The Best 32-Inch TVs of 2023
Even though big screen TVs have become increasingly affordable in recent years, there are still plenty of reasons to pick up small TVs. If you’re looking to add some entertainment to a dorm room, kitchen, or guest bedroom, a 32-inch TV could be the perfect solution. While you can often find cheap TVs from no-name manufacturers, we recommend sticking to the best brands to ensure you get both a great deal and a TV actually worth keeping around.
After testing several of the most popular 32-inch TVs, the TCL 3-Series
(available at Amazon)
is our stalwart choice as the best 32-inch TV for most people. It’s available with either 720p or full-HD 1080p resolution, offers commendable picture quality, and packs an intuitive Roku smart platform. But there are a few other TVs on our list worth checking out, all of which should offer solid performance and dependable quality to fit your smaller TV needs.
Credit:
Reviewed / Lee Neikirk
The TCL 3-Series is available in both 720p and 1080p versions. We highly recommend springing for the version with 1080p resolution.
Best Overall
- Resolution: 720p or 1080p
- Smart platform: Roku
If you’re shopping for a secondary TV and you only want to spend a couple hundred bucks, the pickings can be slim. Fortunately, the TCL 3-Series is one entry-level option that punches above its weight class. It’s available in a 32-inch model with smart software in tow, either Roku or Android. Although the 3-Series may not have a lot of sizzle, it’s still a prime cut.
This series does away with a lot of the newer, more expensive features of most modern mainstream TVs: the 32-inch 3-Series is available in older 720p or 1080p resolution, while the 40- and 43-inch versions are also 1080p.
There’s no 4K resolution here (nor HDR compatibility), but you are getting reliable black levels, good color accuracy, and better backlight uniformity than we usually see in this price bracket.
If we’ve got one complaint about the 3-Series, it’s that it isn’t very bright. Testing revealed rather limited brightness even on the highest backlight setting, meaning it might not be a great choice for a very bright space.
We also couldn’t help but notice some pixelation in menus while testing the 720p resolution version of the 32-inch model. If you can find the 1080p version for a similar price, it’s worth the upgrade, but we also don’t recommend paying too much for a minor upgrade to resolution.
The best thing about this TV is the built-in Roku software (which we generally prefer to Android software). It’s easy to plug it in, do a bit of setup, and get down to watching movies and TV shows. Roku even includes a decent range of totally free channels, like westerns and kids’ content, meaning it’s a snap to enjoy programming right away. Coupled with its strong core picture qualities, the 3-Series delivers excellent value for the money.
Nội Dung Chính
Pros
Good black levels
Great smart features
Sleek and sturdy
Cons
Limited brightness
Low resolution
Buy now at Amazon
$149.90 from Walmart
Other 32-Inch TVs We Tested
- Resolution: 4K
- Smart platform: Tizen OS
The Samsung Q60A might be the most affordable option from their 2021 QLED lineup, but it’s still priced at a premium compared to some of the other smaller TVs on this list. Still, that extra cost buys a lot in terms of performance and features.
Many 32-inch TVs are limited to 1080p (sometimes called Full HD) resolution, and that looks pretty good from a few feet or more. But the 4K resolution of the Q60A is a noticeable difference and very welcome if you plan on using the TV for gaming. Speaking of gaming, the Q60A interface includes Game Bar, a menu that puts all gaming-centric information in one place. Although we should note that the Q60A has HDMI 2.0 inputs, so you won’t get full 4K/120Hz capabilities out of next-gen consoles.
The picture is bright and thanks to quantum dot technology, the Q60A delivers some of the best color performance in this size category. While it’s one of the brighter TVs in this guide, it’s still not bright enough for HDR to shine.
Samsung’s Tizen OS might not be our favorite streaming OS (that designation goes to Roku), but on the Q60A it’s still a snappy, full-featured smart platform with the ability to integrate with Amazon Alexa. The Samsung Q60A has excellent TV features and good picture quality with bold color. It would make a handsome addition to a kitchen or dorm room.
Pros
Good picture quality
Sleek design
Plenty of features
Cons
No HDMI 2.1 features
Only 60Hz refresh rate
$427.99 from Amazon
$429.99 from Best Buy
$427.99 from Walmart
$427.99 from Abt
- Resolution: 4K
- Smart platform: Tizen OS
Of all the 32-inch TVs in this guide, the Samsung Q50R is one of the best performers, and it’s a 4K TV, so 4K games and streaming content will be displayed in their native resolution. The TV’s display is also equipped with quantum dots, which is why its color reproduction is both accurate and voluminous.
Unfortunately, the Q50R doesn’t get much brighter than 300 nits even with quantum dots in tow. Technically speaking, the Q50R is an HDR TV, but with a panel this dim, you won’t experience much of a difference between SDR and HDR content.
So while the Samsung Q50R is an impressive 32-inch TV due to its performance and hardware, it’s also probably not worth the cost.
Unless you’re sitting inches away from the panel, its 4K resolution is not a critical feature. And although the Q50R comes with Samsung’s Tizen smart platform built into the TV’s software, we much prefer the Roku experience offered by the TCL 3-Series. If money’s not a factor and you simply want the best possible performance, the Q50R offers a great picture—it’s just a bit overstocked for its size.
