The best art frame TVs of 2026: How do Samsung, Hisense, and TCL models compare?

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TVs are the focal point of many living rooms, but let’s be honest — when they’re off, they’re basically just big black rectangles, which can be an eyesore. That’s where Samsung’s Frame TVs come in. Since debuting in 2017, these design-focused displays have transformed how a television can blend into your home.

The best frame TVs are built to look like artwork when you’re not watching anything. They feature matte, canvas-style screens that cut down on glare, ultra-slim wall mounts that sit nearly flush against the wall, customizable bezels, and access to digital art libraries filled with classic and modern pieces. And though Samsung may have pioneered the category, it’s no longer alone. Hisense and TCL have both entered the market with their own art-inspired TVs that aim to seamlessly integrate décor and display.

Over the past few years, I’ve tested several Frame models, including Samsung’s standard Frame and flagship Frame Pro. I’ve been impressed by the company’s offerings, but I’ve also been eager to see how the competition stacks up, especially since Hisense and TCL’s versions are often sold for less. Can the more affordable Hisense CanvasTV and TCL NXTVISION TV match Samsung’s design without sacrificing picture quality or features?

To find out, I tested the best art frame TVs from Samsung, Hisense, and TCL. Below, I break down how each one performs, where they shine, where they fall short, and which type of buyer each model makes the most sense for.

Our picks for the best frame TVs

Best overall: Samsung Frame TV – See at Amazon

Best high-end model: Samsung Frame Pro TV – See at Amazon

Best Frame TV alternative: Hisense CanvasTV – See at Amazon

Honorable mention: TCL NXTVISION TV – See at Amazon

Best overall

Samsung’s standard Frame TV is the best art TV for most people. It checks every box you’d expect from a display that doubles as décor, and it offers a few thoughtful perks that cheaper competitors skip.

On the design front, the Frame delivers all the essentials: a matte, canvas-like screen, support for magnetic bezels (sold separately), a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor that turns art mode on only when someone’s in the room. Because the standard Frame has been around the longest, it also has the widest selection of bezel styles, from understated frames to more ornate options. Just keep in mind that none of these bezels come included — out of the box, you get a basic black border.

The TV utilizes Samsung’s wired One Connect Box, which consolidates power and device connections into a single, thin, transparent cable that runs from the screen to a separate box. You can then place the box on a console or out of sight. This keeps your wall clean and makes it easy to add a streaming player, antenna, or game console without having to move the TV.

Samsung’s Art Store is another standout. Its catalog of high-quality images is far more robust than the free selections you get from Hisense or TCL. But while Samsung does offer a small rotating batch of free artwork, to unlock the full library, you’ll need a paid subscription.

The Frame’s anti-glare matte display also performs well in bright rooms, helping art look convincing and daytime TV viewing remain comfortable. But as with most art TVs, picture quality isn’t the Frame TV’s strong suit. Brightness peaks at around 500 nits, contrast is lacking, and the edge-lit backlighting can result in patchy black levels. While watching TV in the dark, this uneven lighting can be downright distracting.

Still, the Frame isn’t aimed at cinephiles chasing premium HDR performance — it’s for style-first shoppers who want a TV that blends seamlessly into their space. And in that role, it shines. It’s also available in a wide range of sizes: the latest model ranges from 43 to 65 inches, but you may still be able to find older versions in sizes ranging from 32 to 85 inches.

Check out our guide to all of the best Samsung TVs.

Best high-end model

The Frame Pro is Samsung’s premium art-style TV. It’s the most advanced option on the market and offers a noticeably bolder, brighter image than any other display in this guide.

This model carries over all of the essential features found on the standard Frame TV, including a matte screen, support for attachable bezels, a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor. What sets this model apart from Samsung’s cheaper Frame is its wireless connection box and local dimming backlight.

Like the standard Frame TV, the Frame Pro uses a separate One Connect Box to house its video ports. However, the Frame Pro takes it one step further by making this connection box wireless. It still needs to be plugged into an outlet, but it doesn’t require a physical connection to the TV itself. This greatly opens up placement options and makes it easier to work around obstacles in your home so you can mount your TV in spots that were previously too tricky to work.

