The latest TVs have features beyond the usual high-res 4K picture quality, AI picture enhancement, smart TV platforms, and improved built-in speakers. They boast upgrades to afford seamless navigation, help extend the life of the TV, and make them look (and sound) better.
If you’re buying a new TV in 2026 from one of the best TV brands, there are some features that are nice-to-haves, like 144Hz variable refresh rate for gamers, smart home integration for those who need it, and AI features for both improving the picture and sound and affording a convenient chatbot right from your TV. Then there are must-haves to ensure you get the best possible viewing experience. For those upgrading this year, it makes sense to find a TV that possesses these features. No matter which brand or TV type you’re choosing, there are a few specific features you should seek out. They might call them different names, and each brand has its own approach.
Before you buy a new TV, do this one 10-second test with your phone
You don’t want to mount it and realize you made a mistake.
Pixel or panel shifting or refresh
Keep images from burning in
Burn-in is when a static image like a logo at the corner of the screen “burns into” the display and remains faintly visible permanently. Think a news network’s logo or gaming badge. Burn-in has long been an issue with OLED TVs. But if you’re buying a newer model OLED TV today, there are many ways modern OLED TVs prevent burn-in. Pixel or panel refreshing lets you reset pixels if necessary. It’s not advised to use this feature more than once per year, but it’s a preventative measure for those who often have the TV on for long periods of time.
Another technology that happens in the background, and you should check for in a TV’s specs shifts the screen so slightly that it’s unnoticeable, but it’s designed to prevent burn-in. It runs at regular intervals, ensuring that a static image never remains on the same part of the screen for too long. LG calls this Screen Shift, and Sony and Samsung call it Pixel Shift. It goes without saying that the TV should have a built-in screensaver mode as well, which most, if not all, do. Like with your laptop, this forces the screen out of a static image into a moving screensaver if the same image remains on screen for longer than about two minutes.
Mini LED or RGB backlighting
Latest and greatest
If you’re not going with an OLED that uses self-emissive pixels, consider a new Mini-LED TV. Mini-LED TVs have ultra-small backlight LEDs, which affords more precise dimming, better contrast, and improved brightness. There are Micro LED TVs that work much the same way, except the pixels are even tinier, ensuring an even better picture. But these aren’t available mass market yet beyond massive screens that costs in the five-to-six figures. There are, however, RGB LED TVs coming to market. These replace the white backlight with red, green, and blue ones. Removing the filter layer behind the TV results in more precise, vibrant, faithful color reproduction.
All the major manufacturers showed micro RGB TVs coming in 2026 at CES earlier this year, and you may find that they’re worth the wait, some already here and others coming later in 2026. While OLED remains the top TV type when it comes to deep black levels, contrast, and off-angle viewing, it’s also an expensive technology. If you want something as close as possible to OLED without paying OLED pricing, micro RGB TVs are a solid consideration.
Glare-free screens
Watch in bright rooms
An often overlooked feature of TVs is not just brightness but also glare. Some of the latest TVs from brands like Samsung boast glare-free screens, which ensure that you can watch TV in brighter rooms with windows without worrying about reflections on the screen. This also helps eliminate glare when looking off angle.
Samsung’s S95D OLED TV, for example, was the first to feature the company’s own matte, glare-free finish. That company’s The Frame and The Frame Pro TVs both feature a glare-free design as well, which works not only while actively watching TV but when they are in art mode as well, so they truly look like paintings on the wall. The way these glare-free TVs work is through a specialized coating that helps diffuse ambient light. This feature isn’t an absolute necessity if you are setting the TV up in a dark room for cinematic viewing, like in a basement theater with no windows. But for everyday viewing in both light and dark scenarios, it’s a feature that will pay off in the long run.
HDMI eARC/ARC ports
Connecting a sound source
Along with the TV supporting immersive sound formats like Dolby Atmos and/or DTS:X, make sure it has an HDMI eARC port. This stands for Enhanced Audio Return Channel, and it allows for transmitting uncompressed audio to your sound source, like a soundbar, without the need for a separate audio cable. This helps not only improve the audio output but also simplifies setup, making for a cleaner overall look with fewer cables.
With this port and a compatible cable, you don’t need to use an optical cable to connect your TV to a separate sound source, which you’ll want to enjoy enhanced audio with action movies and gaming. The latest TVs typically have multiple HDMI ports for connecting various sources, like a set-top box, media player, gaming console, and more at the same time. But at least one of those ports should be labeled ARC or eARC, the latter of which bumps bandwidth and speed for even higher quality audio and ensures a smoother connection with a compatible source device. It’s a small detail that can make a world of difference.
An intuitive smart TV OS
It’s your portal to content
Unless you’re connecting a streaming stick, Apple TV, or other media device to your TV, you want an intuitive smart TV OS. Every smart TV OS has its pluses and minuses, and each operates slightly differently from one another. LG’s webOS and Google TV are generally considering the best smart TV interfaces. Not everyone is a fan of Samsung’s Tizen, though its TVs work seamlessly within the Samsung smart ecosystem through SmartThings. So, if you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, smartwatch, or other device, you might prefer it.
There’s always a way around a lackluster smart TV interface by connecting an affordable Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku Streaming Stick, for example. But invest in a TV you’re comfortable using on its own without one. This is your portal to all your streaming content, potentially even other apps and games. So, you want it to be one that you find easy to use and with which you are comfortable.
