Every year at CES the convention centres and hotel-casino ballrooms of Las Vegas convert into a battleground for TV makers trying to prove their displays are brighter, more colourful and slimmer than the others. This year at CES 2022 was no different: Top dogs Sony, Samsung and LG, alongside challengers TCL, Hisense, and Panasonic, refreshed their entire TV lineups, which range from budget LED panels to flagship miniLED and OLED TVs.
Of the new TV features revealed at CES, the most promising are enhanced versions of OLED, including Samsung’s QD-OLED and LG’s OLED Evo and OLED EX, which promise to address the shortcomings of today’s leading screen technology. However, those worried about burn-in should look to one of the many new (and unbearably expensive) miniLED TVs showcased at the trade show.
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Regardless of which technology you opt for, almost every 2022 TV you buy this year will have gaming features that allow for 4K, 120Hz play, and new smart tools designed to make it easier for you to find the content you might actually want to watch.
There were countless options to choose from, but only a few truly stood out. Here are the best TVs of CES 2022.
Sony A95K QD-OLED TV
Sony holds no allegiances.
The company’s current flagship TV models use LG’s OLED technology and are tuned with a custom processor, but the Bravia XR A95K TV revealed at CES is based on an entirely different type of panel — one made by Samsung.
The A95K TVs, available in 65-inch and 55-inch models, have 4K panels with a quantum dot organic light-emitting diode (QD-OLED) display. If that sounds vaguely familiar it’s because QD-OLED combines OLED’s self-illuminating pixels with the quantum dot layer found in many of Samsung’s TVs. This way, you get all the goodies of OLED — infinite contrast ratio and perfect black levels — plus the benefits of quantum dot LED panels, including a wider range of colours and higher peak brightness.
Sony’s new TVs come with four HDMI inputs, two with full HDMI 2.1 support so you can play games on your new console at 4K, 120Hz. They will also ship with variable refresh rates, meaning the pixels can speed up or slow down based on what’s on the screen.
Interestingly, Samsung didn’t reveal its own QD-OLED TV despite sourcing the panel technology. That announcement seems imminent, but in the meantime, Sony will soak up the attention.
LG G2 OLED Evo
LG expanded and contracted at CES 2022, releasing its largest and smallest OLED TVs ever. While the diminutive 42-inch version will be great for those who don’t have the space or cash, the 97-inch LG G2 shown at the event is as close as you’ll get to a home theatre without a projector. The wall-spanning set is the largest consumer OLED yet, and it features LG’s OLED Evo technology, the latest generation of the company’s self-emissive pixel.
The primary benefit of OLED Evo is increased brightness achieved with better heat dissipation and more advanced algorithms. If they deliver on LG’s promises, these upcoming panels will resolve one of the major drawbacks of OLED: They aren’t as bright as miniLED or a standard backlit LCD panel. Other improvements coming to LG’s 2022 OLED TVs include thinner bezels and an update to WebOS 22 that adds individual user profiles.
LG’s top-tier G2 series will also be available in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch models along with a new 83-inch version. Drop down a rung and LG’s C2 series now includes a smallest-yet 42-inch model.
TCL XL Collection QLED TV
TCL agrees with LG: Bigger is better. The company showed off a new 98-inch XL Collection QLED TV running Google TV. That platform choice might surprise folks who remember TCL TVs for having Roku built in, but the company started offering TVs with Google TV last year. Thing got off to a poor start, though, and TCL was forced to remove its Google-based TVs from retailers following reports of sluggishness. Fortunately, a software update was released shortly thereafter that resolved these performance hiccups.
If you’re worried about going to a theatre, the 98-inch XL Collection QLED might be a good way to simulate the experience in your home. Along with its jumbo-sized screen, the TV has variable refresh rates, an auto game mode, and supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
TCL says you can buy this beast of a TV at various retailers, but the Amazon link on its website is currently a dead end. When it does become available, the 98-inch XL Collection QLED will cost around $12,000 — a staggering sum but considerably less than other oversized options.
