Best Mini LED TVs to Buy in 2025

One of my favorite aspects of my job as the Managing Editor for TVs and AV at Tom’s Guide is assisting people in selecting the ideal TVs for their living areas. In addition to personally witnessing nearly four dozen TVs annually at industry events, behind-closed-door demos, and at-home tests where I observe how industry innovations impact daily viewing, I take great pride in the rigorousness of our rigorous testing regimen.

I look at a few features when I test each model to determine whether it would be the best TV for you. Great picture quality, immersive sound, easy installation and setup, and access to my favorite streaming apps and other smart services are all things you desire.

I go through great lengths to view picture quality through every lens — contrast, brightness, black levels, color saturation, color accuracy, motion processing and upscaling. And all these factors combine when I decide whether it really is one of the best TVs around right now.

QUICK LIST

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

Best Mini LED TVs to Buy in 2025

1.Hisense U8N Mini-LED TV

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

The Hisense U8 series is at the top of the list, which should come as no surprise given that the Hisense U8K, its predecessor, occupied this position for the majority of the previous year. However, the increase in brightness is what really sets the Hisense U8N apart from its predecessor. If you feel that TVs tend to appear too dim and difficult to see, this TV is more than capable of producing over 3,000 nits in HDR. It also has incredible color vibrancy, second only to a three-fold more expensive Sony TV.

To put it briefly, the U8N provides performance that we would anticipate from a TV for less than.Why, then, didn’t it receive a flawless score of five stars?Well, two reasons. For one, Hisense just can’t compete with Sony, Samsung and LG in post-image processing. Motion processing and upscaling aren’t awful, and most of the time look really good everything considered, but other companies’ processing techniques are on a whole different level. You’re also stuck with just two HDMI 2.1 ports here.

I used a 65-inch model for my experiments. It’s neither the lightest nor the thinnest TV at 56.2 pounds, but that’s to be expected from any non-OLED TV. Make sure you get a standard 600 x 400, M6 VESA mount before mounting. You can use the two included legs that come with the package to just set it on top of an entertainment center.

It is impossible to watch the Hisense U8N without being impressed. The addition of a light sensor not only allows it to achieve the ideal brightness in any situation, but it also has extremely vibrant colors. Matthew Murray, Head of Testing at Tom’s Guide, conducted our lab tests, and the Hisense U8N was able to toe-to-toe with the much more expensive LG C4 OLED and even surpasses it in some key metrics like SDR brightness and color saturation. It cannot be understated how impressive this is.

Its skill at motion processing and upscaling is the only reason I was unable to give it full marks. Although it’s not bad by any means, actors’ faces may appear somewhat softer on the Hisense U8N due to concealed pores, and clouds may have softer edges rather than sharp definition. Even to the untrained eye, the motion blur produced by its poor motion processing can be very noticeable around moving objects. Lastly, even the slightest latency may be noticeable to dedicated gamers. Other TVs have a little less input lag for a slightly more responsive feel, but anything under 20 milliseconds is almost undetectable to the human eye.

We sincerely believe that you will enjoy Google TV as a smart platform. It has access to all of the major streaming services and does an amazing job of presenting you with new and suggested content to watch. Better yet, unlike an Amazon Fire TV, it doesn’t really pressure you to choose one service over another. The sole possible drawback is that you might experience a slight lag when navigating between streaming apps.

2.Samsung S95D OLED

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

Samsung’s flagship QD-OLED model has significantly improved from its second iteration to its third. Even though the Samsung S95D is based on the same display technology and has a comparable set of features and performance, it still has some tricks up its sleeve.

With its special matte finish, the S95D effectively reduces glare without compromising the TV’s color accuracy. The S95D might be exactly what you need to get past a challenging setup if you’ve been reluctant to investigate OLED-based options because of a sunny living room.

The S95D is one of the brightest OLEDs we have ever tested, speaking of brightness. Combining the flawless black levels that OLED TVs are renowned for with sizzling highlights results in an incredibly lifelike looking picture, especially when watching 4K/HDR content.

And, while we still wish Samsung would begin implementing Dolby Vision support across its higher-end TVs, the rest of its features list is exhaustive. Other than Dolby Vision support for gaming, you’re getting all of the most sought-after gaming features, including four HDMI 2.1 inputs that support 4K gaming at up to 144Hz, VRR, and Samsung Game Bar.

