED sibling – chief of which is its higher peak brightness, which makes it better if you plan to use it in a very bright room.

But for serious movie fans, the Bravia 8’s OLED panel makes it a better option for one key reason: its ability to deliver perfect blacks.

Yes, the Bravia 7 is very good by LCD standards, but it's still a backlit TV, which, as we’ve said many times before, means it can’t match an OLED's perfect black level. Put them head-to-head and the Bravia 8’s perfect blacks are immediately apparent and convey an added depth and level of contrast.

This isn’t a dig against the Bravia 7 specifically; it’s just a constant theme we’ve experienced when comparing Mini LED sets to OLEDs. But it’s especially true with the Bravia 8, which, despite coming out two years ago, remains a top performer in its class.

Highlights include wonderfully accurate colours and a general focus on consistency that helps it deliver a truly immersive home cinema experience. And that’s why, unless you really don’t want an OLED, we’d still recommend it over its Mini LED sibling.

MORE:

Prime Day 2026 Home Cinema Deals Live: all the top discounts our experts have spotted

These are the best TVs we've fully reviewed

Our picks of the best soundbars

We all love a bargain, which is why many of you may be looking for a stellar Prime Day deal on an LG C5.

And why not? The 42-inch LG C5, 48-inch LG C5 and 55-inch LG C5 all earned five-star ratings. The range also picked up not one, but three trophies during our latest What Hi-Fi? Awards.

And, while it has since been replaced by the five-star LG C6, having tested the two head-to-head in our viewing rooms, we can confirm the older C5 remains a very competitive performer and a valid option for any movie fan – especially when discounted.

At first glance, this is especially true right now, with pretty much every size of the LG C5 currently discounted. You can see a quick Cliff Notes of the best early Prime Day deals we’ve spotted on each below.

• Get the 42-inch LG C5 for £649 at Richer Sounds (save £750).
• Get the 48-inch LG C5 down to £759 at Richer Sounds (save £650)
• Get the 55-inch LG C5 down to £989 at Richer Sounds (save £910)
• Get the 65-inch LG C5 down to £1299 at Richer Sounds (save £1400)
• Get the 83-inch LG C5 down to £3052 at Richer Sounds (save £2480)

So, it’s a no-brainer, right? Time to click that magic checkout button and treat yourself to a shiny new OLED?

It would be all too easy to say yes, as those are solid prices on very good TVs. In fact, the 83-inch LG C5 deal is the best price we’ve seen on the giant OLED.

But, if you want my advice, I’d not pull the trigger yet, as I think the C5 will go down in price even further during Prime Day.

There are two simple reasons why. First, because while those are very good prices, outside of the 83-inch deal, we’ve seen all the other sizes slightly cheaper in the past. Not always by much, but £50 saved is a big deal for a lot of us right now, given the current cost of living crisis.

Second, because Prime Day tends to bring particularly impressive deals on C-series sets. Last year, we saw prices for the older C4 hit record lows across multiple sizes during Prime Day, and my instincts tell me the same will happen for the C5 this year.

Which is why, with Prime Day not even officially started, my advice right now is to wait and see what the actual event brings to the table. After all, you only have a few more hours to wait…

MORE:

Check out our Prime Day Home Cinema Deals Live Hub

We rank the best OLED TVs

Our picks of the best TVs money can buy

If you need a good TV, but are tight on cash, then there’s only one TV deal I’d recommend right now.

Specifically, Argos's current deal on the TCL C6KS. The deal lets you grab the Award-winning 50-inch TCL C6KS for £343 (save 20 per cent) when you use the TCLTV20 discount code at checkout.

Why this TV in particular, especially with Prime Day about to start at the stroke of midnight? Because it’s the best cheap TV money can buy, even at full price.

Offering a Mini LED panel, the set delivers the best performance we’ve experienced on a TV at its price. Delivering atypically high, but controlled peak and operating brightness levels, solid HDR support and a nicely balanced picture that punches well above its weight, you won’t find better set this cheap.

That’s why the TCL C6KS earned a five-star rating when we tested it and then went on to win the best budget 48-50in TV trophy at the 2025 What Hi-Fi? Awards.

It’s also why, even now, we stand by our verdict: “TCL’s latest ultra-affordable TV is even better than its specs suggest and fixes pretty much everything that was wrong with its predecessor. The price seems like it must be too good to be true – but it isn’t.”

Our only word of warning is that, as is always the case at this end of the market, there are some compromises. For gamers, its framerate is capped at 60Hz, so you won’t be able to run a current-generation games console or PC at full speed.

There is also some minor motion blur during particularly animated scenes. And finally, again, like all TVs at this price, its speakers are middling. You should budget for a soundbar if you don’t already have one, as a result. We’d recommend the Sony HT-SF150 / HT-S100F featured as the top budget option in our best soundbars guide, if you don’t currently have one.

MORE:

Prime Day 2026 Home Cinema Deals LIVE: all the top savings recommended by our experts

These are the best cheap TVs we’ve tested

We rank the best soundbars money can buy

Prime Day 2026 doesn’t technically start until midnight, but that hasn’t stopped retailers from dropping a load of awesome early OLED TV deals.

And of that list, one in particular stands out; the first significant saving we’ve spotted on the five-star Samsung S99H.

That’s right, despite it just launching and receiving a glowing review from our experts mere weeks ago, Richer Sounds has already cut a significant wedge off the 55-inch S99H’s asking price.

You can grab the 55-inch Samsung S99H for £2149 right now, if you use the TRADE250 code at checkout.

But the savings don't stop there. You can then save a further £250 by claiming cashback from Samsung. That lets you get a latest generation, flagship QD-OLED for £1899, which is undoubtedly a tempting proposition.

If you’ve read our S99H review, then you’ll likely at the very least be tempted to snap one up – and we get why. As our experts said in our review:

“With a stunning, contrast-rich picture, improved sound system and a feature set that blows most other TVs out of the water, the S99H is the flagship OLED to beat for 2026.”

And if you want the best new OLED TV currently available, and don’t mind paying for it, then this deal is easy to recommend.

But, for those not 100 per cent committed to buying the latest hardware, there is one minor fly in the ointment. Specifically, the Award-winning, 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 II is also currently discounted.

Head to Richer Sounds and you can grab our 2025 Product of the Year winner for £1699. Yes, that’s not the best price ever on the set, but it’s a solid saving on its £2499 launch price. It also makes it slightly cheaper than the Samsung.

Samsung’s latest flagship OLED TV is better in some ways. Running the two sets head-to-head this year, the S99H is a smidgeon brighter and offers minor upgrades in some of the areas we are about. But it is still a very close race between the two.

Which is why we currently think the Bravia 8 II is better value for most people. Only serious performance chasers who insist on only buying the latest hardware will be better off spending that much extra for the S99H.

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These are the best OLED TVs we've reviewed

We rank the best TVs money can buy

I am a very lucky guy: the best TV I've ever tested (and I've been reviewing TVs for 19 years) is also now the TV I use at home.

That TV is the Sony Bravia 8 II, and it really is as awesome to live with as I had expected.

• View all the Prime Day deals

Why, then, am I eyeing up another TV in the Amazon Prime Day sales?

Two reasons: I'd love to add an OLED to my spare room for gaming, and this deal is just too exceptional to pass up.

£623 at Amazon is just unbelievable for a TV this good, and it takes it from a super-premium option that would have to be your main TV, to a good price to pay for a second room TV.

My plan for this 42-inch OLED is to use it as a gaming TV and a monitor for work.

Its gaming specs are impeccable: four HDMI 2.1 sockets that all fully support 4K/144Hz, 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM; a superbly implemented HGIG mode for super-accurate HDR in games; and a Dolby Vision gaming mode.

It's great as a monitor, too, with neat, user-created software available that enables monitor-style features such as auto-wake.

Even if you've no interest in gaming or productivity, though, the 42-inch C5 is awesome for TV shows and movies, with a really balanced and authentic performance that makes full use of OLED's perfect blacks and pixel-level contrast control.

Other than the limp sound (which I recommend solving with one of the best budget soundbars), this TV is great at everything it does, and I think it's just irresistible at this price.

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And here are all of the best Amazon Prime Day TV deals

Unless you're living under a particularly isolated rock, you'll know that the World Cup is currently causing a global outbreak of football fever.

That’s certainly the case in my household. My housemates are footy enthusiasts who demand that we tune in for all of the matches that are being played at "sensible" times – thankfully, that hasn't included those 2 AM kickoffs as of yet.

This means my TV and Sky Stream box have been working overtime, a trend I expect to continue for the rest of the tournament. But there's an unexpected joy to owning a top-notch TV (in my case, a Sony OLED): my friends suddenly care about picture quality

Usually, I'm met with eye rolls when I bring up resolutions and HDR formats, but the World Cup has miraculously changed all of that. As soon as I switch the TV on, I'm reminded to "put it on BBC iPlayer because it's showing the matches in 4K". This, of course, doesn't apply to the games shown on ITV.

I happily oblige for most games, and for the most part, I've been pretty impressed by the 4K streams from BBC iPlayer. Generally speaking, the games have looked really sharp, and colours pop nicely.

In fact, I'm watching the Czechia vs. South Africa game in 4K as I type this, and visually, it's an absolute treat.

Why, then, will I absolutely refuse to watch any of the England games in 4K? I'm so glad you asked.

The problem is the broadcast delay.

BBC iPlayer reportedly has a delay of around 30 to 40 seconds, while Sky Stream has a similar 35 to 40-second delay compared to Freeview's 8 to 10-second delay (these figures tally with some real-world testing we've just done for this feature on World Cup broadcast lag, by the way).

In real-world terms, this led to a few goal spoilers during the recent England vs. Croatia match, thanks to cheering from my surrounding neighbours before the goals even registered on my TV.

There is, thankfully, a solution. Sky has implemented three new "Real Time" channels in tandem with the World Cup.

These new versions of BBC One HD, ITV1 HD, and ITV4 HD reportedly slash latency by 22 seconds – not perfect, but much closer to Freeview.

However, Sky seems to have been fairly modest with that figure; our testing found that the latency compared to Freeview could drop to as low as five seconds

The tradeoff, of course, is resolution. These channels are capped at regular HD, and you can feel the drop after watching in 4K on iPlayer. Even so, it's a compromise I'm willing to make for England's game on Tuesday.

Thankfully, when I quizzed my housemate on whether he's willing to drop 4K to avoid spoilers, he also felt that the loss of visual fidelity was worth the tradeoff.

While sacrificing 4K in this instance is a shame, I'm ultimately chalking this up as a worthwhile learning experience. My flatmates now appreciate 4K more than ever before; now I just need to expose them to the wonders of 4K Blu-ray...

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Check out our picks for the best TVs

As well as our full Sky Stream review

I’m obsessed with broadcast delays (no, I’m not much fun at parties).

It all stems from Euro 2020, when my insistence on watching every match in 4K via BBC iPlayer resulted in several goals being spoiled by cheers from my neighbours and the revellers at a pub down the road.

Since then, I've prioritised low latency over outright picture quality when choosing how to watch major sporting events.

But I'd never actually tested the accepted wisdom around broadcast delays. So, with Sky launching its new Real Time feature for Sky Glass and Sky Stream, I decided it was time to find out which viewing method is actually fastest.

So, there I was, on a sweaty Thursday evening, setting up a second TV in my living room so that I could compare different broadcast options during the Czechia v South Africa match.

I needed to remove as many variables as possible, of course, so my two TVs needed to be identical. I therefore borrowed a 65-inch Sony Bravia 8 II OLED to match the one currently in situ in my lounge.

After ensuring that both TVs were running the same software and had the same picture settings, I plugged my now rarely used aerial into the ‘new’ TV (the one on the right in all of the photos sprinkled throughout this piece) and set about comparing that with the alternatives at my disposal.

This is what I discovered.

Freeview (aerial) vs BBC iPlayer

Before I get started, it’s worth noting that everything is delayed.

It simply takes time for anything that's filmed live to make it through all of the broadcast equipment, be encoded and transmitted, travel to and from satellites in space or through underground fibre-optic cables, and finally be decoded and displayed by your TV.

It’s commonly accepted, though, that watching the signals received by your aerial via a Freeview tuner is the least delayed option available. The BBC itself says that it takes 7-8 seconds for something happening live to reach your TV via this method.

So, how much slower was iPlayer than the TV playing Freeview? A hefty 23 seconds. That’s plenty of time for a goal to be spoiled by cheers from the neighbours.

Interestingly, I found no meaningful difference between BBC iPlayer's HD and UHD streams. If you're watching via iPlayer anyway, choosing the 4K feed doesn't appear to add any extra delay.

I also tested the iPlayer app on several devices – the Bravia 8 II itself, a Sky Stream box, and an Apple TV 4K – and the result was always 23 seconds, there or thereabouts.

It’s worth remembering that BBC iPlayer is the only way to watch the World Cup in 4K, and the feeds look terrific, but when immediacy matters, such as when England are playing, foregoing pixels for promptness is the sensible way to go.

Sky Stream/Glass

Time for Sky Stream, and the good news is that this was indeed quicker than BBC iPlayer. The bad news? It was still around 18 seconds behind Freeview.

That’s better, of course, but still more than enough time for a goal to be spoiled.

But, as I mentioned earlier, Sky has a special feature up its sleeve for dealing with this…

Sky Real Time

That feature is Real Time, which is designed to massively reduce the amount of lag experienced during big sporting events.

Sky has rolled Real Time out just in time for the World Cup, and it’s available on the BBC HD, ITV1 HD and ITV4 HD.

It’s worth noting that it’s not turned on by default. Once you tune in to one of the channels mentioned above during a World Cup match, you then need to click the ‘Real Time’ button that appears on the screen. Do that, and you’ll be switched to a special ‘RT’ version of the channel.

So, how much faster is Real Time? A whopping 13 seconds faster than standard Sky Stream, which makes it just five seconds slower than the Freeview tuner.

That’s close enough, I think, to rarely be an issue.

Conclusions, caveats and Sky Q

You’ve probably spotted that there’s a significant absentee from my testing, Sky Q, and there’s an easy explanation for that – I no longer have a satellite dish.

However, Sky has previously told me that Real Time brings Sky Stream/Glass to within three seconds of Sky Q, and the results of my testing certainly suggest that's plausible.

It’s also worth noting that there are plenty of variables that mean your results might vary slightly from mine. Aerial connections and Freeview tuners are remarkably consistent, but network conditions are not. Broadband speeds, router performance, wi-fi quality and even the streaming device itself can all affect how quickly a live stream reaches your screen.

Still, if you want to see how all of these various viewing methods compared, delay-wise, for me, here’s a little graph I whipped up:

Broadcast / reception delay

Here's how long, in seconds, it takes each broadcast type to show you a goal that's just been scored

Delay

Live

0

Freeview (aerial)

8

Sky Q (satellite)

10

Sky Glass/Stream with Real Time

13

Sky Glass/Stream without Real Time

26

BBC iPlayer

31

010203040

Delay Data

Product	Value
Live	0
Freeview (aerial)	8
Sky Q (satellite)	10
Sky Glass/Stream with Real Time	13
Sky Glass/Stream without Real Time	26
BBC iPlayer	31

This is according to my testing – bear in mind that your mileage may vary.

So, is Sky Real Time the saviour of sports fans tired of hearing celebrations before they see the goal?

Not quite. My tests suggest that a good old-fashioned aerial is still the quickest way to watch live TV, and Sky Q via satellite probably remains a touch faster too.

But Sky's new mode narrows the gap dramatically. Instead of lagging tens of seconds behind the live action, Sky Stream and Sky Glass are now close enough to traditional broadcast TV that, in most homes, they're unlikely to be the reason a goal gets spoiled.

For years, choosing streaming TV meant accepting that everyone else would see the goal first. Thanks to Real Time, that trade-off is finally starting to disappear.

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It has been just shy of a year since HDMI 2.2 was announced, and now we have our first real piece of evidence that we could see TVs equipped with the new connectivity upgrade as soon as next year.

The successor to HDMI 2.1 introduces a wide range of upgrades, including support for 8K at 60Hz and 4K at up to 240Hz.

It does this by expanding bandwidth support to up to 96Gbps – that is, double the 48Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1. It should be noted that there are actually three versions of HDMI 2.2, including a 64 Gbps tier and an 80 Gbps tier.

It’s currently unclear if these lower tiers will support the same functionality as the 96Gbps version.

While it has been rather quiet on the HDMI 2.2 front since we reported on its announcement, it seems as though the tech is primed to launch next year, and 2027 TVs could be the first to sport the new port.

Charbax of ARMdevices.net (via FlatPanelsHD) reports that “the latency indication protocol is already appearing in certified products, while chip manufacturers are sampling FRL-2 (Fixed Rate Link 2) silicon this year in anticipation of 96 Gbps hardware releases next year.”

During a press briefing held by the CEO and president of the HDMI Licensing Administrator, Rob Tobias, it was also confirmed that “we should start to see some 96, or up to 96Gbps HDMI 2.2 products next year”, and that upgraded cables that will support the higher bandwidth cables should be launching “in this quarter, or next quarter”.

The types of devices that will sport HDMI 2.2 connectivity next year haven’t been confirmed yet, though we would be surprised if high-end TVs weren’t prioritised. We could also see it come to AV receivers, projectors and games consoles.

In some ways, it feels as though 2026 has been a milestone year for HDMI 2.1, as more TV companies than ever before are supporting four full-bandwidth sockets on their TVs.

Hisense and Philips both feature TVs with four HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TVs this year, while Samsung and LG have offered this functionality for roughly nine years.

Only time will tell whether these manufacturers will go all-in on HDMI 2.2 in the same way, or if some companies will continue to play catch-up by offering only a select number of high-bandwidth ports on their 2027 TVs.

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Everything you need to know about HDMI 2.2

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Sony has added Direct Connect support to more of its TVs, including multiple Award-winning OLED sets.

The Japanese AV brand originally launched its Direct Connect feature with its duo of new True RGB TVs, the Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II.

The feature lets users connect a pair of the brand's latest Rear 9 or Rear 8 surround speakers and a compatible subwoofer directly to their TV. Compatible subwoofer models include the Sub 7, Sub 8 or Sub 9

The feature uses the TV's speakers as the centre, left and right channels, with the connected speakers providing surround sound and low-end support.

While it launched as an exclusive feature for the 2026 range, Sony has updated a selection of TVs from 2023, 2024 and 2025 to support the wireless surround sound feature. The list of included models is as follows:

• A95L (2023)
• Bravia 9 (2024)
• Bravia 8 II (2025)
• Bravia 8 (2024)
• Bravia 7 (2024)
• Bravia 5 (2025)

We're especially pleased to see the A95L featured here, as while we praised its built-in sound system in our review, we also reported: "we rather wish Sony gave you the option to add a subwoofer directly to the A95L, as that would make it even more formidable".

Job done, thanks to this update. Unfortunately, the Award-winning A80L misses the cut, as do other premium Sony sets from 2023, including the X95L and X90L.

While it may sound similar to LG's new Dolby Atmos Sound Suite range, Sony's system works slightly differently. Direct Connect does not use Dolby Atmos Flex Connect, and a maximum of two speakers and one subwoofer can be connected. LG's system allows for multiple sets of speakers to be paired directly with the TV.

Furthermore, Sony intends for users to place the speakers behind or adjacent to the listening position to create a surround sound effect, rather than using them as dedicated front left and right channels.

The update is rolling out now in Europe and the US, and it brings Sony's My Cinema interface, which collects the picture and sound features into a new-looking user interface, to the models mentioned above.

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As well as the best OLED TVs

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Can you believe that there was a time when Samsung didn’t feature a single OLED TV in its range? That all changed in 2022, when it put its spin on OLED by adding a layer of Quantum Dots and launched the excellent S95B QD-OLED TV.

Five years later, the brand is now reaping the benefits of the self-emissive panel technology. It now makes some of the finest OLED TVs around – take the five-star S95F and S90F duo from last year – and its 2026 lineup features more OLED TVs than ever before.

Of course, Samsung was never going to celebrate half a decade of OLED success without taking things up a notch, which is why it has introduced a new, rather unusual flagship model that takes inspiration from one of the brand's other most successful models.

That new flagship OLED is the S99H, a premium QD-OLED TV that oozes style and sophistication, thanks at least in part to its aesthetic similarities to the wildly successful, design-led The Frame LCD range.

Here, though, those smart good looks have been blended with the core abilities of the excellent S95F – with a generous helping of performance upgrades for good measure.

The result? A showstopping OLED TV that blends style and substance, and one that we think could dethrone the current reigning champion of our best OLED TV list: the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Price

We have the 55-inch Samsung S99H before us today, and it’s officially priced at £2499, though in true Samsung fashion, that launch pricing hasn’t stuck around for long. We’re already seeing a £100 decrease across all sizes, which puts the 65-inch version at £3199, the 77-inch model at £4199, and the 83-inch size at £5999.

Now, we need to clear something up regarding model numbers for different regions.

In the US and Australia, Samsung is calling this model the S95H. Despite the different name, it is an identical TV. In these regions, you’ll find the 55-inch S95H for $2500 / AU$3999, the 65-inch S95H for $3400 / AU$5299, the 77-inch S95H for $4500 / AU$7999, and the 83-inch S95H for $6500 / AU$9995.

That's not the end of the story, though. To confuse things even more, Samsung is selling a model under the S95H name here in the UK, too, but it’s a different TV. From what we gather, it is the same TV as the S99H, but without the metal frame-style design. In fact, it looks identical to last year’s S95F.

