No matter whether you’re looking for one of the best cheap TVs or splashing out for a range-topping model, you’ll want to make sure you’re satisfied with your purchase. The good news for TV buyers in 2026 is that the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) says almost all of the major TV brands are similarly satisfactory, with its survey results seeing just a few points separate the best from the rest.

The best-scoring major brand in the latest results is Samsung, which scored 83 points, only a single point above the next-best ranked brands. In joint second place with 82 points were Hisense and Vizio, while LG and TCL were very close behind with 81 points each. Sony scored the lowest in the survey, although with a score of 80 points, it was only marginally behind its rivals.

As well as ranking how satisfactory individual brands were, the ACSI survey also scored the latest TVs on a list of key criteria regarding the overall user experience. The most satisfactory areas were the perceived image quality and durability of the latest TVs, while their ease of setup and remotes also scored very highly. However, when things went wrong, survey respondents were less satisfied with the timeliness of their TV’s repair. The area with the lowest customer satisfaction ranking was manufacturers’ call centers, which saw a score two points lower than any other category.

The very close scores of all the big brands in the ACSI survey suggest that most customers will be happy with their new TV regardless of which brand they pick. However, Samsung’s score was slightly above its competition, making it the safest bet of all according to survey respondents. It offers a huge range of TVs in an array of sizes, with many of Samsung’s best rated TVs combining crisp, clear picture quality with a long list of features and a sleek design.

Once you’ve bought a Samsung smart TV, it’s worth making sure you optimize it to make full use of its features. Gamers will want to take full advantage of the brand’s dedicated gaming mode, which usually turns on automatically when it detects a console, while ambient mode can help a TV fit in better with its surroundings when it’s not in use. Among the myriad other useful features is multi-view, which allows users to split their screen to watch multiple streams of content at once. Other big brands offer a similarly long list of features, but according to the ACSI, Samsung’s customers are particularly well satisfied with what the brand offers them.