The Best Smart TVs
The times are changing. Today's smart TVs not only boast innovations on the hardware front but, more importantly, they're also breaking ground on the software frontier, too. Designed to integrate with the internet to connect you to your apps and your cloud, a smart TV can be a great purchase and not necessarily a costly one, either. Here, we present our top picks to help you find a smart TV that will suit your streaming needs.
What To Look For
When finding the right smart TV for yourself, it’s essential to look for excellent image quality and premium features that make television watching more seamless. If you’re looking for a high-tech option, consider the Samsung U8000 Series, which has some of the best contrast, color, and brightness in the industry. We found that it could compete with and even surpass the much-touted OLED display technology of its competitors. But if its high price doesn’t fit the budget, we recommend our best overall smart TV, the TCL Class 4-Series. The 4K resolution is sublime, plus the integrated Roku and responsive voice controls are perfect for binge-watching. Check out some of our favorite options below to find the right one for you.
TCL 55″ Class 4-Series 4K UHD HDR Smart Roku TV
The cream of the crop
TCL is our favorite manufacturer of high-quality TVs at low prices. This Roku-integrated television features everything you’d want from an entry-level smart TV, including 4K resolution and a bright LED panel display with a 60Hz refresh rate. And considering the massive size of this 55-inch option, the price is a bargain. In short, it’s a supremely affordable TV with a stunning display and plenty of features.
Pros:
- It comes at an extremely high value for the price.
- Roku is an excellent interface for navigating quickly to your favorite streaming apps.
- You can use your phone as a remote control via the Roku app.
- It has beautiful contrast and color depth.
Cons:
- The built-in speakers aren’t the best, so you’ll likely want to pair this TV with external speakers.
LG 50-Inch Class UQ9000 Series 4K Smart TV
Colors that pop
If you’re intent on building a home theater at your house or apartment, this one hits the bullseye. Touting one of the slickest 4K displays in the game, the UQ9000 Series from LG comes in a wide range of sizes. Each option offers advanced tech, including an AI-powered processor, 4K upscaling, audio up-mixing, and HDR10 for supreme color contrast. On top of all that, installation is a breeze, which is not something you can say of most smart TVs.
Pros:
- This smart TV includes G-Sync, so it’s a great choice for gamers.
- The viewing angles are wide, so everyone can see the action without experiencing viewing distortions.
- It’s wall-mountable and has a thin profile, so you can set it up nearly flush on your wall.
Cons:
- Some people don’t like the scroll wheel on the remote and prefer a traditional directional pad.
Samsung 65-Inch Class Crystal 4K UHD AU8000 Series Smart TV
Quality doesn't come cheap
Samsung’s AU8000 Series of smart TVs is a masterful work of engineering. This television trounces the competitors in terms of contrast, brightness, and image quality, and its handling of reflection is superb. What’s more, it touts Dynamic Crystal technology, which delivers colors in millions of shades. All in all, the result is a highly efficient 4K beast with all the smart capabilities you’ll need and then some.
Pros:
- This gorgeous display has a bevy of customizable settings, so you can adjust the image to match your environment.
- Thanks to the powerful processor, navigating through the menus and loading up content is fast and smooth.
- It has a built-in technology called Motion Xcelerator, which reduces motion blur.
Cons:
- It’s undeniably an expensive investment.
Amazon Fire TV 50″ Omni Series 4K Smart TV
Fewer wires means fewer tangles
Amazon’s Omni Series lets you navigate the Fire TV interface using voice commands, and you can even integrate it with other Alexa devices. Thus, this gorgeous TV can transform into your one-stop shop for enjoying movies, television shows, web videos, music, and even web surfing. Better yet, it responds exceptionally quickly to commands, so there’s no waiting around for menus and titles to load. Most importantly, this is a gorgeous 4K display with excellent color resolution and a bargain price.
Pros:
- It’s a great option for those shopping on a budget.
- With thin bezels and a narrow profile, these TVs look great mounted on the wall.
- You don’t need to have the remote control nearby for the TV to pick up on voice commands.
- You can use the Bluetooth connectivity to add wireless speakers to your home theater setup.
Cons:
- This is another smart TV with subpar built-in speakers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is a smart TV?
Think about it this way: a smart TV is a lot like a cell phone, only it has a much bigger screen and is slightly more limited in its functions. These TVs connect to the internet to allow you to access all sorts of media on apps like Youtube, Netflix, etc. You can do other things, too, like browse the internet, and some models offer features like voice control and the ability to integrate with other smart-home tech.
Do smart TVs have privacy protection?
Depending on the make and model, you may need to manually turn voice recognition on before your TV begins listening to you. And even when it’s on, you may be able to access all the voice recordings through the TV’s app. The latest versions of Amazon Fire TVs, for example, feature privacy settings that you can adjust via the Alexa app. They also store voice recordings in the app, where you can review and delete them.
About the Author
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With the constantly shifting landscape in the world of technology, GameRevolution seeks to provide gamers and tech-enthusiasts with the information they need to select the right products for their needs. Since 1996, our experts have used their knowledge on all the latest gadgets – everything from headphones to standing desks – to help millions of people navigate specs and answer common questions.