So, to reiterate, the S99H we're testing here is known as the S95H in the US and Australia, but that is not the same as the UK's S95H TV. Yes, we have given some constructive feedback to Samsung on all of this.

Got all that? Then let's consider the S99H's competition, which primarily comes in the form of Sony’s awesome, Award-winning Bravia 8 II, the 55-inch version of which, after around a year on sale, now costs around £1799 / $2600 / AU$3995. That makes it significantly cheaper than the S99H in the UK, but there's rough pricing parity between the two TVs in the US and Australia.

There’s also the 55-inch LG G6 to consider, which appears to be widely discounted to £1840 here in the UK, but is so far sticking to its $2500 / AU$3995 launch price in the US and Australia, respectively.

Design

We’re confident in saying that this is one of the most unusual-looking TVs to enter our AV testing room.

Samsung clearly took inspiration from its hugely popular The Frame TV when it came to designing the S99H, and while this television’s looks won’t be to everyone’s taste, we’re just pleased to see a TV company that’s willing to push the boat out when it comes to design.

The S99H features a two-layer design, with an OLED screen section mounted onto a slightly larger metal backplate, with a roughly 2cm gap between. Samsung calls this its “FloatLayer” design.

It’s hard to describe, but the effect it gives is essentially a floating OLED panel surrounded by a premium metal frame. Much like LG’s G-series, this TV is designed to be wall-mounted, and while we can’t do that in our testing room, we have seen it wall-mounted at various hands-on events leading up to launch.

In short, the S99H looks like a work of art when it's fixed to a wall, as the floating design becomes really quite striking and effective. Despite the two-layer design, the overall depth is just 2.8cm, which also helps to sell the futuristic look that Samsung is going for.

Unfortunately, the TV doesn’t look quite as suave when it’s set up in its tabletop configuration. Samsung includes two quite cheap-feeling plastic feet with the TV that feel somewhat at odds with the rest of the premium design, and the metal bezel and floating design look less convincing when it's not attached to a wall.

Samsung also includes two remotes in the box: a “traditional” button-heavy number, and a sleeker “smart” remote. The latter includes both a USB-C socket and a small solar panel on the back for easy recharging, though it’s frustratingly not backlit. Then again, neither are the remotes included with the aforementioned Sony or LG TVs, so we can’t knock Samsung too much here.

Features

Samsung’s penchant for cramming (almost) every imaginable feature into its TVs is, once again, evident with the S99H.

We’ll start with the QD-OLED display, which Samsung has managed to squeeze even more brightness out of since we last saw it on the S95F. It can now reportedly reach a whopping 2700 nits in the Movie picture mode, and as you’ll come to find out in the picture section of this review, there are plenty of instances in which we find ourselves being taken aback by how bright this TV can get.

Samsung has also improved its Glare Free coating this year, making it more effective at combating reflections and glare from ambient light. The matte display also makes artwork from Samsung’s Art Mode feature look more realistic for those who want a TV that blends into its surroundings.

In usual Samsung fashion, HDR support comes in the form of HDR10+ (including the Adaptive and Gaming versions), HDR10 and HLG, but not Dolby Vision.

Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, HDR10+ Advanced, is also supported by the S99H. Unfortunately, no content is available in the new format yet, and we don't have a date for its arrival. Amazon is said to be working on adding it to Prime Video in the not too distant future, though.

Hardcore PC gamers will be pleased to learn that the S99H can handle signals right up to 4K/165Hz, as well as the console-friendly 4K/120Hz format, across all four of its HDMI 2.1 sockets. VRR, ALLM and HDR10+ Gaming are also all supported.

All of the connections are built into a side-facing nook in the rear of the TV, which is a departure from the One Connect box that has come with Samsung’s previous flagship OLED TVs.

One Connect does live on, though, and in a quite remarkable way: Samsung is offering an optional Wireless One Connect accessory, which is set to launch in July for £299 / $350 (AU price TBC).

This features four HDMI sockets, and because it connects to the S99H wirelessly, it takes the total HDMI 2.1 socket count to a staggering eight. That’s enough to support all three of the current-generation consoles, a gaming PC, a 4K Blu-ray player, a soundbar or AVR, and a streaming device, and you’d still have one spare.

The S99H also supports Dolby Atmos, both via HDMI eARC and through its built-in 4.2.2-channel 70W sound system.

Samsung offers two simplistic sound modes, Standard and Amplify, but there is also a range of Samsung-specific sound processing features based on its Vision AI platform, including Object Tracking Sound Plus, Active Voice Amplifier Pro, Adaptive Sound Pro, and AI Sound Controller Pro; all of which are fairly self-explanatory.

Q Symphony also returns. This allows you to use the TV’s speakers in unison with those of a connected Samsung soundbar, but it should be approached with caution – we generally find that a good soundbar performs best when the less capable speakers of a TV don't get involved.

AI also steps in to help with picture processing, as Samsung has implemented its 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro features, alongside a Real Depth Enhancer contrast enhancement system and Colour Booster Pro.

On the subject of AI, Samsung has applied its “AI for All” mantra in swathes here, as the S99H is positively dripping in artificial intelligence, right down to the AI button on the remote.

A click of this button brings up Samsung’s Vision AI interface, which can recognise on-screen content and provide extra contextual information. This includes related content, cast information and prompts to find out more detailed information about the show or movie.

Scrolling from this page brings us to a more generalised AI interface, from which Samsung allows you to pick your preferred system. Here you can ask for recipes, generate AI wallpapers, or ask general questions. The sky is, hypothetically, the limit.

This is all made possible by the same NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor found in last year’s S95F, as well as Samsung’s Tizen OS platform. The operating system has had a fairly comprehensive refresh for 2026, with a new content bar at the top that splits your apps into categories including entertainment, gaming and art, and the operation feels generally slicker.

App coverage is mostly excellent, with a wide range of international and domestic streaming applications. Currently, the only missing app is BBC iPlayer; we’ve reached out to Samsung, which says that it expects to add iPlayer support soon.

Samsung TV Plus, which features hundreds of free over-the-internet streaming channels, is also included, and gamers are well looked after thanks to the presence of apps for services such as Xbox, Amazon Luna, and Nvidia GeForce Now.

Picture quality

It’s clear that Samsung has been working to tweak and adjust its picture processing over the years in the pursuit of achieving that final pinch of picture quality excellence, and the S99H is evidence that its work has paid off. This is Samsung’s most mature TV yet, and it’s all the better for that.

We opt for Filmmaker Mode as our preferred picture preset, albeit with a couple of tweaks to get the best performance possible: we switch Colour Temperature from its Warm 2 default to Warm 1, and turn the judder and blur reduction settings up to 1.

The resulting picture is extraordinary, and it makes any content we throw at it – from Blade Runner 2049, Civil War, Pan and Drive, to No Time To Die and The Batman – shine. We have the S99F set up next to the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and despite the tough competition, the Samsung delivers an unflinching visual feast.

Starting with the opening scene of Blade Runner 2049, we find that the S99H serves up oodles of contrast, which results in a deeply three-dimensional picture with superb highlights.

The overhead shot of the solar farm instantly draws us in, thanks to the superb detail levels mixed with the excellent sense of depth. We also approve of how the S99H handles the gloomy, bluish-grey sky, as well as the skin tones of Officer K and Sapper Morton.

In fact, the S99H makes the Sony Bravia 8 II look a bit green in our head-to-head comparison, and skin tones start to look a bit pasty, too. Sony TVs have traditionally leaned towards the cooler side when it comes to colour reproduction, even in Filmmaker Mode, but it’s interesting to see these TVs take a different approach, particularly as they use the same panel technology.

This is most evident in the scene from Pan in which the floating pirate ship enters a cavern; the Samsung runs rings around the Sony when it comes to maintaining low-light colour volume. Skin tones are noticeably warmer and more vibrant on the Samsung in this instance. That being said, the Sony is evidently better at maintaining shadow detail.

In fact, some shadow detail is lost entirely on the S99H, especially during dark sequences in moodier flicks such as Drive and The Batman. In both films, we find facial features and clothing textures occasionally succumb to darkness, while the Sony has no trouble keeping them visible.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung takes the crown when it comes to delivering dazzlingly bright highlights; in fact, we’re adding the S99H to the list of TVs that we’ve had to shield our eyes from physically.

Reverting to the exceptionally bright (and critically dismal) Pan, we find the mix of punchy, concentrated highlights and rich colours stealing our attention away from the Sony entirely.

However, the more conventional-looking Civil War is the perfect test disc to highlight exactly what this TV does well. Everything from the night-time forest fire sequence to a helicopter gliding over a lake and the Charlottesville military camp looks fantastic.

There’s a real sense of nuance here that previous Samsung TVs haven’t always been able to capture. Foliage, for example, is wonderfully textured and detailed without looking over-etched, and while the colours do seem a smidge over-saturated compared with those from the Bravia 8 II, it's not to an extent that looks instinctively wrong.

The sequence that shows the journalists driving through a forest fire seals the deal here. The mix of detail, depth and contrast served up by the S99H is remarkable – the striking, bright flames contrast wonderfully with the dark background, and there is a real sense of intensity and warmth derived from how Samsung's OLED handles highlights.

We fire up the standard Blu-ray of Logan to assess the S99H’s upscaling capabilities, and it's a similar story here, too. Detail levels are superb, and if we weren’t so eagle-eyed, the S99H could almost have fooled us into thinking we were watching a 4K disc.

Colours are also nicely balanced, and motion remains solid, too. This TV excels regardless of what you throw at it.

Sound

It’s not just the picture performance that Samsung has improved. Sound has also been upgraded, which is a good sign after the S95F’s middling delivery.

We stick with Civil War, which highlights everything from dialogue to explosions, and even Dolby Atmos height effects. The rhythmic swooping of helicopter blades is delivered with a strong leading edge, underpinned by a pleasingly controlled dose of bass.

Moving on to the scene in which Lee and Jessie have a heart-to-heart conversation in a wooded area, we approve of how the S99H captures the subtle characteristics of their voices well, and overall, the dialogue is crisp and well-defined. The atmospheric effects, including birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind, sound pleasingly spacious, too.

There is plenty of height and width to the sound, which is also evident in Blade Runner 2049. The sequence in which Officer K returns to his home from the police precinct is another example of how the S99H captures atmospheric sounds to great effect.

The booming audio adverts are placed with impressive precision and plenty of height, while the S99H somehow manages to beam the sound of the bustling street in a way that creates a fairly convincing sense of immersion.

While we’re on the subject of Blade Runner, we put the S99H through our usual chapter two stress test and find that Samsung has changed its approach. Where many of the brand's previous models have been quite bassy but a little prone to distortion, the S99H digs less deep but proves to be almost entirely distortion-free.

Sony takes a similar approach with the Bravia 8 II (and many other of its TVs), and we ultimately find it to be a sensible compromise. We would of course like more bass weight, but if that has to be sacrificed somewhat to reduce distracting distortion, then so be it.

It’s not all good news on the sonic front, though: like the S95F, the S99H simply doesn't go very loud. Even close to its maximum volume levels, this is an easy TV to talk over. The Amplify setting helps to negate this somewhat, but it does result in some dynamic compression.

The Sony Bravia 8 II also does a better job of organising the sound during scenes with lots of competing effects. The ending battle of Civil War is a perfect example, as the Sony balances dialogue, explosions, and vehicle sounds with care to create a more impactful and immersive soundscape.

With all that said, the S99H is still a big improvement over the S95F where sound is concerned, and it's ultimately a very usable (and even enjoyable) built-in sound system.

Verdict

There’s no other way of putting it; Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the S99H.

With a refined approach to picture tuning, a feature set that (with one key caveat) many TVs can only dream of, and a greatly improved sound system compared with last year’s model, the company’s latest flagship OLED TV takes the title from the S95F as the best TV the company has made to date.

The bold new design might not suit all tastes, and die-hard Dolby Vision fans may be disappointed, but we’re struggling to find reasons not to recommend the Samsung S99H to anyone considering splashing some serious cash on a flagship OLED TV.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia 8 II

Also consider the LG G6

Read our Philips OLED910 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

A TV is a long-term investment, but that doesn't mean you can't buy one especially for the World Cup. If you do that, though, there are some things you should be aware of; watching sport on a TV is not like watching movies or TV shows. You’ll need a set that is up to the task.

Which is where we come in. We have listed which features to look out for on a new TV (along with which models excel in those areas) to make sure you’re seeing – and hearing – the beautiful game at its best.

Motion handling

If your TV makes football players look like the Tin Man in need of some oil, it’s time for an upgrade. What you need is buttery smooth motion but without veering into soap opera effect territory. It’s a fine balance, and not one that all TVs can manage.

Our pick: Sony has long been the king of motion handling, and the Sony Bravia 8 II is one of the current industry leaders. Its lightning quick response time means sporting action is free from smearing or judder, so football players move how they should. Of course, it helps that this is an all-round excellent TV in other areas as well.

Colour accuracy

There’s a lot more to a TV’s colours than just telling the red team from the blue team. Great colour accuracy will render skin tones more faithfully, heightening the sense of realism and making the game more immersive. You want colours to be bright, sure – but not overly so. Otherwise the players will start to look like characters in an arcade video game. Or worse, fade into the background next to the gaudy advertising and on-screen chyrons.

Our pick: The Sony Bravia 5 is one of the more affordable TVs on this list, but delivers a stunning colour performance. The Standard preset gives you “a beautiful mix of punchiness, shading subtlety and balance, with no tone standing out unnaturally against the rest,” we wrote in our review. “Colours also do what some rival TVs can’t by retaining high levels of saturation in very dark scenes.” Perfect for the big game.

Brightness

While some World Cup games don’t kick off until 2 or 3am UK time, some start as early as 8pm, when it’s still very much daylight. So you want a TV with enough brightness so that you can still make out what’s going on in these early matches.

But it’s a fine balance to strike. Some of those neon goalkeepers’ shirts and bright enough without the TV making them look like highlighter pens running around the pitch.

Our pick: The Samsung QN90F might be a backlit set, but its local dimming system is so advanced there is virtually no haloing around bright objects, which is a cup-worthy achievement. And bright highlights retain a ton of detail – essential if you’re watching in bright conditions, or with someone who insists on keeping the big light on.

Sound

If you want really atmospheric sound, we would always recommend buying one of the best soundbars, or even one of the best surround sound systems. But if you can't spend the extra, then certain TVs can sound surprisingly good.

So what should you look for? An audio performance that brings the stadium home, of course. But that’s not all. Some of Samsung’s 2026 TVs feature an AI Football Mode, and while it might sound like a gimmick, it could prove useful – as well as sharpening up the picture, it should make the commentary clearer. Though we haven’t tested it for ourselves, so we can’t confirm how well it works.

Our pick: The Philips OLED910 is probably the best-sounding TV around right now. Its Bowers & Wilkins sound system delivers accurate placement, heaps of detail and impressive weight (for a TV, that is). Dynamics are impressive too, though that will really be felt when you watch a movie after the final whistle has blown.

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If you have a smart TV that is getting into old age, you may find that your everyday navigation is becoming slower and slower. Even if the picture still looks great, having to wait for apps to load in order to watch your latest obsession can get quite tedious. You may not want to upgrade to a newer model, whether that's because you are on a budget or simply aren't ready to let go.

But don't worry, because we have a few tricks that will hopefully get your TV running a little faster. Much of this is good practice, even if your TV is spritely and new.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

Get rid of unused apps and clear your cache

This is a great start to get your TV running a little faster, and it takes a matter of minutes.

A cache is a temporary storage area where data is kept for quick access, and it stores information from apps, websites and system processes to help them load faster when you turn the TV on. But if it gets too full, this can delay your system's processing and lead to buffering and lag.

To clear your cache, go to the settings menu and navigate to Apps or Storage. From there, you will be able to select individual apps and clear the cache on each.

You can also remove any unused apps on your TV to help speed up your experience. Still have that streaming platform downloaded that you haven't used in months? Get it out the way to get the most from your system.

Keep the firmware up to date

Getting a notification for an update may seem like a pesky pop-up, but outdated firmware can really slow down your TV. If your model still receives updates, it's best to install them as they fix bugs, add new features and improve overall performance.

You will be able to run these installations by going into the settings menu, and finding the option that says System Updates or something similar. The wording varies by brand, but it should be relatively straightforward to locate.

Give it a few minutes to do its magic, and your TV will hopefully run a little smoother.

If your TV is more than a few years old, it may no longer receive the latest updates. That's where the next option might be the best option.

Add a streaming stick

It costs a bit of extra cash, but adding a streaming stick or box to your set-up is the fastest way to give your old smart TV a facelift. You can simply plug your streaming device into the TV's HDMI port, and it will take over all the streaming functions.

This then gives you access to a range of streaming services that your old TV's platform may no longer offer. That includes Netflix, Disney+ Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.

There is a wide selection of models to choose from, and we have found the cream of the crop in our best streaming devices guide. Our top recommendation comes with the Award-winning Apple TV 4K, which we rated highly for its excellent picture and expressive sound. You can currently pick it up for about £149 / $149 / AU$219.

If you are looking for a budget option, then our top pick is the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd gen). This five-star streaming stick is available for £70 / $60 / AU$120. The even cheaper Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is also on the cards, costing £35 / $35 (around AU$67). We have not reviewed this model yet but, if it's performance is anything like its more expensive sibling, then it should be a great upgrade.

Connect via Ethernet

Another reason your TV might be running slow is an issue with your wi-fi. If your TV is on the older side, then it may be running outdated wi-fi hardware that cannot reach the highest router speeds. That often leads to slow loading time and buffering which quickly becomes tedious.

Connecting an Ethernet cable from your router to your TV can speed this up, though. While using wi-fi is the more convenient option thanks to its wireless nature, using Ethernet is more reliable because of its direct connectivity.

You might well have a suitable Ethernet cable knocking around in your house already, but they are readily available to buy if you need to add one to your collection.

Re-organise your home screen

If none of that has helped, you can also maximise the efficiency of your home screen by making your most-used apps easier to access. Instead of scrolling through reams of apps and having to put up with buffering, you can pin your favourite ones to the home screen so you can get to them in a few clicks.

The way to do this differs by brand. Some require you to long-hold the app and pin it from there, or you may have to venture into the settings menu.

It can also help make your TV's home screen feel more personalised, creating a more modern overall look.

MORE:

These are the best streaming devices

Here are the best TVs

And check out the best budget soundbars on the market

There’s a war going on for your living room. The premium TV technology of choice of the last few years – OLED – is under attack from a new, stunningly bright and vibrant foe – RGB Mini LED.

Every major brand has either launched its first RGB Mini LED TVs or is about to. Hisense launched its first RGB Mini LED models last year, in fact, but those were gigantic, 100+ inch sets, so a long way from a serious proposition for most people.

Hisense is also the first brand to submit to us a proper, mainstream RGB Mini LED TV to review, though – the UR9.

RGB Mini LED TVs are pitched at different levels by different brands, but Hisense is absolutely pitching the UR9 as a rival to flagship OLEDs. The price confirms as much.

So, what better way to benchmark it than against our current favourite flagship OLED, the Sony Bravia 8 II.

That, then, is what we’ve done. Over several days, we’ve tested the Hisense UR9 and Sony Bravia 8 II side by side, feeding all of our favourite discs and streams into both simultaneously, and judging them on picture quality, sound quality, features, usability, design and price.

This might not be a full RGB Mini LED vs OLED battle – the Hisense UR9 doesn’t represent all RGB Mini LED TVs, after all – but it is the opening skirmish in the broader TV tech war. And it's an eye-opening one at that.

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: price

The Hisense UR9’s pricing is interesting to say the least. In the UK, the 65-inch model we tested is priced at £2999, which places it in the same price category as brand-new flagship OLEDs.

In Australia, meanwhile, the UR9’s price of AU$3999 makes it slightly more affordable by local standards.

In the US, though, the pre-launch price of $3500 had dropped vastly to just $2000 by the time the TV actually hit stores.

Things are much more straightforward with the Sony Bravia 8 II, the 65-inch version of which launched at £2999 / $4000 / AU$5295, but can now be bought for £2299 / $2798 / AU$4995.

The inconsistent international pricing of the Hisense UR9 makes it a little tricky to judge this round, but seeing as we’re a primarily UK publication, and that we reviewed a UK sample, we’re going to prioritise the UK pricing and call this it in favour of the Bravia 8 II.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: design

The Sony Bravia 8 II and Hisense UR9 are both smart-looking TVs, but they take rather different approaches to design.

Sony has essentially carried over the styling of the A95L, resulting in a TV that looks purposeful, premium and monolithic. While it lacks the ultra-thin glamour of some rival OLEDs, the Bravia 8 II still feels like a flagship product, with its clean lines and understated aesthetic giving it a suitably high-end appearance.

The feet can be installed in either a low-profile position that leaves the bottom edge of the screen sitting just millimetres above your furniture, or a raised position that creates space for a soundbar. The downside is that those feet can only be positioned at the furthest extremes of the chassis, meaning you'll need furniture that's at least as wide as the TV itself.

The Hisense UR9 is a more practical proposition. At 4.5cm thick, it's chunkier than the Sony and doesn't have quite the same premium flair, but it is solidly built and neatly finished, with slim bezels and a restrained dark metallic finish.

Hisense has also made a couple of sensible usability-focused decisions. The centrally mounted pedestal stand occupies a footprint of only around 42cm, making the TV much easier to place on narrower furniture, and it too offers two height positions so that a soundbar can be accommodated beneath the screen.

The UR9's integrated Devialet sound system is more visually obvious than Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ setup, with perforations running down the sides of the chassis and across the top edge to house the side- and up-firing speakers. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does contribute to the TV's more functional, engineering-led appearance.