When it comes to picture quality, the Frame Pro utilizes Samsung’s Neo QLED technology with Mini LED edge-lit local dimming. These features provide a significant technical advantage over the standard Frame TV and rivals from other brands. Every other art TV uses a basic edge-lit LED backlight without dimming, which greatly limits contrast and brightness. But the Frame Pro’s Mini LEDs help it achieve a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits, which is about double what the standard Frame, Hisense Canvas, and TCL NXTVISION can output.

This higher brightness allows the TV to produce bolder highlights when watching high-dynamic-range (HDR) videos and helps it overcome ambient light in rooms with many windows. The Mini LED backlight can also produce deeper black levels than other art frame TVs, so dark scenes don’t look as washed out and uneven when watching TV with the lights off.

That said, there are still some caveats that prevent the Frame Pro from being a complete slam dunk for everyone. The biggest consideration, quite literally, is its size. The Frame Pro is only offered in 65-, 75-, and 85-inch options. Those large sizes won’t work for everyone. Additionally, though the Frame Pro’s Mini LED backlight is an improvement over a regular LED panel, I still noticed some light blotches and uneven dimming during some dark scenes in nighttime viewing. While this is the best frame TV for picture quality, it still can’t match the image performance of most traditional Mini LED and OLED TVs.

It’s also important to remember that access to Samsung’s full Art Store requires a subscription fee, and that magnetic bezel attachments are an additional cost. But while this all adds to the price, the Frame Pro is easily the best art TV for premium performance.

Check out our full Samsung Frame Pro TV review.

Best Frame TV alternative

The Hisense CanvasTV is a strong Frame TV competitor, and does a solid job of matching most of the standard Samsung Frame’s features and design perks. It has all the essentials that make an art TV an art TV, including a matte screen, support for magnetic bezel attachments, a flush mount, access to digital paintings, and a motion sensor.

I also like that Hisense offers a solid assortment of free paintings and photos without a subscription. In fact, Hisense doesn’t currently offer a premium membership. The selection of photography and art prints isn’t as wide as what you’d get with Samsung’s paid Art Store, so if you like to switch up the mood in your room frequently, you won’t have as many options. However, I never had that problem and found more than enough free choices that I liked.

The biggest complaint I have about the CanvasTV is that all of its connection ports are built into the back of the display, just like a traditional TV. This is in contrast to Samsung’s Frame models, which use a separate connection box. So, if you have multiple media devices you want to hook up, you could be left with multiple cables hanging down your wall. This hinders the TV’s ability to mimic a framed painting. Of course, you could hide cables with a cover or by feeding them through the wall if you’re able to do some drilling, but Samsung’s solution is a lot more user-friendly and versatile.

On the plus side, I appreciate that the TV comes with a magnetic bezel that resembles a wooden frame. You’d have to pay extra for that when buying a Samsung model. However, alternate magnetic bezels are difficult to track down through Hisense or third-party retailers. The most common search results are for those from sellers on Etsy. In contrast, there are tons of styles available for Samsung Frame TVs.

In terms of picture quality, there’s not much separating the CanvasTV from Samsung’s standard Frame. The 4K QLED display offers decent pop in both dark and light room conditions with similar brightness capabilities. Watching movies with the basic settings most people use, I couldn’t easily tell a difference between the two products in terms of black levels or color saturation. That said, the CanvasTV’s viewing angles are more limited, especially when watching TV during the day in bright light.

However, despite its drawbacks, Hisense’s CanvasTV is the best Frame TV alternative for anyone seeking a more affordable art TV that mimics most, but not all, of the features offered by Samsung’s model.

Honorable mention

Thanks to its matte display and slim frame, the TCL NXTVISION does a convincing job of passing as an art-style TV. But it’s missing several features you’ll find on the Samsung Frame and Hisense CanvasTV, which makes it tough to recommend over those two. It does occasionally win on price — sales often make it the cheapest option — but if Hisense’s CanvasTV is available for the same amount or less, that’s the better alternative.

The NXTVISION includes a light wood-style magnetic bezel, which is a nice touch, but I struggled to find other bezel colors or styles online. That could improve over time, but currently, Samsung has a clear edge in terms of bezel variety.

