2025 turned out to be a great year for televisions: innovative new products appeared. OLED and mini-LED kits that deliver better-than-ever brightness. It's been a particularly competitive year for flagship OLED TVs, with some fierce battles between the top contenders from Samsung, LG, Sony And Panasonic.
I was lucky enough to test some best tvs 2025 and I'm already looking forward to 2026. As CES 2026 kicks off in the first week of January, we can expect to see big news in the world of television, and I'll be keeping a close eye on announcements from every brand.
Ahead of CES, I've put together a list of what I hope to see from each TV brand in 2026. Some of them will be answered in January, but other details will not appear until later this year.
(Quick note: I haven't commented on Philips TVs as I haven't yet had hands-on experience with their 2025 models.)
LG: Brighter OLEDs
All three LG 2025 OLED TVs G5, C5 And B5scored highly in our reviews, with the G5 and C5 receiving 5 stars overall and the B5 receiving 4.5 stars. While I don't have many complaints about these TVs, there is one change I'd like to see in the B5 and C5 successors in 2026: higher brightness.
In our testing, the LG B5 had a measured peak HDR 688 nits brightness (Filmmaker mode) and 172 nits full-screen HDR brightness (standard mode). Both results are average brightness levels for entry-level OLEDs. I'd like to see more brightness in the new B-Series model to give HDR highlights more pop and make it easier to see in brighter rooms.
The C5's peak brightness is consistent at 1,180 nits in our tests, and full-screen HDR brightness is less than 200 nits. With flagship OLEDs now exceeding 350 nits in brightness, it would be great to see higher full-screen brightness from the LG C-series in 2026. Will this be achieved through a new panel design – as we thought we would get in LG C5 – we'll have to wait and see.
Samsung: Neo QLED price cut
Samsung OLED TVs have had a fantastic year: flagship Samsung S95F be named TV of the Year 2025 according to TechRadar. His flagship Samsung QN90F The Neo QLED (mini-LED) received five stars in our review and has proven itself to be a phenomenal TV.
One area where Samsung needs to improve in 2026 is the pricing of entry-level and mid-range Mini LED TVs. Samsung QN80Fwhich I gave four stars in my review, cost US$1,299 / £1,399 (roughly AU$1,990) for the 55-inch model released. TKL The QM7K/C7K, by contrast, cost $999 / £799 / AU$1,699 just weeks after release, and was the better performing TV of the two.
Although Samsung TVs have more smart and gaming features, this is often not enough to justify the large price gap between Samsung and TCL. Hisensesets.
TCL: Game support
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TCL TVs have continually improved over the past couple of years. TCL TVs were among the best I've tested in 2025, especially in the mid-range. C7K (QM7K in the US), but there is one area where they could improve further: gaming features.
Don't get me wrong: TCL's mini LED TVs already have fantastic gaming features, with all TVs supporting at least 4K 144 Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro and Dolby Vision games. However, input lag seems to be stuck at 13.5ms, and while Hisense TVs have had similar performance in the past, 2025 models like the Hisense U8QG achieved sub-10ms results in our testing. TCL TVs are also limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, so it would be nice if that number was increased to four.
TCL TVs still compete with best gaming tvs and have great features for the price, but with some improvements they could be the perfect budget playset.
In 2025, Hisense has once again introduced excellent TVs. Hisens U8QG And Hisens U75QG We are particularly impressed with their stunning brightness and exquisite local dimming. But there is one area where Hisense could borrow from TCL and Samsung: viewing angles.
We measured the Hisense U75QG's peak brightness at 3,372 nits (in standard mode) and full-screen brightness at 887 nits. This high brightness makes it an excellent TV for daytime viewing, including sports. However, in our testing, we noticed that the U75QG's image quality deteriorates when viewed off-axis, and this applies across the Hisense lineup. It's a shame that a TV that has so much to offer stumbles when it comes to viewing angles.
Viewing angles used to be an issue for most mini LED TVs, but over the years brands, including Hisense's main affordable rival TCL, have found a way to solve this problem. This is one area I'd like to see Hisense improve in 2026. I tested the 116″ mini RGB LED and it seemed to have better viewing angles, so hopefully this can be carried over to the standard mini LED line as well.
Sony: cheaper QD-OLED
Sony Bravia 8 IIwhich uses a QD-OLED display panel, received many praises in 2025. It received an overall rating of four and a half stars from TechRadar's Al Griffin in his review and performed well in my comparison of four-way OLED TVs. Sony has introduced a two-year release cycle for its TVs, and I think it's time for a cheaper QD-OLED.
Sony's previous mid-range OLED was the Sony Bravia 8. It's a great TV, but it was released in 2024 and struggles to compete with LG's C-series. Samsung achieved success in 2025 by incorporating QD-OLED into its demise. Samsung S90F 65 inches a model that has a brighter picture than its competitor LG C5, but for a similar price.
Mid-range QD-OLED with built-in Sony audio? That would be amazing.
Panasonic: Higher brightness
I chose Panasonic Z95B as my favorite 2025 OLED flagship after comparing with other models in four-way battle OLED. I liked its contrasting image, powerful built-in sound and stylish design. But one area where I felt like I missed the boat was brightness.
I'm talking specifically about the Z95B's brightness at its default settings in Cinema and Filmmaker modes. While brightness can be increased, during testing I found that it affected the Z95B's image accuracy. It turns out that this was intentional by Panasonic, which decided to prioritize accuracy over brightness with the Z95B.
The Z95B uses the same Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel as the LG G5, which peaks at 2,268 nits in Filmmaker mode at default settings when we tested it. Peak brightness of Z95B in the same mode: 992 nits. At this level, the Z95B's contrast wasn't as striking as I would have liked. An increase in brightness, even a small one, will make Panasonic's next flagship even better.
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