Who’s who and what’s what in TVs in 2026

Each TV firm has its personal distinct character and course. These change over time, with new technological breakthroughs or a minimum of new enterprise offers. New aspirations shake up the pure order. This 12 months, for instance, almost each firm has determined to make and closely promote RGB LED TVs. Some of them, like Hisense, seem to be they’re doing it as a result of they need to. LG’s making one too, however it’s clear the corporate’s coronary heart nonetheless lies with OLEDs. Are RGB LED TVs the following massive factor? Who is aware of!

2026 is only some weeks previous, however we’re already seeing these personalities and the way the alternatives every producer makes can have an effect on the 12 months forward, each for themselves and for his or her opponents. Here’s the place issues stand originally of 2026. Who is aware of the place we’ll be on the finish of it?

LG has lengthy been the dominant drive in OLEDs, persistently making a few of the most spectacular TVs within the mid-to-high finish, from a $1,300 B-series TV all the way in which as much as the $60,000 OLED T. OLED panels are emissive: every pixel creates its personal mild, permitting for pixel-level management of brightness and coloration in addition to unbelievable distinction and nil blooming, since every pixel could be turned off individually. OLED TVs nonetheless provide the greatest efficiency you may get for an affordable amount of cash, and that’s prone to be the case for a minimum of one other few years.

The one disadvantage of OLED panels, traditionally, has been brightness, particularly in well-lit rooms. But in 2025, LG carried out the four-stack OLED expertise developed by LG Display in its G5 TV, delivering the brightest image we’ve seen from an OLED. (Panasonic additionally carried out the four-stack panel.) This 12 months, along with being within the G6, the expertise trickles down into the 77- and 83-inch sizes of LG’s midrange C6 OLED. The return of the Wallpaper TV — which LG hyped arduous throughout CES — may even make the most of the expertise.

LG can be a presence in Hollywood. The LG G Series TVs specifically are discovered all through the movie trade, utilized by post-production homes as consumer screens in addition to by some colorists as their major monitor. There’s a consolation figuring out post-production professionals are counting on the identical LG OLEDs you may get in your house, and also you’re seeing in your TV what they noticed on theirs.

LG’s sturdy emphasis on OLED does trigger its different product traces to fall by the wayside. It continues to develop its mini-LED line, however these TVs don’t garner the identical consideration as its OLEDs and don’t attain the identical efficiency ranges of mini-LED shows from TCL, Hisense, Sony, or Samsung.

Alongside its OLEDs at CES, LG additionally revealed its new Micro RGB evo LED TV. RGB LED expertise makes use of clusters of pink, inexperienced, and blue LEDs as backlights as a substitute of simply the blue LEDs utilized in conventional mini-LED TVs. This doubtlessly permits for higher coloration accuracy and purity with distinctive brightness. And whereas the TV appears lovely in particular person and boasts spectacular specs together with 100% space of the BT.2020, DCI-P3, and Adobe RGB coloration gamuts, it virtually feels as if LG is releasing an RGB LED TV as a result of everybody else is, too.

It doesn’t assist that simply after LG introduced the Micro RGB evo, LG Display launched a series of four short YouTube videos calling out potential points with RGB TVs and declaring that OLED remains to be superior. LG Display and LG Electronics are separate firms, with the latter being a serious shareholder within the former. LG Display, because the producer of the vast majority of the world’s OLED panels together with all of these made by LG Electronics, would really like you to purchase an OLED TV. But publishing these movies proper after considered one of your essential purchasers introduced its personal RGB LED TV was an fascinating transfer.

Still, whatever the different TVs it makes, LG is the OLED firm and can possible proceed to concentrate on the expertise for the foreseeable future. The query is: Will it miss the chance to pivot to no matter expertise inevitably overtakes OLED?

Samsung: unobtrusively all over the place

The most blatant instance of Samsung’s technique is The Frame, a TV that’s designed to not appear like a TV and spend most of its time displaying artwork as a substitute of films. Its image high quality will not be superb, however it makes use of a matte display screen that reduces distracting reflections, permitting it to mix into the decor.

But the technique additionally extends to Samsung’s 2026 flagship TV, the S95H, which is able to embody a metallic body across the bezel that’s harking back to an image body and (for the primary time on an OLED) entry to the Samsung Art Store. The S95 Series features a glare-free display screen — first launched on Samsung OLEDs in 2024 — that scatters reflections fairly effectively, and the lower-tier S90 has an anti-reflective display screen that does job of this too.