Pros
Impressive hardware
Bright for its class
Cons
Overstuffed with features for its size
Buy now at Amazon
$499.99 from Walmart
- Resolution: 720p or 1080p
- Smart platform: Vizio SmartCast
For a small and affordable TV, the Vizio D-Series puts together sleek design and good visual quality with Vizio’s SmartCast platform. It’s not exceptionally bright (the 40-inch 1080p version we tested measured under 200 nits) and it doesn’t support HDR, but shows streamed through its SmartCast platform are engaging, and it has a relatively low black level considering its cost.
Unless you’re sitting only a few feet from the D-Series, the 720p version should be fine for most situations, but if you plan on using the TV for gaming there’s a 1080p version for a little more money.
Previous iterations of the D-Series lacked the Vizio SmartCast streaming platform, so it’s a welcome addition here. While we prefer other solutions such as Roku or Apple TV, many of the major apps come pre-installed and others are available to install and enjoy. You can also cast content from your mobile device to it easily, much like Chromecast.
The Vizio D-Series is a good option for folks looking to keep the cost down while still getting a decent-looking TV with access to streaming apps built in. Still, we consider the TCL 3-Series worth the bump in price.
Pros
Slim bezels
Loads of streaming apps
Cons
Not very bright
$128.00 from Walmart
- Resolution: 1080p
- Smart platform: Tizen OS
If you don’t want to spring for the more premium Q60A or kitted-out Q50R but still want to stick with Samsung, the 32-inch Samsung N5300 is probably your best bet.
The N5300 is a 1080p TV that, technically speaking, supports HDR, but it doesn’t get bright enough to showcase the benefits. Still, its peak brightness of around 300 nits is among the highest we measured in the 32-inch class, and while the other Samsungs are capable of similar highlights, the N5300 costs significantly less.
As with the Samsung Q50R, the N5300 features Samsung’s Tizen smart platform, which will get you by in a pinch, but you might miss the flexibility and ease of use typically associated with Roku.
If you desire a Samsung TV and don’t want to fork over the cash for the more expensive Q60A or Q50R, the Samsung N5300 is a great compromise.
Pros
Bright for its class
Cons
Tizen smart platform isn’t our favorite
$227.99 from Amazon
$229.99 from Best Buy
$227.99 from Walmart
$227.99 from Abt
How We Test 32-Inch TVs
Credit:
Reviewed
Our lab is outfitted with much of the same equipment you would find at a factory that manufactures and calibrates televisions.
The Testers
Reviewed’s current Home Theater team consists of Michael Desjardin and John Higgins.
Michael is a Senior Staff Writer and has been a member of the Reviewed tech team since 2014. A film enthusiast and TV expert, he takes picture quality seriously but also understands that not every TV is a good fit for everyone.
As Reviewed’s Senior Editor of A/V and Electronics, John Higgins is responsible for products ranging from TVs to soundbars to headphones. Before Reviewed, he spent his freelance years writing about televisions, projectors, speakers, and all manner of home theater gear for myriad print and online publications.
Lee Neikirk was Reviewed’s previous Home Theater Editor. He began his time at Reviewed as a staff writer, then senior staff writer, covering TVs, headphones, and soundbars.
Credit:
Reviewed / Chris Snow
We measure things like peak brightness, black level, hue, and so on.
The Tests
Screen size doesn’t determine how we test TVs. Whether it’s a 32-inch TV likely destined for a guest room or a premium 75-inch screen that will find a home in a movie room, we use the same testing rigors.
Over the years, we’ve honed our testing process, gathering data marginal enough to satisfy video engineers while also being relevant to the average person’s viewing experience. We measure things like peak brightness, black level, hue and saturation for primary and secondary colors, and the accuracy of the TV’s electro-optical transfer function. We weigh our performance tests based on how the human eye prioritizes vision, which means we put “brightness” data higher than colorimetry.
Outside of the technical tests, we also spend a lot of time just watching and using each TV, getting a feel for the at-home experience—anything and everything that might be relevant.
What You Should Know About Buying 32-Inch TVs
Resolution
4K, 1080p and 720p all refer to TV resolution. 4K TVs have 3,840 pixels horizontally by 2,160 pixels vertically for a total of more than 8 million. This is the current standard/mainstream resolution for most TVs. TVs with 1080p resolution, sometimes called Full HD resolution, have 1,920 pixels horizontally by 1,080 pixels vertically for a total of more than 2 million. 720p TVs have 1,280 pixels horizontally by 720 pixels vertically for more than 900,000 total.
The more pixels that a display has, the sharper an image is. With small TVs, however, it can be harder to tell the difference than on larger displays. What’s best for you depends on where you’re going to watch the TV and what you’re going to watch on it. For instance, you wouldn’t want to break the bank on an 8K TV if you’re going to watch it in the kitchen while you’re putting dinner together. It really comes down to a value choice.
With TVs for dorm rooms, guest rooms, and the like, you can buy TVs with lower resolutions without diminishing your viewing experience substantially. If it’s a TV that may get more use, you may want to consider spending a little more money on a 4K TV.
Smart TV
Smart TVs have evolved greatly since they were first introduced. Now, most are used as a way to watch streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Some offer smart features such as browsers or calendars, but all of them have ethernet or Wi-Fi built-in.
The user experience depends on which smart platform comes with a TV. Our favorite is Roku for its simplicity and functionality. Other streaming platforms include Google TV, Vizio SmartCast, and Samsung’s Tizen operating system. Regardless, should you end up not liking the smart platform that comes with your TV, purchasing a streaming device won’t break your bank.
