The 11 best TVs of 2025, tested and reviewed by our experts

Panasonic Z95A

We are super excited about Panasonic’s return to the United States TV market, and the Z95A is a great example of why. This is a top-tier TV designed to go head-to-head with the best from LG, Samsung, and Sony, and it really delivers. In fact, our expert TV reviewer Caleb Denison touted it thusly: “The brightness punch, contrast, color richness, color saturation, motion resolution, and upscaling are all top-tier,” he said in his review. “As a top-five TV, it stands right up there with the Samsung S95D, LG G4, Sony A95L, and the Sony Bravia 9.” High praise.

Using a similar OLED panel to the LG G4, with all the brightness enhancements delivered by Micro-Lens Array (MLA) technology, this TV is bright, bold, and has an incredibly crisp picture. It has that infinite contrast that defines OLED TVs, all while pushing the brightness and clarity higher than ever.

While it does lack the quantum dot enhancement of QD-OLED TVs, like the S95D and A95L, its contrast appears to be slightly better to most viewers. It also has one of the best upscaling processors we’ve ever seen, making older and lower-resolution content look stunning. It also has impressive built-in audio, and though it won’t compete with an upgraded AV setup, it’s perfectly workable while you make your decisions over soundbar vs. surround sound.

This TV has Amazon’s Fire TV built in, giving you all the top streaming channels right from the get go. It’s not often as lauded as alternatives such as Roku, Apple TV, and Google TV, but it’s perfectly capable and you can always switch out to an external streaming device if you have a preference. For buyers with an extensive Alexa smart home setup, though, you’ll find this TV a bit easier to integrate.

The Panasonic Z95A is an excellent welcome return to form for the storied TV brand.

LG OLED Evo G4

Until we get the next-generation G5, the LG G4 is still the king of LG’s hill, and it’s still one of the best TVs you can buy. Period.

In our LG G4 video review, Denison not only says that “the LG G4 has the best picture quality I’ve ever tested in a TV,” but that “it’s the brightest TV we’ve tested to date.” This is some high praise, but he does add that getting it there takes a little bit of work in the picture settings. In the end, it has some excellent versatility — it can be the brightest it can be if you’re going to use it in a bright room, or it can be dialed down if your viewing setting is a man cave or light-controlled home theater room, for example. The choice is yours.

There’s been plenty of fanfare about Samsung and Sony’s forays into QD-OLED tech, which has enjoyed the reputation of being brighter than OLED. We’re big fans of QLED and QD-OLED panels, but now LG is forcing its two fiercest competitors to take heed. We’re also pleased to see LG’s latest chip, the a11 AI processor, put to the test. The speedy new chip brings improved processing speed, unparalleled picture upscaling, lag-free streaming, and big audio performance to LG’s flagship lineup.

Samsung S95D OLED TV

The Samsung S95D is further proof that one of the biggest names in TVs shows no signs of stopping. The S95D QD-OLED delivers impressive brightness levels on-par with some of the better-performing LED sets on the market. Another OLED TVs struggle in sunny rooms, but the S95D’s anti-glare screen holds its own, making it a great choice for spaces for even brightly lit rooms. Then there’s the flip side of this awesome coin: its OLED backbone. Thanks to millions of self-emissive pixels, on top of brilliant HDR capabilities, inky black levels and ultra-rich colors are just part of the norm for the S95D.

The S95D’s marquee feature that has been dividing TV enthusiasts is its special anti-glare coating. We first saw it demoed at CES in early 2024, and it’s cool tech that does a great job at drastically reducing glare, especially in bright rooms. However, it can ever-so-slightly reduce the picture’s luster compared to traditional OLED TVs. In a completely dark room, you probably wouldn’t notice the difference, but with some light in the room, a keen eye might pick up on it.

The Samsung S95D also surprised us a bit with how good it sounds. Usually, TVs have pretty weak built-in speakers. The S95D’s has rear-firing speakers and eight bass transducers that deliver decent low-end rumble. It won’t replace a dedicated soundbar, but for casual viewing, it gets the job done. Especially if you plan on mounting this TV on the wall, where the speaker design performs best.

The Samsung S95D is a strong contender for the title of best OLED TV, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention that it features Samsung’s One Connect box that keeps your cables at bay. One of our only gripes is that it runs Samsung’s Tizen operating system, which can be easily remedied by connecting your favorite streaming device instead. If you prioritize absolute picture perfection in a dark room over reflection control, you might want to consider other options. But for most viewers, the S95D is a winner.

TCL QM6K

The TCL QM6K is right out of the gate in 2025 as one of the best TVs you can buy for under $1,000. It offers some of the best color accuracy we’ve ever seen in a TV at this price, and though its brightness and contrast can’t quite match the very top models, it punches well above its weight and has us very excited for the rest of the 2025 TCL TV lineup.

The HDR support is extensive, with not only both Dolby Digital and HDR10+ support, but a range of other advanced gaming and movie modes to make your favorite content look its absolute best. There’s strong upscaling, a great array of ports for connecting games consoles, A/V systems and UHD Blu-ray players, and a fast and effective operating system that feels snappy and intuitive.

Our own TV reviewer, Caleb Denison, said this of the TCL QM6K’s impressive coloring: “This is the most color-accurate TV of its price that I can recall testing. The color in SDR and HDR is outstanding. In fact, the skin tones on this TV are better than the now-$15,000 QM891G 115-inch monster TV — the color accuracy is just so dialed-in.”

Picture quality is top-notch on this affordable TV, making it one of the best options if you’re looking for an update this year.

