I walked into a Best Buy in Brooklyn in 2025 to replace a dead TV. The five TVs in the premium section — TCL, Hisense, LG, Sony, Samsung — looked, from the front, identical: black rectangle, thin bezel, no visible logo. I asked a salesman, who had been selling TVs at Best Buy for fourteen years, what made them different. He said, "Honestly, the panel." That answer, in 2026, is the entire TV industry.

The TVs on display that afternoon — the TCL 6-Series Mini-LED ($899), the Hisense U7 Mini-LED ($999), the LG C5 OLED ($1,399), the Sony Bravia 8 OLED ($1,799), and the Samsung S95D OLED ($2,199) — were, from a picture-quality perspective, closer to each other than any TVs in the history of the industry. They all had 4K resolution. They all had HDR. They all had 120Hz refresh rates. They all had AI upscaling. The only meaningful difference between them was the panel technology underneath the glass. The salesman was, in 2026, correct.

Below is the list of how we got here. I have changed my mind about several things I used to believe about TVs. I have opinions on what to skip. There is a brief history of how the television went from a $2,995 wood-console RCA in 1950 to a $899 commodity display in 2026. And there is, at the end, an honest summary — because anyone who tells you a $1,500 TV is meaningfully better than a $900 TV has not, in fact, watched both side-by-side recently.

The list: how TVs converged

1. 4K became universal in 2020. The first consumer 4K TV was, by every measure, the Sony XBR-84X900 (2012), a $25,000 84-inch display that almost no one bought. The 4K standard — 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, four times the resolution of 1080p — was, by 2020, the minimum resolution on every TV sold above 50 inches. The 4K transition was, by 2020, complete. The 1080p TV is, in 2026, a museum piece.

2. HDR became universal in 2022. HDR — High Dynamic Range — was, in 2017, a premium feature available on maybe three TVs at $2,000+. HDR is, in 2026, on every TV above $500. The competing HDR formats — Dolby Vision (LG, Sony, TCL), HDR10+ (Samsung, Amazon), and plain HDR10 — converged, by 2024, into something most TVs handle automatically. The HDR transition was, by 2022, complete. The non-HDR TV is, in 2026, the equivalent of a non-smartphone.

3. 120Hz became universal in 2023. The 120Hz refresh rate — twice the standard 60Hz — was, in 2018, a $3,000 feature. The 120Hz panel is, in 2026, on every TV above $700. The 120Hz transition was, by 2023, complete. The 60Hz TV is, in 2026, fine for casual viewing and unacceptable for sports and gaming.

4. Mini-LED vs OLED differentiation in 2024. The two remaining premium panel technologies, in 2026, are Mini-LED (TCL, Hisense, Samsung QN-series) and OLED (LG, Sony, Samsung S-series). Mini-LED uses thousands of small LEDs behind the LCD panel for better contrast. OLED uses self-emitting pixels for perfect black levels. Both are excellent. Both cost between $900 and $2,200 at 65 inches. The differentiation, in 2026, is real but smaller than the marketing suggests.

5. AI upscaling in 2024. Every TV in 2026 has an AI chip that upscales lower-resolution content to 4K. The AI upscaling was, in 2020, a Samsung feature called "AI Upscaling." The AI upscaling is, in 2026, on every TV above $600. The AI upscaling was, by 2024, a commodity feature. The non-AI TV is, in 2026, the equivalent of a non-smartphone.

What I have changed my mind about

A few beliefs I held in 2012, when I bought my first flat-screen TV, that the last fourteen years have killed.

I used to think the brand mattered. The brand mattered in 2012, when Sony, Samsung, and LG were the only serious TV manufacturers. The brand is, in 2026, mostly a label on the front of the panel. TCL overtook Samsung as the global #1 TV brand in 2023. Hisense is, in 2026, the best-selling TV in Europe. The Chinese brands — TCL, Hisense, Skyworth — are, in 2026, making panels that compete with Samsung and LG at half the price. The brand premium is, in 2026, mostly a tax on people who do not know TCL exists.