Samsung MicroLED TV (89-inch)
Samsung’s microLED technology is considered by some to be the eventual replacement to OLED, but current TV models that use the tech are massive and offensively expensive. At CES, the company revealed a new 85-inch microLED TV that could actually fit into your living room, though its likely lofty price means it’ll only appeal to the ultra-wealthy. I say that because last year’s 110-inch model cost around $210,000 — and no, my finger didn’t get stuck on the “0″ key.
Ignore that for a second (if you can) because microLED TVs (not to be confused with miniLED) are self-lit like OLED panels but use 25 million micrometre-sized LEDs that individually produce light and colour, and they produce best-in-class colours and brightness.
Samsung QN900B 8K Neo
Samsung is also going all-in on miniLED, and while the QN900B 8K Neo isn’t much of a departure from last year’s models, the new version brings a handful of welcome improvements.
Of the tweaks Samsung made to the 2022 models, the most significant is called HDR mapping, which increases the luminance scale from 12-bit to 14-bit backlight for more accurate brightness. Also, the TVs use an AI technique called Object Depth Enhancer to look at a scene and separate the foreground subjects from the background for greater depth. Samsung also says it’s using AI to generate adaptive “shapes of light” that are meant to reduce blooming and increase brightness and contrast.
Also improved is the sound of its high-end TVs, which support Active Voice Amplifier, Object Tracking Sound, and SpaceFit Sound, though the company predictably recommends pairing to one of its many soundbar options. Samsung didn’t reveal pricing for the QN900B 8K Neo but prices of the 2021 models ranged from around $7,000 for the 65-inch model to $12,600 for the 85-inch variant.
Sony Bravia Z9K Master Series 8K
Along with debuting one of the world’s first QD-OLED TVs, Sony entered another category by opening its account with miniLED LCD technology at CES 2022. The company’s flagship Bravia Z9K Master Series 8K uses the nascent screen technology, which promises many of the benefits of OLED but with higher brightness and without the risk of burn-in.
The company’s new flagship TV is driven by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, which the company claims will deliver the “widest colour palette and reproduces naturally beautiful shades and hues.” Improvements to the processors are designed to enhance the 3D effect of images by applying processing to foreground and background objects. It also says the TV’s “XR Backlight Master Drive” algorithms were enhanced to prevent blooming, or when bright pixels bleed into nearby dark ones.
The Z9K Master series will be offered in 8K resolution for 75- and 85-inch screen sizes. Pricing will be released in the coming months, though there is no doubting these TVs will be some of the most expensive on the market.
Panasonic LZ2000
Panasonic stopped selling TVs in the U.S. many years ago, but it returned to CES 2022 with a product every American will hope comes stateside. Available in 55-, 65- and, now 77-inch sizes, the LZ2000 is an improvement over the previous model in just about every way — it’s brighter, adds gaming features, and comes with a new front-firing speaker array.
Picture enhancements include using sensors to detect the ambient room light colour temperature and adjust the image to deliver what Panasonic considers a “more natural” viewing experience that’s more comfortable in dark environments. The TVs also use Panasonic’s Master OLED Pro, which sounds a lot like the other OLED flavours in that it promises improved brightness. Gamers will benefit from the new Game Control Board settings, which automatically detect Nvidia GPUs, improve 60Hz latency, and support HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K, 120Hz gaming.
Pricing for the LZ2000 will be revealed closer to the TV’s summer 2022 launch.
Hisense U8H
Hisense has built its reputation on undercutting competitors on cost while delivering many of the same features you find on pricier models. At CES 2022, the company made it known it was going after the high-end market by bringing miniLED technology (with over 1,280 dimming zones) to its flagship U9H and U8H TVs.
While the U9H may lead the group, the U8H is significantly more affordable, and even being considered by Hisense as its “best all-around TV.” Available in 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch sizes, the U8H, which reaches 1,500 nits, will start at around $1,600 when it arrives in mid-year. The high-end lineup offers a bounty of modern features, including a 120Hz refresh rate, variable refresh rate over HDMI, and low-latency modes for gaming.