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What's new?
The big addition to most major smart TVs back in 2019 was Apple AirPlay 2 and TV and movie integration of the Apple TV platform. Apple signed deals with most major TV makers including LG, Samsung and Vizio.
Check back throughout 2020 for the latest updates, changes, and announcements, whatever your smart TV model.
Most TVs are smart these days that it doesn't feel necessary to even add the 'smart' to them. You'd have to hunt high and low to find a brand new TV that doesn't come with some smart features built-in. Whether that's Google's Android TV that's used on Sony and Hisense TVs, LG's WebOS, or Samsung's Tizen.
Smart TVs have moved on significantly in recent years. The early days were marked by sub-standard performance, non-existent software updates, and a general lack of manufacturer support.
Fast-forward to the present day and smart TV platforms give you broad access to apps and on-demand services, like Netflix or Disney Plus. They allow for ways to connect to your smart home and offer their own unique form of navigation and layout to help you get to the things that matter quickly and efficiently - or at least that's the aim.
That's why we've put together this guide to the best smart TV platforms available right now, whether your soon-to-be set is 40-inch, 55-inch, or larger – with the very best smart TV models of 2020 listed at the bottom of this article.
Which smart TV platforms are out there, what do they do, and how different are they from the competition?
Smart TV FAQ
What can smart TVs do? Smart TVs are internet-connected televisions that stream shows, films, and programmes over the internet, alongside (or instead of) terrestrial broadcasts.
What's a "dumb" TV? A dumb TV is a set without smart capabilities or internet connection, though set-top boxes or streaming sticks can add those things in.
What channels are on smart TVs? This varies between country, and also your TV manufacturer. UK viewers will get 12 HD channels and 60 standard channels through Freeview, with more available through entertainment packages like Sky Q.
Do smart TVs have built-in Wi-Fi? No: you'll need a home internet connection, either over ethernet (wired) or Wi-Fi (wireless).
Do smart TVs have Netflix? All major smart platforms will support Netflix, even those with Amazon's Fire TV interface – while some remotes these days even come with a dedicated Netflix button. You will need to subscribe to Netflix to access the content within the app, though.
Smart TV platforms
Entering 2020, there are five main smart operating systems: Android TV, webOS, Tizen, Roku TV and SmartCast that are used by Sony, LG, Samsung, TCL and Vizio, respectively. In the UK, you'll find that Philips also uses Android while Panasonic uses its own proprietary system called MyHomeScreen.
The vast majority of TVs use one of the operating systems listed above - but not all TVs. At lower price points, you probably won't find any of the above as most TV manufacturers offer a narrow proprietary service instead. These will vary between manufacturers, however, by and large, they're not as good as the ones listed above for the sheer reason that they aren't updated as frequently.
When in doubt, try to buy one a TV with one of the above.
That said, if you're completely undecided on which smart TV to buy, it's worth considering the value of each of these smart systems – which we'll list below.
(Scale: Awful, Bad, OK, Good, Better, Best)
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Android TV (found on 2019 Sony 4K and OLED TVs)
Setup: OK | Ease of use: Good | Speed: OK | Number of apps: Better | Universal search: Better
Pros: Recommended content row. Clean layout.
Cons: Most builds are very buggy and prone to crashing.
Android TV is the nearest the smart TV universe has to a standardized operating system, but there are still variations between brand executions.
Sony has the most comprehensive Google solution. For UK viewers, it has rather cleverly layered a YouView program guide platform on top, deftly addressing one of Android TV’s big weaknesses – catch-up TV provision. This YouView app ensures that all the main catch-up services are provided, and accessible via a roll-back 7-day EPG.
Other supporters of Android TV are Philips (via maker TP Vision) and in the US, Sharp and Hisense. It’s also available on the Nvidia Shield streaming device.
While other TV platforms make a virtue of their minimalism, Android stacks the screen with various layers of content: There’s also a row of specific Sony selected content, followed by apps for Netflix, Amazon Video, links to the Google Play Store, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV, YouTube and so on.
Owners of Android phones/tablets can use their device to control Android TVs via Sony’s TV SideView app, and Google Assistant continues to get more and more useful with its own Android TV integration.
Android TV devices also have Chromecast built-in, which simplifies streaming from mobile Android devices (iOS users can download the AirBuddy app to Google Cast). Controllers from Logitech and Razer also promise gaming without needing a console.
There is a caveat though. In our experience, Android is the least stable of the various smart platforms, with Sony TVs exhibiting more than their fair share of failures – it’s not unusual to be notified that various aspects of the Android platform have stopped working, and some of these messages are completely inscrutable (usually the best option is to simply restart the TV).
To be fair to Google, this is becoming less of an issue as successive Android TV updates roll out – the latest incarnation is particularly slick on the Nvidia Shield, for example – but there's still room for improvement.
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