When it comes to the latest and greatest TVs, all eyes were on the annual Consumer Electronics Show (now just called CES) in January to lay the groundwork for the coming year. But if you're shopping for a new TV now, then you're undoubtedly looking at what is arguably the best TV technology on the market: OLED — although QD-OLED is coming for it, hard.
With uncompromising color and contrast-rich picture quality you're looking for, an OLED TV is the way to go. Unlike traditional LED sets, OLED TVs negate the use of regular backlighting altogether, employing a massive array of self-emissive pixels instead. The best part: These pixels are individually controllable, meaning that when one is turned off, that cell becomes completely black. This is why OLEDs are hailed for their amazing inky black levels.
LG is the brand of choice when it comes to OLED sets, and right now, our favorite OLED on the market is the incredible LG G2 Gallery Series. From its arresting brightness (not something we usually say about OLED TVs) to its jaw-dropping colors and contrast, the G2 Series is the OLED to beat all OLEDs, but there are plenty of other great options, too.
Whether you're looking for the best OLED TV money can buy or want to invest in a budget-friendly model, we've gone ahead and rounded up all the best OLED TVs for 2023.
If, however, you're also still considering a QLED TV, we have a roundup of the best of those, too.
65-inch LG G2 Gallery Series
The best OLED TV
- Class-leading brightness
- Outstanding color accuracy
- Perfect black levels
- Top choice for gamers
- Top-notch design
- Disappointing stand-mount option
We can't beat around the bush with this one: The LG G2 Series is the best OLED TV we've ever had the honor of testing, and with plenty of laurels to cover, let's get things started by talking about just how breathtaking the picture is on this bad boy.
Everything from movies and TV shows to video games will look and perform better than ever with the LG G2. Not only does this 4K OLED achieve perfect black levels and beautifully deep colors (for both SDR and HDR content), but LG's fine-tuned OLED EVO screen delivers some of the best peak brightness levels we've ever seen on an OLED set, trending ever-closer to the kind of brilliance you'll only find on QLED TVs, which are known for brightness.
The G2's four HDMI 2.1 inputs all support 4K/120Hz, on top of NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD Free-Sync, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), along with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG support, making this an ideal TV for movie diehards and heavy-duty gamers.
LG is one of a few TV brands that uses its own smart TV user interface, and the company's latest iteration of webOS gets you connected to all of your favorite streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, and even allows you to pair and cast content to your LG G2 from a mobile device or a computer.
As part of LG's Gallery lineup, the G2 is specifically designed to look its best hanging from your wall like a piece of art, and it even comes with a custom mount that gets the TV as close to the wall as possible.
65-inch LG C2 Series
The runner-up
- Slick new design
- Improved peak brightness
- Excellent black levels
- Solid color accuracy and gamut
- Great for gamers
- Some peak brightness artifacts
- Complex smart TV system
There's not much in the way of picture quality specs to differentiate LG's C2 Series from the G2 family, so if you're looking to save a few dollars on your next big OLED purchase, opting for the former is not a bad idea at all. In fact, the C2 Series even comes in a few more sizes than its flagship older brother, offering a 42-inch and a 48-inch version of the premium set for those of us who may want to use an OLED TV as a gaming monitor.
While the G2 looks its best when wall-mounted, there's a little bit of extra bulk in the overall chassis to get the TV as close to the wall as possible, a design choice negated by the C2 in favor of a much thinner profile and an included pedestal that keeps the TV wobble-free on your entertainment center.
In terms of overall picture quality and performance, the C2 essentially checks all the same boxes as the G2. Four HDMI 2.1 inputs deliver 4K/120Hz, supported HDR formats include Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG, and the C2 is tailor-made for gaming too, thanks to the inclusion of NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD Free-Sync, and VRR support. The C2 is also equipped with the same lightning-fast version of webOS that the G2 uses.
Side by side, the G2 Series does deliver a slightly brighter and more colorful picture than the C2 model, but it's a small variance of nits that separates the top dog from the much-esteemed runner-up.
65-inch LG C1 Series
Almost as good as the C2, but cheaper
- Excellent Contrast
- Perfect Black Levels
- Improved Processing
- Great For Gaming
- Impressive Sound
- Sluggish User Menus
- Confusing picture settings
If you want to save some money while keeping all of the features that matter to a gamer, the abovementioned LG C2 is the TV we'd point you toward. But if you want to save even more money, you can still get your hands on LG's 2021 C1 Series.
Granted, it doesn't have the OLED Evo panel, but virtually every other feature from the C2 has been kept intact, including all of the gaming-centric ones, such as 4K gaming at 120Hz, VRR, the Game Optimizer, and Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync Premium technologies.
When you're not gaming, the C1 Series is also an exceptional TV for movies, TV shows, and sports. Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG are all supported, and LG's Alpha 9 Gen 4 A.I. Processor does a fantastic job of upscaling all kinds of non-4K content to near-4K quality, with almost no loss of sharpness.
Sure, it's not as bright or colorful as the 2022 C2 Series, but the C1 Series is still a phenomenal LG OLED that's worth grabbing while supplies last.
