We are pleased to announce the TV category winners of the T3 Awards 2022, comprising the winners of Best OLED TV, Best Gaming TV, Best 8K TV, Best Mid-Range TV, Best Value TV, and Best TV overall. It's a bumper lot this year!
These televisions have revolutionised the way we live in today's society: with at-home entertainment a key part of daily life, being able to obtain a cinema-like audio-visual experience is not only more affordable and easier than ever before, it's sometimes better thanks to the out-of-this-world technology deployed in the products nominated here.
This year's Televisions T3 Awards 2022 categories have therefore been more competitive than ever before, especially related to the advances in display technologies. So let's get down to revealing the all-important big winners in this major category.
Best OLED TV: LG G2
As OLED is a self-emitting technology and doesn't require separate backlighting like LCD-LED TVs do, each individual pixel has total control to deliver the most pristine images with no light bleed.
It also means OLED panels' pixels can completely 'switch off' for the deepest of black levels that are unrivalled by any other technology on the market. This is the technology where it's at if you want sumptuously rendered dark scenes with cinematic quality.
However, OLED typically hasn't been known for reaching the punchiest of brightness levels compared to some of its competition. Which is where this year's Best OLED TV winner, the LG G2, comes into play.
The G2 is a truly astounding OLED TV that can punch a step higher in terms of brightness than its OLED competiton. But it doesn't compromise in doing so, delivering exquisite images that are expertly rendered, full of colour and class.
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While many will opt for the LG C2 for a little less cash, if you're truly looking for the best-of-best that OLED has to offer than the LG G2 is where it's at. It's unrivalled and the best OLED TV we've seen to date.
Best OLED TV shortlist
LG G2, Philips OLED+986, Sony A90J, Philips OLED+936, Panasonic JZ2000
Best Gaming TV: Samsung QN95B
Gaming is a huge deal, raking in more cash per year than the Hollywood movie industry, which just goes to show how popular it is. We love cranking out a gaming session here at T3 - especially if it's on the best TV for the task.
Many TVs do a sterling job with delivering decent gaming content, but some are a step up when it comes to supporting the latest technologies on the market. And 2022's Best Gaming TV gong goes to the Samsung QN95B for a whole host of reasons.
First of all, this QLED panel is supremely bright, delivering high dynamic range (HDR) pictures that will boost any game you connect to this screen, presenting the most colourful palette. That's a good start.
But it's the presence of HDMI 2.1 and compatibility with VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low-latency mode) that will pique gamers' interest: that means 120Hz compatibility for the smoothest of playback on PS5 or Xbox Series X, variable refresh rate to continue that smoothness whatever the action, and low-latency for the swiftest of feedback.
Other TVs do possess these technologies, but for our money the best of the bunch goes to Samsung for delivering them with super-low input lag while delivering truly pristine image quality. It's an epic TV set.
Best Gaming TV shortlist
LG C2, Samsung QN95B, Samsung Q80B, Sony X90J, Hisense A6G
Best 8K TV: Samsung QN900B
Looking for the next-level in resolution with imagery so hyper-clear that you'll barely believe your eyes? You'll want an 8K telly then. It's the technology that's been growing in potential in recent years – and 2022's 8K sets are truly mind-blowing.
Of them all, though, it's the Samsung QN900B that dazzles the most, bagging the Best 8K TV trophy. It's the zenith of 8K TV performance, delivering an unrivalled experience in terms of scale (it starts at 65-inch, moving through 75- and 85-inch options) and design with so little bezel that there's no distraction from the action.
There are some great touches to the QN900B, such as Samsung's One Connect Box, which channels all of the HDMI ports in a separate box so you can maintain that seamless appearance whether this mega-TV is wall-mounted, stand-mounted, in the middle of a room, or wherever you fancy displaying it.
Image quality is second to none, too, thanks to AI-enhanced image processing and a Mini LED backlight that can bang out the brightest of images for amazing HDR pictures with super-bright highlights and saturated colours. Add in immersive sound, next-gen gaming features, and extensive smarts, and you’ve got a near-perfect TV package.
Best 8K TV shortlist
Samsung QN900B, LG QNED99, LG Z2, Sony Z9J, TCL 6-Series R648
Best Mid-Range TV: LG A1
If you're looking for many top-tier features, but have a little more cash to play around with, then you'll want to step up from the Best Value TV and find something even better. That's why there's T3's Best Mid-Range TV category, which sings the praises of what we'd call a 'sweet spot' set.
For 2022 that accolade goes to the LG A1. Yes, it's a little older than the company's 2022 sets, and therefore doesn't have quite all the same advancements, but it's also the cheapest OLED TV that LG ever launched. That in itself makes it massively appealing.
As detailed in Best OLED TV, this panel technology is superb for the richest of blacks and a cinematic-like viewing experience. The LG A1 delivers that with gusto, without the eye-watering price tag that the top-end OLED panels demand.
The LG A1 also starts at a 48-inch size, so it adds further appeal to those who don't want massive boxes in their living rooms, but who also don't want to massively compromise on quality.
Don't buy one if you're a gamer, but if you're a cinema fan then the LG A1 will still deliver the rich contrast and colour that you want from a smaller investment. It's a little star and worthy T3 Awards winner.
Best Mid-Range TV shortlist
Samsung Q90A, LG A1, Samsung Q80A, Sony X90J
Best Value TV: Hisense A7G
Want great quality without having to fork out a massive-great heap of cash for the pleasure? There are lots of lower-end and lower-priced sets on the market, but ones that deliver true value are options that deliver more for their asking price than you'd expect.
One such set is the Hisense A7G, which receives the 2022 T3 Award for Best Value TV. It's a 4K QLED telly that goes above and beyond its mid-range price tag. You'll get colourful, sharp picture quality presented from the sharply designed set.
Sure, you'll have to accept that brightness won't be as punchy, and the built-in sound isn't the most prominent going either, but given how affordable this TV is we don't think you'll care. It's less than a third the price of many sets on this awards page, which gives it mass appeal.
Best Value TV shortlist
Samsung AU9000, Toshiba UK31, Samsung AU7100, Hisense A7G, Hisense A7500F
Best TV: Samsung QN95B
We've saved the biggest award of the category until last: the TV that ticks all the boxes and fits as the optimum telly-box that will suit most people overall. This winner is the best TV of the bunch when it comes to quality, whether you're into cinema, gaming, design, and/or all of the above.
We saved the best until last, the crème de la crème of the TV world, the best TV on the planet right now. So which TV has that praise bestowed upon it? It's the Samsung QN95B, which you'll have already seen further up the page as our Best Gaming TV too. Yup, Samsung's top-end 4K panel is so good that it's landed a duo of T3 Awards trophies.
Picking the best TV doesn't come lightly either. With such impressive OLED options on the market, Samsung's QLED technology has very apparent competition. What seals the deal for us is QLED's extra brightness and extra vibrancy. It's mighty impressive.
Not only that, the QN95B is beautifully designed, features the practicalities of Samsung's One Connect Box (to hide all the cables neatly), and features all those latest and greatest gaming settings to ensure future-proofing whether you're watching a movie, streaming a TV show, or in the middle of an epic gaming session.
It's the Swiss Army Knife of TVs, if you will, that all-round super-capable set that doesn't put a pixel wrong and won't fail to impress anyone who sets eyes on it. If it's best of the best that you demand then demand the Samsung QN95B: because it's more than worthy of 2022's top TV accolade.
Best TV shortlist
Samsung QN900B, LG G2, Philips OLED+986, Samsung QN95B, Panasonic JZ2000
Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.