Outside of TVs that don’t appear like TVs, Samsung’s factor appears to be attempting to be every thing to all people. The firm has sold the most TVs globally for almost twenty years, which clearly means it’s giving an unlimited variety of folks the TV they need, no matter it’s — besides all of them embody Samsung’s laggy and irritating Tizen OS, which I doubt anybody’s asking for. It provides a variety of panel expertise, from the S95 and S90 QD-OLEDs (offered by Samsung Display and the identical ones utilized by Sony QD-OLED TVs) to all varieties of LED TVs, though particulars on the 2026 fashions are sparse. QD-OLEDs add a layer of quantum dots — particles that convert mild from one coloration to a different, relying on the scale of the dots — which create pink and inexperienced mild from the blue emissive OLED layer. Quantum dots enhance brightness and coloration accuracy, and never simply in OLEDs — LED TVs can use them too (Samsung calls these QLED TVs).

In addition, Samsung has expanded its Micro RGB LED line (with the 115-inch first launched in 2025 for $30,000) in sizes from 55 to 115 inches. Like LG, Samsung refers to them as Micro RGB LED due to the scale of the LEDs, however there’s no official specification that makes an RGB LED TV micro or mini. I don’t assume RGB LED TV costs can be low sufficient for even the 55-inch mannequin to be a possible addition to most houses this 12 months.

With the quantity of TV choices (to not point out home equipment), Samsung is the whole-home life-style model that desires that will help you keep linked — whereas displaying you advertisements in your fridge.

TCL: the following main participant

For years, TCL and Hisense traded blows: Which may make the brighter TV or the larger TV? TCL launched a 115-inch TV, and Hisense put out a 116-inch mannequin. Their sights had been firmly locked on each other, and each had been firmly within the midrange, a degree beneath Sony, Samsung, and LG.

But in 2025 TCL began to assume larger. Instead of aiming to be the most effective midrange TV producer, it’s trying to be the most effective and largest TV producer, interval. I feel it began with the discharge of the QM9K mini-LED TV towards the tip of final 12 months, which had the value and efficiency to carry it into the premium market. It wasn’t a lot meant to dominate the market as make a press release that TCL was able to compete with Sony and its Bravia 9 mini-LED TV.

That plan was blown large open two weeks in the past when Sony and TCL introduced plans for a three way partnership. TCL doesn’t need to simply compete with Sony on TVs; it needs to take over Sony TVs. Even although particulars of that partnership nonetheless haven’t been determined, and it won’t come to go, it’s apparent TCL is now not solely centered on Hisense.

While TCL is planning to return out with mini-RGB LED TVs too, most of its focus is on an evolution of mini-LED expertise with the X11L SQD-Mini LED TV (which we’ll have a evaluate of within the subsequent few weeks). Instead of utilizing pink, inexperienced, and blue LEDs for its backlight, the X11L will depend on blue LEDs with reformulated quantum dots and a newly developed coloration filter to attain the identical degree of coloration protection and brightness as RGB LED TVs with out the drawbacks (as identified by LG Display above).

It can be fascinating to see if the gamble to stay principally with blue-backlit mini-LED TVs as a substitute of the brand new RGB LED expertise is the best name. But whether it is, TCL may very well be a step forward of the competitors.

Sony: the model in transition?

My impression of Sony as we speak isn’t what it was simply a few weeks in the past. The potential of a partnership with TCL — one which sees TCL as the bulk stakeholder — brings the longer term into query. While I stay cautiously optimistic that it’ll convey even higher TVs from each firms, there’s loads of historical past with different storied Japanese TV producers dropping their identities and turning into irrelevant.

One factor that’s nonetheless true about Sony in 2026 is its place on the prime of the TV hierarchy. The firm has lengthy been thought of the premium of the premium resulting from its distinctive image processing, high-end efficiency, and costs which might be persistently increased than its opponents.

Sony, like LG, additionally has a Hollywood pedigree. Its cameras are used to movie the content material, it makes essentially the most notable mastering monitor (which is able to 4,000 nits), and naturally there’s Sony Pictures, which produces a ton of main motion pictures and tv reveals. The tagline for its Bravia line, “Cinema Is Coming Home,” emphasizes that manufacturing pipeline. It’s versatile on the way it does that, with the Bravia 8 II QD-OLED TV (utilizing panels from Samsung Display), Bravia 8 OLED TVs (with panels from LG Display), and mini-LED TVs just like the Bravia 9 and a few lower-end LED fashions that don’t compete effectively in opposition to equally priced fashions from Hisense and TCL (with a minimum of some panels from TCL CSOT).

