5 best 55-inch TVs in Australia 2020: From $995 | Finder
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Best 55-inch TVs in Australia

We compared over 60 products and read through hundreds of customer reviews to find the best 55-inch TVs currently on the market.

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Jack Baker
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The best 55-inch TVs in Australia

How did we pick this list?

Finder's team scoured through dozens of product listings, making these picks based on customer reviews left around the web and each TV's key features. For each category, we extensively looked into a wide range of products and found which one would be most suitable to take on your big-screen TV needs.

Read more detail on our methodology below.

Best overall 55-inch TV: Samsung Q95T QLED Smart 4K TV

Pros

  • Produces vibrant pictures with HDR10+ and HLG technology
  • Great for both content consumption and gaming

Cons

  • Just one of four HDMI ports supports high refresh rate 4K gaming
  • A high-end TV like this doesn't come cheap

Price (RRP): $3,099

Check availability at Amazon
Buy at Bing Lee
Buy at Appliances Online

Why we chose it

Samsung's high-end Q95T TV is the best overall 55-inch TV you can buy, with its vivid 4K panel and astonishingly high ratings from both customers and professional reviewers setting it apart from the rest of the pack.

The QLED TV's almost bezel-less display has been praised for being clear and bright and for displaying colours that pop. The panel supports HDR10+ and HLG for more vibrant and rich colour reproduction. Samsung's anti-glare and wide viewing-angle technology also features here, which can help make the picture more visible wherever you or the TV are. These are just some of the things that also made the Q95T our pick for the best high-end 4K TV.

Samsung designed the Q95T with gamers in mind, and it's not short on features that'll make your fast-paced gaming experience more enjoyable. The inclusion of Variable Refresh Rate technology in the form of AMD's FreeSync Premium means you can bid farewell to any image tearing that'll distract you from your competitive games. Like many TVs and monitors, the Q95T has a range of game modes to improve performance. The TV's fourth HDMI port is a next-gen gamer's lucky input, with it supporting 4K@120HZ so those with a new Xbox Series X or PS5 can enjoy all the consoles have to offer. It's a little disappointing that only one of the ports on the Q95T supports the high refresh rate at 4K, especially for those looking to pick up both consoles.

If you're looking for one of the best viewing experiences you can get at the 55-inch mark, it's going to cost you. Samsung's retail price for the Q95T is $3,099, but you can sometimes find the premium TV going for a bit under three grand at retailers.

Many customers mentioned the TV was easy to set up and produced great picture and sound quality, but some said they noticed stuttering when watching live sports.

Best value 55-inch TV: Samsung Q80T QLED Smart 4K TV

Pros

  • Supports 4K at 120Hz for smooth video playback and gaming
  • Powerful upscaling with the Quantum Processor 4K

Cons

  • Favours HDR10+ over Dolby Vision
  • Some customers took issue with the Q80T's use of Tizen

Price (RRP): $2,299

Buy at Bing Lee
Buy at Appliances Online
Buy at The Good Guys
Check availability at Amazon

Why we chose it

The cheaper sibling of Samsung's flagship Q95T, the Q80T packs many of the same high-end features and retains great picture quality in a more affordable package. With a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google from more than 14,000 reviews, the Q80T is our pick for the best value 55-inch TV.

The Q80T comes packed with a vibrant QLED display that's similarly specced to Samsung's higher-end models. However, it does skip out on a few features like anti-glare technology. Sporting similar game-ready features to the pricier Q95T, the Q80T offers up 4K at 120HZ over a single HDMI port for smooth and responsive next-generation gaming. The TV also does a magnificent job of upscaling lower-resolution content up to 4K, revitalising older media so that it's still enjoyable on a big screen today.

Tizen is Samsung's operating system of choice for its Smart TVs, and it's present in full on the Q80T. Tizen comes packed with apps and features. You can pick your poison when it comes to smart assistants, with options including Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Samsung's in-house Bixby. It also supports features like Freeview Plus and has app compatibility for pretty much everything you could want, including Disney+, Kayo, Apple TV and more homegrown entertainment apps. Still, some customers had issues with the number of compatible apps compared to Android TV.

With its HDR10+ support, the Q80T can produce a picture with true-to-life and vibrant colours. Still, some might be disappointed by this choice over Dolby Vision, which, on paper, is the better of the two HDR technologies.

Some customers said that the Q80T needed some tweaking and adjusting to get the ideal image from the TV, while others praised the panel's picture quality and mentioned the good in-built speakers. Still, many reviewers said they added a soundbar to improve their audio experience.

Best 55-inch TV under $2,000: LG Nano80 Series AI ThinQ 4K TV

Pros

  • Great colour accuracy with NanoCell technology
  • webOS 5.0 supports almost everything you could ever need

Cons

  • No Dolby Vision
  • Customers note it's not the world's most user-friendly TV

Price (RRP): $1,799

Buy at Catch
Buy at Bing Lee
Buy at Betta Home Living

Why we chose it

The LG Nano80 Series AI ThinQ 4K TV, with its impressive feature set headlined by a NanoCell display, is our pick for the best 55-inch TV under $2,000. Customers have given the TV a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google, with similar scores on retailers' sites.

