The best Google TVs are some of the best smart TVs you can buy. That's because Google TV is one of the newest smart TV platforms to hit the market and, in our humble opinion, one of the best we've yet to see.
We like it so much because it makes finding something new to watch incredibly easy with a slew of new recommendations each time you turn on the TV and it has support for all the major streaming services, too.
On top of all that, Google TVs come with Chromecast Built-in as well Google Assistant. That makes controlling a Google-based smart home incredibly easy, and sharing videos from your phone or tablet a cinch.
So where do you find the best Google TVs? After years of testing, we've found the best ones come from Sony, TCL and Hisense, though the exact models are always in flux. Right now, the top of the list is the Sony A95L OLED, the top of Sony's 2023 lineup and one of the best TVs we tested last year.
The best Google TVs you can buy
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When it comes to Google TVs, there are none better than the Sony A95L OLED. It uses a QD-OLED panel that balances the best of both QLED and OLED TVs, plus its Cognitive XR Processor is custom built to make Google TV run smooth as butter.
As far as actual picture quality is concerned, the A95L is top of its class: The A95L can cover 99.95% of the UHDA-P3 color gamut and a ground-breaking 89.41% of the Rec2020 color space. That's better than any other TV we've ever tested. Brightness can be a bit low (this is built on an OLED panel, remember) but 1,215 nits in HDR, it's plenty bright enough to do justice to your favorite films and TV shows.
If there's any big drawbacks to the A95L, it's that it has a relatively high input lag of 16.1ms. That's going to make this set less-than-ideal for gamers. However, if you just plan on using this to stream content from services like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Max and others, this won't be something you need to worry about.
Read our full Sony Bravia XR A95L review.
As far as mid-range, affordable Google TVs are concerned, the Hisense U8N is the best out there. With support for Dolby Vision and over 3,000 nits of peak brightness, the Hisense U8N more than meets the needs of most Google TV users.
One of the major issues that some Google TVs have is that their processors aren't up to the task of navigating Google's image-rich UI. That isn't the case for the U8N. Thanks to its Hi-View Engine PRO chipset, the U8N navigates the UI with ease. Jumping between apps is fast and seamless, and content by and large looks amazing on the screen.
Does it beat out a $3,000 OLED TV? No, but the Hisense U8N is a third of the price and, thanks to its 3,000-plus nits of brightness, has a real wow-factor that's absent on other rival TVs.
Read our full Hisense U8N Mini-LED TV review.
The Hisense U7K Mini-LED TV is the gaming beast of the group among best Google TVs. While sporting a slew of incredible features — namely video game supportive technologies, like AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Dolby Vision Gaming — the U7K still isn’t hard on the wallet, either. Its 65-inch model comes in at a clean $800, which is typically even sliced down to around $750 across several retailers.
Proving of its superiority across the TV ecosystem is its leveraging of Goolge TV, gifting the U7K instant and simplified access to all of your favorite content. Most apps are automatically signed into at startup, allowing you to get straight to watching your beloved new shows, like Hulu’s “Shogun” or the lovely Crunchyroll anime “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.”
Performance on the U7K is pretty remarkable for a TV at its price. You’re netting some quality specs, namely intense color volume and brightness, at a pretty good steal. That’s not to even mention its gaming prowess as mentioned earlier, sporting 13.2ms in input lag and a gaming bar for instant access to all the necessary settings, including VRR and an fps counter.
It’s hard to find major complaints around the U7K, though it does lack in motion processing if only slightly, so do take that into account. Beyond that, it’s a stellar option among best Google TVs, one that will surely bring a smile to any and all visitors of your upgraded home entertainment setup.
Read our full Hisense U7K Mini-LED TV review.
The Sony Bravia XR A90K, only available in either a 42-inch or 48-inch screen size, is a little TV that thinks big. You can’t get it in enormous sizes, but you don’t have to — it’s equipped with an OLED screen and incorporates all of Sony’s industry-leading picture technologies to result in a set that does just as well in technical benchmark tests as it does in everyday movie and television viewing.
The A90K’s remote is also the upgraded version we previously saw with the A95K, upping the set’s swank factor still further. Instead of matte-black plastic, it has a shimmering gunmetal sheen; the buttons are all backlighted; and finding the remote when it’s lost is as easy as activating the TV’s far-field microphone, saying “Hey Google! Find my remote!”, and then following the beeping sound the lost unit produces.
Want terrific picture quality, but you don’t have room for a full-size TV? The A90K will (literally and figuratively) brighten up any room, and is a major offering that should not be dismissed merely because of its minor size.
