The 6 Best Smart TVs For Streaming - Fall 2021 Reviews

The best smart TV with an OLED panel that we've tested is the LG C1 OLED. A higher-end model, it delivers exceptional picture quality and comes with LG's webOS built-in. The interface is easy to learn, and the app store has a ton of apps you can download. It even comes with the Magic Remote that you can use as a point-and-press remote, like a Wii remote, making it easier to navigate through the menu.

OLEDs can turn off each pixel, resulting in perfect black levels and no blooming around bright objects, making it a fantastic choice for watching movies in dark rooms. It has fantastic reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, but we don't suggest placing it opposite a window. It has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate at the sides if you want to watch your favorite shows with the entire family.

Sadly, OLEDs risk permanent burn-in with constant exposure to static displays, but we don't expect this to be an issue for those who watch varied content. Our unit has terrible out-of-the-box accuracy, but this can also vary between units. If you're a fan of HDR content, it displays a wide color gamut but may not get bright enough to make highlights stand out. Besides these issues, it's still the best smart TV in the OLED category.

The Samsung QN90A QLED is the best smart TV with an LED panel that we've tested. It's a high-end Mini LED model with a ton of features that are great for those watching in dark or bright environments, in wide seating arrangements, or for gaming. It uses Samsung's Tizen as its operating system, which is user-friendly. The remote has a mic for voice control, and it even has a solar panel on the back so you can recharge it.

LED TVs have an advantage over OLEDs because they don't suffer from the risk of permanent burn-in, so you won't have to worry about damaging the screen no matter the content you watch. It doesn't have any trouble displaying 1080p or 4k content, and if you watch shows from a cable box, it displays 720p content well. It's a great choice for well-lit rooms because it gets bright enough to combat glare and has fantastic reflection handling. Despite having a VA panel, it has fairly wide viewing angles thanks to Samsung's 'Ultra Wide Angle' technology.

Unfortunately, it doesn't support Dolby Vision, so some HDR content from streaming apps like Netflix will be shown in the basic HDR10 format instead. It displays a wide color gamut, has fantastic HDR brightness, and has a VA panel with high contrast for deep blacks. Overall, it's the best TV for streaming in the LED category.

The Hisense U6G is the best smart TV in the budget category that we've tested. It's great overall, and despite its low cost, it provides very good picture quality for nearly almost every type of content. It comes with Android TV, and even though Hisense's remote is one of the few left with a dedicated Numpad, it's great, and you get shortcut buttons to popular streaming services. The built-in mic offers voice control for Google Assistant and Alexa.

In terms of picture quality, it's great for both dark and well-lit environments. It has a VA panel with a high native contrast ratio, and the full-array local dimming feature does a decent job at improving black uniformity in dark scenes. It gets bright enough to fight glare in a bright room and has excellent reflection handling, so visibility shouldn't be an issue. Even though it doesn't have any advanced features like VRR or a 120Hz panel, gamers should still appreciate its quick response time and low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.

Unfortunately, Android TV can take some time to get used to and may not be as easy to use as other platforms. Also, while it displays a wide color gamut for HDR content, its HDR brightness is just okay, so some highlights may not pop how the creator intended. If these issues don't bother you, it's one of the best TVs for streaming that we've tested.