Ultimately, neither of these TVs is likely to be bought primarily for its styling, but the Bravia 8 II's cleaner, more premium design gives it the edge. The UR9 is practical and perfectly attractive in its own right, but it lacks the sense of sophistication that Sony's flagship delivers.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: features

The biggest difference between these two TVs is, of course, their panel technologies.

The Sony Bravia 8 II uses Samsung Display's latest QD-OLED panel, paired with Sony's XR processor and a custom heatsink. Because OLED technology is self-emissive, every pixel can be controlled independently, with no need for local dimming zones.

Sony doesn't publish specific brightness figures for its TVs, but the Bravia 8 II is estimated to hit around 1900 nits in small highlights, making it one of the brightest OLED TVs currently available.

The Hisense UR9, meanwhile, uses an RGB Mini LED backlight with 980 local dimming zones. Rather than relying on a conventional white backlight shining through colour filters, it uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. Hisense claims a peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we tested.

On paper, then, these TVs take radically different approaches to creating their images. We're not going to award points for one technology over the other here, though, because what ultimately matters is how those technologies perform in practice. We'll get to that in the picture quality section.

There are other differences in the feature sets of the two TVs worth highlighting, though.

Hardcore gamers are generally better served by the Hisense. All three of its HDMI sockets are full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, with support for 4K/170Hz, 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. It also features a DisplayPort connection, which remains extremely rare on TVs and could prove useful for committed PC gamers.

The Sony supports 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, too, but still offers only two HDMI 2.1 sockets, one of which doubles as the eARC connection. That limitation remains one of our biggest frustrations with Sony's flagship TVs.

That said, we'd probably take the Sony's two HDMI 2.1 sockets and two additional standard HDMI inputs over the Hisense's three HDMI sockets and DisplayPort arrangement. The latter will be useful to a niche audience, but many buyers are more likely to benefit from having an extra ‘standard’ HDMI connection available.

HDR support favours the Hisense, though. The UR9 supports every major HDR format currently in use, including HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The Bravia 8 II supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, but, as is customary for Sony TVs, HDR10+ is absent.

The Bravia 8 II fights back with Google TV, which remains one of the stronger smart TV platforms available and features excellent app support. The UR9's VIDAA operating system is fast and responsive, but there are some notable omissions.

Most significantly, while the Apple TV app is present, it lacks access to the Apple TV Store and users' purchased libraries. That's a genuine disappointment, as Apple's movie store remains the best pay-as-you-go film streaming service available, particularly for 4K HDR movies.

Sony also offers IMAX Enhanced certification, its Studio Calibrated Modes for services such as Netflix and Prime Video, and Sony Pictures Core integration.

Ultimately, neither TV completely dominates on features, but the Hisense's broader HDR support, extra HDMI 2.1 socket and more advanced gaming specification give it the edge overall.

WINNER: Hisense UR9

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: picture quality

This is, of course, the section that really matters.

The Hisense UR9 makes an immediately strong impression. Once switched into either Filmmaker Mode or IMAX Cinema, it produces a rich, vibrant and remarkably composed image that rarely behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the UR9 is how well controlled its RGB Mini LED backlight is. Throughout our testing, blooming is kept impressively in check, black levels are consistently strong and the TV almost entirely avoids the brightness pumping, flickering and shifting backlight behaviour that often gives Mini LED technology away.

Extra-bright HDR content is a particular strength. Movies such as Pan look spectacular on the UR9, with dazzling highlights and bold colours that comfortably outgun the Bravia 8 II for outright brightness. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off fantasy scenery is delivered with real punch and intensity.

The UR9 is also a very accomplished motion performer, and it combines its brightness with rich colours, excellent shadow detail and a pleasingly cinematic warmth that stops the image from ever becoming gaudy or overblown.

In isolation, it's one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Direct comparison with the Bravia 8 II reveals why OLED remains the reference technology, though – at least for now.

Despite its impressive brightness and excellent local dimming, the Hisense simply can't match the Sony's pixel-level contrast control. Counterintuitively, some of the brightest highlights against the darkest backgrounds actually appear more impactful on the Bravia 8 II than on the much brighter Hisense, because the OLED can render them without any concern about blooming.

More significantly, the Sony produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within shadows, clouds and highlights appear more convincing and refined.

We've observed this extra solidity from OLED many times before, but the side-by-side comparison between these two TVs demonstrates it particularly clearly. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the UR9 simply looks a little flatter and less immersive.

The Sony also has the advantage when it comes to viewing angles. While the Hisense holds up better than many LCD-based rivals, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is still relatively narrow. Thanks to its OLED panel, the Bravia 8 II performs consistently from almost any angle.

And while blooming is rare on the UR9, it isn't entirely absent. Difficult scenes such as the bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer or the opening starfield of Alien: Romulus reveal imperfections that even this highly accomplished RGB Mini LED set cannot completely escape.

The Bravia 8 II, meanwhile, is simply sensational. Its combination of dazzling brightness by OLED standards, vibrant colours, exceptional shadow detail and razor-sharp definition creates an image of astonishing depth and realism.

What impresses most isn't any single strength, but how naturally all of its strengths come together. The Bravia 8 II consistently delivers a picture that feels balanced, authentic and effortlessly cinematic, whether you're watching a pristine 4K Dolby Vision disc or a much more humble SDR stream.

The Hisense UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED can get surprisingly close to flagship OLED performance, and many viewers will adore its combination of brightness, richness and stability. But when viewed side by side, the Bravia 8 II remains the more complete and convincing picture performer.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: sound quality

Both the Sony Bravia 8 II and Hisense UR9 are unusually sonically accomplished by modern TV standards.

That's important, because while we always recommend pairing a premium TV with a dedicated sound system, for many buyers that’s either impractical or unpalatable.

The Hisense UR9 certainly doesn't disappoint. Its Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel sound system delivers a presentation that is impressively spacious and full-bodied, with particularly convincing width and height effects.

Dolby Atmos soundtracks benefit from a strong sense of scale, while bass is deeper and more substantial than most flatscreen TVs can manage. The overall character is smooth, rich and easy to listen to over extended viewing sessions.

The UR9's audio system isn't flawless, though. Dynamics can feel a little restrained during big action sequences, and dialogue doesn't always have the clarity and expressiveness we'd ideally like.

We also found ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode over the more expansive Theatre setting. While Theatre mode undoubtedly sounds bigger, it can introduce a slightly diffuse and faintly echoey quality to voices that makes dialogue seem less natural than it should.

The Sony Bravia 8 II takes a very different approach. Rather than relying on conventional speaker placement, its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system uses actuators to vibrate the screen itself, effectively turning the display into a speaker.

The result is one of the most cohesive and convincing audio performances we've heard from a TV.

Dialogue and effects are tied directly to the action on screen in a way that traditional TV speaker systems struggle to replicate, creating a stronger sense that sound is genuinely coming from the people and objects you're watching.

Like the Hisense, the Sony also sounds surprisingly spacious, with effects extending well beyond the edges of the screen. Detail levels are excellent, too, and the Bravia 8 II combines subtle dynamic nuance with enough punch to make action scenes engaging and exciting.

Bass depth isn't as generous as it is from the Hisense, but it's impressively controlled, and the overall tonal balance is exceptionally well judged.

Ultimately, these are two of the best-sounding TVs you can currently buy. The Hisense delivers scale, warmth and impressive Atmos effects, but the Sony's superior detail, greater dynamic expression and uniquely direct delivery give it the edge.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: verdict

The Hisense UR9 is a hugely important TV.

Not only is it the first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV we've fully reviewed, it's also the first serious attempt to take on flagship OLEDs with a fundamentally different display technology.

And the good news for RGB Mini LED fans is that, in some ways at least, it succeeds.

The UR9 is bright, vibrant and impressively refined. More importantly, it avoids many of the traditional pitfalls of backlit TVs, with excellent black levels, impressively restrained blooming and a consistency that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

In several respects, it's one of the best backlit TVs we've ever tested.

But while the UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED is a genuinely exciting technology with enormous potential, it also demonstrates just how high the bar currently is at the top end of the OLED market.

Ultimately, picture quality remains the most important factor in any TV buying decision, and it's here that the Sony Bravia 8 II retains a clear advantage. The Hisense has the stronger gaming specification, broader HDR support and spectacular brightness, but the Sony's superior contrast control, greater three-dimensionality and more natural, cinematic image make it the more accomplished performer overall.

This isn't a verdict on RGB Mini LED versus OLED as technologies, and it certainly isn't the last battle in what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting periods in TV tech for years.

Instead, it’s the verdict on the very best OLED TV currently available versus the first mainstream RGB Mini LED model. And while the Hisense UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED is ready to compete with the very best, the Sony Bravia 8 II remains the TV to beat.

OVERALL WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Here at What Hi-Fi?, we're no size snob. We review TVs of all shapes and sizes, operating purely on a performance-per-pound metric.

Usually, we're big proponents of getting the best-quality TV you can, and not getting swayed by big-screen bargains based on the size alone.

However, for an event such as the World Cup there are arguments to use your hard-earned budget to opt for size over quality – especially if you're hosting a watch party.

So where's the line? Can sheer size and spectacle make up for any shortcomings? Is it really worth the upgrade to OLED if it's on a small screen? Let's break down the pros and cons.

Size: the arguments for

Gigantic affordable TVs have been around for quite a while now, but it's only recently that they've actually started to become rather good. Case in point is the 70-inch Sharp GK4245K, which can be picked up for £420 and received four stars, or the monster 98-inch TCL 98C7K, which is now under £2000 and so impressive it won a What Hi-Fi? Award.

The benefits of a big screen are pretty self-explanatory. It brings the big-screen cinematic experience home and can help make your viewing experience more immersive. If you're lucky enough to own a very large living room and your sofa is far away, then an oversized TV becomes almost necessary – see our guide to TV sizes and calculating the right viewing distance.

A larger TV is, of course, preferable if you're having a World Cup viewing party, so everyone can see – as well as for bragging rights, of course.

Size: the arguments against

Giant TVs will, of course, require a giant amount of space, which can make installation and placement difficult, and may very well lead to the TV dominating your living room. If you can't sit far enough away, then eye strain is a very worrying possibility, and you'll also have to contend with higher energy bills.

Unless you're sufficently well off to afford the steep price increase that comes with mega-sized OLEDs, you'll likely have an LCD or Mini LED display taking over your living room instead. Now these panels are capable of producing some amazing pictures, but they do have their drawbacks compared to OLED, such as halo and blooming effects, slower response times and sub-par black levels.

All of these will be magnified on a bigger screen, especially with lower-resolution content.

Quality: the arguments for

If you want the best quality TV possible, you're still going to want an OLED (though there is a looming threat from RGB Mini LED). Our current benchmark TV, for example, is the Sony Bravia 8 II, a Quantum Dot OLED that delivers sizzling brightness, vibrant colours and terrific shadow detail.

Thanks to its pixel-level light control, OLED has several advantages that other panel technologies can't quite recreate – namely, perfect blacks, excellent contrast and thinner designs.

The faster response time will make them a great choice for sports in particular, as motion blur will be reduced, while the wider viewing angles will make them a great choice for viewing parties, especially if guests will be watching from the side.

Quality: the arguments against

The main downside of OLED is that it's currently more expensive than most other display types. So yes, those stretching to OLED might have to settle for a smaller screen size, when they could buy a much bigger LCD or Mini LED with the same budget.

OLEDs also struggle to go as bright as LCDs – though sets such as the LG G5 are bringing the technology to new levels of brightness – so a good Mini LED might be a better choice for a sunlit room. OLEDs also typically have a shorter lifespan than LCD alternatives as the organic materials degrade over time.

Size vs quality: verdict

So, should you go for size or picture quality for your World Cup TV?

The smart money says go for quality – if you can afford an OLED, then it offers a myriad of advantages that other panel technologies just cannot replicate, and will benefit your movies, games and other activities long after the World Cup has finished. OLED prices have also come down quite a bit over the last decade, with some rather reasonable prices for sizes up to 65 inches.

That being said, the best TV will depend on your budget, room size, desired features and several other factors. If you want to go for spectacle and go as big as your budget allows, that's absolutely fine – just make sure that any giant TV is good value, and not just cheap.

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Since news broke that TCL is taking a stake in Sony’s home entertainment business, there have been a lot of questions about the Japanese giant’s plans for OLED.

After all, TCL has famously championed Mini LED as a superior technology, even at the top end of the market, so it may not be keen on Sony continuing to push its rival format.

The Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II, which Sony unveiled mere weeks ago, are both set to use new True RGB panel technology, not OLED.

So there is some evidence that Sony may partially agree with TCL and doesn’t see OLED as its future.

We, however, don’t fully agree that Mini LED is always the better option. For us, OLED is still the top dog – at least when it comes to picture quality – based on our testing.

There is something about OLED’s pixel-level light control and the resulting perfect blacks that no LED set, Mini, RGB, or otherwise, has been able to beat.

Sony is a key reason we continue to push OLED sets in our recommendations, with our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, openly describing our current Product of the Year, the Sony Bravia 8 II OLED, as the best TV he has ever tested, period.

Which is why the team and I were delighted when FlatPanelsHD spotted a new leak, suggesting Sony is not only about to unveil new sets with the panel tech, but that they will also serve a currently underserved part of the market: small, affordable OLEDs.

The leak occurred when a (now removed) listing on Sony’s website for a new Bravia 6 OLED TV appeared.

This hasn’t been confirmed yet, so we are still firmly in rumour territory (we have contacted Sony for comment), but the details in the listing paint a pretty picture.

First, because the listing shows the range will feature a 48-inch size option.

Second, because the alleged use of MediaTek's Pentonic 800 chipset means it will have four HDMI 2.1 ports. That’s great news for people with multiple current-generation consoles and a Dolby Atmos soundbar, all of which require the advanced HDMI connectivity to run at full speed.

Third and finally, because the report suggests the Bravia 6 will feature one of LG’s new OLED SE panels, which are designed for cheaper OLEDs.

We haven’t yet reviewed any TVs sporting that particular panel technology, so we can’t speculate on screen quality, but the potential is certainly exciting.

Regular readers know that we have long lamented the ongoing lack of good, cheap, smaller OLED TVs on the market.

Only a select few companies offer 48- and 42-inch OLED sets. And those we have reviewed and recommend tend to sit in the mid-tier, so can’t really be described as cheap. Even on sale, you’re looking at around £850 / $850.

Right now, with Panasonic’s Award-winning 48-inch Z90B out of stock, there are only two real options to choose from: the 48-inch LG C5 and the 48-inch Samsung S90F.

Editor's note: There are 48- and 42-inch options in the cheaper LG B-series and Samsung S85-series, but we haven’t been able to review them, so we can't recommend them.

Having another contender appear from a known OLED maker, then – and one that offers all three of the things we want – is undeniably positive.

If it does appear and delivers the Award-winning, balanced performance for which Sony OLEDs have become famous in recent years, it could well be the cheap OLED we’ve been waiting for.

So, here’s hoping it’s true, and we get a 48-inch Bravia 6 into our review rooms in the not too distant future.

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We rank the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Our picks of the best Mini LED TVs

If you thought Sony was done revealing new TVs after its latest Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II announcements, then think again.

After an OLED-less lineup left us wondering if we'll ever see a new OLED from the company again, there is a glimmer of hope thanks to a leaked listing that mentions a new model – but it's not what we were expecting.

According to a post on AVS Forum (via FlatPanelsHD), Sony will launch the Bravia 6 later this year, and it is a step-down OLED that's set to compete with the LG B6 and Samsung S85H.

The Award-winning duo of OLEDs in Sony's current TV lineup, the Bravia 8 and Bravia 8 II, will remain on sale for the foreseeable future, with the Bravia 6 expected to sit lower in the lineup. In fact, it is looking like Sony will position this below its new Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II RGB Mini LED models.

Screen sizes are rumoured to range from 48 to 83 inches. Sony is also expected to use the A60 model number for this set.

Specific model numbers have leaked with corresponding screen size indicators, such as K-48A60 for the 48-inch model.

The post on AVS Forum also claims that Sony will use MediaTek Pentonic 800 chipset, which is the same one found on the new Bravia 3 II.

This should delight gaming fans, as the Bravia 6 will reportedly be the first Sony OLED TV to feature four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets.

The mid-range chipset and the name of this TV suggest the TV will sit in the middle of Sony's current range, which gives us a hint towards the panel technology it could use.

We expect it to feature LG Display's OLED SE panel, which has been specifically designed and tailored to entry-level OLED TVs, such as the Samsung and LG we've mentioned above.

The launch of a new "small" OLED TV could also signal the end for one of the longest-running TVs on the market.

The Sony A90K, which launched in 42-inch and 48-inch screen size options back in 2022, might finally be replaced by this supposed Bravia 6. Is this the end of an era?

For those wondering where this leak originated, we'll have to direct you to Sony itself. The Bravia 6 was explicitly mentioned on a wall-mounting compatibility page from Sony's very own website; you can find the webpage here, but all traces of the Bravia 6 have been completely scrubbed from existence.

Ultimately, we have to take all leaks with a pinch of salt, and nothing is set in stone until Sony confirms the Bravia 6's existence.

We've reached out to Sony for official comment...

MORE:

Read our full Sony Bravia 8 review

As well as our LG C6 review

And check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

The World Cup kicks off in less than a week, and we bet that plenty of people are making some last-minute upgrades to their set-ups, including splurging on a new TV.

TV shipments are up six per cent year on year, according to global technology market research firm Omdia, and while we hope that everyone buying a new set is consulting our carefully curated list of the best TVs, the likelihood is that there is a fair amount of impulse purchasing happening.

We don’t judge here, and we understand that many people will walk into a shop and pick the biggest and cheapest 4K TV that you can get, but we urge you to take stock before swiping your card and calling it a day.

The World Cup is running for just over a month, but your TV will last a whole lot longer; maybe not for life, but multiple TV manufacturers tell us that the average person replaces their TV every seven years.

With that in mind, I have devised a simple three-question system that anyone primed to make an impulse purchase this weekend should ask themselves.

Question 1: is this TV good value?

A cheap 4K TV is one thing; a good value 4K TV is something else completely.

Yes, we are seeing the likes of Hisense and TCL line shelves with super-affordable 4K sets, and some of them are truly great TVs – take the Award-winning, sub-£400 TCL C6KS, for example. But some of these super cheap sets can cut corners.

Panel technology becomes more basic at this level. That’s fine for those who want to catch the game, but for cinephiles who appreciate films as much as they do footy, you might want to consider looking up towards the mid-range Mini LED models at least.

Picture processing also tends to be more pared back at this level, too. Motion and upscaling are two processing factors to be mindful of – the former to accommodate fast-moving players springing across the pitch, while the latter can deal with sharpening up standard-resolution feeds from terrestrial broadcast channels.

Gaming specification also takes a hit here, with very few TVs at this level offering HDMI 2.1 support. While they are not entirely barebones, you can expect to miss out on high-framerate console gaming at 4K, and some budget 4K sets sport fewer HDMI sockets overall.

While opting for an affordable 4K set is by no means a bad decision, you also have to remember that you will be using this TV for plenty of years to come, so future-proofing is always advisable.

If you’re looking for TVs that tread the line of cheap and good value, you should check out our list of the best cheap TVs for some inspiration.

Question 2: will it stand the test of time?

Nearly every TV we see these days features a smart platform. Google TV is used by TCL and Philips, Tizen OS is featured on Samsung, webOS is on LG TVs, and Hisense uses its Vidaa platform on its sets.

Not all operating systems are made equal, and updates and app support can vary greatly between brands. While we are seeing decent coverage of the major streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, we have seen some worrying gaps.

BBC iPlayer, for example, is missing on Philips’s current suite of TVs, which is quite an issue when we take into account that a considerable number of World Cup matches will be streamed free on BBC iPlayer.

Longevity is also, once again, something to be mindful of. Notably, Samsung and LG have both committed to supporting their respective TVs with seven years of software support.

If you want a TV that lasts, and you rely on built-in streaming apps, then we recommend going for a TV from one of these brands, or instead investing in an external streaming device.

Question 3: am I leaving room in my budget for a soundbar?

Our advice to anyone buying a new TV is to budget for a soundbar to pair with it.

TV sound, unless you’re looking at the upper-echelon of OLED TVs that feature speaker systems tuned by notable hi-fi brands, is almost always a let down.

And if you’re preparing to listen to commentators for hours on end, the last thing you want is a built-in sound system that is thin, tinny, and fatiguing on the ears.

A good soundbar doesn’t have to cost the Earth. Take the Sony HT-SF150, which delivers a solid cinematic sound experience for less than £100; or the Award-winning Hisense AX5125H, which includes Dolby Atmos support, surround speakers and a subwoofer for under £200.

While a good sound system will undoubtedly give you a more authentic experience during the matches (think of audiences chanting and cheering), you will also find a range of benefits, including a better audio experience when it comes to music and movies.

MORE:

Here are the ultimate World Cup tech deals

Check out our picks for the best budget soundbars

As well as the best OLED TVs

Chinese brand Haier is launching its latest range of affordable TVs, all boasting 4K resolution.

The new release is being led by the flagship S90 series, which the brand claims will combine “dynamic visuals, immersive audio with ultra-reactive gaming experience”.

This “immersive audio” comes in the form of Dolby Atmos support, delivering “three-dimensional and cinematic audio quality”. The two 10W speakers are employing technology from British hi-fi brand KEF as well.

