The Best TCL TV You Can Buy In 2026, According To Experts
Chinese tech company TCL has been selling TVs in the U.S. for quite some time now. The company announced its new TV models earlier this year, offering a wide variety of options for different types of buyers and at different price points. The lineup is headlined by the company's flagship X11L set, which was revealed at the CES 2026 event held in January. However, if budget is not an issue and you want the absolute best TCL TV in 2026, which model should you go for? According to the experts at CNET and Business Insider , TCL's QM8L is the best set from the company in 2026.
In fact, in CNET's testing, the QM8L impressed the site's experts so much that they named it the best set they've tested this year despite the existence of competing solid options from other major TV brands like Samsung, Sony, and LG. CNET says the set offers superb picture quality for an LED TV with excellent color and contrast and boasts one of the highest brightness levels. Business Insider also praises the QM8L for its brightness levels and, in addition to that, has been impressed by the model's color, contrast, and excellent local dimming control.
Although it didn't come out first in RTings' review , the site's experts crowned the QM8L as the best mid-range option from TCL. For the uninitiated, the QM8L sits below the flagship X11L and RM9L in TCL's 2026 TV lineup. The TCL QM8L is available on Amazon or Best Buy in 65, 75, 85, and 98-inch sizes at a starting price of $2,499.99. If you time your purchase well, you can get it for less — for instance, as of this writing, all the variants of the QM8L have been discounted on both sites.
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TCL's QM8L has lots of excellent features on offer
TCL
TCL's QM8L offers several features TV shoppers need to consider when looking for a new set. The first is picture quality, which both Business Insider and CNET have found to be superb in their independent reviews. TCL QM8L's excellent picture quality is attributed to two things. First, the set uses the company's so-called SQD-Mini LED technology, which leverages both Super Quantum Dots and a mini LED backlight to deliver more color. The second key feature is the company's so-called Halo Control system, which aims to prevent backlight bleed or haloing.
The set can hit peak brightness levels of up to 6,000 nits and has 4,000 local dimming zones to help the TV deliver better contrast and thus improve the overall quality of the picture. TCL uses a 4K advanced WHVA panel, which provides wide viewing angles of up to 178 degrees. That panel supports various mainstream HDR formats , including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ, which are offered by popular streaming services, so you won't compromise on picture quality while watching your favorite movies and TV shows.
And for those planning to play video games, the QM8L offers several must-have TV gaming features . Chief among them is the 144 Hz refresh rate for a smooth gaming experience, coupled with variable refresh rate technology to help reduce screen tearing. To hook up your console or gaming PC to the set, there are four available HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which supports eARC. Other ports include Ethernet, optical digital audio, an RF input, and two USB-A (one USB 3.0 and the other USB 2.0).
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Read the original article on SlashGear .
