Heard good things about Mini LED and considering grabbing a set that enjoys the technology? We’re not surprised. The tech has long been championed by TCL and Hisense as the future of television.
The idea is simple: these TVs use smaller LEDs arranged in clusters in a bid to give the set more granular control over the panel. This, in theory, lets them deliver deeper blacks, better contrast, improved peak brightness and a generally more immersive performance than normal LED TVs, all without adding the higher manufacturing costs of OLED.
And, having tested more sets with it than we care to count, we can confirm that they have gone from strength to strength in the mid- and (more recently) lower-end of the market. When we have run them head to head, it has become clear to us that a well-designed Mini LED offers palpable performance gains on base LED sets.
At the top end of the TV market, however, we are still not fully convinced. In most circumstances, OLED’s perfect blacks and improved contrast make them a better choice – if you can afford one, of course. If you’re after a premium set, then, we recommend jumping to our main best TV or best OLED TV guides.
For everyone who can’t afford – or doesn’t want to pay – OLED prices, however, we urge you to keep reading. Below you will find a selection of the best Mini LED TVs we have fully reviewed and can recommend.
November 2026: old entries replaced with TCL C8L, Bravia 9 II, TCL P8L and Bravia 7 II.
I've seen and reviewed more Mini LEDs than I've had hot dinners, and I don't think I'm even exaggerating that much. From testing Samsung and Sony TVs in our dedicated home cinema testing room, to jetting around the globe to see the latest models from TCL and Hisense, I've seen everything from compact 43-inch models to towering 115-inch sets. From experience, I find that manufacturers like to make big claims about dimming zones and brightness figures, and while those are important, they don't always tell the full story. I've seen TVs that feature bonkers on-paper specs that fail to meet expectations, as well as budget models with meagre-looking specs that have won us over entirely.
19th February 2026: The Samsung QN90F replaces the LG QNED93 added as our top gaming TV, and the Sony Bravia 5 and Hisense U7Q Pro make the also consider list. We've also added this update log.
Best Mini LED TV overall
The C8L is TCL’s latest premium Mini LED TV, and it comes loaded with a wealth of hardware and features you won’t find on any of its cheaper siblings.
Chief among these is its custom Super Quantum Dot technology and a custom Bang & Olufsen sound system.
The first of those is an updated version of traditional Quantum Dot technology that passes light through five, rather than the traditional two, QD layers in a bid to further improve colour volume, accuracy and general screen quality.
The screen also features a staggering 2040 dimming zones – a marked increase on the 1680 seen on this set’s five-star predecessor, the TCL C8K.
How do those technological changes translate to real-world improvements? Palpably, is the answer. Running the C8L against its predecessor and rival flagship Mini LED sets, the set delivers best-in-class performance. And that’s even taking account of occasional backlight blooming.
Whether it's the dazzling deserts of Dune: Part 2 or the dim dystopian cityscapes of Blade Runner 2049, the C8L delivers an outstandingly bright, colourful picture with solid black levels and excellent light control. You will need to look at one of the more expensive models featured in our best OLED TVs guide if you want to do better.
Hence our review’s glowing verdict:
“While the 65-inch model doesn’t represent quite such excellent value as other screen sizes in the C8L range, the addition of Super Quantum Dots and a clearly much improved backlight system still delivers a hard to resist upgrade from last year’s mildly disappointing C8K.”
Our only word of caution is that, despite the Bang & Olufsen branding, the sound system is a little hit and miss, occasionally jumping between the two extremes of being either too subdued or overenthusiastic with its delivery; but, when shopping at this level, you really should budget for a sound system as well, so that is by no means a deal breaker.
Read our full TCL C8L review
Best high-end Mini LED TV
When you are shopping at the highest level, we generally recommend buying an OLED. The technology offers perfect blacks and infinite contrast in a way even the best Mini LED can’t. But, if you are 100 per cent against getting a TV with that panel tech, and have deep pockets, the Bravia 9 II is the Mini LED to get.
It’s the Japanese home cinema giant’s current flagship RGB Mini LED set. We first heard about this new technology all the way back in 2025 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Unlike standard Mini LED, which uses a white backlight shining through a colour-filter layer, the RGB variant uses independently controlled red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. This in theory improves colour vibrancy and accuracy. Thanks to the inclusion of Sony’s custom Back Light Master Drive system, which offers the set granular control over the LEDs, it is also claimed to have much better control over the picture than a regular Mini LED.
