Published On: June 3, 2022

Best 55 Inch 4K TVs 2022

Author

BY: Home Theater Review
BY: Mark Henninger
I’m an AV enthusiast, equipment reviewer, photographer, videographer and drone pilot. I’m also a THX-trained video calibrator with extensive experience reviewing consumer displays including TVS, projectors, monitors and smartphones. I have a keen interest in audio as well as video and founded plus run the largest home audio Facebook group, Audiophiles on a Budget—with over 60K members. For fun, I like riding a OneWheel around Philly while capturing cool images and videos to submit to Google Maps.

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Published On: June 3, 2022

Best 55 Inch 4K TVs 2022

From gaming to sports to movies to an art gallery, there's a 55" TV to fit your lifestyle.

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A 55" TV is still the perfect size for many situations. In the U.S., it is second only to 65" TVs in popularity. One of the great things about 55-inch size TVs is you can get a lot for your money.

There is no one "best" TV for all purposes. Some 55" TVs are designed for outdoor use, others do their best work in a darkened room, and others look like artwork hanging on a wall when not acting as a TV. The trick is figuring out which one works best for your needs: If your room is bright, check out the mini LED and QLEDs, if the space is usually darker then OLED could be the ticket.

Best Picture Quality (Tie)

Sony A95K Quantum Dot OLED

2022 is a special year for OLED. It marks the debut of quantum dot OLED, which offers unparalleled picture quality. And in Sony's hands, the result is a compelling 55-inch TV that is truly the best of the best at its size, with its only competitor being the Samsung S95B—which uses the same display technology.

Pros

• Unbeatable picture quality
• Dolby Atmos sound that comes from the screen
• Works with PlayStation 5

Cons

• Limited brightness compared to mini LED QLED

With its cutting-edge Quantum Dot OLED panel and Sony's image processing, this is one of the finest 55" TVs in existence. It offers next-generation picture quality with an ultra-wide color gamut and off-axis performance that is reminiscent of plasma or projection, which is to say the image does not visibly degrade when viewed from the side.

If you seek a TV that represents the ultimate state-of-the-art viewing experience, you'll find it in this Sony.

Best Picture Quality (Tie)

Samsung S95B Quantum Dot OLED

Samsung's take on Quantum Dot OLED is just as good as Sony's. The difference here is not the screen itself, its more the design and also how Samsung approaches picture processing versus Sony. If you prefer the look and feel of a Samsung TV, then in terms of sheer picture quality potential, this is the finest example of a 55" 4K TV the company has produced.

Pros

• State-of-the-art picture quality
• Dolby Atmos sound with Object Tracking
• Supports 4K at 120 Hz

Cons

• Typical OLED brightness limitations

The fact is that Samsung Display—a separate company from Samsung Electronics—makes the Quantum Dot OLED panels used by both Samsung and Sony. This is why the differences between the two have much to do with how each company designs its TVs—both the hardware and the software—as opposed to the capabilities of the panel.

The other big difference is how each TV deals with sound. Sony's approach of using the screen as a speaker is more novel, but Samsung has Q Symphony sound, which combines the TV's speakers and its soundbars into a single system, and Samsung's soundbar offerings include both a broader range and models with greater capability.

Best Wall-Mount

LG G2 OLED Evo

LG's latest OLED builds on the company's unparalleled experience in the category. The G2 is an OLED that offers higher brightness than any that came before, a difference that is clearly visible in hands-on comparisons. If you want the superb picture quality of OLED in a TV that can stand up to some ambient light, and that can make HDR highlight sparkle, the G2 is it.

Pros

• Brightest OLED
• Gallery design wall mount
• FilmMaker Mode

Cons

• Magic Remote takes getting used to

This TV pushes traditional OLED TV technology to its limits. Since OLED already has perfect deep blacks, the name of the game is greater brightness. Among LG OLEDs, the G2 is brighter than ever and has a strong feature set for gamers, including FreeSync Premium and G-Sync VRR.

