Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a 4K TV

Best Budget Buy

Priced well below $400 for a variant with 43-inch display, the TCL 5-series 4K TV is our favorite budget buy. It offers sleek looks and excellent picture quality. With Roku TV on board, the device also offers easy access to all of today’s popular streaming services out of the box. It even ships with Roku’s incredibly intuitive remote control.

The TV offers support for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content, which is a crucial feature for a TV these days. Movies and shows using both high dynamic range standards are becoming increasingly common on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other popular streaming platforms.

Best Splurge

Sony's range-topping A8F series 4K TV is a masterpiece in technology and design that's handily one of the best options on the market. Every A8F TV features a high-quality OLED panel with infinite contrast and vibrant colors, as well as a groundbreaking speaker system, which projects sound from the entire display with incredible results. Of course, the TV is also compatible with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content. 

Like all Sony 4K TVs, the A8F series models run Android TV, thus giving you access to a massive ecosystem of apps and 4K content, as well as the Google Assistant. The latter allows you to seamlessly search for content, get answers to questions, and even control smart home appliances. 

Best Curved Screen

The curved Samsung Q7C 4K TV is quite possibly the best-looking entry in its price range. Because tech giant has opted to put its connectivity ports in an external device, the TV has an incredibly slim profile and almost completely bezel-free screen. A dedicated ambient mode is also among the TV’s key features, making it seamlessly blend with any wall decor while not in use.

Sporting Samsung’s cutting-edge QLED display panels, the Q7C TVs have excellent picture quality. They deliver top-notch brightness, vibrant colors, and support for enhanced HDR10 content. Samsung’s smart TV platform is also one of the most intuitive in the business.

Best Under $1,000

Thanks to a display panel with full array local dimming, the Vizio P-series 4K TV has image quality that's worthy of a higher price tag. The latest refresh of Vizio's range-topping product family is also more elegant than ever, featuring practically no bezels around its display. 

The P-series supports all of today's HDR standards, thus ensuring that any content you play looks great. It has Chromecast built-in, Google Assistant support, as well as compatibility with all major streaming services. 

Best Smart Platform

Powered by Android TV, the Sony XBR X900F 4K TV offers the best smart platform in the business. In addition to access to all popular streaming services, the TV gives you seamless access to the Google Assistant out of the box. In case you’re an Amazon Alexa user, you can add support for voice controls by connecting an Amazon Echo Dot to the TV.

The picture quality offered by the Sony XBR X900F TV is impressive, thanks to high-quality image processing and full-array local dimming. The TV also supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content formats, so your content will always look amazing.

Best Design

What sets The Frame 4K TV by Samsung apart from all other offerings on this list is its groundbreaking design. When you turn it off, it instantly transforms into a gorgeous digital frame that displays beautiful artwork. There are 100 art pieces that the TV comes with; you can add your own photos or purchase more artwork if you wish. 

As its name suggests, the TV looks like a frame when mounted on the wall. You can even customize its finish from a variety of colors.  

The image quality of The Frame is good, though not on par with similarly priced rivals (the hefty price tag is driven by the TV's unique design). Of course, the TV comes with Samsung's smart platform, which will give you access to all popular streaming services.