And if bombastic, but authentic colour reproduction is what you’re after, there’s no denying the Bravia 9 II delivers in spades. Our reviewers went so far as to report, “the Bravia 9 II produces the finest colours we've ever seen from any TV.”
But there are some issues: its backlight occasionally trips up during tricky scenes, raising the panel’s entire brightness; and it still can’t deliver the perfect blacks of similarly sized and priced OLEDs. Hence this set’s four-star rating and our caveated recommendation:
“Sony's first flagship RGB Mini LED TV delivers the finest colours we have ever seen from a television, breathtaking brightness, and local dimming that is so accomplished you'll frequently forget you're watching a backlit display at all. Add excellent processing, immersive sound and a polished user experience, and this is probably the best backlit TV we've tested. [But] despite coming closer than any previous LCD set, the Bravia 9 II still can't quite replicate the solidity, consistency and pixel-level precision that make the very best OLED TVs so special.”
Read our full Sony Bravia 9 II review
Best budget
The midrange market is where Mini LED sets tend to shine, and the TCL P8L is a great example of that. It’s not affordable enough to be described as “cheap”, but it is certainly a performance-per-pound champion and one of the best mid-range TVs currently available.
It might not have a fancy RGB Mini LED panel, but at a technical level it covers all the bases most people need. Quantum Dot colours and 4K/144Hz gaming are on the menu, as well as Dolby Vision HDR and stellar app support thanks to the use of Google TV.
Most importantly, it does a decent job playing films and TV. Though it doesn’t go as bright as some of the more expensive sets on this list, throughout testing it managed to deliver a balanced and authentic picture that let us focus on the content, not what the TV is doing. That can be a common problem we encounter when testing modern Mini LEDs, thanks to their bombastic focus on showing off their peak brightness.
Add to this solid, albeit slightly imprecise sound, and this becomes one of the easiest Mini LED TVs to recommend. It is, indeed, the only Mini LED set on this list to win a What Hi-Fi? Award this year.
As we say in our TCL P8L review:
“The TCL P8L is a rare find. It’s not the cheapest TV, but it punches well above its weight in terms of picture quality and specs, and it sounds good by general TV standards, too. Those with super-bright rooms might find its unspectacular brightness and reflective coating a slight issue, but for everyone else, this is the new benchmark for large, sub-£1000 TVs.”
Read our full TCL P8L review
Best for gaming
If you’re a gamer with cash to spare, and are insistent that your next TV should be a Mini LED, not an OLED, Sony’s step-down RGB Mini LED, the Bravia 7 II is the one we currently recommend.
Yes, it’s expensive, and there are other TVs on this list with the same number of HDMI 2.1 inputs – which are essential if you want to get your current-generation console or gaming PC running at full capacity.
But it offers the best performance for gaming, offering inkier blacks than most rivals, punchy colours and stellar backlight control, making it a perfect screen for everything from intense online FPS titles to terrifying survival horrors.
As we say in our review:
“Sony’s step-down RGB Mini LED TV is a compelling backlit TV in many ways. The company’s excellent picture processing is clearly on display, and the new panel technology really does help to rectify some of the shortcomings that come with ‘traditional’ Mini LED.”
Our only word of caution is that, while this is certainly the best Mini LED set for gaming, we still think the LG C6 OLED is a better option – especially the 48-inch LG C6. That’s why we gave the LG, not the Bravia 7 II, the Best Gaming TV crown at this year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards.
Read our full Sony Bravia 7 II review
Also consider
Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini LED 55-inch: We found that Amazon's previous Omni QLED TV varied pretty drastically in performance depending on the screen size; for example, the 50-inch model bagged itself five stars, while the 43-inch version only managed to score three stars. Thankfully, both versions of the Mini LED successor to the Omni QLED that we've reviewed appear to be more consistent, with this smaller 55-inch version exhibiting many of the same benefits of its larger 65-inch sibling that features on this list.
How to choose the best Mini LED TV for you
After settling on how much you have to spend and how much space you have to fill, which only you can decide (although we have something to help with the latter here), we would normally advise you on the pros and cons of each panel type, but as you have found your way to the Mini LED page we’ll assume you’ve already made that decision. In short, it tends to deliver the brightest and most vibrant pictures.
A lot of people plug third-party boxes into their TVs to handle all the streaming apps that so many of us now rely on for our entertainment, but if you just plan to use whatever the TV’s operating system provides, make sure it has all the apps you want.
