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The Best OLED for Most People
LG C4
The Best for Sights and Sounds
Panasonic Z95A OLED
The Best OLED for Gaming
Samsung S90D QD-OLED
The Most Immersive Picture
Sony A95L
OLED is the best way to watch TV right now. Imagine a perfectly black screen in which each tiny pixel is controlled independently for an image that seems to appear from the void like magic. It’s almost hard to believe it’s real, and it keeps getting better. Display manufacturers like LG and Samsung have pushed OLED beyond expectations for brighter highlights, richer and more natural colors, and faster refresh rates to elevate everything you watch or play.
The best OLED TVs aren’t cheap, but they’re not the pinnacle of TV decadence they were a few short years ago, offering increasingly approachable luxury for the masses. For those who appreciate a quality home theater experience, there’s no better payoff for your investment. We spend countless hours of meticulous testing each year to curate the best TVs you can buy. So read on to find the perfect OLED screen for you—and get ready to be dazzled. For more buying tips, check out our list of the Best Soundbars, the Best Streaming Devices, and our guide on How to Choose the Right TV.
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What’s the difference between OLED and LED?
Unlike LED TVs, which use a combination of an LCD panel and LED backlighting, OLED (which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode) uses special organic material that lights up when fed electricity. OLED is an “emmissive” display technology, meaning each of an OLED panel’s millions of pixels can turn on or off independently. Because of this comprehensive lighting control, emissive display technologies like OLED—and the more experimental (and expensive) microLED—can provide perfect black levels and superior contrast over traditional LED displays.
QLED TVs use tiny nanoparticles called quantum dots for enhanced brightness and colors. They generally offer higher brightness than both LED and OLED; some budget-conscience QLED models from brands like Hisense and TCL even outshine pricier OLEDs. But OLED TVs have their own brightness innovations, including some that incorporate quantum dots (known as QD-OLEDs), and the best OLED TVs can still get very bright. In general, OLED’s mix of advanced brightness, perfect black levels, near-infinite contrast, and excellent off-axis viewing adds up to a more balanced performance than similarly priced QLED displays.
Especially in its early years, OLED’s standout concern has been its increased risk of burn-in, or image retention, over traditional backlit displays. Due in part to the use of organic compounds, OLED panels can more easily degrade at different rates over time, which could potentially lead to variations in brightness and color.
Thankfully, OLED burn-in is increasingly less common in modern TVs for several reasons, including features like screen savers, static image detection, and other hardware methods to reduce and rectify image retention. While burn-in remains a mild concern, it’s only worth considering for extremely high-volume users like gamers who keep a static image on screen for multiple hours (or days) at a time. Even then it usually isn’t permanent. For most, OLED burn-in isn’t something to worry about.
For more info about TV technology, from quantum dots to HDR and 4K, check out our guide on How to Choose the Right TV (also linked above) or visit the “Helpful Definitions” section in our Best TVs guide for more info.
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Photograph: Parker Hall
The Best OLED for Most People
LG C4
LG’s second-tier OLED strikes a brilliant balance between performance and value, making it the best way to splurge on that OLED glow with a guilt-free conscience. The C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) may not get as bright as the top flagships in the space, but it’s more than fiery enough to pep up your favorite Dolby Vision content, while its perfectly black backdrop and vivid yet natural colors will keep you mesmerized by everything from nature docs to sitcoms.
Along with its skillful performance, the TV’s webOS smart system has evolved steadily to provide speedy streaming and intuitive navigation via LG’s Wii-style Magic Remote. You’ll get plenty of other features, including HDMI 2.1 support across all four inputs for high-paced gaming at up to 144 Hz with supported devices, alongside conveniences like Chromecast and AirPlay streaming and voice search. The C4 finishes the package with an understated pedestal stand and ultra-slim bezels for a statement piece that never needs to raise its voice.
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Photograph: Ryan Waniata
The Best for Sights and Sounds
Panasonic Z95A OLED
I’m just gonna say it: Panasonic’s Z95A (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is my favorite TV right now. Powered by LG Display’s flagship MLA panel, it provides searing brightness that’s skillfully controlled across content, letting you almost feel the sun’s warm blaze or the cool of a shadowy alley. Panasonic’s color shading is second to none, creating hues as naturalistic as they are entrancing. It’s a whole lot of awesome, punctuated by a high price tag.
