Dramaqueen
Member
Six brands got graded across pricing, design, features, performance and software, and the pricing category ended in a three-way tie between Hisense, TCL and Vizio. Design went jointly to Samsung and Sony. Features went to LG outright, on the argument that its top sets are the most feature-complete even without Dolby Vision. Performance stayed with the three OLED makers, with Sony singled out for the best processing of the lot.
None of that is surprising if you have been paying attention. The tie is the part worth chewing on. Three brands sharing a pricing win means price alone stopped separating them, and the real difference is what they do with the tier above. Vizio has stopped making flagships entirely, while Hisense and TCL keep climbing with the same aggressive pricing they used at the bottom.
Where I would push back is the report card framing itself. Grading a brand as one object hides the thing that actually costs people money: these companies are wildly inconsistent across tiers. LG can take Features on the strength of a G-series and still lose on picture at the entry level to a cheaper Hisense, and the piece more or less admits it. Someone who reads that LG wins features, then buys the cheapest LG in the shop, ends up worse off than someone who ignored the grade completely.
The detail I would have weighted harder is Hisense trading a fourth HDMI input for USB-C DisplayPort on higher-end models. Fine if the set doubles as a monitor. Actively annoying if you own a disc player, a console and a streamer and were counting ports before you bought.
Which category would you personally weight highest this year, and does a brand-level grade help you at all once you have already picked a price bracket?
None of that is surprising if you have been paying attention. The tie is the part worth chewing on. Three brands sharing a pricing win means price alone stopped separating them, and the real difference is what they do with the tier above. Vizio has stopped making flagships entirely, while Hisense and TCL keep climbing with the same aggressive pricing they used at the bottom.
Where I would push back is the report card framing itself. Grading a brand as one object hides the thing that actually costs people money: these companies are wildly inconsistent across tiers. LG can take Features on the strength of a G-series and still lose on picture at the entry level to a cheaper Hisense, and the piece more or less admits it. Someone who reads that LG wins features, then buys the cheapest LG in the shop, ends up worse off than someone who ignored the grade completely.
The detail I would have weighted harder is Hisense trading a fourth HDMI input for USB-C DisplayPort on higher-end models. Fine if the set doubles as a monitor. Actively annoying if you own a disc player, a console and a streamer and were counting ports before you bought.
Which category would you personally weight highest this year, and does a brand-level grade help you at all once you have already picked a price bracket?
