The best OLED TVs offer some of the best picture quality around at the moment. When they first hit the market, only those with exceptionally deep pockets could really entertain the thought of an OLED. Thankfully, prices have slowly come down and cheaper, entry-level OLED TVs are now among the best.
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So what is OLED? It's basically the next step on from LCD. Because they don't require a backlight, OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diode, televisions can be ultra-thin, and because each pixel can be switched off individually (creating a 'true' black), they tend to boast some of the best black levels in the TV business.
OLED is also a more efficient and eco-friendly technology than LCD. They are expensive to produce, though. Previously, this meant you didn't see OLED TVs under 55 inches, but 2020 will see 48in sets from LG and Sony both hit the market. Just don't expect them to be significantly cheaper than a 55in set.
The very best OLED televisions combine 4K and HDR technology to devastating effect, so you'll find support for HDR10+ and/or Dolby Vision plus HDR10 and HLG support as standard. We've rounded up the best OLED TVs out of all the ones we've tested below, including cheap OLED TVs from 2019 and the very best OLED TVs money can buy in 2020.
We've come to expect some of the best OLED TV picture quality from LG in recent years, and the 2019 C9 series doesn't disappointed. The 55in version pictured here is a 2019 What Hi-Fi? Award-winner and delivers brilliantly balanced colours, impressive black depth and eye-catching levels of detail - everything makes for a flagship picture performance at a reasonable price.
It's a good-looking OLED TV too - the tiny bezel doesn't get in the way, and its webOS operating system is as inviting as ever. As you go deeper into the menus, things get a bit more confusing but thankfully, the TV doesn't require a lot of tinkering out of the box. Its 40W speaker system sounds good enough to keep you entertained, but as with most flatscreen TVs, investing in a good soundbar won't do any harm.
Read the full review: LG OLED55C9PLA
This Panasonic set might not be the most glamorous OLED TV, but it's one of the best value sets we saw in 2019. Here, the picture does the talking, with its natural balance and tonal subtlety giving the image a fantastic sense of realism. Blacks are inky deep, but there's detail in those darker areas too. The above LG might offer a more polished picture, but the Panasonic more than holds its own.
One big plus is that the Panasonic supports all the major HDR formats (including Dolby Vision and HDR10+), so there's no need to worry about the type of 4K content you want to watch. Oh, and its built-in speaker system sounds impressively weighty and dynamic too.
Read the full review: Panasonic TX-55GZ950B
There aren't many TVs that can beat the LG C9 when it comes to picture quality, but we feel the GZ2000 has the edge. The 55in and 65in GZ2000 sets are much more expensive than their LG equivalents, though, which is why this range doesn't take the top spot.
But the picture served up is nothing short of sensational. There's a crispness and three-dimensionality that other sets can't touch, while black levels and detail are a cut above the competition too. The icing on the cake is the brilliant sound quality. There's a soundbar built into the front which works with upward-firing speakers on the rear of the set to produce a wide, spacious sound with a good sense of scale. If money is no object, this TV deserves to be on your list.
Read the full review: Panasonic TX-55GZ2000B
Read the full review: Panasonic TX-65GZ2000B
This 65in version of LG's C9 looks the part before you even turn it on, with such slim bezels you could mistake it for a floating set (especially when wall mounted). The picture doesn't disappoint - black levels are suitably inky, while the image goes brilliantly bright, creating a stunning level of contrast. And while the speakers are pretty well hidden, they create great sound. A fantastic option for any film or TV fan looking for a set bigger than 55in and another 2019 What Hi-Fi? Award-winner.
Read the full review: LG OLED65C9PLA
This affordable OLED TV features 2018 tech in a 2019 panel, but it's still one of the finest sets we've seen this year. It produces a natural, colourful picture with great contrast whether you're watching both 4K or HD content. The C9 range is still our pick if your budget can stretch, but you won't be let down by this excellent OLED TV.
Read the full review: LG OLED65B9PLA
Instead of adding a soundbar to your OLED TV at a later date, Philips solves the problem by packaging a Dolby Atmos soundbar with the 65OLED984 . It's no ordinary soundbar either, given it's designed by Bowers & Wilkins. The design is quite unique - the OLED panel is perched on top of a floor-standing pedestal which also incorporates the bar.