Read our full Sony Bravia XR A90K review.
So far, the Best Google TVs from Sony have been, well, a little pricey. By contrast, the Sony XR X90L, the popular mid-range Sony LED-LCD TV from 2023, is actually pretty affordable, starting at just $1,149 for the 55-inch model and $1,199 for the 65-inch screen.
Although its price and solid HDR performance make it a real winner, the Sony X90L is lacking some of the strong performance-based features of the TVs listed above. Most notably, it doesn't use a Mini-LED backlight so there's a bit of blooming and without Sony's X-Wide tech, its viewing angles are more limited.
That being said, don't write it off completely. It uses the brand's Cognitive XR Processor for top-of-the-line upscaling and motion processing, which is very helpful if you plan on connecting it to an OTA antenna or HD cable box. We measured its peak brightness at around 1,446 nits, which is more than enough brightness for most HDR scenes, and its out-the-box-color accuracy was solid at a Delta-E score of 2.3955. It's not as good as the top Sony OLEDs you've seen above, but for around $1,000, the X90L offers a solid price-to-performance ratio.
Read our full Sony Bravia XR X90L review.
What is Google TV?
If you looked at the above list and noticed that some are Google TVs and others are Android TVs, you probably asked yourself the very reasonable question: what's the difference between Google TV and Android TV?
Both are based on Google's Android software, the same operating system found on smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices. For several years the TV-centric version of Android was simply known as Android TV. Ever since Android 8.0 was introduced in 2019, we've considered Android a top player in the smart TV space.
Starting in late 2021 with the rollout of Android TV 11, Google has renamed the operating system as Google TV. Going forward the Android TV name will be dropped, and all Google-powered smart TVs will be Google TV in the coming years.
But the differences go beyond the name. Google TV is a significant update from the previous version of Android, with a new interface, better live TV integration and discovery, a mobile remote, and personal accounts, including watchlists and kids accounts with parental controls baked in.
Get a more detailed look at the improvements that come with Google TV in our article Google TV vs. Android TV: What's the difference?
How to pick the best Google TV or Android TV for you
If you've already settled on a Google TV or Android TV model, then you've narrowed down your TV shopping considerably. But there are still several important elements to consider when finding the right TV for you. Here are the most important details to think about.
Size: You won't have to compromise on screen size, either. Or recommendations above include great options at 55, 65 and even 75-inch sizes, so your budget doesn't have to prevent you from getting a TV that's just as big as you want. Find the screen size that works best for you in our article What size TV should you buy?
HDR: For the best picture, we recommend getting a set that offers high dynamic range (HDR) support. HDR10 is the base standard, while Dolby Vision is a higher-caliber format, and we recommend opting for Dolby Vision support when you have the choice.
Pay attention to ports: We recommend getting a TV with 4 HDMI ports whenever possible. And even though they do cost more, we prefer TVs that have HDMI 2.1 connections. They offer better gaming features and will keep your TV up to date for much longer.
From smart functions to port selection, we offer plenty of advice in our TV buying guide, which explains the ins and outs of features like HDR, different types of display, and even extended warranties. And if you still have questions about smart TV features and capabilities, check out Smart TVs: Everything you need to know.
How we test Google TVs and Android TVs
Every TV review, whether it has Google TV, Android, or any other smart TV software, is put through a standardized set of benchmark tests to measure the key elements of TV performance. Our lab tests measure several elements of picture quality, such as color accuracy, color gamut, brightness and contrast.
In addition to lab testing, every TV is also evaluated by the reviewer with extensive hands-on use. We'll watch movie clips, play test footage, and hook up one of the latest game consoles to see how well the TV performs in real world use.
These objective test results and personal evaluations combine in our reviews to give readers as accurate a description as possible of how well a TV performs. How does it look, sound and function? From the design of the remote to the smart functions and port selection, we look at every piece of the TV puzzle to help you know whether a TV is right for you.
If you've narrowed down your TV shopping by brand, price range or screen size, check out our picks for the best TVs in each.
Best TVs | Best 4K TVs | Best smart TVs for streaming | Best TVs for gaming
The best TVs under $1000 | The best TVs under $500
Best TV brands | Best Samsung TVs | Best TCL TVs | Best LG TVs | Best Roku TVs | Best OLED TVs | Best QLED TVs | Best 8K TVs | Best HDMI 2.1 TV | Best TVs with ATSC 3.0 | Best TVs with Chromecast
The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 50-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 65-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs
And don't forget to watch out for the latest TV reviews.