The S90 uses QLED panel technology with AI picture optimisation, with Haier saying this results in “rich tones and smooth colour transitions”.

In terms of physical connectivity, you will find four HDMI ports, with one supporting eARC. We assume that means the TV can handle 4K/120Hz signals, given its 240Hz DLG feature, but when we asked a Haier representative for confirmation, they couldn’t provide a clear answer.

Haier is also launching the entry-level K85 and the mid-range S80 models. These step-down TVs do not have Dolby Atmos, but they do offer Dolby Audio for “clearer voices and more balanced sound”. The S80 features a QLED panel, like the S90, while the K85 uses a 4K LED backlight.

All of the TVs come with Freely built-in. That gives you access to streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 and ITVX in the UK. Fire TV acts as the smart platform for all the models, offering access to Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Each range offers slightly different sizing options. The S90 goes from 55- to 85-inches, with the latter being the biggest screen size across all the models. The K85 is available in 43- to 65-inch sizes, and the S80 from 43- to 75-inches.

If you want to get your hands on the 65-inch S90, it will set you back £580. That is certainly aiming at the affordable end of the market, so Haier has TCL firmly in its sights. The S90 is up against the likes of the TCL Q6C, which launched at £649 for the 65-inch model. When we had the TCL set in our test room earlier this year, we praised its excellent picture quality and gaming performance which meant we awarded it a five-star rating.

We are yet to see how the flagship Haier model compares, but its affordable price tag and comprehensive smart platform could spell trouble for the current market leaders.

MORE:

Check out our TCL Q6C review

These are the best budget TVs

And here are the best budget soundbars

There’s a new HDR format in town to challenge Dolby Vision and HDR10+’s dominance; but there’s a catch that TV fans should be mindful of.

The HDR10+ Alliance – which, as the name suggests, is responsible for the HDR10+ format we see on countless TVs, projectors and smartphones – has announced Eclipsa Video, with support from two of the biggest technology companies, and one of the biggest media corporations, in the world.

The open-source video format is based on SMPTE 2094-50, a video specification recently developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Experts from Apple, Google and NBCUniversal are working to bring this new HDR standard into the mainstream.

Apple has been a keen advocate for Dolby’s picture and audio formats for quite some time, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is the first service to support Dolby Vision 2. So seeing these companies working on an alternative format is something of a surprise. Opposing HDR formats have, nevertheless, lived in harmony on Philips, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL TVs in the past.

And if that “Eclipsa” name sounds familiar, you may already be aware of Eclipsa Audio. This immersive sound technology is based on the Immersive Audio Model and Format (IAMF) standard developed by Google and Samsung.

Details on exactly what Eclipsa Video will bring to the table are slim as yet, but the HDR10+ Alliance claims that it will ensure “highest-quality video on compatible smartphones and next-generation devices”.

And there is the catch we mentioned earlier: this new video format will be hitting smartphones first, with the first supported devices expected to launch later this year. Other device categories are expected to follow, but there is no specific information as to if and when Eclipsa Video will make its way to TVs.

The good news is that Eclipsa Video doesn’t seem to be replacing HDR10+, and the statement released by the HDR10+ Alliance seems to suggest it will even work alongside it.

It says that “Eclipsa Video seamlessly integrates with the broadly supported HDR10+ standard” and that devices that support it can carry the “Eclipsa Video powered by HDR10+” branding.

With that in mind, it seems as though Dolby Vision and HDR10+ can both breathe a sigh of relief for now, although we’re keeping a close eye on Eclipsa Video to see where it goes next.

MORE:

I had a sneak peek at the future of HDR10+, and I think Samsung’s Dolby Vision 2 rival has a bright future ahead

Dolby Vision 2 vs Dolby Vision 2 Max

Check out our picks for the best smartphones for music and movies

Sony has just announced its two new “True RGB” TVs for 2026, and it should come as no surprise that I am rather excited to test them out.

The Japanese giant has delivered a slew of superb TVs since its most recent Bravia relaunch in 2024. The Bravia 8 and Bravia 8 II are two OLED TVs that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a premium, cinematic TV; and the Bravia 7 and Bravia 5 are both superb mid-range options that don’t compromise on picture quality.

While the Bravia 9 wasn’t perfect, it hinted towards Sony’s future ambitions, and in many ways it showed some serious promise. With its successor, the Bravia 9 II (and its step-down sibling, the Bravia 7 II) now official, things are all clicking into place.

Well, almost everything…

While I haven’t seen these TVs in action yet – my fellow What Hi-Fi? Team AV members have been lucky enough to, and you can check out their Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II hands-on reviews here – there is one hiccup on the spec sheets for both TVs. And it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow.

Once again, there is only a limited number of HDMI 2.1 sockets. Both the Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II sport just two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets, and one of these has to double as the eARC socket.

This means that if you have a Dolby Atmos soundbar without HDMI 2.1 passthrough (such as the Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra) and more than one of the latest gaming consoles (and/or a gaming PC), then you’re going to need to make some performance sacrifices with at least one of them; namely, 4K/120Hz support with VRR.

Sony hopes that you’ll be using one of its home theatre sound systems with your Bravia TV, most of which (but not all) feature HDMI 2.1 passthrough support, which does negate this issue.

But with LG and Samsung offering four full-bandwidth sockets for nearly seven years, and now Philips and Hisense offering an equal number on their premium 2026 TVs, it’s becoming harder to justify Sony’s exclusion.

Especially when we remember that this is one of the biggest names in gaming. Sony’s own PlayStation 5 continues to dominate this generation of console gaming, and while there are some Sony TV-specific features you can unlock by connecting the PS5 with a Bravia TV, we still think it is best paired with an LG C-series OLED.

To give Sony some credit, the Bravia 9 II and 7 II have clearly been in development for quite some time; our TV and AV Editor, Tom Parsons, first saw an early prototype of Sony’s True RGB TVs back in early 2025, and I followed up with a behind-closed-doors demo at IFA 2025.

Sony told us that it was already too far into development using the existing flagship MediaTek chipset (we presume this to mean the Pentonic 1000 or 900) to switch to the newer Pentonic 800, which Philips and Hisense are using on their respective flagship TVs this year, to achieve the full suite of HDMI 2.1 sockets.

That being said, Sony has been outfitting its TVs with just two HDMI 2.1 sockets for quite some time now; the A80L sitting in my living room, which is more than three years old, only has two full-bandwidth ports.

Ironically, if you want a Sony TV with four HDMI 2.1 sockets, you’ll have to look far past the new True RGB range and opt for the Bravia 3 II, which leans towards the budget end of things with its direct-lit, global dimming LED display.

While it’s not a dealbreaker – certainly for most consumers – and I’m still very keen to see how these new True RGB TVs will perform, Sony’s gaming stumble is hard to ignore.

We’ll be sure to test how the Bravia 9 II and 7 II interact with a PS5 during our testing, so keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming reviews coming soon.

MORE:

Read our Sony Bravia 9 II hands-on review

As well as our LG C6 65-inch review

And check out our picks for the best TVs

The Sony Bravia 9 II might be the most trailed TV in history. I originally saw it in prototype form – before it even had a name – in Sony’s Tokyo HQ in February last year, and I wrote about how impressive it was a short time later.

I then saw it again in March this year, but I had to sit on that until last month, when Sony announced that its first RGB Mini LED TVs would be arriving this year, under the name ‘True RGB’.

Even then, I was able to talk about the new TV only as a vague ‘True RGB’ model, without a model name or specifications. I was also only able to discuss its performance in Sony-led demos against a couple of RGB Mini LED competitors.

During the same March visit to Tokyo, though, I was also given an hour to test independently the 75-inch Bravia 9 II against the Bravia 9 and a Sony BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor, with my own content and with full control over the settings. And I can now write about that.

An hour isn’t a long time to test a TV, and the Bravia 9 II was still in development at the time, so this hands-on, of course, doesn’t count as a full review. However, this level of access ahead of launch is extremely rare, and it means I have a good understanding of how Sony’s new flagship TV performs.

Largely, it’s extremely impressive. I think it’s possibly the best backlit TV ever produced, in fact. But is it an OLED killer? That’s where things get complicated…

Price

The Sony Bravia 9 II will be available in 65-, 75-, 85 and 115-inch sizes, with pricing as follows:

• 65 inches: £3499
• 75 inches: £4299
• 85 inches: £5499
• 115 inches: £22,999

So the 65- and 85-inch versions of the Bravia 9 II are each £500 more expensive than their Bravia 9 equivalents, whereas, surprisingly, the 75-inch Bravia 9 II is £200 cheaper than the 75-inch Bravia 9.

The 115-inch model is all-new and, unsurprisingly, very expensive indeed.

Design

Within the confines of TV design, where the screen element itself is always going to be a 16:9 rectangle, the Bravia 9 II is unusual and rather striking.

Sony refers to the design as “harmonic presence”, with the idea being to create “harmony with the space and between products”.

The “Mirage Stand” is clearly the Bravia II’s most distinctive aesthetic feature. It’s semi-transparent, which gives the impression that the TV is floating, but it still hides the cables that run behind it.

This semi-transparent neck is attached to a usefully narrow metal plate, so the TV will happily stand on furniture much less wide than itself. But the plate also sticks out quite a long way to the front and back in a way that looks slightly ungainly to my eyes. It also means you can’t position the TV particularly close to the wall – unless, of course, you choose to wall mount it.

There's no variable height with this stand, either. It is designed to allow space for a soundbar beneath the TV, but there's no option to lower it if you’re not using a soundbar.

Along the sides and the top, the bezels are extremely thin, and while the bottom bezel is thicker, it’s generally much thinner than that of most TVs.

That gives the screen itself space to shine – except it doesn’t shine, because it has a new anti-reflective treatment that Sony is calling “Immersive Black Screen Pro”.

Having seen a sample of the Bravia 9 II with a half-coated and half-uncoated screen (see the images above), I can confirm that it’s highly effective at suppressing reflections, and while it is matte, it looked far less grey in bright ambient lighting than is typical of matte-coated displays.

Features

Of course, the headline feature of the Bravia 9 II is its RGB Mini LED backlight.

Sony has taken the next-gen Mini LED backlight that it developed for the Bravia 9 and RGB-ified it. So, rather than white LEDs, the Bravia 9 II’s backlight features independently controllable red, green and blue diodes.

The theoretical advantage of this is the same as it is for all of the other RGB Mini LED TVs that are all the rage right now: better colour accuracy and, because a colour filter isn’t required, higher brightness.

The combination of these two elements should also create greater colour expression – because the TV can go brighter without the use of a colour-sapping white light, an RGB Mini LED TV should be able to deliver super-bright colours that a standard Mini LED TV cannot.

But those are just the overriding claimed advantages of RGB Mini LED technology as a whole. What makes Sony’s True RGB solution different?

The big thing is, as mentioned, the fact that it’s built upon the more or less revolutionary backlight of the Bravia 9. I wrote about that in detail when I first saw the Bravia 9 prototype way back in 2024, but suffice to say here that it involves the sort of granular backlight control that most rival systems can only dream of.

This so-called ‘XR Backlight Master Drive’ system has been upgraded to ‘RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro’, and it’s this combination of the Bravia 9’s backlighting tech with genuine RGB diodes that makes the Bravia 9 II such a tantalising prospect.

Sony’s claims for the Bravia 9 II are, as you can imagine, very bold indeed. “Unbelievable colour gradation” is promised, for example, with the brand stating that the new model has twice the colour volume of the Bravia 9 Mini LED set, and four times the colour volume of the Bravia 8 II QD-OLED model.

Sony goes on to claim that True RGB is a “best of both worlds technology”, and that the Bravia 9 II is designed to match the “intent and peak brightness of the BVM-HX3110” mastering monitor.

This comparison with the mastering monitor is crucial to the Bravia 9 II’s very existence. Sony’s claimed aim is to deliver a home viewing experience that matches what the content creators signed off in the studio. And it feels that the brightness offered by Mini LED over OLED is vital to this, and that the RGB element is vital to deliver the colour range and accuracy that neither standard Mini LED nor OLED can match.

As ever, Sony isn’t giving out specific numbers for aspects such as dimming zones, but a demonstration involving a 75-inch sample with an exposed backlight allowed me to do some quick counting, and by my calculations, it had 6120 separate LED clusters, which are controlled in groups of four, resulting in 1530 independent dimming zones.

Interestingly, if that’s accurate (and I’ll need more time with a final review sample to be sure), that means the 75-inch Bravia 9 II has 25 per cent fewer dimming zones than the Bravia 9. Sony has long argued that how dimming zones are controlled is more important than how many of them there are, but it is still surprising that the drop is this large.

Where peak brightness is concerned, Sony again won’t be putting specific figures into its spec sheets. But a demo session involving the super-bright Alpha and a measuring device proved (in so much that a manufacturer-led demo session can ever truly ‘prove’ anything) that the Bravia 9 II was hitting the movie’s full 4000-nit peak. And that was in the TV’s most accurate Professional preset.

How much value is there in that sort of brightness when almost no content is mastered to those levels? Sony appears to be of the opinion that the floodgates will one day open and brighter content will become more common.

I’m less sure about that; but having lots of brightness headroom indeed allows for a TV to deliver a better and more perceptually accurate performance in bright ambient light.

Away from the panel technology, much of the Bravia 9 II’s feature set is what we’ve come to expect from Sony TVs – and that means there’s a glaring issue for gamers. That’s right, Sony’s new flagship TV still has just two HDMI 2.1 sockets.

That we are still having to complain about this in 2026, a full seven years since LG launched its first TVs with four HDMI 2.1 sockets, feels faintly ridiculous, and it may put hardcore gamers off the Bravia 9 II regardless of its qualities elsewhere.

Picture quality

Part of my time at Sony HQ in March was spent in demos of exposed backlights, with Sony trying to (and succeeding in) convincing me that its True RGB system is more advanced and more consistent than those of its rivals.

I wrote about that experience last month, though, so here I want to talk about how the Bravia 9 II performs with real content, which I got to experience in a Sony-led demo session and an hour-long session of independent testing, in both cases with a Bravia 9 and a BVM-HX3110 for reference.

In the Sony-led session, I was shown various clips from movies, including Avatar, Black Widow, Monster Hunter and Apex, and throughout, I was deeply impressed by how close the Bravia 9 II’s colours looked to those of the mastering monitor. Where the mastering monitor looked bright and rich, so did the Bravia 9 II, whereas the Bravia 9 at times lost vibrancy, particularly in the brightest parts of the picture.

And while the Bravia 9 is remarkably controlled in terms of blooming, the Bravia 9 II is even better. A lot of this is down to the use of RGB diodes rather than white, because this means that any glow around coloured highlights appears in the same colour as the highlight, which looks far more natural and realistic.

A great example is a small red light against a very dark backdrop in Black Widow. On the Bravia 9, there’s a faint white glow around this, particularly when you view the TV off-axis. But on the Bravia 9 II, this glow is red, and because this looks so natural, you don’t even instinctively recognise it as blooming.

In my independent demo session, I played several of our favourite test clips, from movies including 1917, Pan, Blade Runner 2049, and Alien: Romulus. The Bravia 9 and Bravia 9 II were both in their most accurate Professional picture preset.

Kicking off with 1917, I immediately found it interesting that the Bravia 9 II and BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor both delivered essentially perfect black in the image with the bright movie logo, whereas the Bravia 9 looked a touch grey by comparison.

The opening shot over the French fields, meanwhile, provided a nice illustration of the colour improvements offered by the switch to RGB lighting, with the yellow flowers being reproduced with subtly greater vibrancy from the Bravia 9 II than the Bravia 9.

Skin tones looked better from the new model, too, with just a little more life to them, and the tunics of the soldiers’ uniforms had a slightly richer red/brown hue that the mastering monitor confirmed was more accurate.

The starfield in the opening shot of Alien: Romulus is a nightmarish test for any backlit TV, and it’s one that even the Bravia 9 II struggles to pass entirely convincingly. Somewhat surprisingly, the deep-space background is blacker from the Bravia 9, with the Bravia 9 II appearing to raise the black floor just a touch. To compensate, though, the new model delivers brighter stars and more detailed nebulae, and there’s greater insight into the deep shadows of the unmanned spacecraft.

In terms of colour tone, the Bravia 9 II was much closer than its predecessor to the mastering monitor, too. The Bravia 9’s highlights had a blue/green coolness to them that didn’t look quite right, whereas the Bravia 9 II maintained the cinematic richness that the mastering monitor proved was correct.

These bright white highlights also proved that, while it hasn’t been completely eradicated, blooming is indeed much reduced from the Bravia 9 II. From the Bravia 9, there was a noticeable glow around the white light of the search vessel, whereas the Bravia 9 II reduced this to very faint levels, at least when viewing the TV straight-on – at wider angles, it was a little more pronounced.

As broadly impressive as Sony’s Bravia 9 II backlight controls appeared to be, though, they weren’t completely infallible, and the opening text of Blade Runner 2049 wasn’t handled well.

The first word, which should be bright red, and was from the Bravia 9 and mastering monitor, was pale and grey from the Bravia 9 II. When this was joined by the first paragraph of white text, the Bravia 9 II introduced a pink tint that was quite vivid at the edges and pale towards the middle.

As yet more text was added, the colour became more consistent, but it was still pink where it should have been white, and when the final word, ‘Replicants’, was left on the screen, it was pale and grey where it should have been bright red.

This clip is uniquely challenging for backlit TVs, which is why we use it so frequently, but you would still expect the Bravia 9 II to handle it at least as well as the preceding Bravia 9. That decidedly wasn’t the case. Here’s hoping this is something Sony can remedy before the launch of the new TV.

One other slight surprise was that the super-bright Pan didn’t look markedly better from the Bravia 9 II than it did from the Bravia 9. There was a little more warmth to the haze around the bright sun and a little more highlight detail, but the upgrade wasn’t as pronounced as I had expected.

This is quite possibly a reflection on how well the Bravia 9 already handles this movie than it is a slight on the new model, but it will be interesting to do some more testing with this, and hopefully one or two other 4000-nit movies, once we get a final Bravia 9 II sample in for review.

One final thing to note is that while I didn’t have an OLED for comparison with the Bravia 9 II, we have generally found that even the very best backlit TVs struggle to match the general density, solidity and perceptual three-dimensionality of their OLED equivalents. And nothing I saw during my time with the Bravia 9 II suggested it will overcome this deficit.

That’s not really surprising: this solidity seems to be a result of OLED’s pixel-level contrast control, which no amount of backlight dimming zones will ever be able to match. Still, it’s something to bear in mind if you’re weighing up a backlit TV such as the Bravia 9 II against an OLED set.

Sound quality

While we always encourage the buyer of a new TV also to budget for a dedicated sound system of some sort, not everyone does that. In fact, Sony’s own research suggests that more than 80 per cent of its customers use their TV’s built-in speakers.

It’s little wonder, then, that serious effort has been put into the Bravia 9 II’s sound system as well as its picture quality.

The up-firing beam tweeters of the Bravia 9 remain, but every other element has been redesigned. There are no longer any drivers built into the bottom edge of the set. Instead, everything has been relocated to the same level around two-thirds up the TV, with some firing out and towards the listener, and others (primarily the subwoofers) firing backwards.

Sony has also upgraded the processing from 5.1.2 channels to 5.1.4, and the brand claims the Bravia 9 II has a more accurate Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) for better sound positioning, as well as a new crosstalk canceller to help prevent either ear hearing sound intended for the other.

The overall idea is that the sound is more accurately placed and is all more spatially connected to the on-screen action, and in demos, this seemed to work very well. With the Bravia 9, my ears were rather drawn to the trebly sounds coming from the drivers built into the bottom edge, but with the Bravia 9 II, there was much greater overall cohesion.

Playing a clip from Venom, the new model clearly sounded crisper and more dynamic, too, and the audio manifested further up the screen, where the action was taking place. Sony has a reputation for combining this sort of directness with spaciousness, and it seems that the Bravia 9 II will reinforce that, with surround and Atmos effects stretching a fair way around the TV.

One slight flaw that I did notice was that occasionally voices could sound as if they were coming from the sides of the screen. This may be related to me not sitting dead centre during the demo, but it will be interesting to test this further when we get a final production sample in for review.

It’s also true that, as with many previous Sony TVs, the Bravia 9 II sounded a bit bass-light. Sony tends to tune its TVs to be as clean and controlled as possible, which generally means not stretching for the deep bass that can cause distortion. On balance, that’s a good approach; but it does mean that some rival TVs can sound a bit weightier.

One final note to make here is that, while the Bravia 9 II sounded good during demos, that’s by the standards of TVs. I do not doubt that even a moderately accomplished soundbar will smash it for audio quality.

Early verdict

While we will, of course, need to get a final sample in for full testing before we deliver our review verdict on the Bravia 9 II, this excellent level of early access has given me a really good idea of how it performs – and, generally speaking, it’s very impressive indeed.

I think there’s every chance this will prove to be the best backlit TV ever produced, with a combination of 4000-nit brightness, contrast control and colour accuracy that few, if any, rivals can match.

Whether that makes the Bravia 9 II an OLED-beater is harder to judge – not least because we haven’t yet had the opportunity to do that side-by-side testing – but what I’ve seen so far suggests that OLED will still have advantages in several regards, most notably no blooming whatsoever, essentially perfect viewing angles, and a degree of solidity and three-dimensionality that seemingly only self-emissive pixels can provide.

The question, then, will be whether the Bravia 9 II’s advantages, such as higher brightness, more vivid colours, durability and greater size availability, outweigh those of OLED.

We’ll be answering that question just as soon as we get our review sample in for extensive, comparative testing.