I used to think OLED was "the best." OLED is, in 2026, excellent. OLED is also, in 2026, $1,400-$2,200 at 65 inches, vs $900-$1,200 for Mini-LED at the same size. The Mini-LED is, by every side-by-side review I have watched in 2025, "95% as good as OLED" for 65% of the price. OLED is still the technical winner for black levels and viewing angles. OLED is no longer the meaningful winner for the average viewer.

I used to think bigger was always better. The 85-inch TV was, in 2018, a $5,000 premium purchase. The 85-inch TV is, in 2026, $1,500-$2,500 from every brand. The 85-inch TV is, in 2026, the default for new construction and apartment moves. The 65-inch TV is, in 2026, the minimum for a living room. The 50-inch TV is, in 2026, the bedroom TV. The 32-inch TV is, in 2026, a kitchen appliance.

I used to think I needed the best picture. The 2012 version of me watched Blu-rays on a Sony XBR-55HX929 ($3,500, 2011). The 2026 version of me watches Netflix on a TCL 6-Series Mini-LED ($899, 2024). The Netflix picture on the TCL is, by every measurement, "indistinguishable from the Sony Blu-ray on the XBR." The TV industry spent fifteen years improving picture quality. The content industry spent fifteen years delivering content at a bitrate that does not benefit from the improvements.

I used to think TV technology changed every year. It did, between 2010 and 2020. It does not, between 2020 and 2026. The TVs I bought in 2020 are, by 2026, still excellent. The TVs I would buy in 2026 are, by my standard, "the same TVs I bought in 2020 with slightly better AI." The TV industry has, in 2026, hit a plateau.

What to skip when TV shopping

If I were advising a friend who was about to buy a new TV in 2026, I would tell them to skip these categories entirely.

8K TVs. The 8K TV (7,680 by 4,320 pixels, four times the resolution of 4K) has been on the market since 2017. The 8K TV has, in 2026, no content. No streaming service streams 8K. No broadcast standard supports 8K. No Blu-ray format supports 8K. The 8K TV is, in 2026, a $2,500-$5,000 way to watch 4K content slightly upscaled. Skip the 8K. Buy the 4K.

"Smart TV" features. Every TV sold in 2026 is a "smart TV" with built-in streaming apps. The built-in apps are, in 2026, worse than a $50 Roku or $40 Apple TV. The built-in apps also slow down after two years and stop being updated. Buy the TV. Plug in a streaming stick. Skip the built-in apps.

Soundbars over $400. The Sonos Arc ($899) and Bose Smart Soundbar 900 ($899) are, by every audio review, excellent. They are also, in 2026, "3% better than the $200 Sonos Beam for 4x the price." The $200 soundbar is, in 2026, the only soundbar most living rooms need. Skip the premium tier. Buy the Sonos Beam.

Curved screens. Curved TVs were, between 2014 and 2018, a Samsung marketing push. Curved TVs are, in 2026, mostly discontinued. Curved TVs are, by every review, worse than flat for most living rooms (the curve only works if you sit directly in front of the center). Skip the curve. Buy the flat.

Premium HDMI cables. The $80 "Premium High Speed HDMI" cable is, in 2026, indistinguishable from the $10 Amazon Basics HDMI cable. HDMI is, in 2026, a digital signal. The digital signal either arrives or does not. The cable does not improve the picture. Skip the premium cable.

TVs bigger than your wall. The 85-inch TV in a 10-foot-wide living room looks, in 2026, ridiculous. The 65-inch TV in the same room looks, in 2026, balanced. The TV industry wants you to buy the biggest TV you can afford. The room wants you to buy the biggest TV that fits. Measure the wall first. Buy the second-biggest TV that fits.

A brief history

The television is, by every measure, a 20th-century invention. The first consumer TV was the RCA TRK-12 (1939), sold for $600 (about $13,000 in 2026 dollars). The first mass-market TV was the RCA 8TV30 (1946), sold for $350 (about $6,000 in 2026 dollars). The first color TV was the RCA CT-100 (1954), sold for $1,000 (about $12,000 in 2026 dollars).

