Summary
- Don’t buy a new TV this year — wait until 2026 for RGB mini-LED advances.
- RGB mini-LED adds red/green/blue backlights for sharper, more vivid color and contrast.
- Expect high launch prices and big sizes; prices may fall and choices expand by late 2026.
If you’re someone who cares about what your TV looks like, you probably keep track of the innovations going on in the space. If you don’t pay attention, that’s understandable too, as there is so much to keep track of. Most people, if they’re buying a new TV these days, are buying a smart TV. It doesn’t make much sense to buy a new dumb TV, even if you were to add a streaming device to it.
So, if you’re going to look to buy a new TV, it’s going to be a smart TV and it’s likely to be larger than what you’ve dealt with previously. It’s rare that someone will downgrade their size of TV. At least, you’re going to buy the same size TV you previously had. If this is the case for you, and you’re going to buy a TV, you might be targeting Black Friday or Cyber Monday as the days to do so.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you should not buy a TV this year. Skip over the TV deals that are going to be shoved in your face. Because you should wait until 2026 to get a new TV. The innovations are going to be worth it and most major smart TV manufacturers are cooking up something good.
The rise of RGB Mini LED TVs is so close
This is going to boost the visuals
They’ve been rumored for a while and made a showstopping premiere at CES 2025. RGB Mini LED TVs are the current “we have to pay attention to this” innovation in smart TVs. Samsung debuted its version at CES and it is slated to be available this year. Hisense did the same. It is the future of LED TVs.
LED and LCD TVs use a blue backlight behind pixels to help control how much light actually reaches a viewer in front of a screen. If you have an OLED TV, the pixels are self-emitting, so they actually produce the light and the TV doesn’t rely on a backlight to provide it. The most advanced TV currently on the market is a Neo QLED TV, produced by Samsung, which has a mini LED backlight that adds local dimming and small semiconductors that light up to broaden the color spectrum.
What the new RGB Mini LED TVs are promising is a red, green, and blue backlight, instead of just a blue backlight, behind pixels. These mini LED panels are going to be smaller and placed separately in the back of the TV. Once they are illuminated, the TV will provide the broadest, sharpest, and most vivid color display that has ever been produced. How can you not be excited about that?
Which companies are offering this?
There’s going to be more than one choice
Samsung was the first one to announce they were offering RGB mini LED TVs. Since then, Sony has announced that it has developed the technology, along with Hisense and TCL. Hisense is offering a 116″ RGB mini LED TV for nearly $25,000 right now. It’s unclear how much the other options are going to be, but you also don’t have to opt for a 116″ TV.
Once they are illuminated, the TV will provide the broadest, sharpest, and most vivid color display that has ever been produced.
Samsung has stated that it will be offering it in 75″, 85″ and 98″. It’s the first time Samsung is offering a 98″ TV. What is the interesting part is that Sony may very well be the company that offers the first dual version of RGB mini LED TVs. There are rumors that Sony will incorporate it in its next lineup announcement, potentially with a Bravia 9 and Bravia 7 spinoff. The rumors mention Bravia 9 being offered in 65″, 75″, 85″ and 115″ screens while the Bravia 7 would be available in 50″, 55″, 98″ and 100″.
What does this mean for consumers?
Your cash better be ready
Let’s be honest: not that many people can afford a TV at $25,000, and not many people are going to want to purchase a 116″ monstrosity for their home. The 50″, 65″, and 75″ are more likely to be purchased by consumers. Once this technology is widely available, it will likely become more popular and more widely available by other companies. I’m not saying you need to even buy one in the first half of 2026. But keep an eye on the market for the second half of 2026.
If you can wait that long, you might see some of the prices for these drop significantly. More manufacturers may also announce they are coming out with their own version of an RGB mini LED TV. The first time you’re able to catch an up-close look at one of these TVs, you’ll realize it is what the future of TVs is going to look like. It’s only a matter of time until this technology is more widely available. If you can hold out, you won’t have to pay $25,000 for a TV that could very well be the most epic you’ve seen. So, get the most you can out of your current TV. Because when the larger population of RGB mini LED TVs will be available isn’t known. What is known is that you might not be ready for them when they do come.