MORE:

Check out our Sony Bravia 9 review and Sony Bravia 8 II review

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

The Sony Bravia 9 II is perhaps the most impressive backlit TV I’ve ever seen. And yet, after spending time with it in Tokyo a couple of months ago (here’s my Bravia 9 II hands-on), I still don’t think I would swap my OLED for it.

That might sound odd, considering the Bravia 9 II is in many ways exactly what the TV industry has been promising us for years. It’s dazzlingly bright, remarkably controlled, deeply cinematic and, in terms of colour reproduction, genuinely closer to a studio mastering monitor than maybe any other TV I have tested.

In lots of ways, Sony’s new RGB Mini LED flagship feels like a glimpse of the future.

But my time testing it also reinforced something I have long suspected: no matter how sophisticated backlight technology becomes, there may still be certain image qualities that only self-emissive pixels can truly deliver.

To be clear, I’m not writing off RGB Mini LED. Far from it. In fact, I think the Bravia 9 II has every chance of proving to be the best LCD-based TV ever made once we get a final production sample in for a full review.

Nor am I claiming that OLED is objectively ‘better’ in every regard. The Bravia 9 II can hit 4000 nits in its most accurate mode, which is an astonishing achievement, and Sony’s new RGB backlight system appears capable of delivering exceptionally rich, accurate colours at brightness levels that OLED simply can’t currently match.

But the more impressive RGB Mini LED becomes technically, the more I find myself frustrated by the ways in which it still can’t match OLED.

The big one, for me, is solidity.

OLED TVs tend to produce images with a density and three-dimensionality that’s difficult to quantify but immediately obvious when you see it. Objects appear more tangible and more firmly placed within the image. Dark scenes, in particular, have a kind of depth and stability that even the best backlit TVs rarely fully replicate.

My theory – and it is just a theory – is that this comes from OLED’s pixel-level contrast control. Every pixel is independently and precisely responsible for its own luminance, with no need for a backlight system working behind the scenes to decide how bright different areas of the screen should be.

Even the most advanced Mini LED TVs are still, ultimately, trying to approximate that behaviour using clusters of controllable lights behind an LCD layer. Sony’s latest system is probably the closest I’ve seen any manufacturer get, but I’m not yet convinced that any amount of dimming-zone sophistication can entirely reproduce the same perceptual solidity as self-emissive pixels.

Even the most intelligent of backlighting systems can also be caught out in a way that an OLED doesn’t have to worry about, too.

During my testing of the Bravia 9 II, I used the opening text sequence from Blade Runner 2049, which is notoriously difficult for backlit TVs. Here, the Bravia 9 II’s otherwise superb backlight controls visibly faltered, introducing uneven colouring and reducing the intensity of text that should have appeared vividly red.

Now, this was a pre-production sample, and Sony may well improve this before launch. I certainly wouldn’t judge the TV too harshly based on one particularly brutal torture test, anyway.

But the moment still felt telling.

One of OLED’s greatest strengths is consistency. There is very little sense of the TV ‘working’ to create the image. Highlights, shadows and colours simply appear exactly where they should, without drawing attention to the mechanicals behind the picture.

With even the very best backlit TVs, there are still moments when you become aware of the processing and dimming systems juggling competing priorities in real time. And once you notice that, even briefly, you are no longer completely immersed in what you’re watching.

That’s not to say OLED is flawless, of course. OLED TVs are dimmer than the very brightest Mini LED models, and RGB Mini LED’s advocates are absolutely right that the technology can produce more saturated colours at extremely high brightness levels.

I’m just not yet convinced how transformative that advantage is with real-world content.

Most movies and TV shows still aren’t mastered anywhere near 4000 nits, and while extra brightness headroom is undeniably useful in bright viewing environments, the best modern OLEDs are already more than bright enough for most people’s living rooms.

Similarly, greater colour volume is technically impressive, but much of that benefit stems from the ability to maintain colour saturation at very high luminance levels. If content rarely reaches those levels in the first place, the practical gains can feel somewhat pointless outside of demos.

That may change over time, of course. TV manufacturers clearly believe brighter HDR content is coming, and perhaps it eventually will.

But there’s another reason why I think RGB Mini LED matters, and this one is more immediate and convincing to me: screen size.

At 65 and 77 inches, OLED has become relatively attainable. But once you move into truly enormous sizes – 83 inches, 97 inches – OLED remains prohibitively expensive; and models larger than 100 inches don’t even exist.

RGB Mini LED could be the answer to that.

Sony is launching the Bravia 9 II in sizes up to 115 inches, and other brands are going similarly massive with their RGB Mini LED sets (that’s the Hisense 116UX in the photo above). I suspect technologies such as this will eventually make truly gigantic premium TVs far more accessible than OLED ever can. In that sense, RGB Mini LED may end up becoming the spiritual successor to projectors.

And maybe that’s where this all ends up.

For years, the TV industry has searched for a single technology that combines OLED’s contrast and pixel precision with LCD’s brightness and scalability. RGB Mini LED is clearly the closest anyone has yet come to achieving that.

But after seeing Sony’s awesome-looking Bravia 9 II, I’m not sure I believe there will ever be one universal winner.

Perhaps the future of premium TVs isn’t about one technology replacing another entirely. Perhaps it’s about different technologies excelling in different ways, for different people, at different sizes.

At least for now, OLED still feels like the most complete and convincing option for me personally – but I can see why RGB Mini LED might be the better option for others.

MORE:

Read our Sony Bravia 9 II hands-on

Here’s our Hisense UR9 RGB Mini LED TV review

These are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Sony has finally announced its full 2026 TV range, and guess what’s missing? That’s right – OLED.

It was long suspected that the brand’s new flagship model would be an RGB Mini LED set to replace the Bravia 9 ‘standard’ LED model. And, sure enough, that’s precisely what we’ve got, in the form of the technically formidable Bravia 9 II.

What I wasn’t expecting, though, was no new OLED in the range at all.

No replacement for the Bravia 8 II is no surprise: Sony works on two-year lifecycles for most of its models, and the company’s awesome QD-OLED set is only a year old.

And I’m beyond expecting a replacement to the A90K, which launched way back in 2022 but appears to have been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in the warehouses of Amazon, Currys and John Lewis.

I was, though, expecting the Bravia 8 to get a replacement. Now two years old, Sony’s W-OLED model is struggling to justify itself against last year’s LG C5 and the newer C6. Surely a nip-and-tuck upgrade would be worth it, both for Sony and consumers who want meaningful choice when buying a step-down/mainstream OLED TV.

Alas, though, there’s not a single new OLED in Sony’s new range, with all three of its existing models expected to run for at least another year.

And that’s prompted in me a dreadful thought: what if Sony plans never to launch another OLED TV? Sadly, the more I think about it, the more I feel that’s a very realistic possibility.

It’s all about profit, of course, which is understandable; it’s saddening nonetheless.

You see, Sony buys all of the panels for its OLED TVs from its rivals: it buys the W-OLED panels for the A90K and Bravia 8 from LG, and the QD-OLED panels for the Bravia 8 II from Samsung.

This, inevitably, eats into the money the brand can make from these OLED TVs, especially while it tries to compete on price with those brands that both make the panels and sell the TVs.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Home Entertainment division, which is responsible for the design, development and manufacture of its TVs (and home theatre products), is about to become a joint venture between Sony itself and TCL, the latter of which will hold a 51 per cent share.

TCL is, of course, the biggest manufacturer of LCD TV panels in the world. It’s famously uninterested in OLED where TVs are concerned, and while it is in the process of building a huge factory where it will produce OLED panels via inkjet printing, these will be for smartphones, tablets and laptops, at least in the first place.

So, once the Sony/TCL joint venture begins operations at the start of 2027, will it have any interest in buying expensive OLED panels from its rivals so that it can produce Sony OLED TVs from which it receives very little profit? Or will it entirely focus on producing TVs using the in-house panel technology supplied by the TCL side of the merger?

Sadly, it’s not hard to imagine the answer to that one.

Of course, Sony says it is very much not done with OLED, and I sincerely hope that’s true, as I’m yet to test a backlit TV that beats an OLED overall. But Sony also needs to operate as a business, which means making profits. And that, I suspect, means saying goodbye to OLED.

With any luck, I’m wrong, but if the Bravia 8 II really does turn out to be Sony’s last OLED TV, at least it’s an awesome one.

MORE:

Check out our Sony Bravia 9 II hands-on and Sony Bravia 8 II review

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

After months of teasers and snippets of information, Sony’s first line of RGB Mini LED TVs is finally here.

The Sony Bravia 9 II and the step-down Sony Bravia 7 II use ‘True RGB’ technology, which the company claims can offer “up to four times the colour volume of OLED” – and outdo the brightness of Mini LED.

Sony follows a host of other brands that have thrown their hat into the RGB Mini LED ring, with Hisense, Samsung and TCL all delivering their own take on the technology.

Some brands use two-diode LEDs for their RGB models. These employ green and blue diodes that shine light through a phosphor layer to generate colours.

But Sony is using independently controlled red, green and blue diodes, which the brand claims will deliver a more accurate image.

The TVs are also powered by Sony’s proprietary RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro, which the company says, “drives each LED with high precision, improving brightness, reducing blooming, and producing purer colour than conventional Mini LED displays”.

The Sony Bravia 9 II is the brand’s flagship ‘True RGB’ model.

It claims to reach the same peak brightness levels as the BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor, which goes up to 4000 nits. No official figure has been given for either new TV model, but if it goes as high as the monitor, we could be in for a very bright picture.

The flagship model is also powered by "RGB Triluminos Max and Luminance Booster Pro", which Sony claims delivers "smoother gradation, and accurate hues at higher brightness levels".

You can see the pricing of both the Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II below.

The TVs should launch in late spring with pre-orders available now. And we should have US and Australian pricing soon.

Both TVs offer Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, which gives a comprehensive set of surround sound options.

While Sony says both models offer a three-dimensional audio experience, the Bravia 9 II has the edge with the inclusion of up-firing beam tweeters. The company says this delivers more cinematic surround sound with "powerful depth and true immersion".

You will find Dolby Vision support with both models but, like all Sony TVs, there is no HDR10+ on the cards.

They both also employ X-Wide Angle Pro technology, which Sony says means “colours stay consistent even at wide viewing angles”.

Only available with the Bravia 9 II is the Immersive Black Screen Pro feature, which aims to reduce screen reflections.

Both TVs have a central ‘mirage stand’ which uses a layer of clever transparent material to conceal wires under the base of your screen. This isn't available with the biggest screen sizes, however.

RGB LED TVs have already been dubbed as a possible “OLED killer” by many because of the higher colour volume and brightness claims.

We’ll have to wait until we get both models into our test room to see if the proof is in the pudding – but you can read our first impressions in our Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II hands-on reviews.

MORE:

All you need to know about RGB Mini LED

These are the best TVs

The best Sony TVs on the market

Sony is on a roll with the sheer volume of products it is delivering at the moment, with the Xperia 1 VIII smartphone and the 1000X The Collexion wired headphones storming the scene earlier this year.

Home cinema fans have not been forgotten either, as there is a range of new TVs hitting the market as well.

That includes the Sony Bravia 7 II, which the brand is presenting as the little brother of the Sony Bravia 9 II. Both of these models are the poster boys of the brand’s first RGB LED TV venture, under the punchy name ‘True RGB’. Sony says this technology offers “up to four times the colour volume of the OLED” and outdoes Mini LED brightness, dubbing it “virtually infinite in colour, brightness and depth”.

Those are strong claims, but how does the technology actually perform? I got a preview of the Sony Bravia 7 II at an event in Sony’s European headquarters. I didn’t get the chance for any serious testing, but it certainly gave me a taste of what will be entering our test room.

Price

Sony has released UK pricing for the Bravia 7 II, which you can find below, alongside the launch pricing for the Sony Bravia 7. We're awaiting US and Australian pricing, but we'll update this table when that information is given to us:

As you might have guessed, the inclusion of the sparkling new technology has resulted in a rise in pricing for this year’s models. We don’t have the pricing for other regions yet, but we can be pretty sure those regions will also see a price hike. It’s also good to see two new sizing options, with the smaller 50-inch and the gigantic 98inch models now added.

Also on the market at roughly the same level is the LG C6; that OLED’s 65-inch model launched at £2500 / $2699 / AU$3999, and we gave it a dazzling five-star verdict, praising its rich picture quality and brightness.

Design

The Bravia 7 II is a bit of a departure from its predecessor in terms of design, especially with its stand. Instead of sporting two separate feet at the bottom, there is a ‘mirage stand’ which offers a transparent strip of plastic to conceal wires under the base of your screen.

There wasn’t much to hide when I saw the TV in action at the showcase, but it created a decent illusion that there was no clutter beneath the set. The stand is available with all of the Bravia 7 II models, with the exception of the 98-inch model.

There’s a brand-new remote control with this model as well. It looks sleek yet practical, and features a backlight so you can use it easily while watching movies in the dark. It can also be recharged via a USB-C port and is made from 80% recycled plastic.

As a whole, the TV feels sturdy and well built. It has a plastic bezel around the screen, where the more expensive Bravia 9 II uses metal, so it feels slightly less premium to the touch in comparison. Despite that, the Bravia 7 II offers a sturdily designed screen.

Features

Also a new addition for this line is Sony’s X Wide Pro feature, which the brand claims to allow “colours [to] stay consistent even at wide viewing angles”. To test this, I tried watching the screen from some fairly challenging angles: brightness and colour vibrancy levels remained impressively strong.

This is a noticeable improvement over the Bravia 7, as we found that backlight blooming became more noticeable if you have to watch the TV from a wide angle.

As mentioned, the Sony Bravia 7 II is offering ‘True RGB’ technology. At its core, RGB Mini LED places independent red, green and blue LEDs into an optical lens behind an LCD panel. This differs from Mini LED technology, which uses blue LEDs that must be converted to red and green (recently, this has most widely been achieved using Quantum Dots). That should, in theory, lead to a brighter performance and a wider colour gamut than OLED and Mini LED.

Sony has not gone into a whole lot of detail on the nitty-gritty, but we do know the sets feature “new backlight drive” technology.

When asked about the number of dimming zones and maximum brightness levels, Sony’s representatives kept schtum about the details. All it has said so far is that it will offer “exceptionally high peak brightness” and “precise luminance control”.

The TV is also powered by Sony’s proprietary RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro, which “drives each LED with high precision, improving brightness, reducing blooming, and producing purer colour than conventional Mini LED displays”.

Samsung, Hisense, LG, Philips and TCL are also launching TVs this year featuring their own take on RGB Mini LED, so we think it's fair to say that Sony has its fair share of competition in this space.

The Sony Bravia 7 II supports Dolby Vision, but there is no HDR10+ on the cards. That’s the same story for all Sony TVs on the market, but it's still a bit of a shame for those looking for comprehensive HDR support.

Sony is also offering “Studio Calibrated” modes for streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which should adjust the picture depending on what service you are using.

Audio-wise, Sony has outfitted the 65-inch model that I saw with two full-range drivers and two subwoofers, creating a total audio power output of 40W. Sony has been very clear that this arrangement differs depending on the screen size, with the larger screen options slated to sport beefier built-in sound systems.

At the back of the TV, you will find four HDMI ports, including two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets. Having just two seems like a bit of a shame, especially considering one doubles as your HDMI eARC socket for connecting external audio devices.

Hisense's UR8, a competing step-down RGB Mini LED TV, has four full bandwidth sockets, as do Samsung and LG's upcoming RGB Mini LED sets.

Picture

I saw the Bravia 7 II briefly in action, side by side with the rival LG C6. Both of the sets were in the Vivid picture mode, though, and I didn’t get a chance to fiddle around with the settings to get them to my liking. That makes it hard to judge, and we will need to wait until we can test the TV in our own test room before we make a verdict.

But we can certainly get a glimpse of how the Bravia 7 II performs from the showcase. When watching a scene from Angry Birds, Red’s feathers look colourful and punchy. There is a little more detail in the feathers of the round bird compared with the C6 as well. The shadow detail in his furrowed black monobrow is a little clearer with the LG model, however.

Switching to Aladdin, as our hero makes his way around a spice market, there is a solid sense of three-dimensionality, which gives the scene an immersive feel. It’s also an impressively bright picture, especially when put head to head with the LG OLED, and there is not much difference between the two from this first look.

As I said, this brief glimpse is not enough to comment properly on the picture quality, but it still looks popping and detailed, judging from the Vivid mode.

Sound

Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear a peep from the Sony Bravia 7 II. When sound was played, it was through the newly announced Sony Bravia Trio soundbar package (which we should get to hear in our test room soon).

What we do know is that Sony’s AI-powered Voice Zoom 3 is included with the new model, which lets you customise the volume of voices and ambient audio. The brand is also offering “evolved” 3D Surround Upscaling, which it says can expand stereo into wider 3D surround.

When we reviewed the 55-inch Sony Bravia 7, we found that it creates a “soundstage that projects nicely away from the TV’s physical chassis” and we called it “very good for a TV in this price category”. Hopefully, Sony maintains this strong audio performance with the next generation.

Early verdict

It’s too early to give a verdict on the Sony Bravia 7 II, and we will have to wait until we get the model in our test room to give a thorough review.

Sony’s launch into ‘True RGB’ is certainly an exciting proposition, and our first look at the TV shows that it offers promising vibrancy and three-dimensionality.

We will have to see if these strong first impressions hold up after our thorough review process.

MORE:

Check out our review of the Sony Bravia 7

This is our LG C6 review

These are the best TVs

High-end German AV brand Loewe is applying its premium touch to some pint-sized 4K TVs, launching two new models designed to offer a top-notch picture, without taking up too much space.

The We. SEE LCD dc (the dc stands for dual channel) comes in two sizes: 32- and 43-inches. As the name suggests, both sizes feature direct-lit LCD displays with full-array local dimming and 4K resolutions.

Loewe tells us that the 32-inch model features 260 dimming zones. Alongside it, the 43-inch version has 390 zones.

Small, 32-inch, 4K TVs are very rare. Loewe claims the atypically high-resolution panel will let the set deliver picture quality traditionally reserved for larger sets.

The We. SEE LCD is slated to deliver "deep blacks, vivid colours and finely tuned brightness control" according to Loewe. HDR support is also comprehensive, with HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision IQ listed as included formats.

Below the dinky displays, you'll find an integrated 60W soundbar, which also supports Dolby Atmos.

The We. SEE LCD is also compatible with Loewe's Klang wireless subwoofers for those seeking extra bass, or you can bypass the built-in speakers entirely by connecting an external audio device via HDMI eARC.

The TVs are also surprisingly well-equipped for gamers, with two HDMI 2.1 sockets (alongside two HDMI 2.0 ports), which both support VRR and ALLM. The 43-inch model specifically includes 4K/120Hz support. Sadly, the 32-inch model appears to be capped at 60Hz.

Streaming is handled by Loewe's os9 platform, which is underpinned by the VIDAA app store (as seen on Hisense TVs too). App support includes Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and more.

Loewe has also included its dual-channel technology, which takes advantage of the company's SL832 chassis and twin triple-tuner, to let users watch a show while recording another in the background.

You can also expect Loewe's usual combination of premium materials and craftsmanship. The We. SEE sports an aluminium chassis and a solid metal base for a high-quality and robust build throughout.

There are also various options to mount this TV, including tabletop, floor-standing and wall-mounted orientations. Loewe sells a range of stands to accommodate each setup option.

As these new models bear all of the expected markings of a Loewe TV, it should come as no surprise that they carry an equally Loewe-like price tag. At £1145 for the 32-inch model and £1335 for the 43-inch version, the prices put the range in the same ballpark as a 55-inch LG C6 OLED TV.

That price can be a tough pill to swallow for what is essentially a small backlit TV. Nevertheless, the We. SEE LCD dc is available now for any premium buyer who is short on space.

MORE:

Here are our picks for the best 43-inch TVs

Read our Loewe Stellar hands-on review

Here are our picks for the best OLED TVs

For years, I’ve championed the need for more top-tier, premium small TVs. Mainly because, if you’re shopping at flagship levels, sizes tend to only go down to 48 inches.

And even then, the smallest flagship OLED options don’t tend to feature the next-generation Primary RBG Tandem OLED or QD-OLED panel tech seen on their larger siblings, making them feel oddly compromised, despite their premium pricing.

This is still the case, with 2026's 48-inch LG G6, Samsung S99H and Philips 911. And, sadly, most of the engineers we talk to have indicated that things won’t change any time soon.

As we understand it, the lack of small, truly next-generation OLEDs is due to technical challenges that occur when shrinking the advanced panels below 55 inches.

There is also the general focus on making larger, not smaller, TVs we're seeing from most brands' leadership teams right now.

Which is why, when numerous companies started marketing RGB Mini LED as the “OLED-killer” cinephiles have been waiting for, I got excited.

Not because I thought it would defeat OLED in the holistic premium OLED space. I’ve been burned too many times reviewing new tech that made similar claims over the years (cough, Mini LED) to do that without seeing the proof in the pudding.

Instead, my pulse briefly raced as the tech could potentially hit OLED where it hurts, and fill the small, premium TV-sized hole in the market.

So much so that I decided to do a call around with the main movers and shakers set to use the next generation panel tech. But, with my call around now concluded, I have some bad news. It’s not happening, at least not this year.

“The smallest we plan to offer is 55 inches,” a Hisense spokesperson told me.

“We’re not commenting on future products,” TCL then followed up, when I asked about its RGB Mini LED offering, which currently starts at 65-inches big.