Best for Bright Rooms

Samsung QN90B Neo QLED

Samsung's top-of-the-line Neo QLED 4K is a powerhouse that is able to take on a wide variety of roles. It uses a mini LED backlight to achieve much higher brightness than OLED and it has an anti-reflective screen that is very effective. The result? An amazing-looking picture even in a bright room. And if you do dim the lights it uses that brightness to deliver a virtuoso performance when it comes to HDR.

Pros

• Looks great in bright or dark rooms
• Sleek, truly flat design
• 14-bit processing

Cons

• Viewing angles not as wide as OLED

This Samsung easily handles any content you throw at it. It's great for gaming, has deep blacks and crisp contrast (albeit not OLED-level), and is able to get extremely bright during the day, allowing it to overcome glare. HDR that pops off the screen is a highlight, powered by QLED technology and a mini-LED backlight array.

Best for Movie Lovers

Sony BRAVIA A80K OLED

Leave it to Sony to take the already awesome technology of OLED TVs—which have the deepest blacks and highest contrast—and do something magical with it: Acoustic Surface Audio turns the entire screen into a speaker. Now voices appear to come from the screen, not below it. This TV also offers custom HDR tone mapping for PlayStation 5

Pros

• IMAX Enhanced & Netflix Calibrated
• Ultra-low latency
• Exclusive PlayStation 5 features

Cons

• Loses some punch in bright rooms

Sony's more affordable OLED is strongly worth considering, especially for movie lovers. It has Sony's picture processing that aims to be as faithful to the director's intent as possible. It also has IMAX Enhanced, so you get an optimal viewing experience out of that content. PlayStation 5 owners may leverage the custom tonemapping that is a Sony exclusive, and all gamers may enjoy the HDMI 2.1 features like support of 4K at 120 Hz.

Best Value

TCL - 55" Class 6-Series Mini-LED QLED 4K UHD Smart Google TV

When it comes to getting a lot of TV for a low price, the TCL 6-Series is a well-known go-to option. You'll find the most recent display technology here, including mini-LED QLED for bright and vivid HDR. ANd since it uses the latest Google TV platform, it's easy to use, has voice search, and offers a ton of streaming content.

Pros

• Bright and vivid mini-LED QLED
• Excellent HDR performance
• 120 Hz refresh rate panel

Cons

• Local dimming does not do much

This is a TV able to sustain 900 nits full screen, which is crazy bright! Bright enough to overcome the sun. What the TCL lacks versus a Samsung Neo QLED or a Sony FALD LED TV is an effective local dimming mechanism. But that's OK because TCL delivers high native contrast with its 6 Series, and that gives the image the requisite punchiness to do justice to HDR. The main thing here is the value this TV represents, it's a lot for the money.

Best Anti-Reflective

Samsung 55" Black LS03B The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV (2022)

When not playing a video, Samsung's most stylish TV resembles a piece of wall art. This 4K QLED has an extremely effective anti-reflective screen coating with a texture that makes it look like fine art.

Pros

• No gap wall mount
• Interchangeable bezels
• Highly effective anti-reflective screen

Cons

• Edgelit

You get the best of both worlds with The Frame: Because of its QLED 4K panel, this TV looks fantastic when watching movies, TV, sports, video games, and more. However, it also has the amazing ability to display artwork and make it appear to be a framed print hanging on the wall rather than a TV. This is accomplished with a matte anti-reflective coating that is far more effective than what is found on most televisions.

The anti-reflective properties are useful for more than just creating the impression of artwork on the wall. It also neutralizes room reflections when the TV is turned on, resulting in a clearer picture.

With HDMI 2.1 and Samsung's standard QLED features, The Frame is even a good TV for gaming, and the anti-glare screen will be familiar to PC users who have seen a similar texture featured on monitors.

Best on a Budget

TCL 5 Series QLED

TCL's 5 Series is a total surprise, delivering great picture quality at its price point. Then again, it is a QLED, it's just not a "state-of-the-art" QLED. It has a modest feature compared to flagship models. But, it shows what's possible with a good design and some careful tuning.

Pros

• Excellent native contrast
• High overall brightness
• Supports 4k/60Hz 4:4:4

Cons

• Local dimming does not do much