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5 Best OLED TVs of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
For the best 4K picture quality, there's no other choice. You have to go OLED.
When it comes to 4K TVs, OLED displays are the best you can get. It's the technological advancement of our day, like plasma was way back when. Compared to regular LED, QLED, and mini-LED displays, OLED screens have better picture quality and near-perfect viewing angles. No matter where in the room you sit, you're still getting every inch of the image quality you paid for. Cinephiles, gamers, and sports fans (of which we are all three) prefer OLEDs to just about any other screen for their hobby of choice. One million nerds can never be wrong.
If you've ended up here, you might already know all this. You're in the market for a new OLED TV, and you have choice paralysis. There's so many subtly different models from dozens of brands that it's almost impossible to not just randomly throw a dart at the board. That's where we come in.
Each of these five 4K OLED TVs are from the top TV brands in the world: Samsung, LG, and Sony. If you haven't bought a TV in a few years, any of these will be a huge upgrade, but if you know exactly what you want in a TV, we've broken the best ones down, spec by spec.
Pros
- 120 Hz refresh rate for gaming and sports
- Quantum HDR
- Built-in Dolby Atmos sound
- Remarkably thin
Cons
- One Connect box is a bit of a to-do, but it looks great when setup
For a TV we've been loving for a long time, the Samsung S95C still managers to take our breath away. We've called it the best TV for gaming, but the truth is this is so much more than that. It's probably the best OLED you can buy. That or its sister, the S95D, but we'll get to that one in a sec.
This TV has everything you could possibly need: 4K resolution, high refresh rates, the best HDR in town, and a gaming mode to get the most out of your console. It's also ridiculously thin and looks sexy as hell when wall-mounted.
The one aspect of this TV that seems to trip people up is the setup. It's not the easiest, thanks to Samsung's One Connect box. This keeps the TV thin and, theoretically, makes cable management and connections a breeze. In reality, its unconventional form can be unfriendly. It's a small, but important, gripe about an otherwise perfect TV.
| Sizes | 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch |
|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz (144 Hz on PC) |
| Connections | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB, Ethernet |
Pros
- OLED HDR Pro
- Glare free
- In general, like the S95C but better
Cons
- Pricier than other options
For an even more premium version of the last TV, you only have to shell out a few hundred extra dollars. While the S95C is meant to be viewed from all angles, it does run into the occasional glare problem. This is what the S95D was built to improve upon.
In 2024, Samsung has been pulling out all the stops when it comes to glare reduction. Both its top-of-the-line monitors and TVs use new tech to keep these displays as glare-free as is currently possible. So in addition to all the features that already made the S95C the best, there's your (massive) cherry on top.
The only real question left is, is that worth the price tag to you?
| Sizes | 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch |
|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz (144 Hz on PC) |
| Connections | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB, Ethernet |
LG G3 OLED evo
Pros
- Includes wall mounting bracket
- Brightness Booster Max means the picture is never too dark
- Comes in extra large sizes
Cons
- LG's WebOS is a drag
The latest in LG's line of OLED evo TVs is the best one yet. The G3 is a fantastic-looking OLED that's perfect for gaming or watching the game. It's smart, fully featured, and goes for a reasonable price. If you want a 4K HDR display with Dolby Vision to match your already Dolby Atmos'd up home theater, this is a top five pick, easy.
What makes this TV special is the way it is specifically designed for wall mounting. Included with the TV is a slim wall bracket that allows for easy installation. Once it's set up, the TV hugs the wall tight and the bracket is all but completely hidden. This gives the G3 a huge aesthetic advantage, even over LG's similar OLEDs.
| Sizes | 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, 83-inch |
|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Connections | Bluetooth, USB, HDMI, Ethernet |
Pros
- Comes in all sizes
- Virtually identical OLED to the G3
- Has smart TV features including AI upscalling
Cons
- Sound could be better
It's not exactly a budget TV, but this is as budget as OLED gets. It's not cheap to produce, and it's not cheap to buy. The best deals you'll find on OLEDs right now come from LG, and the C3 is a reliable choice. The price certainly scales as you go for larger screen sizes, but even the 65-inch is still well under $2000. And unless you've got a massive suburban living room, you don't need a TV larger than 65 inches.