The Samsung S95D is not just one of the best OLED TVs on the market, it’s one of the best TVs, period. It’s great for casual streaming, 4K movie night, or competitive gaming.The S95D’s internals are housed in Samsung’s One Connect Box, a slim, sleek-looking box that can attach and detach from the back of the TV’s flat, wedge-shaped stand. Folks with a particular set of home theater requirements will appreciate the flexibility that the One Connect Box offers, as they’ll be able to move it around the TV as they see fit. The rest of the S95D is quite posh: a shockingly narrow OLED panel, the screen’s aesthetically pleasing matte finish, and Samsung’s rechargeable Solar Cell remote control.

We measured the S95D’s highlights at more than 1,700 nits in HDR during our official testing. In terms of overall brightness, OLEDs still lag behind expensive Mini-LED TVs, but its average picture brightness is also amazing. The S95D provides some of the best color volume we’ve ever seen, with nearly 90% of the Rec. 2020 color gamut and nearly 100% of the standard UHDA-P3 HDR color gamut, thanks to its quantum dots. It is especially good at bringing out the brightness of darker hues, such as deep blues, and saturating primary colors. The fact that all of these color points are set up right out of the box will appeal to picture purists. Our measured Delta-E in Samsung’s Filmmaker mode was a respectable 3.5. Given that many people consider a Delta-E of three to represent the threshold in which color error becomes perceptible to most people, this is a solid figure.

Although there have been some noticeable speed improvements in Samsung’s Tizen OS over the past few years, the interface layout and lack of buttons on the S95D’s remote control make it still a little difficult to use. For example, switching inputs is a little difficult because the remote lacks a dedicated input button. However, if you already have compatible devices, the platform enables the S95D to serve as a SmartThings hub and supports all of the major streaming apps.

3.LG G4 OLED

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

There’s a reason LG is the industry leader in OLED TVs. LG continued to work hard to improve the quality of OLED screens after Samsung withdrew from the competition to focus on QLED screens. The end product is the LG G4 OLED, a breathtaking television that makes use of LG Display’s most recent advancements in panel design. With its new META 2.0 panel, the G4 has some of the most accurate out-of-the-box color we’ve seen this year and outperforms almost all of its competitors in terms of brightness (QD-OLED TVs excluded).

In addition to the TV’s flawless design, LG is one of the few TV manufacturers that provides a five-year warranty on its OLED models, protecting them against pixel degradation (burn-out or burn-in).that gives me a lot of confidence recommending their brand. There are more OLED TVs out there than ever before, but for me the choice for the best OLED is clear in the 2024 LG G4.

For families who want a TV that replicates what they see in theaters without a large projector taking up room in their living room, the LG G4 OLED makes the difference. The G4’s design, which is so thin and nearly disappears into the wall, is worthy of an art gallery. It is, in my opinion, one of the most exquisite TVs that came out in 2024 when mounted.

The LG G4 OLED looks fantastic right out of the box and doesn’t need a calibrator to look that good. During our extensive laboratory testing, the LG G4 maintained flawless black levels and achieved a maximum brightness of 1,488 nits. It is tied for the lowest input latency and has the lowest color accuracy of any TV when in Filmmaker mode. films that we watched on it looked sharp and vibrant. The Mushroom Kingdom in The Super Mario Bros. Movie had candy-color sheen to it, and action sequences in Avatar: The Way of Water have never looked so unreal (in a good way).

Although WebOS is a workhorse, it isn’t the most visually appealing smart TV platform available. Years of use don’t cause it to slow down. There aren’t any significant conflicts with streaming partners. It simply works every single time. Regretfully, LG’s Magic Remote occasionally acts erratically. While some people adore the Wii-like wand design, others completely detest it. Fortunately, there are many ways to control the TV, such as Google Assistant, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Airplay 2. If the thought of motion-based controls makes you uneasy, don’t worry too much.

4.TCL QM8 Mini-LED TV

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

The Hisense U8N and the TCL QM8 were very nearly incompatible. Although the Hisense U8N is the superior choice overall, the TCL QM8 also merited a place on the list because both TVs offer exceptional value for the money. Similar to the Hisense U8, the QM8 employs quantum dots to improve color and contrast and mini-LEDs for improved backlight control. You will get incredible contrast for an LED-LCD TV with TCL’s High Brightness Ultra Direct LED backlight and up to 2,300 local dimming zones. Along with the many gaming features of the TV, I also really enjoy the AIPQ Engine Gen 3, which helps upscale HD/SDR content for the QM8’s 4K screen.

