The best OLED TVs are, to most people's eyes, the best all around TVs you can buy. They feature gorgeously inky blacks, a near-infinite contrast ratio, super low input lag and fast response times, as well as excellent color saturation—all factors that contribute to an out-of-this-world viewing experience. The newer panels inside them are brighter than ever, too, leaving little advantage to more traditional LED alternatives. OLED models are quickly taking over our overall list of the best TVs.
Although OLED TVs tend to be a little more expensive and suffer from the dangers of burn-in, they're staggeringly pretty to watch and play anything on. Whether you're a movie fan, TV buff or want a TV just for gaming, the best OLED TVs will give you an experience you'll never forget:
- Best OLED TV Overall: LG OLED G1
- Most Affordable OLED TV (Under $1,000): LG A1
- Best OLED TV Over 80 Inches: Sony A90J
- Best OLED TV For Gaming: LG C1
- Best Value OLED TV: Vizio OLED H1
- Best OLED TV For Built-In Sound: Sony A80J
Best OLED TV Overall
Brighter And Better Than Ever
The LG G1 is the successor to its widely successful GX OLED from 2020, and this new model bumps things up to a whole new level of brilliance. It enjoys the same fantastic contrast ratio and color saturation of its predecessor, but benefits from a new Evo panel design, which LG claims is as much as 20% brighter. That makes this OLED TV far more punchy with HDR content, but also makes it much more enjoyable to watch in brightly lit rooms.
Like all OLED TVs, the G1 is fantastic for gaming too, with a high refresh rate, low response time and incredibly low input lag, making this a great TV for gaming in fast paced single player titles, and for playing competitively online too.
It comes fully equipped with the latest generation of smart applications, as well as LG's voice control system so you can change channels, adjust volume or perform a number of other smart functions without moving a muscle. It also enjoys LG's new a9 Gen 4 AI upscaling processor, so older 1080p and SD content is upscaled to 4K, letting you enjoy your favorite older shows and movies like never before.
One neat thing the LG G1 has going for it is its built-in ability to mount flush onto your wall. It looks close to a frame hanging up in an art gallery, which is what the “G” in its name stands for. LG even includes a slim wall mount in the box.
Most Affordable OLED TV (Under $1,000)
Small But Mighty
LG might have the top-end of OLED TVs locked down with a number of its fantastic G and C-series TVs, but it has some stellar budget offerings too. "Budget" in the world of OLED isn't cheap, but it's certainly cheaper than it was just a few years ago. The 2020 LG A1 is a great example of that, featuring many of the same fantastic technologies that make LG's top OLED TVs so great, at a fraction of the price.
At 48 inches, this A1 OLED TV isn't huge, but it's no tiny TV either, and that smaller screen real estate just makes the 4K resolution and clarity of OLED contrast really shine through. It also benefits from wide viewing angles which is great for watch parties with friends, and the low input lag means it's a solid TV for gaming.
Best OLED TV Over 80 Inches
Worth The High Price
You can make the most of an OLED TV by buying a huge model, and though that does mean it'll be expensive, it's not as much as it was just a few years ago. Where then, you'd have spent $10,000+ to get a flagship super big OLED TV, now you can get this amazing Sony A90J 83-inch OLED 4K TV for just $6,000. That's not cheap, but it's an amazing deal considering the TV you get looks even better than arguably the best OLED TV you can buy—the LG G1—and it's bigger, to boot.
The OLED panel on this TV features a near-infinite contrast ratio with fantastic black uniformity. It can also get plenty bright, so HDR content really pops and it looks good without all the curtains drawn. Input lag is impressively low, and with a mix of variable refresh rate, HDMI 2.1 ports and a high refresh rate, this is a TV that is stellar for gaming no matter what you like to play.
Best OLED TV For Gaming
Flagship Quality At An Affordable Price
The LG C1 is very much a reimagining of LG's last-generation flagship OLED, the LG GX. It has all of the same high quality features, including super high contrast ratio, fantastic inky blacks, gorgeous coloring and responsive inputs for gaming. It doesn't have quite the same high brightness as the new LG G1 flagship, but it's still an amazing-looking OLED TV, especially if you play in a darker room.
Viewing angles are broad, making this a great TV for larger rooms or watching something with a larger group of people, and its mix of high refresh rate and super-low response time make it fantastic for gaming. It also has full support for Freesync, G-Sync and variable refresh rates, as well as enjoying a number of HDMI 2.1 ports for plugging in new-gen consoles.
It's basically an LG G1 without the same high peak brightness for around half the price. That's something to celebrate, and easily makes the LG C1 the best OLED TV you can buy for gaming today.
Best Alternative OLED TV
A Great TV That's Not LG or Sony
There isn't a ton of choice in manufacturer when it comes to OLED TVs in early 2022. Although European markets get access to Philips and Panasonic OLED TVs, in the U.S., the lines of availability are dominated by LG and Sony offerings. Vizio is looking to edge itself into an alternative position with its excellent H1 OLED TVs.
Available in a range of sizes, this first attempt at OLED knocks it out of the park, with a fantastic contrast ratio, infinitely deep blacks, fast response time and impressive features like variable refresh rate, incredibly smooth motion support and the ability to remove judder from low frame rate sources.
Whether you're looking to play games, watch movies or binge your favorite TV shows, the Vizio H1 OLED is a great TV to do it on, and a great alternative to Sony and LG options. It's not the brightest, though, so you’ll want to view it in darker rooms with the lights off to really make the most out of it.
Best OLED TV For Built-In Sound
Big, Gorgeous And More Affordable
Sony's A80J is almost every bit as good as its A90J cousin, at a much, much more affordable price. Better yet, it also enjoys the fantastic Sony Acoustic Surface audio package, which lets the display itself act as a monstrous speaker, delivering impressive sound without any additional hardware. The onboard Cognitive Processor XR chip also ensures that the sound syncs perfectly with the action on screen and upmixes 2D sound to 3D, making for a more immersive movie watching experience.
Serious audiophiles will still want to hook up this fantastic OLED TV to a proper A/V system, but for those who don't have the space or need for a dedicated speaker system, the Sony A80J sounds fantastic right out of the box (by many accounts, better than the more-expensive A90J).