“No comment,” every firm added in chorus, in response to my follow-up question asking if the lack of small options was due to similar manufacturing and technical complexities to OLED.

But, regardless of the reasoning, the lack of smaller options feels like a missed opportunity. Many people can’t sensibly accommodate a 55-inch, let alone a 65-inch TV, in their home, even with the cinephile community. I fall into that camp.

That’s why I still have an ageing 48-inch LG C2 in my lounge. But that doesn't mean I’m happy to live with a compromised experience, or that I’m unwilling to pay a premium for a better, next-generation experience.

Better contrast, more accurate colours, improved motion handling and upscaling. These are all things I’m willing to pay for. To borrow the age-old adage, it’s not the size but what you do with it that matters, at least for me.

So seeing RGB Mini LED TV makers, seemingly as disinterested in the space as premium OLED makers, is disappointing. Here’s hoping we get better news next year…

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs we’ve reviewed

Our picks of the best Mini LED TVs

We rank the best small TVs money can buy

TCL has achieved phenomenal critical and commercial success over the past couple of years thanks to an (almost) unerring ability to deliver good picture and sound quality at prices so aggressive they’ve had rival brands quaking in their boots. And, on paper at least, the Q6C looks to keep the winning streak going.

After all, features such as Mini LED backlighting, local dimming and a Quantum Dot colour system all sound surprisingly close to the specs found in TCL’s What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C7K series – yet the Q6C costs significantly less.

We guess there must be a catch somewhere, but on TCL’s current form we wouldn’t be at all surprised if whatever catch we find really isn’t that big a deal.

Price

Normally, if you spend £650 on a 65-inch TV, you would expect to get… not very much. Not for the first time in recent years, though, TCL is here to rewrite the TV value rulebook.

The set in question this time is the Q6C, the 65-inch version of which usually only costs £649 yet manages to carry such features as 4K/144Hz gaming support, Google TV smarts, Quantum Dot colours and even a sophisticated Mini-LED backlight system with local dimming.

We’ve been around the block enough times to know that such specifications aren’t automatically a guarantee of great picture quality – but at the risk of showing our hand too early, in the Q6C’s case they really do add up to something pretty special for the money.

TCL also sells 55-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch Q6C models for £409, £819, £949 and £1499 respectively. These are all pretty remarkable prices for screens built on the same key specs as the 65-inch model, where the only major difference is the number of dimming zones (more for the bigger screens).

The Q6C’s main competition, really, is TCL’s own C7K step-up model, which costs £200 more at the time of writing.

TCL also sells a C6K model which, it says, is identical to the Q6C. However, further up the range, TCL's ‘C’ variants often have a different panel coating to their “identical” ‘Q’ counterparts. The fact that matte vs glossy coatings can make a significant difference to picture quality, and that we haven’t specifically tested the C6K, this review only applies 100 per cent to the Q6C.

Design

At first glance, the TCL Q6C looks like a chip off the old TCL block. A narrow black frame runs around the screen, boasting a reasonably premium finish, and the screen sits on a pair of simple arched blade-style feet. These angle out slightly, bringing more attention to themselves than they would otherwise, but this stance also helps the set feel pretty sturdy and wobble-free.

As you go about screwing on the feet in either of the provided wide or close position options, though, you can’t help but notice first that the set sticks out around the back quite a long way by today’s TV standards, and also that the screen is significantly lighter than TCL’s more premium sets.

Most folk don’t spend their lives looking at the back of their TV, though, and the rather lightweight and plasticky nature of its build quality isn’t something you really feel aware of once the TCL has been set in place.

The Q6C’s remote control apes the TV it partners by quite effectively disguising an essentially rather lightweight and plasticky build behind a cute brushed finish, a sleek, long, thin shape, and an ergonomic button layout. That button layout includes direct access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+ and TCL’s own collection of live-streaming ‘channels’.

Features

Despite its aggressive price, the Q6C is built around a native 4K screen with Mini LED backlighting and a local dimming system that works, in the case of the 65-inch model we’re testing, across 242 independently controlled zones. At this price, local dimming of any kind is a rarity, so getting 242 dimming zones is a real treat. That said, the not vastly more expensive C7K features more than a thousand dimming zones.

The Q6C produces its colours using Quantum Dots, with which TCL claims to cover 93 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour spectrum used for most HDR mastering. The HDR support extends to both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ premium formats, with their extra scene-by-scene image information, as well as the core HDR10 and HLG formats.

The set is also IMAX Enhanced certified, meaning it’s been judged capable of doing justice to the special noise-limiting IMAX Enhanced mastering system used on a few 4K Blu-rays and a fair number of films (especially Marvel releases) on Disney+.

Impressively for its money, the Q6C also gets one of TCL’s new HVA panels. These introduce a variety of innovations, including a faster transient response for enhanced clarity; a new light-emitting chip claimed to deliver 50 per cent brightness and 10 per cent efficiency boosts over its predecessor; and a new condensed micro lens system over the LEDs, that apparently focuses light better for greater backlight uniformity, optical stability and halo control.

Smart features on the Q6C, as with most of TCL’s current TVs, are provided by the Google TV platform. Unlike most other brands that use Google TV, though, TCL has managed to get BBC iPlayer on board alongside the other key terrestrial UK broadcaster catch-up apps, and all of the main global streaming services. The only things you don’t get that some rival smart systems offer are Freeview Play and Freely.

Gamers are exceptionally well catered for by the Q6C. It supports 4K/144Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz) gaming, and can even increase the frame rate to 288Hz if you’re prepared to accept a drop from 4K to Full HD resolution. VRR is supported, too, including in the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro format, and there’s even support for Superwide aspect ratios if you’re playing a PC game that supports them.

A special gaming menu becomes available when the TV knows you’re gaming, too, offering information on the incoming gaming signal as well as easy access to a selection of gaming aids that include a superimposed crosshair, the option to magnify part of the image to give, say, a mini-map more prominence, a couple of genre-specific picture presets, and an option to enhance shadow details in dark game sequences to make it easier to spot lurking enemies.

In a perfect world, all four of the Q6C’s HDMIs would support the full gamut of today’s gaming features rather than just two of them, but you don’t get perfect worlds on 65-inch TVs that cost this sort of money.

The Q6C’s sound system, finally, isn’t one of the Bang & Olufsen-designed systems found higher up TCL’s range. It’s still designed with another acclaimed audio industry brand, though, Onkyo, and still includes a couple of dedicated bass woofers on its rear panel to underpin the sound from its main stereo speakers. This sound system is capable of playing both Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X sound formats.

Picture

While the Q6C doesn’t quite hit the giddy picture-quality heights of TCL’s C7K, it gets closer than the price gap would lead you to expect. This means that it also comfortably outguns pretty much every other 65-inch TV around at the same sort of price point – including Samsung’s recently reviewed U8000F.

The single most impressive thing about the Q6C's supposedly budget pictures is their black level performance. Once again, TCL’s particular combination of an HVA panel, local dimming, Mini LED lighting and local dimming processing results in excellent blacks in both dark scenes or dark picture areas and the black bars of widescreen content.

Hardly a hint of greyness slips into dark scenes, and backlight haloing around stand-out bright objects during dark shots is also remarkably well controlled for a 65-inch TV at the Q6C’s price point. We’ve seen 65-inch LCD TVs costing hundreds, even thousands, of pounds more than this TCL fail to deliver black tones so effectively.

As well as instantly giving the Q6C an outstanding foundation for the rest of its images to build on, its excellent black levels are also achieved without causing shadow details to become crushed out of the darkest areas. Dark scenes thus look as three-dimensional and immersive as bright ones, creating a sense of consistency that makes it easy to remain fully immersed in what you’re watching.

The Q6C’s remarkable freedom from the sort of hardware and/or processing issues that almost always to some extent plague the picture quality of other similarly affordable TVs continues across pretty much every other aspect of its picture performance, too. Images look crisp, clean and detailed enough to leave you in no doubt that you’re watching a native 4K screen, for starters – especially if you leave the set’s Precision Detail feature on (which you might as well, as it doesn’t seem to cause any negative side effects) and turn the Digital and regular Noise Reduction features off (at least when watching native 4K sources). Even the Q6C’s upscaling of HD sources is well above par for its level of the market.

Colours impress, too. There’s more vibrancy and lustre on tap than we usually see with such affordable TVs, yet at the same time, in most presets, the impressive vibrancy doesn’t look forced or unnatural. Skin tones look believable, there’s practically zero HDR colour striping, and subtle shading differences are rendered with enough finesse to ensure that even the most colourful images feel three-dimensional and realistic rather than cartoonish and flat. The nuance in the Q6C’s colours contributes in no small measure to the image's impressive sharpness, too.

The Q6C is not as bright as TCL’s step-up C7K model. It’s bright enough, though, to do arguably better justice to HDR images than any other similarly affordable 65-inch TV we’ve seen, combining good full-screen brightness with strong brightness peaks. All delivered alongside those excellent black levels we described earlier.

There are signs beyond its lower brightness that remind you that the Q6C is a step down from the C7K. While it’s faint, where backlight haloing does occasionally become noticeable, it spreads further beyond the bright highlight that’s causing it than it does with the C7K. That includes spreading very occasionally into the black bars of a movie if a really intensely bright object appears right next to them.

The very brightest highlights of bold HDR masters can also cause clipping, where subtle shading and colour details are lost in a sort of ‘white out’ effect, and skin tones can occasionally teeter on the edge of coarseness where they happen to catch bright sunlight, too – though they seldom if ever actually tip over into a distracting level of roughness.

Motion, once you’ve either turned the set’s motion processing off or left it on its low setting (to avoid unwanted over-smoothing or processing side effects), is marginally more prone to judder and blur with 24p movie sources than the C7K’s images are. But again, compared with the vast majority of rivals at its price point, the Q6C’s motion performance is actually pretty easy on the eye.

Colours can desaturate quite noticeably if you watch the screen from a steep angle of around 45 degrees or more, and blooming becomes slightly more noticeable. These problems are usually much more noticeable with budget VA LCD TVs, though, and from narrower angles.

To finish on the high note the Q6C’s pictures deserve, it’s a pretty stellar big-screen gaming display for its money. Graphics look crisp, bright and colourful, while the high frame rate support ensures gaming also feels fluid, smooth and responsive. The responsiveness is further bolstered by a measured input lag of just 13.1ms at 60Hz.

Sound

The Q6C’s Onkyo-designed sound system isn’t as ‘hi-fi’ in tone or as well-rounded as the B&O systems found higher up TCL’s current range. It’s not bad at all, though, for such an affordable TV.

Particularly surprising is the size of the soundstage it produces with DTS:X and, especially, Dolby Atmos mixes. Ambient effects and off-screen details appear well beyond the TV’s left, right and even top edges without the staging becoming incoherent or thin.

Dialogue seems to be coming from the screen rather than somewhere beneath or behind it, helping it sound impressively clear and clean. It still sounds contextualised enough, though, rather than bright or sharp.

Movie scores exist outside the scope of the main in-scene sound, just as they (usually) should, and sound effect detail levels are high enough to point to more quality in the speakers than you’ve any right to expect for this sort of money. Specific location details aren’t, to be clear, placed with the sort of accuracy you get with premium TV sound systems from the likes of Samsung, Philips and Sony, but the Q6C certainly does more with them than most similarly priced rivals.

There’s plenty of volume available, too, and while the sound density and power tend to level off during escalating action or horror scenes rather than continually expanding right to a scene’s climax, at least the sound doesn’t actively collapse under pressure.

Bass levels aren’t quite as rich and deep as we might have hoped, given the presence of two subwoofers on the set’s rear, which occasionally causes some high-pitched ambient effects to sound a little too dominant. Even the epic bass drops of Blade Runner 2049, though, don’t cause the bass speakers to seriously distort or drop out. In fact, the only distortion during Blade Runner 2049’s famous opening soundtrack dynamics comes from the treble, which causes a slight ‘buzzing fly’ effect when the speakers are under their greatest pressure.

The bottom line, though, is that, as with its pictures, the TCL Q6C’s sound is better than that of most, if not all, other TVs in its price class.

Verdict

If the Q6C cost twice as much as it does, we’d still class it as good. In fact, for a 65-inch TV at its price, it’s nothing short of ridiculous. If this is how TCL signs off its current range, we seriously can’t wait to see what the brand brings to the table next.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

Read our review of the TCL C7K

Also consider the Samsung U8000F

Read our Mitchell & Brown QLED1811 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

“OLED killer” is a phrase we’ve heard many times before. That's why, when we first saw RGB Mini LED at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we took most of the boasts to that effect with a minor pinch of salt.

After all, for serious movie fans with deep pockets, OLED has been the TV panel tech of choice for nearly a decade despite the sea of “killers” squaring up to it. If you’ve checked our yearly list of What Hi-Fi? Awards winners in the TV category, there’s no denying OLED's dominance in the upper echelons of the market.

But, with our first set with the tech, the Hisense UR9, reviewed and rigorously tested against key rivals, including the Product of the Year-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, we can confirm our scepticism wasn’t entirely merited – and there is a lot to like about the hardware.

RGB Mini LED is an evolution of the base Mini LED tech we’ve seen for a while now. The key change is that the new panel creates colours using independent diodes made up of individual red, green and blue LEDs that feed directly into an optical lens behind the LCD panel.

Traditionally, Mini LEDs have done this by passing blue light through a QDEF (Quantum Dot Enhancement Film) sitting between the backlight and LED panel.

Companies, including Hisense, claim the new approach will let TVs offer improved colour accuracy, wider gamut coverage, higher brightness (resulting in improved contrast) and more.

And we definitely noticed improvements in all these areas, using the UR9, especially when playing bright HDR content.

“Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity," wrote TV and AV editor Tom Parsons in our UR9 review.

“Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.”

But, we're still not ready to call time on OLED's dominance, and the reason is a simple argument we've made before. Despite all its perks, the UR9 still can’t match a top tier OLED’s pixel-level light control.

It’s this ability to control every individual pixel, creating perfect blacks, and a holistically more three-dimensional experience, that still gives OLED its edge, and as Tom said prior to me writing this article, “I don’t see any way that a backlit TV will ever match OLED in those regards.”

And because of that, the team and I all have one question: Is RGB Mini LED’s place really at the top end of the market?

From what we’ve seen so far, it may be that its sweet spot is actually just below OLED, in the upper mid-range.

This was the case with Mini LED sets, such as last year’s Award-winning TCL C7K. Though the TV couldn't match a good OLED on pure picture quality, it proved a performance-per-pound/dollar champion and the best set you could get under £1000 thanks to its competitive pricing.

And we’re not alone with this thought. There are already several companies viewing RGB Mini LED the same way.

Philips Senior Director of Product Strategy, Danny Tack, openly told us OLED is better from a pure performance perspective when we asked where the firm’s new RGB Mini LED sets will sit in its 2026 range, at a press event earlier this year.

TCL, though it has high hopes for the tech, seems to have a similar feeling, already pitching its even more premium, but still backlit, SQD-Mini LED as being superior to RGB Mini LED.

Yes, we’ve only reviewed one RGB Mini LED TV so far. And yes, we’ll be happy to be proven wrong if a better set with it appears. We always advocate the best real-world performer in our advice and are hardware agnostic, after all.

But for now, it looks like OLED’s time in the sun is far from setting, at least in the premium end of the TV market.

MORE:

These are the best Mini LED TVs we’ve tested

Our picks of the best OLED TVs money can buy

We rank the best TVs

“Four stars! For an LG OLED!?” That was the reaction from many people when we published our original LG G6 review just over a month ago.

As reviewers, we are always unbiased, but we do get why the star rating caused such a kerfuffle.

LG’s OLEDs have been among the best of the best for many years, as the number of What Hi-Fi? Awards they've won demonstrates. So we've all become accustomed to them being awesome, almost by default.

Seeing a four-star LG OLED, especially this year, when Sony isn’t expected to unveil a new flagship OLED and Panasonic is only set to launch one, more affordable OLED, isn't ideal for anyone in the market for a new OLED TV.

In fact, I’d go so far as to argue there’s never been a worse time for the G-series to stumble. Especially, when the issues we encountered around its slightly grey black level and over-aggressive peaks made it hard to recommend, over the now cheaper LG G5, let alone the Product of the Year-winning, Sony Bravia 8 II from last year.

As we said in our review: “LG seems to have dug its heels in on the idea that brighter (and more colourful) is better with the G6 [...] But this new focus brings fresh weaknesses, most notably to black depth and cinematic authenticity.

“The raw materials are clearly here and, with some more considered tuning, the G6 could be among the best in class. As it stands, though, this feels like one step forward and another step back for LG’s flagship OLED range.”

No one likes being the bearer of bad news, but that was the reality, which is why we couldn't recommend it to anyone after an "as the director intended" TV experience.

And while we’re yet to test the Samsung S95H or Philips OLED911, based on our experience with previous sets, which have shown the engineers have a vivid flair when it comes to tuning, this LG fumble could leave a big hole in the market.

Thankfully, there is a silver lining.

Since our review was published, LG has been in touch, promising that the problems we encountered were due to issues with the software – issues that have supposedly been fixed in a newer version. So, understandably, LG wants us to test it out.

This is why, right now, we have a new LG G6 sitting in our test rooms, next to our reference LG G5 and Bravia 8 II, complete with the new software, ready for testing.

Next week, myself and TV and AV editor Tom Parsons will be doing a Groundhog Day (or a Palm Springs, if you prefer), re-testing the G6, to see if the new software does indeed fix the issues we found.

So watch this space. And if you’re thinking about buying a new flagship OLED, wait a little longer to see if LG’s flagship series can regain its five-star lustre.

We’ll be updating our review with our latest findings once we’ve finished running the new review unit through our rigorous comparative testing process. It's far from guaranteed that we will see any improvement but we're always willing to check and be sure.

If you have any questions ahead of us re-testing the G6, drop a comment on this page, and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs money can buy

We rank the best 65-inch TVs

Our picks of the best TVs for serious movie fans

We've gone hands-on with both the TCL C8L and C7L already, and now we have UK prices ahead of them going on sale this month. And it's good and bad news.

The C7L is £100 cheaper than the C7K at 65 inches. Which is cause for celebration. But pooping the party somewhat is the C8L, which is £300 pricier than the C8K. Boo!

The C8K and C7K both earned five stars, with the latter also picking up a What Hi-Fi? Award.

As you'll see below, some prices have risen, while others have fallen. Both new models are quite a bit cheaper at their largest 98-inch sizes.

Both models boast TCL's Super Quantum Dot technology, which eschews the pivot to RGB Mini LED that most manufacturers are making this year.

This includes TCL's new Deep Colour System, which should reduce colour bleed between light and dark areas, boost colour gamut performance and colour dot accuracy, and minimise the halo effect that comes with blooming.

The full model names are the C8L-UK SQD-Mini LED TV and C7L-UK SQD-Mini LED TV. In the US, they're called the QM8L and QM7L.

Here's how they compare to last year's equivalents.

Of course, these are only RRPs – the actual prices are likely to drop throughout the year. The big question is, will the discounts be as significant as last year? The 65-inch C7K ended up selling for just £899, and is currently available for £50 less than that. Which, coupled with its excellent performance, helped it on its way to an Award.

Stay tuned for our best TV deals for a bargain. We'll have full reviews of both models soon to see if they can equal their five-star predecessors.

MORE:

The best TVs money can buy

Big screen, small price: get a brilliant budget TV ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026

A load of five-star OLED TVs we recommend are disappearing – will they come back?

Here it is, folks: our first full review of an RGB Mini LED TV.

We have previously run extensive hands-on tests of a couple of RGB Mini LED TVs – most notably the huge Hisense 116UX – but, due to their astonishing sizes and prices, we’ve had to do the testing outside our own facilities. In our world, that’s not a full review, so those TVs haven’t received star ratings.

The 65-inch Hisense UR9 we have before us today is designed to address the size and price issues that have until now prevented more people from hopping on the RGB Mini LED bandwagon.

This set, then, is leading the mainstream RGB Mini LED charge. And, while it’s a fair way short of perfect, particularly next to a flagship OLED TV, the UR9 is an impressive TV in its own right and a tantalising glimpse at the technology’s long-term potential.

Price

Price is always a hugely important factor whenever we test a product, but it’s particularly crucial to how the Hisense UR9 will be viewed.

In the UK, the launch price of £2999 places the 65-inch UR9 in the same category as flagship OLED TVs such as the new LG G6 and last year’s Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II.

In Australia, though, the AU$3999 price puts the Hisense UR9 up against step-down OLEDs such as the LG C6.

Most interestingly (and confusingly), while the announced launch price in the US was a super high-end $3500, when the TV actually arrived in shops, the tag was a vastly cheaper $2000, placing the UR9 in an entirely different category, below even step-down OLED models.

Essentially, then, this Hisense is a rather different proposition in each of those three regions. Seeing as we are UK-based and it’s a UK sample we’re reviewing, though, it’s the UK price that we are primarily working with here. And that means the UR9 is going to have to face off against the mighty Bravia 8 II QD-OLED.

Design

The Hisense UR9 is not one of those modern flagship TVs that disappears into your living room.

At 4.5cm thick, it’s decidedly chunky by current premium TV standards, particularly next to the impossibly slim OLED models with which it competes on price.

The rear panel is completely flat, though, which makes the UR9 fairly tidy for wall-mounting, and the overall build feels solid and substantial.

The TV’s general styling is perfectly pleasant, too, though it stops short of being genuinely luxurious. Bezels are slim enough, the dark metallic finish is smart, and the overall aesthetic is clean and restrained, but the UR9 lacks the slick elegance and premium flair of rivals such as the Sony Bravia 8 II and Samsung S99H/S95H.

