For years, Vizio has been known as a value TV maker by offering large screen sizes for around half the cost of Samsung or Sony TVs. The latest addition to its 2024 lineup, an 86-inch version of its 4K TV series, is continuing that trend.
According to a press release sent to Tom's Guide from Vizio, the 86-inch variant will be available starting April 28 for $999 at select retailers. Undoubtedly that will include Walmart, as the retailer has already entered an agreement to acquire Vizio for the sum of $2.3 billion, but it will likely include other retailers as well.
As far as what this 86-inch behemoth is bringing to the table besides an unbelievable sticker price, Vizio's aptly named 4K TV Series offers Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+ support as well as Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 connectivity compatibility alongside its eponymous 4K resolution. It can also play games at 120fps, but it needs to drop the resolution to 1080p to hit that frame rate.
Currently, the lineup of Vizio 4K TVs includes 43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, 70” and 75” models, but the upcoming 86-inch version will be the biggest of the bunch when it arrives in April.
Does affordability come at the cost of picture quality?
Given what it costs, we're not expecting the 86-inch Vizio 4K TV to land a spot on our list of the best TVs. It's possible, potentially, and we'll need to test it for ourselves before coming to any real conclusions on it, but typically cheaper TVs don't hold a candle to the more expensive QLED and OLED TVs from Samsung and LG.
Where do manufacturers shave some cost? In the backlight technology is probably the most important area — the best OLED TVs are costly because OLED panels are more expensive to produce at larger sizes — but also in cheaper components like processors that handle the upscaling and motion processing.
That being said, we do have to hand it to Vizio on this price. An 86-inch TV for under $1,000 is really great. Our favorite value TV, the Hisense U8K, is available in a 65-inch screen size for $999, but the 85-inch model comes in at an eye-watering $2,199.
We don't have a crystal ball, but our gut says that if this TV launches at $999 then it's going to drop down substantially come Black Friday 2024.
Can't wait for the fall? Don't miss our round-up of the best TV deals going on now.
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