As it turns out, the LG C3 OLED is still one of the better screens on the market and in terms of features it's as fully loaded as any budget TCL. On top of gaming modes, Dolby Vision, HDR, and smart home integration, this TV also uses AI upscaling to upgrade the resolution of lower res content. It works best when cleaning up already HD picture to 4k. Like with many of these features, though, it's not exactly clear what improvements implementing "AI" has really brought, if any.
| Sizes | 42-inch, 48-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch,77-inch, 83-inch |
|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Connections | Bluetooth, USB, HDMI, Ethernet |
Pros
- Rockin' speakers
- Bright, high contrast image
- Perfect pick for PS5 gamers
Cons
- User interface can be tricky for the less tech-versed
If you don't have a surround system for your TV, this Sony Bravia is worth the investment. The XR A80L wont' just stun you as a display, it will make you feel the noise.
Let's get the formalities out of the way. This is another ideal gaming TV, especially if you are a PlayStation 5 owner. In terms of image quality, it's top notch. The contrast on the picture is outstanding. HDR looks great. That XR processor is doing work, and you can tell.
When it comes to sound, this is one of the few TVs we've found that can rival a decent soundbar. Sure, I can list the fancy compatibilities like Acoustic Surface Audio+ and Dolby Atmos support, but the thing to convey here is your ears will just know the difference when they hear it. The sound is loud, yet clear. It's immersive, but the bass never feels like it's kicking your teeth in. If that's what you want, look elsewhere, but if you simply want to enjoy your movies fully without needing an extra device, this Bravia is the TV for you.
| Sizes | 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, 83-inch |
|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Connections | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI 2.1, USB, Ethernet |
What to Consider When Buying an OLED TV
When shopping for a OLED TV, there are some considerations to take into account. Here are the main ones.
Screen Size: OLED TVs come in standard sizes from 42-inches up to 83-inches. For living rooms, a 55 or 65-inch TV should suffice. Knowing if you need a smaller or larger TV to accommodate your space appropriately is important.
Refresh Rate: While picture quality is all but guaranteed to blow you away on an OLED, this very important spec is not. Refresh rate indicates how many times per second a display updates with a new image. 60 hertz (Hz) is a pretty standard TV refresh rate, but if you're serious about gaming 120 is what you are looking for. We've chosen OLED TVs that all have a max 120 Hz refresh rate on console games, with a couple of them going up to 144 Hz when connected to a gaming PC.
Price: It's hard to find a well-built, modern OLED TV for under $1000. There are, however, many solid options in the $1500 - $2500 range, depending on what size TV you want. In our opinion, most households will be satisfied with either a 55-inch or 65-inch screen. That being said, if you are trying to be thrifty, we'd say around $1500 is your sweet spot for an affordable OLED.
How We Test TVs
We test our TVs by using them the same way you would. We don't care as much about the specs or the newest marketing jargon. Instead we look at TVs and try to put ourself in the shoes of the average consumer, taking the time to make sure each product can withstand daily use. This includes assuring that all use cases are accounted for, including movies, live TV, streaming, sports, gaming, music listening, and more. It takes time, but it's worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does OLED stand for?
OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. It is a type of LED, one of the two most common types of screen displays; the other being LCD.
Is OLED better than QLED?
Yes, but to many of our eyes the differences are slight. A QLED (the Q stands for Quantum, as in quantum dots) is a type of LED that reacts to light differently from an OLED. In short, in most head-to-head comparisons the OLED picture looks better from more viewing angles. The trade-off being, of course, that QLED TVs can be made for much cheaper and therefore cost you, the end user, quite a bit less than an OLED.
Why Trust Esquire
Here at Esquire, we've been poking, prodding, and stress-testing products for a long time, allowing us to recommend the best tech for your hard-earned money. With combined decades of expertise in testing home electronics, we know what our readers are really looking for: products they will want to use for years and years to come. For TVs, that couldn’t be more true.
From cheap headphones to pricier essentials like portable air conditioners, we always compile our guides only after doing heavy research and testing. The gadgets we choose to highlight on Esquire are the ones we genuinely like using the most.
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