Hisense has made some nice, practical decisions, though.

The centrally mounted pedestal stand has a relatively narrow footprint of around 42cm, making the UR9 easier to place on narrower furniture than many similarly sized rivals. It also offers two height positions, allowing you either to keep the screen sitting low and tidy or raise it slightly to create extra clearance for a soundbar.

Rows of tiny perforations run down both sides of the set, while larger openings line the top edge. These house the UR9’s side- and up-firing speakers, which form part of its integrated Devialet sound system.

Overall, then, the UR9 is more functional than fashionable – a practical, purposeful TV rather than a particularly glamorous one.

Features and specs

The headline feature here is, of course, the UR9’s RGB Mini LED backlight.

Unlike a conventional Mini LED TV, which uses a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, the UR9 instead uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. In theory, this approach allows for both greater brightness and more precise colour reproduction.

Hisense claims peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we’re testing here, alongside 980 local dimming zones and a native 170Hz panel, all driven by the company’s Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor.

Gamers are generally very well served – with one unusual caveat. Unlike most premium TVs, which have four HDMI sockets, the UR9 has just three. These are accompanied by a PC-gaming-friendly DisplayPort connection – something that remains extremely rare on TVs.

Is a DisplayPort connection more valuable than a fourth HDMI socket? We have our doubts, but to a small number of very committed PC gamers, it may be very useful.

All three of the HDMI sockets are 2.1-specified, though, with support for 4K/170Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz), VRR and ALLM. Some brands, including Sony, still offer just two HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TVs.

The UR9’s input lag is decent rather than exceptional. We measured 32.5ms at 60Hz in the standard Game mode, though enabling the Refresh Rate setting reduces that figure to a more respectable, though far from groundbreaking, 24.6ms.

The UR9 supports every significant HDR format currently in use – HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – plus the intelligent Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive variants that respond to ambient room lighting conditions.

It is also IMAX Enhanced certified, and the UK version of the TV features an anti-reflective, anti-glare screen coating that proves fairly effective at combating bright-room reflections.

Audio specifications are unusually ambitious by TV standards, too. The UR9 features a Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel speaker system with dedicated up-firing drivers, plus support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

In the UK and Australia, the UR9 runs Hisense’s own VIDAA smart platform, while the US version instead uses Google TV.

VIDAA still isn’t the prettiest smart system around, but it’s fast, responsive and logically laid out. App support is broadly very good, too, with all of the major streaming services and UK catch-up apps present and correctly supporting the relevant picture and sound formats.

There are, however, a few frustrating omissions. Most notably, the Apple TV app lacks access to the Apple TV store and users’ purchased libraries, so it can’t be used for movie purchases and rentals. That’s a real disappointment, as Apple’s pay-as-you-go store is the best around.

While far less important for a TV, it’s worth noting that music streaming support is sparse, too, with Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz all absent. There are no cloud gaming apps, either.

The inclusion of Freely is welcome, though, as it allows live TV channels to be streamed over the internet without an aerial connection.

Picture quality

The Hisense UR9 makes a superb first impression. In fact, perhaps the most impressive thing about it is just how rarely it behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Before getting into that, though, some setup advice is required, because the TV’s default HDR settings do it few favours.

When first fed HDR10 content, the UR9 automatically switches into its HDR Energy Saving mode which, despite its name, is surprisingly aggressive. Colours skew cool and bluish, motion processing is overly intrusive, and the overall image looks unnatural and overcooked.

HDR Standard and HDR Dynamic are similarly best avoided, both pushing sharpness, brightness and processing much too hard.

Thankfully, Filmmaker Mode proves far more successful. It delivers the most accurate and balanced picture of the available presets, and it quickly becomes our preferred overall option.

Interestingly, though, IMAX Cinema is also unusually compelling. While its underlying settings appear almost identical to those of Filmmaker Mode, it consistently produces a noticeably brighter and punchier image without obviously compromising balance or naturalism.

As a result, we would stick with Filmmaker Mode for dark-room and purist viewing, but happily switch to IMAX Cinema during the daytime or whenever we fancy a little extra visual intensity.

Once properly configured, the UR9 is an extremely accomplished performer.

Play 1917 on 4K Blu-ray, and the opening logos immediately demonstrate just how well controlled the TV’s backlight system is. Blooming around the bright white text is minimal, black depth is strong, and colours look rich, warm and nicely cinematic.

More importantly, the local-dimming system generally goes about its business without drawing attention to itself. Throughout our testing, the UR9 almost never exhibits the flickering, brightness pumping or visibly shifting backlight behaviour that can make many Mini LED TVs distracting.

That consistency quickly emerges as the UR9’s defining strength. While many bright Mini LED TVs constantly remind you that they are dynamically manipulating a backlight behind the scenes, the Hisense instead achieves a broadly very composed, stable and natural delivery that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

Blade Runner 2049 showcases this particularly well. Black depth is consistently strong, shadow detail is excellent and subtle blooming is tightly controlled. There’s also impressive richness and stability to colours, especially reds, which look wonderfully pure and saturated without drifting into pink or magenta tones.

Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity.

Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.

Motion handling is strong, too. The default Film setting is decent enough, but switching Motion Enhancement to Clear results in noticeably smoother pans without introducing the distracting soap-opera effect or processing artefacts that such systems often create.

The notoriously difficult Matera cemetery and chase sequence from No Time To Die is handled particularly well, with impressively little judder to the panning shots and clean rendering of drifting smoke and rapid camera movement.

Dropping down to standard-def and SDR, our Kiss Kiss Bang Bang DVD is reproduced with pleasing warmth, strong detail and impressively clean upscaling. Colours are arguably pushed a touch too hard at times, but the overall presentation remains highly enjoyable and consistently cinematic.

For all of the UR9’s strengths, though, direct comparisons with a top-tier OLED TV still reveal the limitations of even this undeniably refined RGB Mini LED model. Despite its impressive local-dimming system, the Hisense simply cannot match the pixel-level contrast control of the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Extremely bright highlights against deep black backgrounds are sometimes handled slightly conservatively, presumably to avoid blooming. Perhaps counterintuitively, those bright white logos against pitch-black backgrounds appear more intense and impactful on the Sony OLED than on the much brighter, on paper, Hisense.

More significantly, the OLED TV produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image across the board. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within clouds, shadows and highlights appear more convincing and refined, creating a more rounded look.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: we have documented that extra solidity you get from OLED plenty of times previously, most notably when we used the Sony Bravia 8 OLED as a comparison in our Bravia 9 Mini LED review. But it bears repeating for those who are choosing between an OLED and a backlit TV.

Viewing angles are another clear OLED advantage. While the UR9’s picture performance doesn’t entirely fall off a cliff when you move off-axis, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is surprisingly narrow.

And while the UR9 usually keeps blooming impressively well controlled, especially for a backlit TV, particularly torturous scenes can still expose its limitations.

The bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer is a great example. From the UR9, there’s a slight general greying to the image, plus some visible glow around isolated spotlights in the darkness. The opening starfield of Alien: Romulus, meanwhile, reveals that the UR9 cannot simultaneously maintain truly inky blacks and perfectly intense star highlights in the way an OLED can.

To be clear, the Hisense performs well in these scenes by LCD standards, and many owners may never notice such shortcomings during normal viewing. But they do prevent the UR9 from truly matching the effortless contrast precision and dimensionality of the best OLED TVs.

Sound quality

Developed in partnership with Devialet, the UR9’s 4.1.2-channel speaker system delivers a surprisingly expansive and full-bodied presentation by TV standards, with particularly impressive width and height effects.

The Theatre sound mode is the most immediately striking of the available presets, producing a presentation that extends well beyond the physical boundaries of the TV and creating a convincing sense of spaciousness with Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

There’s decent bass depth, too, and the UR9 maintains good composure at high volumes, avoiding the harshness and distortion that can afflict many flatscreen TVs when pushed hard.

The overall presentation is smooth and rich in character, which makes the UR9 an easy and enjoyable listen over long viewing sessions.

It isn’t perfect, though. Dynamics are a little stunted, and action scenes lack some of the punch and excitement they deserve, while dialogue could be projected with greater clarity and emotional expression.

The Theatre mode also slightly overplays its hand at times. While its extra spaciousness is undeniably appealing, it introduces a faintly diffuse and echoey quality to voices, along with a slight sense of delay that makes speech sound less natural than it should.

As a result, we find ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode for most content. It still sounds pleasantly spacious and open, but delivers dialogue with greater focus and cohesion while maintaining good weight and scale.

Ultimately, while even a modest dedicated soundbar will comfortably outperform it, the UR9’s audio system is better than that of most TVs, even at this lofty level.

Verdict

In several ways, the Hisense UR9 is one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Most of the time, you’re not even made aware that it is a backlit TV, so good are its black levels, its control of blooming and its consistent, flicker-free contrast.

While it is possible to trip up the backlight, it’s quite hard to do so, and many buyers may never see an unsightly bloom in their period of UR9 ownership.

But while this first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV is broadly mercifully free of the flaws that generally afflict backlit TVs, it still can’t match the overall picture quality of the best OLED models.

The pixel-level contrast control of OLED brings benefits in several areas. There are the notably brighter highlights on very dark backgrounds that even accomplished backlit sets, such as the UR9, are too cautious to go all guns blazing with for fear of blooming. There are the almost flawless viewing angles, too, which the UR9 is a long way from matching.

The biggest thing, though, is the generally more solid, more perceptually three-dimensional image that OLED provides. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the Hisense UR9 simply looks flatter, less dynamic and less impactful.

Ultimately, as enjoyable and technically impressive as the UR9 is, we can’t think of a good reason you would buy it over a flagship-grade OLED, and that’s the level at which Hisense is pitching it – at least in the UK.

Of course, if you are someone who has a flagship-level budget for their next TV and a general aversion to OLED, the Hisense UR9 should be right around the top of your list.

If you’re a UK buyer, it’s probably a good idea to wait and see if we get a massive US-style discount before placing an order, though.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Also consider the Sony Bravia 8 II, LG G6 and Sony Bravia 9

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Roku and TCL have been accused of knowingly selling TVs with defective software that stops them working. The accusation was made in a class action lawsuit in California, USA.

The Roku OS operating system features on TCL's more affordable TVs. It's accused that faults with the former are affecting the latter, as well as other Roku TVs.

Plaintiff Terri Else alleges that Roku's software updates left the TVs inoperable. Issues include the TVs being 'bricked' (i.e. showing a black screen and unable to operate), restarting over and over, the screen flashing on and off, and freezing.

The lawsuit was filed against Roku Inc. and TTE Technology Inc. (trading as TCL North America) in the United States District Court, Central District of California.

It states that "Roku's software updates are repetitively defective, materially impairing the functionality of Roku Products, rendering many consumers' televisions either entirely unusable ("bricked"), blacked out, or otherwise substantially degraded in terms of device performance".

It also accuses the firms of failing to issue a fix to the problems they have introduced.

It says that Roku is a platform "which cuts corners, failing to ensure that the software updates are actually free of defects both in testing stages and at scale, failing to adequately invest in software updates which harmonise with the Roku Products, and failing to take appropriate remediative and corrective action once a defective software update is released".

Models affected include – but are not limited to – the Roku Select Series, Roku Plus Series, and TCL 3/4/5/6 Series Roku TVs.

The lawsuit points to complaints on Roku's official community forums, highlighting issues, and the responses that amount to "often unsuccessful self-guided troubleshooting instructions".

It says that the firms' failure to take action is a breach of express and implied warranties, as well as California's Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief plus damages and restitution for members of class action.

Apple recently settled a class action lawsuit in California that could see affected customers paid $95 each (around £70 / AU$130).

It's early days yet in the suit, so it's likely to be a while until any conclusion is reached.

A Roku spokesperson told us: "We believe the claims are meritless." We've contacted TCL for comment and will update this if we hear back.

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A load of five-star OLED TVs we recommend are disappearing – are they coming back?

Big screen, small price: get a brilliant budget TV ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026

Where have all the Panasonic OLEDs gone? If you’re asking that question, you’re not alone.

We have had a wave of emails flood in from you, our eagle-eyed cinephile readers, pointing out that it’s pretty much impossible to buy most models, unless you’re willing to go second-hand.

And, blow us down, you are right. Richer Sounds, Peter Tyson, John Lewis, Sevenoaks Sound and Vision, Amazon and more all seem to have run out of stock of most of them. This is certainly strange, as Panasonic TVs usually remain on sale for at least a year, sometimes two, after launch.

In fact, going through all the usual suspects, we found it next to impossible to find many sizes of the firm’s current-generation Panasonic Z95B and Z90B OLEDs in stock. The 48-inch Panasonic Z90B, which not only impressed our reviewers enough to earn a five-star rating when we reviewed it less than a year ago, but also went on to win a What Hi-Fi? Award, is particularly hard to find.

We reached out to our contacts at the big AV retailers as well as Panasonic itself to find out what’s going on with its current-generation OLEDs. Sadly, the news isn’t great.

Commenting off the record, every store spokesperson we spoke to had pretty much the same response when we asked when and if the TVs will go back on sale: “We don’t know.”

When we went to get information straight from the horse’s mouth, Panasonic was similarly wary to give any concrete information, simply telling us that it has nothing to share about the OLED drought.

We haven’t, then, had any official word on the cause. It could be they are just really popular and sold out fast. Or, possibly more likely, it could be to do with the supply chain, and imminent deal with Skyworth. This will see the Chinese brand take over production, research and development, and sales of Panasonic TVs in numerous territories, including the UK and Europe.

We have chased for further information and will update this page when we hear back, but whatever the answer, the loss of two great TVs so soon is undeniably a bummer, especially the smaller Z90B.

While the 42-inch LG C5 is still a good alternative, there’s a reason we recommended the Z90B over it: the Panasonic set offers better picture quality. Losing it so soon after launch is more than a little disappointing, especially with the football World Cup, which will have many of us glued to our sets, coming up.

Fingers crossed we get good news about Panasonic stocks soon. If not, you can check out our picks of the best OLED TVs we have fully reviewed, recommend and can confirm are still on sale, using the attached guide.

We also expect to get a number of this year’s new sets, including the smaller LG C6, Samsung S90H and Samsung S95H, in for testing soon. So the gap left by the Z90B may well get plugged in the not-too-distant future.

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Samsung is making a statement with its 2026 TV lineup. The company is shifting things around in its range, moves which include demoting Neo QLED to its mid-range in favour of the new RGB Micro LED panel technology. And there are even more OLED options to choose from than in previous years.

With all of these exciting TVs primed to launch, Samsung kindly invited me to view some of its latest products before they officially hit the shelves. And this time, I managed to get some in-depth time with three of its latest premium TVs.

While I have seen some of the models mentioned here today in action at CES, and on a visit to Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea, this time I was allowed to sit with the TVs for an extended period, change the settings, and even play some reference discs straight from our AV testing room.

With that in mind, here's a quick roundup of my thoughts from hands-on looks at three of Samsung’s latest premium TVs…

RGB Micro LED could be a winner…

The first TV I spent time with yesterday was also the most fascinating model from Samsung’s new lineup. The R95H uses the brand’s new RGB Micro LED (which seems to be its version of RGB Mini LED) panel technology, and the initial signs are very promising.

I saw this TV at gargantuan sizes at CES, including 115- and 130-inches, but this time around it was the more real-world 65-inch model on show. While pricing wasn’t shared, I’m willing to bet that this will be a more attainable option to experience the latest panel tech compared with the huge TVs mentioned above.

Using a medley of reference clips we often use for testing, from films including Oppenheimer, Blade Runner 2049 and Pan, I got a flavour of what this TV can do. It’s safe to say that I walked away rather impressed.

A tricky nighttime scene from Oppenheimer demonstrated this TV’s local-dimming capabilities; I struggled to see any blooming, and black levels were remarkably good for a backlit TV.

At the other end of the scale, the blindingly bright Pan looked superb on this TV, with rich colours and dazzling highlights. There was also a sharpness and solidity to the picture that could – and I stress could, as we need more time with the set to cement this claim – give OLED a run for its money.

We'll need to assess this TV in our home cinema testing room to settle on a final verdict, but I certainly felt that this set left a strong first impression.

The S90H looks good, but my biggest question remains…

Sitting in the middle of Samsung’s premium TV range, the S90H is the closest rival to the five-star LG C6 that I have seen so far. Samsung set this TV up in a very brightly lit hotel room with all of the curtains open – and there was a reason behind this.

For the first time since Samsung introduced the display coating on the S95D, Glare Free is being introduced on the step-down models in the company’s range, which includes the S90H. And you’ll find it on every screen size, from 42 to 83 inches.

While it was unquestionably effective at combatting reflections and diffusing ambient light, it did disperse the light in a way that seemed to introduce a touch of greyness to blacks (this was most noticeable in the letterboxing bars of 21:9 content). However, this felt a reasonable tradeoff, and it certainly gives this TV an edge for daytime viewing.

That being said, Samsung remained coy on a hot-button issue relating to this TV, which is why I still have my reservations. Once again, the company refuses to clarify which OLED panel is inside this TV. While we have it on good authority that the S90H uses a WOLED panel, the previous generations of this TV have been subject to an “OLED panel lottery” in which Samsung used WOLED and QD-OLED panels interchangeably.

While the company maintains that the panel doesn’t matter, and that users will get a top-notch picture experience regardless, we know that these panels perform differently when it comes to brightness and colour reproduction; therefore, this remains a potential sticking point with the latest entry into the S90-series.

S99H: a unique OLED flagship?

At the top of Samsung’s range is the S99H, frustratingly called the S95H in the US. This might be the most interesting-looking flagship OLED TV we’ve seen so far this year.

The design is the most striking aspect of this set: it features a metal backplate that invokes the look of Samsung’s popular The Frame range TVs. On top of this plate is the OLED display, designed to appear as if it is floating. As a result, this TV really looks like nothing we’ve seen before.

It is designed to be wall-mounted, making it a competitor to LG’s W6 Wallpaper TV, although the benefit of the S99H is that it can also be configured to sit on a TV stand if needed.

We know that this TV uses a QD-OLED panel in its 55- to 77-inch sizes, but Samsung Display doesn't currently make QD-OLED panels in the 48-inch and 83-inch sizes that the TV is also available in.

During my demo time with the TV, the benefit of QD-OLED was certainly evident, as this TV presented an image that combined dazzling brightness and rich colours, alongside the superb contrast that we have come to expect from OLED.

Brightness improvements seem to be evident across the board with this new range, and I was impressed by both the Filmmaker Mode and Movie Mode picture presets with these TVs.

Further testing is, of course, required for all of these sets, so stay tuned for our full reviews coming soon.

MORE:

Read our Samsung S95H hands-on review

As well as our full Samsung S95F review

And check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

This week, we updated our best OLED TV buying advice, replacing the 48-inch Panasonic Z90B with the 42-inch LG C5 as our main recommendation for people tight on space.

Normally that would be a cause for celebration. In most instances, we only ever add a new set to our buying guides when we have found something better to recommend, after all.

That’s a key reason so many of our advice pages have entries that have been there for months, or even years in some very rare cases. If it’s still the best, regardless of its age, we’ll keep recommending it.

And to be clear, the 42-inch LG C5 is an excellent small OLED TV. That’s why we gave it a five-star rating and What Hi-Fi? Award last year. If you want a Cliff Notes summary, here’s the verdict from our review:

“The 42-inch LG C5 is the best small OLED TV we’ve tested this year. Like its predecessors, it offers a near-flawless feature set and solid, sharp, immersive picture quality, neatly packaged in a small room-friendly frame. The only minor issue remains its audio, which, while fine for casual viewing, isn’t powerful or precise enough for immersive movie watching. Plan for a soundbar in your budget, if you don’t already have one.”

The issue is, despite all its perks, it’s not the best small OLED we have tested in the past 12 months. That honour went to the also Award-winning, slightly larger 48-inch Panasonic Z90B.

We confirmed that when we ran all the small OLED TVs we had head-to-head during last year’s Awards season. The reason is simple: at the time, it offered the best picture quality of all the TVs in the room.

Though it wasn’t the brightest, it offered the most even-handed performance, with colours and movements looking wonderfully natural. So, unless you were a gamer with numerous consoles and PCs requiring multiple HDMI 2.1 sockets, it was our main recommendation.

As we said in our 48-inch Panasonic Z90B review:

“From sparkling desert dunes in sci-fi epics to cars thundering across a race track and heated conversations behind closed doors, every scene we threw at this set looked wonderfully authentic and weighty. If you want a 48-inch OLED TV and value cinematic authenticity, the Panasonic Z90B is currently the one to get.”

The only reason we have stopped recommending it is that stock appears to have evaporated atypically early, making it near impossible to buy, unless you’re willing to grab a second-hand or display set.

We have asked retailers and Panasonic if any new stock will appear, and why it has sold out so fast, and we will keep you updated on what we find out.

Either way, while we think the 42-inch LG C5 is still more than enough OLED for most movie fans tight on space, its ascension to our buying guide isn’t the same cause for unbridled celebration it might normally be. And the early loss of the Z90B isn't a good thing for buyers in general. There are very few good, small OLED TVs around in general, after all.

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TCL has announced its latest answer to the art TV craze, and it's packing an upgrade that could see it produce a better quality picture than most of its rivals.

The A4000 Pro NXTVISION blends style and substance, with a frame-like chassis that challenges Samsung's super popular The Frame and Hisense's Canvas TV.