We don’t know too many particulars about its plans for 2026 (Sony has stepped again from making bulletins at CES for the previous few years) however it’s for certain that it’ll debut its “True RGB” LED TV within the spring that reportedly blows the superb Sony Bravia 9 out of the water. It offers Sony three flagship TVs with three totally different applied sciences.

Hisense: the midrange innovator

Hisense has additionally been shifting its focus away from yearly battles with TCL to turning into extra of an innovator, notably in massive TV sizes. The firm has been beating others to bulletins the previous couple years, debuting the primary RGB LED TV at CES 2025 after which this 12 months displaying its up to date model, the Hisense USX116X. While different firms are selling new RGB LED TVs, Hisense moved past that by including a cyan LED to the backlight. It improves transitions between blue and inexperienced, limiting color crosstalk (a problem for the brand new RGB LED TVs), and can be utilized to scale back blue mild output that may adversely affect your sleep.

Hisense additionally confirmed a brand new 163-inch MicroLED with an added yellow subpixel — so it appears it’s all about including coloration to TVs. It says it’s to assist the transitions between yellows and reds, however it’s additionally one thing that we’re all years away from experiencing in our houses (until you’ve a big naked wall and 6 figures to burn).

Like Samsung, Hisense is hoping RGB LEDs take off in 2026. It can be releasing the UR9 and UR8 Series, which each use the expertise, however past that particulars are scant. It feels as if Hisense is attempting to find precisely what sort of TV firm it’s going to be. Apart from the RGB LED information, there’s no info but about new mini-LED TVs underneath $1,500, and there’s no indication of when or if we’ll get that data from Hisense. Where TCL appears to have a definite technique transferring ahead, I’m a bit confused with what the 12 months will maintain for Hisense. Will it maintain on to its midrange, reasonably priced id or, like TCL, push extra into the premium market?

Technology naming conventions are complicated, and I don’t assume that’s all the time unintended. Micro-LED has been the holy grail of TV tech for some time now. It’s emissive like an OLED and makes use of extremely tiny LEDs in every pink, inexperienced, and blue subpixel, which permits pixel-level coloration and brightness management like an OLED. But micro-LED can generate increased brightness with higher energy effectivity, has no concern about picture retention, and can last more than the natural supplies in an OLED. It’s additionally nonetheless extremely costly to provide (it’s arduous to get these LEDs so tiny), and due to that micro-LED TVs are costly. Hisense and Samsung have fashions accessible for shoppers, however they begin at $100,000.

Despite the same naming to micro-RGB LED, the 2 shouldn’t be confused. Micro and mini-RGB LED TVs don’t have pixel-level coloration and brightness management, as a substitute utilizing the RGB LEDs in zones extra just like how mini-LEDs function. They additionally nonetheless use a coloration filter to differentiate the distinct coloration from one pixel to the following. Is it an interesting expertise that has the potential to vary TVs for the following few years? Absolutely. But it’s nonetheless one other stopgap to our path to micro-LED sooner or later.

Vizio: the brand new phoenix of price range TVs?

I’ll be sincere, I haven’t thought a lot about Vizio TVs over the previous couple years. It as soon as dominated the price range TV (and audio) market, however within the months main as much as its acquisition by Walmart in 2024 and the transition interval after, the corporate slowly pulled out of most retailers because it grew to become a Walmart model. It was nonetheless promoting TVs, however there weren’t any important {hardware} releases in 2025.

But it appears like Vizio is again to try to be the price range TV of alternative. Just lately, new mini-LED TVs — the primary ever made by the corporate — confirmed up on Walmart’s web site. There hasn’t been any official announcement, however Vizio’s web site now has a splashy mini-LED landing page.

The timing may very well be excellent for Vizio. TCL and Hisense had been the most important price range manufacturers, however their costs have slowly crept increased over time. And with TCL now wanting up towards the premium market and Hisense firmly standing as a midrange alternative, the entry-level TV market is large open. The new mini-LED TVs possible received’t be on the identical degree as TCL or Hisense, however they’ll virtually actually be method forward of direct-lit or edge-lit LED TVs from Insignia, Westinghouse, or Toshiba that at the moment populate the sub-$500 worth vary. These Vizio TVs would possibly find yourself being the easiest way to get a mini-LED TV in your house and will drive different producers to incorporate the tech in price range TVs to compete.

It’s nonetheless early within the 12 months, and there’s loads we don’t learn about all of the TV lineups coming. And as evidenced by the Sony / TCL information, our notion of the TV world can change rapidly. But every firm nonetheless has its trajectory, whether or not it’s absolutely obvious to us or not. Part of the thrill of the trade is seeing if it goes the place we anticipate it to, or veers off into unknown territory.