Blog

The Best 40-Inch Smart TVs of 2023

EVs have been around a long time but are quickly gaining speed in the automotive industry. Learn how the long-coming and inevitable shift to electric impacts you.

Whether you want to build your own home theater or just learn more about TVs, displays, projectors, and more, we've got you covered. 4k 75 Inch Tv

Get tech's top stories in 30 seconds:

The perfect choice for smaller spaces

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more.

If you need a TV for a smaller room, a 40- to 48-inch TV is a great size range; you can sit close to a 4K 40-inch TV without any negative impact on the picture quality.

It can be an excellent fit for a small living room or if you’re dealing with limited wall space, and some lifestyle models blend right into your decor or stand out and pull double duty as a conversation piece.

We researched the best options for a range of needs. Here are our picks for the best 40-inch smart TVs.

Good contrast with deep blacks

Bright picture looks good in daylight

Doesn’t support local dimming

The 43-inch version of Samsung’s Q60A line strikes a near-perfect balance between features, performance, and affordability. It features a 4K QLED panel with support for HDR10+, resulting in exceptionally vibrant colors and deep blacks. It’s also bright enough to look good in most lighting conditions, even if there’s a lot of natural light in the room.

Upscaling also works great, so you won’t have to worry about broadcast TV channels or your DVD collection looking blurry on the 4K display. The solar-powered remote is another helpful feature, and it’s one you don’t see that often. Since the remote automatically charges whenever exposed to light, you won’t ever be left scrambling for batteries.

Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR, HDR10+︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 3

Supports Alexa, and Google Assistant

Screen share from your phone, PC, or Mac

On-screen guide provides tailored recommendations

The Samsung UN43AU8000 is a 43-inch UHD TV that packs many features into an ultra-slim profile. The 4K display is crystal clear, colors pop thanks to support for HDR10+, and upscaled DVD and television content looks excellent. This model comes with a voice remote with support for three different virtual assistants instead of one, giving you hands-free access to Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant instead of limiting you to just one.

It also includes Samsung TV Plus, which gives you free access to a ton of streaming content and even provides custom-tailored recommendations to help you find what to watch next. And if you want to screen share from your phone, PC, or Mac, you can do that with one-touch casting enabled on compatible Samsung Galaxy phones.

Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: LED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: HDR10+︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 3

Support for NFC media transfer

Decent picture and basic HDR

You're paying for the unique design

If you’re looking for a TV that makes a statement and can act as a conversation piece, the Serif fits the bill with a unique I-frame design and long easel-like legs evocative of mid-century modern decor. It doesn’t have the best panel and doesn’t support advanced video technologies like HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, but the picture is decent enough.

The killer feature here is that it doesn’t look like a TV. You can have it display photos or art when you aren’t using it or snap a picture of the wall behind the TV with the companion app, and the screen will display the wall behind it for a sort of see-through look. The Serif also supports an NFC media connection, so you can set your phone on the top of the TV to stream music easily without much fiddling around.

Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4

Best in class picture quality

Excellent Mini LED full-array local dimming

The Samsung QN90A hits all the sweet spots in terms of picture quality. It features a 43-inch Neo QLED panel, an upgrade over standard QLED due to the use of Mini LEDs for backlighting. That gives it tight control over the exact brightness of specific screen areas, a feature known as full-array local dimming.

It also has excellent viewing angles, so you can enjoy the crisp picture anywhere in the room without dimming or color shifting. It’s exceptionally bright even in HDR and supports HDR10+, video technology that improves brightness and color contrast. The built-in AI upscaling is also on point, which means that lower-resolution TV shows and movies from DVDs and cable appear great.

Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: Neo QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR 24x, HDR10+, HLG︱Refresh: 120Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4

Looks like a frame and fits any decor

Single cable for clean installation

Looks good even in bright rooms

Trickier to mount than other TVs

The Frame is a 43-inch TV from Samsung that looks like a picture frame. You can mount it flush with a wall, and it can display art when it isn’t in use. With the help of a built-in motion sensor, The Frame’s Ambient Mode can dynamically switch between art and TV whenever it senses your presence in the room. It also utilizes a single, clear connection cable that hooks into a control box that you can hide away in a cabinet for a cleaner installation.

The 4K picture is crisp and clean thanks to the QLED panel, to the point where you can even use this TV as a PC monitor if the need arises. It’s also great for video games, thanks to very low input lag, and it looks good in bright light, fitting in just about any room.

Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR, HDR10+, HLG︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4

Since 40-inch TVs work so well in several different environments, it’s a good idea to think about how you’ll use them. A budget 1080p model will work well in a guest room or kid’s room, but you may want to consider a more expensive OLED model with the latest high dynamic range (HDR) technology if you’ll be using the TV in the living room to watch movies or play games.

When comparing 40-inch TVs, you’ll see terms like OLED that refer to the technology used to display images. OLED panels produce the best picture quality with excellent contrast and rich colors. QLED and LED panels are less expensive, but the picture may not be as bright, and the contrast may be lower. Advanced versions like Neo QLED offer quality closer to OLED, and technologies like Mini LED backlighting that can light specific portions of the screen can also help.

TVs with higher resolutions have better picture quality. If the resolution of a TV is too low and you sit too close, you can make out individual pixels in the image, which is visually similar to looking at the world through a screen door. The best resolution for a 40-inch TV is 4K, but good budget options come in 1080p. Remember that if you sit too close to a 1080p 40-inch TV, the picture won’t look as good as it would on a 4K set.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a feature that allows a TV to display a broader range of brightness and contrast, resulting in brighter, more brilliant colors, darker blacks, and better overall picture quality. For HDR to work, you need an HDR video source and a TV that supports HDR. Additionally, the TV must support the specific HDR standard the video content uses.

Look for a TV that supports HDR 10 at the bare minimum. Look for a 40-inch TV with HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) for the best possible picture and compatibility. If you already use one or more 4K streaming services or have a 4K Blu-Ray player, check to see the specific versions of HDR that you need. For example, if you watch a lot of 4K content from Netflix, looking for a TV that supports Dolby Vision is essential.

The number of HDMI ports you need will depend on the number of devices you want to connect, but most of the best 40-inch TVs include at least three to four ports. If that isn’t enough, you can always add an HDMI switch and connect as many devices as you like.

It’s also essential to check what type of HDMI ports the TV has. If you select a TV with a 120Hz refresh rate and want to watch 4K content at 120 frames per second (fps), you must ensure that the TV has at least one HDMI 2.1 port. Older HDMI versions are limited to carrying a 4K signal at 60fps or a 1080p signal at 120fps. Many TVs include a mix of the older style ports alongside one or two HDMI 2.1 ports or no HDMI 2.1 ports.

4K TVs in the 40 to 45-inch range are perfect for many viewing situations. They are well-suited for bedrooms, guest rooms, and kids' rooms. A 4K 40-inch TV can also make an ideal gaming TV for consoles and PC games.

The closest you should sit to a 4K 40-inch TV is about 3 feet. You won’t be able to distinguish the individual pixels at that distance, resulting in the best possible picture quality. If your space supports it, you can comfortably sit about 5 feet to 6 feet away. If you select a budget model with a 1080p panel, you should sit at least 5 feet away.

A 40-inch TV is on the small side for most living rooms. Televisions of this size are best suited to smaller spaces like bedrooms. If the seating area in your living room stands between 3 feet and 6 feet from the TV, then a 4K 40-inch TV can get the job done. However, a living room with more than 6 feet of space between the seating area and the TV can easily accommodate a much larger 85-inch TV if you have sufficient wall space and room in your budget.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

Hit Refresh on Your Tech News

4k Tv 70 Inch By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.