Hisense U8N

It’s getting harder and harder for us to call Hisense a “budget-friendly” brand. That kind of connotation just doesn’t line up with the type of picture and sound performance you’ll get from a Hisense set, especially if you’ve got your sights set on one of its U8 offerings.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve had the continued opportunity to review several Hisense sets, including a handful of its flagship models. The Hisense U8N is the newest addition to the Hisense family, and we were simply blown away by the picture quality and medley of features this bad boy brings to the table.

The U8N is a powerful TV that delivers a brilliant and colorful image in both SDR and HDR viewing modes. When measuring nit output for these settings, our reviewer measured peak brightness at 1,300 nits in SDR, with around 3,500 for specular highlights in HDR. There’s no doubting the fact that the U8N can get very bright, but it also delivers the kind of incredible contrast numbers that might fool some folks into thinking it’s actually an OLED set.

While it suffers a bit in the viewing angle department, if you can arrange your furniture appropriately, we have no doubt that the Hisense U8N is one of the best bright TVs on the market for 2025.

Sony Bravia 9

The Sony Bravia 9 is one of the best TVs we’ve ever tested, bar-none; and quite frankly, we were expecting it to be amazing. This is because Sony has basically conditioned us to expect big things when a new premium TV hits shelves. In the case of the Bravia 9, Sony developed a new IC chip that allows the TV’s mini-LED lighting to be meticulously controlled, leading to some of the most accurate colors, contrast, and brightness levels we’ve ever seen from an LED-LCD.

In terms of overall picture quality, our own editor-at-large Caleb Denison thought the Bravia 9 actually did a nice job at striking the balance between a great mini-LED LCD TV and an OLED TV. That being said, because it’s an LCD set, the Bravia 9 performs best in brightly lit rooms and is a champ when it comes to reflection handling. From 4K movies and shows to next-gen gaming, your favorite content gets a solid boost in quality, thanks to Sony’s advanced picture processing and a full suite of HDMI 2.1 ports, which bodes particularly well for gamers who want a TV that delivers fast response time and excellent motion clarity.

One of the best ways to maximize the picture of the Bravia 9 is watching or playing HDR titles. Thanks to Dolby Vision support and compatibility with other leading HDR codecs, the Bravia 9 pushes deep blacks and bright highlights in a way we’ve never seen on an LCD set. Other noteworthy features include a pulse-pounding 70-watt, 2.2.2 audio system, Google TV for apps and streaming content, and VRR support for optimizing your next round of Call of Duty.

While we do wish the off-angle viewing and gray uniformity were a bit better, we’re thrilled to see the kind of precise engineering that went into the development of this TV and we’re super excited to see what comes next.

Sony Bravia 7

We’ve sung the praises of the Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED, a premium TV for the ages that delivers a brilliant picture, complete with top-notch upscaling, terrific colors and contrast, and impeccable motion clarity. While Sony’s Bravia 7 Series sits a couple of rungs below the flagship Bravia 9, we’re still big fans of this midrange option. Do keep in mind we’re not talking about the best LED set Sony has, so there’s definitely an issue or two that we’d like to get squared away. 

First and foremost, this isn’t an excellent TV for off-angle viewing. If you happen to be placing it in a living room or media space where seating is spread around the entire room, guests sitting at the farthest ends (totally off-center with the TV screen) will see a less vibrant and colorful picture than those sitting closer to the screen’s center. We’re also not the biggest fans of the Bravia 7’s reflection handling, so this may not be the best TV for a brightly lit room. These grievances aside, our own TV expert Caleb Denison was impressed by how good this TV can look under optimal viewing conditions.

Expect incredible brightness levels, terrific colors and contrast, reliable image upscaling, and must-have gaming features like 4K/120Hz (on two HDMI ports), next to no input lag, and lightning-fast response times. The Bravia 7 is also loaded with Google TV version 12 for all things Netflix, AirPlay, and smart home. 

And if you’re thinking you may want to spend more to get into the Bravia 8 Series, do keep in mind that the latter is actually an OLED TV. Is there a big difference between QLED versus OLED TVs? Our thoughtful comparison should settle the score.

LG C4 evo OLED

Let’s not beat around the bush: The LG C4 OLED is one of the best TVs that LG has ever made, and we think most folks will agree. Sitting just one rung below the flagship LG G4 Series, the C4 is equipped with LG’s all-new a9 AI Processor Gen 7 that delivers some of the best picture processing and 4K upscaling we’ve ever seen from an OLED. And unlike its direct predecessor, the C3 Series, the C4 now includes Filmmaker Mode, giving you the kind of picture that a movie or show’s creative team intended for you to see.

Each of the C4’s HDMI 2.1 ports are fine-tuned for both console and PC gaming, so expect lightning-fast response times and low input lag. And because the C4 can handle up to a 144Hz refresh rate, feel free to use this bad boy as a big PC gaming monitor — it’s an excellent gaming TV. We’re glad to see that LG has only improved when it comes to HDR and SDR brightness, colors, and contrast.

We’re also glad to see another example of a TV company giving a little more consideration to its speakers. Not only is the C4 equipped with a 40-watt 2.2 speaker configuration, but thanks to the new A9 AI Sound Pro feature, your favorite movies, shows, games, and music can be up-mixed to 9.1.2 surround sound.

In years past, we’ve talked about how LG’s webOS streaming hub can be a little overwhelming; at least as far as layout and ad drops go. And while these interface elements could still use some love, we think webOS 24 runs smoother than ever before.

TCL QM8 Series (2024)