If one of those boxes you plan to plug in is a current-gen games console or gaming PC, it’s also worth checking that the TV in question supports all the latest gaming features, otherwise your games won’t look their very best. What you’re looking for here is 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, which require higher-bandwidth HDMI sockets. If gaming is your top priority, you’re probably better off perusing our best gaming TVs guide.
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that the majority of TVs you can buy today are much better to look at than they are to listen to. If you plan to add a soundbar or speaker system to your new TV there’s no real need to worry about its audio performance, which is why we always advise people to take that into consideration when budgeting, but if that’s not an option for you it’s vital to take sound into consideration. There’s nothing worse than having a brilliant picture spoiled by a flat, weedy audio experience.
How we test Mini LED TVs
Testing a new Mini LED TV is a time-consuming and involved process that requires long hours in one of our test rooms, thoroughly examining every aspect of a TV’s performance.
That mostly involves feeding it a variety of sources, from 4K Blu-rays and Ultra HD streams to standard-def DVDs, and comparing all aspects of its performance to that of one of our reference models using an HDMI splitter.
As well as fully evaluating picture and sound quality, we will also check that each streaming service is fully supported by the television. All major apps will output both audio and video in certain formats, including the various HDR and audio codecs, so we actively check each one to ensure that it’s performing as advertised.
Every TV arrives with its default factory settings in place, but we never assume that it can’t be improved by some judicious tweaking in the menus. While we don’t go as far as getting a sample professionally calibrated (that shouldn’t be necessary for us or you) we will spend many hours adjusting the settings and changing the picture modes until we’re satisfied we’ve seen the best a TV has to offer.
When it comes to gaming performance, input lag is tested using a Leo Bodnar device, while each individual HDMI socket will be tested to determine which ones (if any) support today’s more advanced gaming features, such as 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM and HGiG.
We also dedicate plenty of time to testing the sound quality of every Mini LED TV. That includes everything from the clarity, tonal balance and detail to spaciousness and dynamics, although it’s almost unheard of for any television to perform well enough from a sonic perspective that we wouldn’t recommend adding one of the best soundbars or, if space and budget allow, a dedicated AV amplifier and speaker package.
All of our TV testing takes place in state-of-the-art testing facilities in the UK, by an expert team that has decades of combined experience in the industry, so you can be sure that our reviews are fair and consistent. When you choose a product from one of our buying guides you can be confident that you’re getting something we would be happy to spend our own money on.
Mini LED TV FAQ
Is Mini LED better than OLED?
There are areas where Mini LED is capable of outperforming an OLED, most notably brightness, but with superior contrast, better lighting control and unbeatable viewing angles, we still prefer OLED over Mini LED as a whole – at least for now. Our Mini LED vs OLED explainer goes into more detail.
Is Mini LED better than OLED for bright rooms?
Mini LED TVs tend to be brighter than OLED models, so yes, they are better for brighter rooms as the picture will appear clearer. OLED TVs have got a lot brighter in recent years, but Mini LED models still trump them in this area.
Mini LED vs OLED picture quality comparison UK
Mini LED TVs tend to be brighter than OLED models. But OLED TVs still provide the better overall viewing experience – they have better contrast (the difference between light and dark parts of the picture), blacker blacks, more precise lighting control and wider viewing angles. But it really depends on which specific TVs you're comparing.
Read more: Mini LED vs OLED: which TV screen technology is better?
Mini LED vs OLED gaming performance
If it's pure 'pop' you're after, a Mini LED TV could serve your gaming needs better. Mini LED TVs tend to be brighter than OLEDs, giving the colours more impact. But if you're playing dark, moody games, an OLED's superior contrast ratio will show up greater levels of shadow detail, helping you see what's going on more clearly.
Consult our list of the best gaming TVs
What is the risk of burn-in on OLED vs Mini LED TVs?
Burn-in can happen to OLED TVs, though it's much rarer on newer models than older ones. That's the verdict of our readers, who we consulted on the topic. Despite having tested OLED TVs since they launched – and used them extensively at home for personal use – we've never experienced burn-in on an OLED TV.
Mini LED TVs aren't susceptible to burn-in, as they are backlit rather than using organic compounds. The picture can still degrade over time, just in different ways. But no TV will last forever.
Read more: OLED burn-in: should you be worried about it? And how can you prevent it?
Useful links
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
- Looking for a bargain? Here are the best cheap TVs
- Hardcore gamer? These are the very best gaming TVs
- Need a certain size? We've rounded-up the best 55-inch TVs
- Need something bigger? What about the best 65-inch TVs
- Want a future-proof TV? Here are the best 8K TVs
