TV winners and losers of 2023: from OLED to 8K going quiet

The future is bright – and for OLED, so is the present

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It’s been a big year for TVs. Across the board, fromOLEDandQLEDtomini-LED, the best TV technologies have only gotten better – but it’s clear that some display types have fared better than others, and that consumer demand is continuing to shape the market in some interesting ways.

There’s the ever-rising average size of new displays, a host of brightness-boosting technologies for famously dim panel types, and a once-hyped technology that seems to be fading into the background. If you’re just after our top picks of TVs to buy, do check out ourbest TVguide – but otherwise read on for the biggest TV winners and losers of 2023.

Winner: OLED and MLA

Ah,OLED. The deep blacks and infinite contrast of organic LED has been gracing some of the best TVs for a while now, and 2023 is no different – with evenSamsunggetting in on the OLED action after years of contrasting the technology to its own QLED displays.

But the real OLED news in 2023 isMLA, or ‘Micro Lens Array’. This is a layer of minute convex lenses above the pixels of an OLED panel – billions of them – focusing and angling the self-emissive light of the panel to boost brightness beyond what was previously possible.

This technology had made its way into a handful of flagship screens, such as 2023’sLG G3 OLEDand thePanasonic MZ2000– and drastically improved the brightness compared to older models.We wrote back in Marchthat the G3 OLED could hit 1,400 nits compared to the 800 nits of theC2, which launched in 2022, which is a seismic difference for a historically dim panel technology.

It’s clear that OLED’s biggest weakness compared to LCD or mini-LED – the comparative lack of overall brightness – is being aggressively corrected, and it means that OLED’s competitors may have a hard time convincing shoppers to choose something else.

Winner: QD-OLED

This also marks the second year that Samsung andSonyhave released aQD-OLEDhybrid range, combining the picture enhancements of QLED with the latent benefits of an OLED panel.

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This hybrid technology was a source of speculation for several years until it finally came to market, but it’s hard to argue with the results. The OLED panel ensures deep blacks and effective contrast, while the quantum dot filter – a hyper-efficient color converter – allows brightness to go even higher than before, turbo-boosting color performance and making for a far brighter experience than traditional OLED screens.

2023’s Samsung S95C builds on this basis for a remarkable television. In ourS95C review, we wrote, “The Samsung S95C faces some seriously stiff competition this year from thebest 4K TVs, but it delivers more than enough of a leap over its already impressive predecessor to mean that it will surely be right in the mix with thebest OLED TVswhen awards season comes round.” Just be careful with the 83-inch version, as it quietly ditches the quantum dot element, which might not be obvious to buyers.

Sony’s newA95L(a successor to last year’sA95K) uses the same underlying technology in a pricier screen, though Sony’s processing is a little more subtle and effective compared to Samsung’s. But it means there’s already some meaningful choices appearing in the QD-OLED market, and that can only be a good thing for shoppers looking to jump on the trend.

Loser: 8K

The bigger TV brands are still releasing8K TVs, but they don’t quite occupy the same front-and-center place in the market that they did even a few years ago.TCLannounced inearly 2023that it wouldn’t release any new 8K TVs this year, due to sluggish sales.

This highlights how ‘8K’ has struggled to gain traction among shoppers, especially when streaming services outside ofYouTubedon’t host native 8K content. Plus a4K TVcan offer high-end performance for considerably less cash. (TCL did show off afoldable 8K prototypethis year, but it’s technically not on sale yet.)

Samsung still released its usual trio of Neo QLED 8K TVs – theQN900C,QN800C, and QN700C, for those after an ultra-ultra-high definition experience. But there seems to be a growing focus on its new4KOLED TV ranges, competing directly with the popular OLED models offered byLG,Panasonic, and Sony. Smarter than moving onto16K, we’d say.

Winner: Big stonking TVs

It’s no secret that the average TV display size generally goes up each year – as production improvements make large screens progressively cheaper and people look to upgrade their current setup. Remember when a 40-inch plasma TV was the height of entertainment? These days, anything that size is almost certainly a budget buy.

77-inch and 83-inch OLED TVs are now commonplace, while TV brands continue to release ‘who actually has room for this’ displays likeTCL’s 98-inch QM8orSamsung’s 98-inch QN990C.

Is 98-inch the new 55-inch? Probably not. But manufacturers are only getting better at producing these kinds of sizes, and it spells good news for those after a big-screen experience. (Of course, thebest 4K projectorsmight be a little cheaper for the same size.)

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Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.

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