Vizio is finally giving us an OLED TV, and it's coming in 2020 – CNET

This story is part of CES 2020, our complete coverage of the showroom floor and the hottest new tech gadgets around.

After years of manufacturing LCDs, Vizio is set to sell its first OLED televisions in the US this year. In its announcement at CES 2020, Vizio said the TV will come in 55- and 65-inch sizes, but did not yet announce a price. The company will join competitors LG and Sony, which have both been selling OLED TVs for the last few years, as well as newcomers Konka and Skyworth, which both also announced OLED TVs for the US at the show.

Vizio sells more TVs than any of those brands, however — its market share is No. 3 in the US after Samsung and TCL, neither of which sell OLED TVs (yet). Vizio has a reputation for both cheap TVs and, at the higher end, models that deliver excellent picture quality for the money, like the M-Series and the P-Series Quantum X. That’s what makes Vizio’s decision to sell an OLED exciting: the potential to bring down the price.

TVs that use organic light emitting diode displays deliver the best picture quality available and generally cost a lot more than LCD screens. CNET’s Editors’ Choice OLED model for 2019, the B9 series, currently sells for $2,300 at the 65-inch size. In comparison Vizio’s best 2019 LCD TV, the P-Series Quantum X, costs $1,500. 

It’s a safe bet that Vizio’s OLED TV will cost more than the PX, but the big question is whether it will cost less than LG’s cheapest 2020 OLED — likely the BX, successor to the B9. In any case Vizio’s entry into the OLED game, and the inevitable competition between it and LG, is a very good thing for high-end TV buyers.

I saw Vizio’s OLED TV in person at its CES 2020 suite and at first glance it looked as good as I’d expect from any OLED TV. Like the 2020 LCD-based models it announced, it will include the company’s own IQ Ultra Processor for picture processing along with a “ProGaming Engine” with AMD’s FreeSync and 4K/120Hz compatibility. It will also offer Vizio’s SmartCast 4.0 for streaming and media playback. The design was super sleek, with a curved stand bottom designed to hold the optional Elevate sound bar.

Vizio’s representatives wouldn’t confirm to me that its OLED panel will be sourced from LG Display, but did coyly mention the fact that LGD is the only company producing large OLED panels. Both LG and Sony use LG Display panels, as does Skyworth.

I’m looking forward to comparing OLED TVs from LG and Vizio when they become available later this year, and also to the inevitable Black Friday 2020 price drops. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 65-inch for $1,500. We’ll see.