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Has LG, Samsung or Sony made the best OLED of 2023 so far?
The first batch of high-end TVs of 2023 was a doozy, packed with mouthwatering OLEDs (organic light-emitting diode models) from LG, Samsung and Sony.
We expect these TVs to do well, but there have been mis-steps before.
There's also the issue of price. None of these OLEDs cost less than £1,000 and most cost closer to £2,000. Are any of them really worth that?
Read on to find out.
The best TVs of 2023 - see which of the current crop of tested 2023 TVs made our list of favourites.
LG, Samsung and Sony OLEDs compared
We've tested two OLED ranges from LG but, for comparison's sake, we're using the C range in the table below as it's more widely available and closer in price to the Samsung and Sony ones.
As you can see, there isn't much to pick between them. They have similar prices and similar specs, but there are some novel things on each TV that set them apart, which we'll explain in a moment.
| LG C range OLED | Samsung S90C OLED | Sony A80L OLED | |
| Sizes tested | 42, 48, 55 and 65-inch | 55 and 65-inch | 55 and 65-inch |
| Sizes available | 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83-inch | 55 and 65-inch | 55, 65, 77 and 83 |
| Price (55-inch model) | £1,699 | £1,899 | £1,699 |
| Screen type | OLED | QDOLED | OLED |
| Resolution | 4K | 4K | 4K |
| HDR formats | HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision | HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ | HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision |
| HDMI inputs | Four (all rated 2.1) | Four (all rated 2.1) | Four (two rated 2.1, two rated 2.0) |
*Just like 50 and 60Hz standards on old analogue TVs, 100 and 120Hz are effectively interchangeable, and a 100Hz TV will support a 120Hz signal.
**The Samsung S90C has a 144Hz screen, allowing for a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, but the maximum refresh rate of 4K content is 120Hz due to the limitations of HDMI 2.1. It could display 144Hz at lower resolutions though.
What's special about the LG OLED55C34LA?
LG likes to bang on about OLED evo. It debuted the technology in its G range of OLEDs two years ago and it's designed to make the screen brighter. Brightness has always been a challenge for OLEDs because they use organic light emitting diodes. Pumping too much light through them can cause them to burn, which creates a permanent faint image on the screen. Not good on an expensive telly and rarely covered by a warranty, so instead the amount of light is limited.
Evo technology increases the brightness in a way that shouldn't cause burn-in. Does it work? We tested the maximum brightness (measured in nits) of the screen when displaying a white square that takes up 10% of it. The C3 managed 905 nits - a sizeable jump from the 750 nits its 2022 predecessor managed. It's not far off what its 2023 rivals got either: the Samsung QE55S90C hit 985 nits, and the Sony XR-55A80L peaked at 945.
It's the most full-featured gaming TV, too. It has G-Sync, which is a suite of features designed to make the most of Nvidia graphics cards, so it's good for PC gamers. Samsung and Sony's models lack this, and the Sony doesn't have FreeSync either, which means video games are unlikely to look as smooth.
How does this TV perform? Check out our full LG OLED55C34LA review to find out.
Looking for something a bit more affordable? Check out our pick of the best cheap TVs
What's special about the Samsung QE55S90C?
If you were reading our comparison table and saw that the S90C has a QDOLED screen, well done - you get a gold star for paying attention. The QD stands for quantum dot - designed to push the brightness up to an impressive 985 nits (higher than the LG and Sony).
One of the neater features is the separate connections box. Instead of having all the cables and USB ports at the back of the TV, they are in their own little unit that's connected by one thin, translucent wire. Even the power goes through this one cable. It means you have more flexibility over where you put all your connected devices and it's easier to hide their cables.
Fancy buying this model? Read our Samsung QE55S90C review first.
What's special about the Sony XR-55A80L?
Acoustic Surface+, what could that mean? Well it means Sony's OLEDs tend to sound great. It turns the screen into a speaker that vibrates at certain points to create the audio. This means sound can come straight from a character's mouth or a gun barrel or an elephant's trunk (we don't know what you watch, but you get the idea). This specificity can increase immersion because the sound isn't all coming at you in one big generic lump.
The XR processor is designed to think like you and understand the parts of the picture your eyes are drawn to. It then makes those bits look as excellent as possible. This sort of tech should be particularly good at sharpening SD (standard definition) footage.
See how this TV fared in our full Sony XR-55A80L review.
So which one should you buy?
Well, none of them, yet. They all cost too much, and TV prices only go one way... down. Yes, there's the odd fluctuation here and there, but if you wait a few months they will be several hundred pounds less. Trust us.
Besides there are plenty of other tellies we're due to test, including LG's cheaper A and B OLED ranges and Sony's high-end backlit LCD (liquid crystal display) models. It's worth waiting to find out if any of these TVs turn out to be just as good as the ones we've looked at here.
If you want to see how these OLEDs compare to models still available from last year and see how the smaller - and bigger - models in these ranges did, take a look at our OLED TV reviews.