It's designed to blend seamlessly into your living room environment, and when paired with the Art Gallery mode (which features curated artwork and AI-generated content) and included walnut woodgrain frame, it doubles as a versatile piece of wall art when not in use.

Sounds familiar so far, right? Well, TCL hopes to set its offering apart by bringing the picture quality up to standard, as some of the frame TVs on the market sacrifice panel tech for the sake of design.

Not TCL, though, as it has included its precise QD-Mini LED backlight on this TV, and paired it with a matte HVA panel, which should improve viewing angles. That's quite a step up over Hisense's edge-lit QLED Canvas TV.

TCL claims to have included up to 488 dimming zones (presumably this refers to the largest 75-inch screen size), and the A4000 Pro also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

Furthermore, this TV can support gaming signals up to 4K/144Hz over HDMI 2.1, with VRR and ALLM supported, making this a solid choice for gamers and home decor aficionados alike.

TCL has also included the Google TV smart platform and an Onkyo-tuned 2.0 channel sound system, which supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Audio. It says that "dialogue is clear and immersive without requiring an external audio set-up" on the A4000 Pro NXTVISION, which will appeal to minimalists who don't want trailing cables.

This TV comes in four sizes, starting at 43 inches, and it undercuts both of the rivals we've mentioned above. The 55-inch model starts at £899, which seems like a bargain compared to the equivalent Hisense, which we reviewed at £1099.

Samsung's 2026 Frame Pro (which is also billed as a Mini LED art TV), comes in at a staggering £1699 for the 55-inch model, which makes the TCL also look like a steal by comparison.

The TCL A4000 Pro NXTVISION is set to launch later this year, and you can see pricing for all sizes below:

• 75A400 PRO-UK – £1,399
• 65A400 PRO-UK – £1,099
• 55A400 PRO-UK – £899
• 43A400 PRO-UK – £599
  

MORE:

Read our full Hisense Canvas review

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

And read our full TCL C7K review

A new LG G series TV is always big news, so we were excited to get our hands on the LG G6 for review. It's a big moment for the range. Despite earning five stars in our review, last year's G5 was a little disappointing, finishing in last place in our big four OLED shootout. Hence we were keen to see how this year's model fared.

Of course we never test in isolation – throughout all our reviews, we keep the product's main rivals front of mind. So while the G6 impressed in our review, we're now pitting it against possibly its fiercest rival – the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II.

Game on.

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: price

The good news is that both the LG G6 and Sony Bravia 8 II are cheaper than their predecessors. But for the new models, there's not much between them.

As you can see, there's no clear winner. At the only sizes in which both TVs are available (55 and 65 inches), the LG is cheaper or the same price in the UK and US, but the Sony is cheaper in Australia.

However, these are launch prices, and the Sony has been available for a few months already, whereas the LG is brand new. But in a further twist, LG's TVs usually see bigger discounts than most rivals, and sooner after launch. So we would expect the LG to be cheaper across the board pretty soon.

** Winner: Draw **

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: design

Both TVs look very similar to their predecessors, but then no recent TV has been a massive departure in the design department.

The G6 is designed to be hung on a wall with the Zero Gap wall mount, though you can buy it with a stand as well. It does still look like a picture frame, and while it's something we've seen many times before, it is well made and unobtrusive.

The stand has two height options to accommodate a soundbar, but the remote could do with some updating: it's plasticky and lacks backlighting and USB-C recharging, both of which we expect at this level.

The Sony Bravia 8 II looks quite conventional, and while it's slim for a Sony, it is still thicker than a lot of its rivals. Though unlike them, it does have an actuator-based sound system built in, which creates some pretty great audio.

Its blade-style feet can only sit at the extremities of the TV's bottom edge, so you'll need a surface wide enough to accommodate the set. Measure up before you buy.

Like the G6, these feet can also extend to fit in a soundbar without obstructing the screen. Also like the G6, the Bravia 8 II's remote control also lacks a backlight and the ability to recharge. Disappointing.

** Winner: Draw **

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: features

The G6 has the same Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel as its predecessor. This screen tech aims for higher brightness levels (both peak and overall) without sacrificing colour volume and accuracy even during low-light scenes. But this year's model promises to reduce reflections to less than 0.5 per cent, making for better viewing in sunny conditions.

LG's Alpha 11 Gen 3 AI processor brings some improvements, like 20 per cent higher peak brightness, along with better colour accuracy, upscaling, motion handling and tone mapping.

Audio processing has also been given a boost, and the TV has Dolby Atmos FlexConnect functionality for more advanced audio skills. Though there's no Dolby Vision 2 HDR tech (you do get Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG).

LG's webOS 26 platform supports all the major streaming services in their optimum versions, and the G6 continues LG's run as a maker of TVs with peerless gaming specs: you get four HDMI 2.1 inputs offering up to 4K/165Hz gameplay with VRR and ALLM, and Dolby Vision Gaming HDR supported.

There are also more game-streaming features to play with, including a new low-latency interface and a dedicated controller developed with Razer (though this costs extra).

Phew. So how does the Sony compare?

It has Sony's 'latest QD-OLED panel’ which helps the set outdo its predecessor by 25 per cent in terms of peak brightness. It also means higher colour volume and better dark gradation.

Sony's XR Processor uses AI to analyse the scene and optimise the picture accordingly, and it has bespoke calibrated modes for the Netflix, Prime Video and Sony Pictures Core streaming services.

You get the same roster of HDR formats as the G6 (with no Dolby Vision 2 or HDR10+), along with Atmos sound (though there's no Atmos FlexConnect). The Bravia 8 II is also certified as IMAX Enhanced, whereas the LG G6 is not.

Gamers get 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, a Dolby Vision Game mode and the ‘Perfect for PlayStation 5’ functionality. But it only has two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets, one of which doubles as the eARC port. Which could leave some gamers with a separate sound system and more than one console wanting.

Google TV goes toe-to-toe with webOS on the app front, though we do find LG's platform a little slicker. That and the extra gaming chops gives this round to LG.

** Winner: LG G6 **

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: picture

Of course this what we really came to see: which TV has the better picture quality?

The G6 impresses from the off, with its bright colours and oodles of dark detail in the murkier bits of the picture.

"Running our tried and true Civil War 4K Blu-ray, the entire screen burns brighter than any previous OLED we've tested, with the American countryside scene offering palpably higher peaks and more vibrant colours," we wrote in our LG G6 review.

"Dark parts of the surrounding foliage offer more detail, too, with every leaf and twig looking sharper and clearly visible."

The image is brighter and more eye-catching, though not necessarily more lifelike. And it does have its issues. A helicopter's flight seems a little too smooth. The extra brightness comes at the expense of some richness, sacrificing some subtle colour gradients and flattening the image somewhat. Even Filmmaker Mode can't eliminate this last issue entirely. And some colour saturation remains, especially with the greens.

Watching Sinners, we see that skin tones have a slight green tinge to them, and we find that darkest parts of the image don't quite go dark enough – they tend to look slightly grey.

The Award-winning Bravia 8 II fares better, improving on its predecessor without introducing any new issues.

While we spent quite a while tinkering with the G6's settings to get it looking its best, the Bravia 8 II is far more easy-going. For authenticity, pick Dolby Vision Dark for Dolby Vision content. For everything else, opt for Professional.

You can tweak further, but it's a case of marginal gains, and most people won't think it worth the effort.

Its picture is superb. Watching Alien: Romulus in Dolby Vision, we see brighter peak highlights with more vibrancy in the colours. "Colours maintain their natural vibrancy in low-light areas, too, such as the bunk in which Cailee Spaeny’s Rain awakens for another glorious day in the employ of the Weyland Yutani corporation," we wrote in our Sony Bravia 8 II review.

The level of shadow detail is impressive, and these elements combine with Sony's AI processing to make the image more solid and three-dimensional. Sinners has none of the skin tone issues we see with the LG G6, and the darkest parts of the picture are dark enough to really have an impact.

Civil War might not look quite as bright as on the G6, but it still looks crisp and vibrant in HDR10 – its flawless reproduction brings out the finest details of skin textures, really adding to the viewing experience.

With the G6, you face a choice between the blackest blacks and a healthy level of dark detail. But the Bravia 8 II gets the balance just right.

** Winner: Sony Bravia 8 II **

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: sound

LG's OLEDs haven't impressed us in the audio department, but the G6 is an improvement.

It's notably fuller and more robust-sounding than its predecessors, with plucked guitar strings from a scene in Sinners having some bass, while Preacher Boy's wailing vocals are "nicely audible and separate from background noise", we noted in our review.

There's a decent sense of directionality to the sound, but the low end lacks power, and there's not enough precision. This lack of low-end composure is more evident with Blade Runner 2049, whose synth soundtrack sounds more like a child blowing a raspberry.

The Bravia 8 II is in a different league when it comes to audio. Its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system uses two actuators and two subwoofers to vibrate the screen and place the sound relevant to the picture. It's precise, spacious, and ties in beautifully with what's on screen. To cap it all, it packs bags of detail too, and plenty of dynamic nuance.

It copes much better with Blade Runner 2049's soundtrack than the G6 does, going low and staying composed. It can't match one of the best soundbars for overall impact, but you'll have to spend a decent amount of money to hear a notable improvement on its own sonic skills.

** Winner: Sony Bravia 8 II **

LG G6 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: verdict

There's only one winner here. The Bravia 8 II has a more balanced, better executed picture and a more precise, more spacious sound. The G6 certainly isn't without its charms – its picture has plenty of pop, and it's still the best TV around for gamers. But cinephiles will be better served by the Sony Bravia 8 II.

** Overall winner: Sony Bravia 8 II **

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The best soundbars to pair them with

And the best surround sound systems worth your cash

This week, after over a year of waiting, we finally have a key bit of home cinema hardware in our viewing rooms, ready for testing.

Specifically, we’ve got the Hisense UR9, and are going to start our gruelling comparative testing process in mere hours.

Why’s that a big deal?

Hisense has a strong track record for delivering excellent-value hardware, and is responsible for some of the best UST and affordable projectors available right now. But its recent flagship TVs have generally been overshadowed by OLEDs and TCL-made rivals in the past year.

But, if you still don't get why we’re making such a big deal about the UR9, it's pretty simple This is the first TV we’ve got in for testing featuring RGB Mini LED panel technology.

This is a next-generation panel technology we first saw at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last year. It’s set to be used by numerous companies, including Hisense (obviously), Sony, Samsung, Philips, TCL and more.

Though, annoyingly, they all have their own name for and a slightly different spin on the panel tech, the fundamental idea is a simple one: improve picture quality by creating colours using independent diodes made up of individual red, green and blue LEDs that feed directly into an optical lens behind the LCD panel.

This is a very different approach to Mini LED, which creates colours by passing blue LED light through a QDEF (Quantum Dot Enhancement Film) sitting between the backlight and LED panel.

The theory is that the changed approach will let RGB Mini LED offer better colour accuracy, wider gamut coverage, improved brightness (resulting in improved contrast) and more.

In fact, the companies betting on the tech are so confident that the words “OLED-killer” have been muttered numerous times at the various demos we’ve had. This includes our look at Sony’s latest prototype last month.

And with the UR9 costing the same as a flagship OLED, it’s clear Hisense really thinks it can go toe-to-toe with our current top dog for picture quality in the TV market. But, will it actually deliver in the real world? After all, we heard the same inflated boasts about base Mini LED when it first came out many moons ago.

We’re going to find out, as we’re set to run it head-to-head with our current Product of the Year winner in the What Hi-Fi? Awards TV category, the Sony Bravia 8 II – a set our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, openly described as “the best OLED he’s ever tested” when we reviewed it.

We’ll be doing all our standard checks to see if the new, ultimately still backlit, Hisense can actually deliver a five-star OLED-beating performance, using our ever-expanding suite of test discs to check everything from peak brightness and black level to colour accuracy.

But, as ever, we want to get you, our awesome cinephile readers, involved. Do you have any questions about the UR9 or RGB Mini LED in general? Let us know in the comments section of this page, and we’ll endeavour to answer them while we have the set in our viewing rooms.

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These are the best Mini LED TVs we’ve reviewed

Our picks of the best OLED TVs

We rank the best TVs money can buy

With what has felt like a never-ending influx of panel technologies over the past couple of years – think Micro Lens Array OLED, RGB Mini LED and Primary RGB Tandem OLED – we've lost sight of the true future of TV panel tech.

Micro LED, which employs millions of microscopic self-immersive LEDs for an OLED-like experience without the drawbacks, has been quietly simmering in the background for years.

While Samsung has been selling its series of The Wall TVs with Micro LED panels for quite some time, the price tags attached have meant that they have been reserved for the super wealthy. We certainly don't see them in physical retail stores very often.

This is where Hisense steps in. The company kindly invited me to a morning spent in Harrods to oggle at its 136-inch MX Micro LED TV, which is set up and running alongside its UXQ RGB Mini LED TVs to tempt customers with deep pockets to invest in the next generation of TV technology.

Now, I appreciate that Harrods isn't a retailer that appeals to the masses – it's certainly not where I do much of my shopping. But this is a luxury TV technology after all, and the price tag reflects it.

At a staggering £119,999, this TV certainly seems to signify Hisense’s intent to move away from the affordable 4K models it has launched in the past, and make its mark on the premium home cinema sector.

Sporting a claimed peak brightness of 10,000 nits (our camera clearly couldn't handle the dazzling brightness) and a sound system tuned by French hi-fi company Devialet, this is an undeniably impressive TV specification-wise. The company even shared some insight into what you can expect if you do buy one of these huge (and expensive) sets.

Getting a 136-inch TV through a standard door is borderline impossible, but the modular nature of Micro LED means you needn't worry about that. According to Hisense, if you purchase one of these TVs, an engineer with the frame and Micro LED panels will arrive at your home and hand assemble the TV in roughly four hours.

For this price, that's the kind of service you'd expect – right?

Hisense does, however, have some competition. Samsung is also showcasing its Micro LED offering at Harrods, so it seems we are inching ever closer to seeing the true successor to OLED hit the mainstream.

I’ve even seen some more living room-friendly Micro LED TVs at the likes of CES and IFA, which scale the screen sizes down to between 65 and 85 inches. They remain concepts for now, but we could see more conventional models such as these in the future.

We'll need those prices to drop first, though – we highly doubt the average consumer will spend six figures on a TV anytime soon.

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MicroLED TV: everything you need to know

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

As well as the best Mini LED TVs

RGB Mini LED is the TV industry’s big push for 2026.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s about to become the best or most popular display technology – but it is the one being marketed most aggressively, with some brands even positioning it as an OLED killer.

I’ve now seen a fair few RGB Mini LED TVs in action, and I’m not yet convinced. The headline benefits – higher brightness and greater colour volume – are fairly clear, but they don’t obviously outweigh OLED’s core advantage: self-emissive pixels.

As I recently reported, LG says “OLED is still king” – though given that its business is deeply tied to OLED panel production, that stance isn’t exactly surprising.

More interesting, then, is the view from Philips.

Danny Tack, Senior Director of Product Strategy and Planning at Philips, which is launching its own RGB Mini LED TV this year, puts it plainly: “We think OLED still is better.”

That aligns with what I’ve seen so far – and Tack boils the difference down to one simple point:

“This [Philips’ MLED981 RGB Mini LED TV] has 11,520 zones, but OLED has, like, 8.2 million zones – because every pixel is a zone. [That means] we can still have much deeper black, more accurate black.

“Although [the MLED981] is pretty good, pretty well tuned, and there are so many [dimming] segments, there will still be, here and there, a danger of a halo, and a border of the dimming zone.”

That’s the crux of it. Even with thousands of dimming zones, Mini LED still can’t match OLED’s pixel-level precision – so issues such as blooming and imperfect blacks don’t disappear entirely.

Philips is a particularly useful voice in this debate because it produces TVs across all major panel technologies. And Tack, in particular, has a reputation for prioritising picture quality over all else.

So why launch an RGB Mini LED TV at all?

As with LG, the answer is largely about size and price. As Tack explains, the MLED981 is aimed at “somebody who wants a big screen size, good picture quality, and a more affordable price – the bigger the screen size, the more affordable Mini LED is over an OLED.”

Accordingly, Philips is (at least initially) launching the MLED981 only as an 85-inch model – the size at which OLED prices rise sharply and become truly out of reach for most buyers.

Mini LED also still has two notable advantages: brightness and colour volume.

“You could say also in terms of full-screen brightness, Mini LED is better than OLED – 800 nits versus OLED, which is now reaching 450 nits – so under bright conditions, this might be a better offer,” Tack says.

“Colours [are also] a bit more intense, but then again, at an angle, compared to OLED, less so. There are lots of pros and cons.”

In other words, RGB Mini LED absolutely has its place – particularly if it’s a very big, very bright, and relatively affordable TV that you’re after.

But on balance, Philips’ view is clear – and it’s one I share: right now, OLED remains the benchmark for overall picture quality.

Could RGB Mini LED overtake it? Possibly – perhaps even this year. Sony, in particular, is talking a big game with its True RGB technology.

For now, though, OLED remains the TV technology to beat.

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There are certain things you always remember, no matter how many spins around the sun you’ve done.

For me, there’s the death of Optimus Prime in the ’80s Transformers animated film, the time my brother kicked me in the nuts so hard I got a nosebleed; and seeing an OLED TV for the first time.

The year was 2012, and I could still make it from one end of the Las Vegas convention centre during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) without a toilet break. Ahh, to have a 20-something-year-old’s bladder again…

I had been assigned to cover LG’s wares at the show that year. Top of the list was a new 55-inch giant OLED TV. Sure, there had been OLEDs at past shows. But they were dinky by comparison, and I hadn’t had a chance to check them out. So I was going in fresh.

As always, LG made a big song and dance about the technology, so I probably should have been more excited than I was at the time. Truthfully, slightly knackered from the flight and cantankerous over the ever terrible wi-fi in the show’s press room, I didn’t believe any of the hype until I actually saw it.

And there was one big reason for that. Even in the less than ideal show conditions, a disappointing HD resolution and terrible test footage, it delivered something I’d never seen a TV do before: deliver perfect blacks.

In AV terms, what then ensued was that love at first sight scene every romcom seems to have. The sound of other visitors screaming and grunting as they pushed past morphed into birdsong, and the stench of stale beer (at least that’s what I hope it was) was replaced with the smell of freshly cut grass. It was magical.

Since then, right up to the present day, while we have sometimes had our four-star tiffs, OLED and I have managed to keep that spark alive.

What’s the secret to our longevity, you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple: with its perfect blacks, OLED still gives me something no other TV or projector can.

That’s why, even though I will wholeheartedly recommend LEDs and Mini LEDs to people on a budget, or those with certain specific requirements, if a serious cinephile asks what the best option is, from a pure performance and picture-quality perspective, I almost certainly point them to an OLED.

When an OLED is watched in a dark room, with a decent sound system, the added contrast and oomph the blacks give, when deployed with finesse, is magical. This is a key reason the TV Product of the Year winner at the What Hi-Fi? Awards has generally been an OLED for more than half a decade.

But it’s also why this year, in particular, I’ve had some pretty loud alarm bells go off. For reasons unbeknownst to me, TV makers seem not only to have forgotten the importance of OLED’s black levels, but are instead focused on boosting another key metric: peak brightness.

Before regular readers say anything, yes, I am aware OLED TV makers chasing a high nit count isn’t anything new. In fact, you could argue the craze started back in 2022 with the launch of QD-OLED on the Samsung S95B. But here, the focus was as much on improving colours as it was “fixing” OLED’s perceived weakness, its inability to offer as high operating and peak-brightness levels as LED, especially Mini LED, rivals.

For me, the overt focus on brightness over all else only really started gaining proper pace with the arrival of Micro Lens Array, LG Display’s short-lived rival to QD-OLED. It's a technology which has since been replaced by Primary RGB Tandem OLED.

It was MLA that sparked the ongoing nit wars, where every TV maker seems to be fighting to have the highest figure possible, regardless of whether it actually improves the picture (at least in my mind).

We have detailed why this is problematic before, but the short version is that peak brightness is important, but only one of many ingredients that make for tasty picture quality. If you add too much to the pot, you risk ruining the flavour; as with most things, balance is key.

The reason I am particularly concerned now is that, while I had seen the fight for brightness take away focus from other aspects of OLED sets’ performance before – MLA’s tendency to lose colour volume in low-light scenes, for example – the black level was generally left alone.

That changed in 2026 when we saw not one but two new TVs that didn’t nail blacks, pass through our test rooms.

First was the LG C6, which felt like a minor blip, with certain scenes looking a smidge grey until we adjusted the Near Black Detail settings. As we said in our review:

“The Near Black Detail adjustment proves particularly useful, too. Out of the box, the C6 occasionally prioritises shadow detail slightly over absolute black depth. In the opening moments of Alien: Romulus, for example, the blackness of space can appear just a touch raised compared with the LG C5. Dropping Near Black Detail to -1 neatly restores the sort of inky blacks OLED fans expect.”

Then the issue was repeated – to a far worse degree – on the LG G6. We found: “It seems as though LG has chosen to raise the black floor slightly, perhaps to increase shadow detail, but we regularly find that what should be perfect black looks slightly grey.”

And we then couldn’t fix it, with the -1 Near Dark Detail still looking a touch grey and -2 removing some dark detail.

To be clear, they are still good (great in the C6’s case) TVs. But my alarm bells are in full warning mode; I really hope it isn’t the start of a trend for OLED TVs in 2026. This is a brilliant TV tech that, in my mind, should continue to play to its greatest strength, rather than continue chasing Mini LED-level peak-brightness numbers.

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