The 5 Best Small TVs - Fall 2021 Reviews

The Samsung QN43Q60AAFXZA is the best small TV available in a 43 inch size. It's an entry-level QLED TV with decent overall performance. We recommend this TV over the Samsung QN90A QLED, which is also available in a 43 inch size, because the 43 inch model of the Q60A should perform the same as the 55 inch model we tested, while the 43 inch variant of the QN90A is different. This TV is fairly well-built and has a nice style that should look good in any setup.

It comes with Samsung's Tizen OS as its smart system, which is user-friendly, and menu navigation feels very smooth. You also get many apps available to download, and the remote comes with a mic for voice control. Our unit has impressive out-of-the-box accuracy, so you may not need to get it calibrated to enjoy it to the fullest, but this can also vary between units. Visibility shouldn't be an issue in most well-lit rooms because it gets bright enough to fight glare and has decent reflection handling. It also has a VA panel with a high native contrast and excellent black uniformity if you want to use it in a well-lit room.

Unfortunately, even though it supports HDR10+, HDR content doesn't look anything special because its peak brightness is just okay, and it lacks a local dimming feature. It also has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks washed out and inaccurate from the sides. If that doesn't bother you, it's one of the best small TVs.

The best small TV for gaming is the Sony KD-43X85J. It's a well-rounded mid-range model that has a few extra gaming features. It's a good choice for gaming in both dark and bright environments, and the built-in Google TV has a ton of apps available to download if you don't want to stream content through your gaming console. Although we tested the 55 inch size, the 43 inch variant should perform the same.

It has a 120Hz panel with two HDMI 2.1 inputs, so you can easily play 4k games up to 120fps from either the Xbox Series X or PS5. It doesn't have any variable refresh rate support at the time of writing, but that should come in a future firmware update. Input lag at 120Hz is low, and even though it increases a bit with 60Hz content, it's still low enough for competitive gamers. Motion looks smooth thanks to the quick response time, and it has a black frame insertion feature that flickers at 120Hz. If you game in the dark, it has a fantastic contrast ratio, and it gets bright enough to combat glare for gaming well-lit rooms.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve the contrast. Also, its reflection handling is just decent, so it's best to avoid placing it opposite a bright window. On the plus side, it displays a wide color gamut and has fantastic out-of-the-box accuracy, so you likely won't need to get it calibrated to enjoy it to the fullest. Overall, it's the best small TV for gaming that we've tested.

The best small smart TV that you can get for cheap is the Hisense 43A6G. It's a basic entry-level model with Android TV as its smart platform, which offers many apps through the Google Play Store and is fairly easy to use. The included remote is great and has a built-in mic that gives you access to voice control for Google Assistant and Alexa.

It's available in a variety of sizes, but not all of them perform the same. The 43 inch model has an IPS panel like the 65 inch model we tested, but other sizes have VA panels, so they perform differently. The IPS panel offers wide viewing angles, and even though it doesn't get very bright, it has decent reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a couple of dim lights around. It doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, which is great if you watch cable TV or old DVDs. If you want to use it as a PC monitor, it displays chroma 4:4:4, which helps make text clear.

Unfortunately, the IPS panel models have a low contrast ratio and sub-par black uniformity, so they're not great for dark room viewing. However, if you want something a bit bigger, the 50 inch variant's VA panel should have much higher contrast. HDR content also doesn't look much better than SDR because it can't display a wide color gamut. If you need something simple and cheap, the A6G is one of the best small TVs available.