The mid-century TV was, by 1960s standards, a piece of furniture. The TV was, by 1960s standards, a wood console with a 19-inch screen. The TV was, by 1960s standards, expensive, heavy, and unreliable. The TV was, by 1960s standards, "the centerpiece of the living room."

The flat-screen TV revolution — the one that made TVs thin and light enough to hang on a wall — was, in large part, built by three things: LCD panels (Sharp, 1988), plasma panels (Fujitsu, 1992), and OLED panels (Kodak, 1987; Sony, 2007). Each of these shifted, by every measure, the form factor of the TV from a piece of furniture to a panel. The plasma TV was, by 2015, discontinued. The LCD TV is, in 2026, the budget tier. The OLED TV is, in 2026, the premium tier.

The modern TV industry — the one that sells $899 Mini-LEDs and $2,199 OLEDs — was, in large part, built by three things: the rise of streaming video (Netflix streaming 2007, Hulu 2008, Disney+ 2019), the Chinese TV brands (TCL, Hisense, Skyworth), and the panel manufacturing consolidation of the 2010s. Each of these shifted, by every measure, the default expectation from "Sony or Samsung" to "whatever Costco has on sale." The shift was, in 2026, a real democratization of TV quality. The shift was also, in 2026, the end of meaningful TV innovation.

The 4K transition (2012-2020), HDR transition (2016-2022), 120Hz transition (2018-2023), and AI upscaling rollout (2020-2024) are, in 2026, complete. The next major TV transition — micro-LED, an emissive technology that combines the best of OLED and Mini-LED — is, in 2026, still 5+ years from mass-market pricing. The TV industry has, in 2026, hit a plateau.

The TCL global #1 TV milestone (2023) was, in my standard, the most under-reported consumer-electronics story of the decade. TCL was, in 2010, a budget Chinese brand known for cheap TVs at Walmart. TCL is, in 2026, the global #1 TV brand by units shipped, ahead of Samsung and LG. The TCL rise is, in 2026, a symbol of how flat the TV market has become — the premium tier has, in 2026, no meaningful advantage over the value tier.

The LG Display monopoly on WOLED panels — the white-OLED panels used by LG, Sony, Panasonic, and others — is, in 2026, the most important fact about the TV industry. LG Display is, in 2026, the only manufacturer that makes the WOLED panels used in every non-Samsung OLED TV. Samsung Display makes the QD-OLED panels used in Samsung's S-series OLED TVs. The two panel manufacturers — LG Display and Samsung Display — supply the OLED panels for every other TV brand. The brand on the front of the TV is, in 2026, mostly a logo on top of a panel made by someone else.

The honest summary

A TV is, in 2026, a panel with a thin bezel. Everything else is, by my standard, "an excuse." The $899 TV I bought in 2025 is, in 2026, as functional as the $1,799 TV I almost bought at Best Buy.

What works for me: a TCL 65-inch Mini-LED ($899). That is it. The TV is hung on the wall. The TV does everything the Sony Bravia 8 OLED does, for $900 less. The TCL is, by every measurement that matters to me, the TV I would recommend to anyone in 2026.

What does not work for me, and may not work for you: the idea that the brand matters. The brand on the front of the TV is, in 2026, mostly a label on a panel made by someone else. The idea that OLED is "the best." The OLED is, in 2026, the technical winner. The OLED is no longer the meaningful winner for most viewers. The TV industry is, in 2026, the most successful commoditization story in the consumer-electronics industry. The honest summary is, in the end, this: the industry is selling panels. The $899 TV, when chosen correctly, does not disappoint.

Fourteen years in, my TV is, by my standard, more functional than the one I bought when I started. I have spent, in those fourteen years, approximately $4,200 on TVs. I could have spent approximately $1,800 and had the same viewing experience. The math is, by any honest accounting, embarrassing. The math is also, in the end, the only thing that matters.