Panasonic’s triumphant US return didn’t end there, adding the best sound system in any TV we’ve tested. Like Sony TVs, the Z95A provides just two HDMI 2.1 inputs, so it’s not the best option for heavy gamers, and its Fire TV operating system is just OK. Extras like a swiveling pedestal stand and support for all major HDR flavors make up for those drawbacks, and with a picture this good it’s hard to raise a complaint. The built-in speakers are also pretty solid, which makes it good for compact spaces.
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Photograph: Ryan Waniata
The Best OLED for Gaming
Samsung S90D QD-OLED
Samsung’s S90D (9/10, WIRED Recommends) provides a formidable counterpunch to LG’s C4, offering similarly fantastic performance and plenty of features from the other side of the OLED coin. Most (but not all) S90D models employ quantum dots, including the 65-inch model we tested, designed to provide enhanced colors and brightness as part of Samsung’s return to OLED. The gambit has paid off nicely, with a punchy display that leverages OLED’s best traits like perfect black levels and near-infinite contrast.
Borrowing heavily from last year’s flagship S95C, the S90D matches its visual excellence with serious gaming chops, including a 144-Hz variable refresh rate across all four inputs and baked-in cloud gaming from services like Xbox, Luna, and others. You’ll also get plenty of smart features in Samsung’s loaded (if quirky) Tizen interface, all wrapped in stylish design. Like all Samsung TVs, the S90D doesn’t support Dolby Vision, opting for HDR10+ instead, but its blend of features and performance makes it a top choice.
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Photograph: Sony
The Most Immersive Picture
Sony A95L
After releasing the stunning A95L (9/10, WIRED Recommends) late in 2023, Sony has yet to announce an update—and with a TV this good, that’s not too surprising. Using a mix of a topline Samsung QD-OLED panel and Sony’s fabulous picture processing, the A95L offers among the best real-world picture performance I’ve seen. It matches excellent brightness and contrast with carefully curated colors and pristine detail for a picture so clear you’ll feel like you could fall in.
Sony’s version of Google TV makes setup, streaming, and navigation pretty simple, alongside plenty of smart features and Sony exclusives like optimized gaming for the PS5. One negative is the TV’s lack of gaming support across all four HDMI inputs—like Panasonic, Sony adds only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is designed for connecting audio devices. That and the high price are about the only downsides to this premium screen that’s sure to wow even the pickiest videophiles.
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Photograph: Ryan Waniata
The Best OLED for Bright Rooms
Samsung S95D
Samsung’s S95D (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is unlike any other TV on this list due to its matte-like screen, designed to diffuse and defray even direct lighting for enhanced glare reduction. It’s a cool innovation, especially for those with difficult rooms, but it takes something away from the perceived depth and richness of the TV’s black levels in some settings. Samsung is going big on matte screens for its 2025 lineup (coming later this year), aiming to limit this effect while maximizing glare resistance.
The S95D remains a killer TV, especially for the right buyer. Along with excellent glare resistance, you’re getting one of the most powerful OLED displays in the marketplace, matching potent brightness with impactful contrast, richly saturated colors, and vivid 4K detail. The TV takes a final hit for its lack of Dolby Vision support, but for those with an ultra-bright room, the S95D lets you have your OLED and see it too. Bye-bye, backlit TVs.
How about a budget OLED TV?
If you’re looking for the best OLED bang for your buck from the current crop of TVs, look no further than LG’s B-series, which sits a step below the value-forward C-series. While we haven’t tested LG’s latest B4 OLED, its specs and overall performance are comparable to the LG C3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) we tested in 2023. The B4 offers similar brightness and colors, LG’s latest webOS smart interface, and gaming extras like four HDMI 2.1 ports and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) at up to 144 Hz.
As you may have guessed, another great way to save on an OLED TV (or any TV for that matter) is to buy the previous year’s model before stock runs out, making the LG C3 a similarly good budget buy. Sure, you’ll miss out on the latest software enhancements and (likely) a boost in brightness, but it could free up your budget for a pick from our best soundbars or best bookshelf speakers.