With a NanoCell panel, the Nano80 Series TV produces an image that LG says is bright and vivid. The technology also allows for wide viewing angles. Customers seem to agree with LG, saying that the TV outputs a clear image and great colours in reviews online. LG's image processor works hard to output a picture that's clear and has sharp colours. The panel can also scale up content that isn't natively in 4K for enhanced viewing of older content.

The Nano80 Series TV sports HDR10, so you'll get to experience the benefits that come along with HDR technologies such as more vibrant colours and richer contrast. Still, it's not anything impressive. Standard HDR technology comes on most TVs these days, and HDR10 is a far cry from the industry-leading Dolby Vision, which some of LG's higher-end OLED TVs support.

LG's webOS includes support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as well as a gamut of international and locally-available streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Optus Sport.

Some customers said that the small text on the remote and the pointer made it challenging to control the TV, and others mentioned that calibration was a little challenging. These issues might mean the Nano80 Series TV isn't the best pick out there for anyone looking for a more accessible TV experience.

Best 55-inch TV under $1,500: Samsung TU8000 Crystal UHD Smart TV

Pros

  • Supports HDR10+ and HLG on a budget
  • Super low input lag

Cons

  • Features fewer ports than many other TVs
  • Lacks major performance features for gamers

Price (RRP): $1,199

Check availability at Amazon
Buy at The Good Guys
Buy at Bing Lee

Why we chose it

As one of the highest-rated TVs on Amazon Australia, and as Finder's pick for the best TV under $2,000 in Australia, it's hard to go wrong with the 55-inch variant of Samsung's popular TU8000 Crystal UHD Smart TV. With an affordable retail price and regular discounts pushing it even closer to the $1,000 mark, this is the best 55-inch TV you can buy that won't break the bank.

The TV's 4K resolution, alongside the interruption-free design, will make for an enjoyable viewing experience regardless of whether you're watching free-to-air TV or if you're watching an action-packed movie. Those wanting to watch content that isn't natively in 4K can do so, as the TU8000 upscales content pretty well. Still, some reviewers have said that upscaled video is noticeably less impressive than native content.

Many TVs support HDR technology these days, and the TU8000 is no different. At this price point, you can't expect the best-of-the-best HDR technology, like Dolby Vision support, but Samsung's rendition of HDR10+ still makes for a vibrant picture.

Unfortunately for some, you sacrifice many of the features that make a TV great for gamers by opting for the lower-price TV. There's no variable refresh rate technology, and there's no high refresh rate gaming. Still, many professional reviewers note that the TV sports incredibly low input lag, which is a bit of a consolation prize.

The TU8000 also cuts costs by having just three HDMI ports, one less than what you could typically expect on pricier TVs from big-name manufacturers. If you want to plug in a console or two and have a DVD player, you'll be surprised at how quickly you run out of ports when you have just three at your disposal.

Best 55-inch TV under $1,000: Hisense 55S8 Series 8 UHD Smart TV

Pros

  • 4K HDR at a budget-friendly price
  • Integration with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa

Cons

  • Image not as crisp compared to OLED and QLED models
  • Some customers reported ghosting

Price (RRP): $995

Buy at Bing Lee
Buy at The Good Guys

Why we chose it

Hisense's Series 8 UHD Smart TV packs a 4K resolution and HDR support into an affordable package, making it our pick for the best 55-inch TV you can buy for less than $1,000. It also boasts favourable reviews from customers, with a 4.5 out of 5 rating from hundreds of reviews on Google.

Hisense uses its own VIDAA smart TV operating system, which supports native integration with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Unfortunately, VIDAA falls behind competitors with app selection, with apps like Kayo not available. Still, Hisense has progressively expanded its app selection over the years, with ABC iview and Foxtel Now becoming available.

The Series 8, despite its inclusion of HDR, won't produce the crispiest picture you've ever seen from a TV. You shouldn't expect to enjoy the same stunning image as is found on the top-of-the-line OLED and QLED TVs of the day, but it's also around half the price. Unless you're super into the most vivid colours and details, you'll probably enjoy what Hisense's budget 55-inch 4K TV has to offer.

Some purchasers said the TV was easy to get running straight out of the box, and that it's a great pick up for the price. Unfortunately, other customers said their TVs suffered from ghosting in some circumstances, which is where a moving object leaves a trail behind it. Ghosting might not make much of a difference for some. For others, it could seriously impact how immersive some content is.

Methodology

15
Brands considered
60+
Products compared
5
Best products chosen
  • We've analysed products from 15 brands to find the best 55-inch TVs in 5 categories.
  • We made these selections based on our own reviews as well as on those left online by real customers. We also looked into the key features of each product.
  • The products on this list are chosen by our editorial team and are not selected based on commercial relationships.

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