65-inch Sony A95K QD-OLED
The best OLED for videophiles
- Next-level color purity
- High color brightness
- Wide color gamut
- Perfect black levels
- Great sound
- Expensive
Holy TV, the Sony A95K is one for the history books. What we've got here is something a little outside the box in terms of overall design. Traditionally, OLED panels contain nothing outside of self-emissive pixels for display tech, relegating brightness, colors, and contrast to the individual on/off control of each cell. But in 2022, both Sony and Samsung dazzled the TV world with an all-new kind of TV: the QD-OLED.
Sony's take on this state-of-the-art display is the impressive Bravia A95K. At the surface, we're working with an OLED screen, and one that achieves some of the most accurate colors and contrast we've ever seen in our many years of reviewing TVs. Then, when you factor in the fine-tuning, upscaling, and calibration delivered by the Cognitive XR Processor, you end up with a TV that delivers up to 200% more color brightness when compared to a traditional OLED set -- talk about accolades!
The A95K is also equipped with four HDMI inputs, two of which can handle 4K/120Hz, along with G-Sync, Free-Sync, and VRR support, making this an ideal TV for gamers and movie-lovers. And when we mentioned color brightness, the true way to put the A95K to the test is by watching something in HDR. Fortunately, this monster of a TV supports Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, and Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, ensuring that all your favorite HDR movies and shows look as vibrant and lifelike as possible.
You'll also be able to connect to your favorite streaming apps with the A95K's intelligent Google TV user interface, which even allows you to cast content from your mobile device to the TV.
While the price may be a bit out of reach for some, it's hard to come by a TV that does all the amazing things that the A95K is capable of.
65-inch Samsung S95B QD-OLED
An OLED for Samsung fans
- High overall brightness
- Excellent color brightness
- Superior contrast
- Perfect blacks/uniformity
- Great for gaming
- First-gen technology
- Size limits
We mentioned that both Sony and Samsung are the two TV brands that took the world by storm in 2022 with the release of each company's QD-OLED sets. And seeing as we already covered the A95K, we would be remiss to not include Samsung's take on the all-new picture tech: the S95B.
When it comes to picture quality, the S95B tops the charts in the color brightness department. Sure, it may not reach the peak brightness levels of something like the QN90B (a Samsung QLED TV), but color brightness adds layers of immersion, making reds, yellows, greens, and blues all the more punchier, especially when viewed in HDR picture modes.
Speaking of which, the S95B supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats. And while Dolby Vision is currently missing from the list, the S95B more than makes up for the loss with Dolby Atmos support, four HDMI 2.1 inputs, and a fully-loaded Tizen user interface for all your smart TV needs.
This is a first-gen take on a brand-new picture tech, and some of the TV's upscaling features aren't quite as strong as we'd like to see. That being said, we're betting that with a few strong software patches, some of these calibration issues will be taken care of.
Frequently Asked Questions
OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, and its signature characteristic is that each pixel on the screen of an OLED TV emits its own light and color and can be turned completely off to deliver true black color.
Be sure to check out our QLED versus OLED explainer. In general, OLED TVs produce a higher-quality image than QLED TVs, but there are caveats. QLED TVs get brighter, and so they’re the better choice for brightly-lit rooms.
Trick question! OLED is a description of a kind of TV display, whereas 4K refers to a TV’s native resolution. Like LED and QLED TVs, you can buy 4K and even 8K OLED TVs — the choice is yours.
f you’re a gamer, make sure your OLED TV supports HDMI 2.1 at the least, and in an ideal world, it should have Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, too. If you’re a cinephile or video maven, find a model with the best picture processing.
We think OLED TVs still currently produce the best overall image quality, but upcoming new formats such as QD-OLED, microLED and mini-LED-based QLED TVs are starting to threaten OLED TV’s crown.
Yes, all OLED TVs are compatible with at least HDR10 — the most common HDR format — while most offer support for HLG and Dolby Vision, too.
For the vast majority of buyers, burn-in will not be a problem, but it can happen. When it occurs, it’s usually because someone has set their OLED TV to show a TV channel or a video game that has on-screen graphics that don’t move much or at all and left it there for many hours each day, for many days in a row.
Right now, all OLED TV panels are produced by LG Display, and we believe that LG Electronics makes the best overall OLED TV: the G2 Gallery Series. That said, Sony’s image processing is slightly better, so if image perfection is your main yardstick, a Sony OLED TV is a great way to go.
Yes. OLED TVs are definitely expensive when compared to some other options, but their black levels, contrast, and color make for an awesome viewing experience.
Editors' Recommendations
- A big discount just landed on Samsung’s 65-inch ‘The Frame’ TV
- Usually $750, this 75-inch 4K TV is on sale for $550 right now
- This 75-inch QLED 4K TV is under $700 at Walmart right now
- One of Samsung’s bestselling 65-inch 4K TVs is on sale for $500 today
- We love this Samsung 65-inch OLED 4K TV, and it’s $400 off right now