The TV’s 8W speakers, which can come across as a little lackluster, and the absence of an ATSC 3.0 tuner, which is present in the Hisense U8N, are the only significant shortcomings. Though its absence is still noticeable here, the latter isn’t a deal-breaker, particularly if you don’t intend to use a digital antenna.

Although it lacks the LG G4 OLED’s elegant, thin design, the QM8’s design is still quite good. Screen real estate is maximized by its thin bezel, which is less than an eighth of an inch on all sides. There are physical controls and a switch to turn the far-field microphone on and off beneath the bottom of the screen. There are four HDMI ports on the TCL QM8, but only two of them are HDMI 2.1-compliant, meaning you’ll have to choose which devices can pass 4K/120Hz signal and which ones can’t.

Similar to the U8N, the QM8 is a good choice if you require brightness that is higher than usual to counteract ambient light. During our tests, the TCL QM8 achieved a notable improvement over other 4K HDR TVs we measured, reaching 1,348 nits in Movie mode with SDR content. The QM8 achieved over 2,000 nits in window sizes of 5%, 10%, and even 25% when using HDR content. When combined with the Mini-LED backlight, this brightness provides excellent contrast that is comparable to OLED levels. The QM8 can cover 80% of the BT2020 color spectrum, according to our tests, and the colors are also vibrant. Nevertheless, with a Delta E score of 4.4614, its out-of-the-box color accuracy is far from ideal, much like the U8K. With some tweaking, this number can drop significantly, but it’s worth noting that some colors might appear a bit oversaturated when you first start it up.

TCL has switched to using Google TV in its 2023 models, including the QM8, just like many other manufacturers. This model’s Google TV is smooth and clean, and you can search for shows and movies with just your voice thanks to the TV’s built-in microphone and the remote’s built-in microphone. You can disable the voice assistant using a physical switch on the TV itself if you prefer privacy.

5.Samsung QN90D QLED TV

Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

The Samsung QN90D is the TV equivalent of a Swiss army knife. It can do almost anything, from increasing brightness to upscaling content, and it comes in almost every screen size imaginable. There is a QN90D model to fit your needs, whether you need a 98-inch monster for your living room or a 43-inch TV for your office or guest bedroom. The Samsung QN90D employs Mini-LED, just like the Hisense, to improve contrast and peak brightness. It is a better choice for gamers than our other top picks because it has four full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports that can pass 4K/120Hz signals and a slightly faster input latency.

The downside here is that you’re paying a lot more for this slight improvement on performance and its lackluster Tizen smart platform. It’s still worth considering for all those extras, but it doesn’t exactly provide the best value compared to our top picks.

In terms of design, the Samsung QN90D is essentially the industry standard. It has few bezels and is comparatively thin. If you don’t have a large entertainment center to set it on, the pillar stand can be very handy, but stability is sacrificed in the process. The QN90D is much more wobbly than the TVs that stand on two legs, but it won’t topple over unless a lot of force is applied. One of the QN90D’s four HDMI 2.1 ports can be used as the eARC port for soundbars, which is good news. HDMI 2.1 ports allow for 4K/120Hz pass-through, Auto Low Latency Mode, and Variable Refresh Rate for gamers. We have already stated that this is a great gaming TV?

The QN90D performs well in terms of light output, even though other Hisense and TCL models have finally caught up to Samsung in terms of peak brightness. The QN90D produced 2,024 nits of brightness in our HDR tests, a pleasant little increase over the 1,987.34 nits we observed in the 2023 QN90C. Although the Samsung QN90D will be brighter than the Hisense U8N, the Samsung was able to outperform the U8N in terms of color accuracy from the start. Although it costs a little more, the QN90D has better picture processing technology and requires less tinkering with the settings to get the color just right.

Although it has improved significantly in recent years, Tizen has not always been our preferred smart platform. Along with a handy smart home hub for any SmartThings devices you may own, it is fully functional with all the popular streaming services. As it gets older, the interface doesn’t slow down all that much, but downloading new apps requires creating a Samsung account. Google TV is still the better choice if you’re choosing between the two platforms, but the Samsung TV Plus streaming service’s selection of free content somewhat makes up for that.