This Philips OLED set isn't just smartly packaged. Slight motion issues aside, it produces a brilliant 4K HDR picture. In fact, we don't think there's another OLED TV on the market that picks out as much detail. It's a punchy and dynamic performer with Full HD SDR content too. Sonically, the TV serves up an open and spacious soundstage where there's genuine placement of dialogue and effects and more than enough bass on tap.
Sure the 65OLED984 isn't cheap, but this combination of picture and sound quality rarely is.
Read the full review: Philips 65OLED984
The Philips 65OLED804 is a TV that looks the part, thanks to exceptionally thin bezels, dainty, low-profile feet, and subtle silver flourishes around its design. You also get the benefits of Ambilight being built-in, so the colour of the on-screen action is extended onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light.
The operating system is Google Android TV 9.0. It's broadly a decent OS, but the implementation here is a little disjointed and it isn't quite as slick as the operating systems offered by LG or Samsung. App selection is good, with just Apple TV and Now TV missing from the Philips' arsenal. While its HDMI sockets might not be HDMI 2.1, the TV does support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, as well as standard HDR10 and HLG.
The set bursts with brilliant yet subtle colour and there's also excellent detail and sharpness, whether you're watching 4K or upscaled high-definition content. Sound quality is surprisingly good too, with natural weight and decent dynamics for a flatscreen TV. It's a slight step down from the more expensive 65OLED984 (above) in terms of overall quality, but this is to be expected and it still delivers a hugely competitive image for the money. We're big fans.
Read the full review: Philips 65OLED804
Our advice when reviewing televisions tends to be, buy a flatscreen and then add a soundbar, but this LG proves one of the exceptions to that rule. It produces just the kind of picture we'd hope for and supplements it with excellent sound quality.
This E9 has more speakers than its 2019 sibling, the also five-star C9 (4.2ch compared with 2.2ch), more amplifier power (60W against 40W) and slightly different positioning (forward-firing vs down-firing). The result is a sonic performance budget soundbars can't beat, and with no extra boxes or cables to contend with!
Read the full review: LG OLED55E9PLA
Read the full review: LG OLED65E9PLA
A big and beautiful TV with a vibrant picture rich in detail, this is another LG OLED we’d be proud to own. You couldn’t really ask for more from the 65in LG C8. It does everything the 55in model does well, but in a larger package. That's why it is another 2018 What Hi-Fi? Award winner.
Read the full review: LG OLED65C8PLA
This TV uses the same screen and Alpha 9 processor as LG's C8, E8, G8 and W8 OLED ranges, so straightaway you know you're onto a winner. The main difference? This one has a built-in soundbar, giving you home cinema sound, which is great news if you don't want to shop around for one yourself. It's quite a looker too, thanks to the stand that makes it look like the TV is floating. The picture quality is predictably excellent, while sound goes loud without losing its balance. You can buy a better soundbar than the bundled one, but this scores extra points for convenience.
Read the full review: LG OLED55E8PLA
If you want to get the most from this Sony OLED TV, you'll have to spend some time tinkering with the settings. But it's time well spent, as the results are glorious. There's an exceptional level of detail in both the darkest and lightest parts of the picture, and it's more than adept at handling the punchy, vibrant images of a comic book adaptation. Oh, and the motion processing is the best around, making transitions run smooth as butter. Well worth a few thousand of anyone's money.
Read the full review: Sony KD-65AF9
The KD-65AG9 is an impressive OLED TV and arguably best in class in a number of ways. Picture and sound quality are both excellent, as is the TV's motion handling. It also boasts a fabulous upscaler for Full HD content. Where it falls down slightly, is with native 4K HDR pictures. In our opinion, rivals such as the LG C9 and Samsung Q90 QLED boast superior processing and HDR handling. The Sony is also significantly more expensive than its close rivals, a price which it struggles to justify.
Read the full review: Sony KD-65AG9
Read the full review: Sony KD-55AG9
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