On the art side, TCL provides over 100 free images, along with screensaver-like options featuring motion and information, such as the time. It’s a solid selection, but still smaller than Hisense’s free library or Samsung’s paid Art Store. I didn’t have trouble finding pieces I liked, but a year or two down the line, the limited catalog might feel restrictive.

Like the Hisense CanvasTV, the NXTVISION keeps its connection ports built into the panel rather than having a separate box. If you wall-mount it, be prepared to deal with multiple visible cables. The TV also lacks a motion sensor to turn art mode on or off based on room activity, a feature both Samsung and Hisense include.

Art customization is another shortcoming. You can add mats, but the aspect ratio options are limited and don’t do much to enhance the illusion of real artwork. Hisense and Samsung offer far more flexibility here.

A slim wall mount is included in the box, but TCL doesn’t provide a basic stand. The company does sell a rolling stand with a rear shelf for devices, which I was able to test. It’s a nice stand, but it’s expensive, and I wish a basic one were included with the TV

Picture quality is on par with the standard Samsung Frame and Hisense CanvasTV, although the NXTVISION is slightly dimmer. On the plus side, its viewing angles are marginally wider than Hisense’s, which I noticed throughout testing at different times of day.

While TCL’s NXTVISION lags behind the competition in a few key areas, it’s typically the most budget-friendly art-style TV. It comes in sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches, and the 55-inch version is often available for around $698. However, when the NXTVISION and CanvasTV are similarly priced, Hisense’s model is the better buy.

Ultimately, the TCL NXTVISION is best suited for shoppers who want a stylish TV but only have a passing interest in the art mode. It’s a decent art TV on a budget, but its lack of customizations and motion sensor puts it a step below the competition.

For other TCL display recommendations, visit our guide to the best TCL TVs.

Art frame TVs compared

How we test art TVs

To find the best frame TVs, we tested all of the major models from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense. We focused on how each display performed as a design-oriented frame TV, paying careful attention to any differences in overall quality and features between them.

The primary reason people buy art frame TVs is for their unique design. So, while picture quality is still important, it is secondary to other elements, such as painting realism, the amount of included artwork, accessories, interface, and other software features.

I’ve purchased several Samsung Frame TVs over the years, and I’ve had hands-on experience with each of the models featured in this guide. I used them to watch movies, TV shows, and play video games. They were all tested in similar, well-lit rooms with ample sunlight to evaluate their glare and anti-reflective properties. I used the same movie at the same volume percentage to try to get a sense of the image and speaker quality on each TV.

Art TV FAQs

What is an art frame TV?

An art TV is designed to resemble a framed work of art when it’s “off” and not in use for watching TV. To accomplish this, all of the best art TVs include key features that set them apart from most traditional TVs. These include:

• An anti-reflective matte screen meant to resemble canvas
• A thin profile and flush wall mount so they can hang like a picture
• Support for magnetic bezel attachments in different art-frame styles
• Access to a curated gallery of art and photographs that can be displayed when the set isn’t used as a TV

Some, but not all, art TVs also include additional features that help them to further mimic the look and feel of a framed painting:

• A separate connection box so you can keep your wall free from cables
• A motion sensor to turn on the TV’s art mode only when people are in the room

Which brands make frame TVs?

Samsung, TCL, and Hisense all produce art TVs designed to replicate the appearance of a framed painting. LG also recently announced its first full-fledged art frame TV, the LG Gallery TV with frame.

Other major brands, such as Sony, Roku, Amazon, and Vizio, do not currently sell display models specifically designed to function as frame TVs, but some of their TVs offer certain features that art TVs provide.

When will the LG Gallery TV with frame be available?

LG recently unveiled a new art frame TV called the LG Gallery TV with frame. Exact pricing and a release date have not been detailed yet, but the new display will be shown at CES in Las Vegas from January 6 to 9. Like other frame-style TVs, the Gallery TV can be mounted flush on your wall, features an anti-glare screen, and supports magnetic bezels in various styles. The TV will also offer access to the LG Gallery+ service with over 4,500 pieces of art, animations, and other images.

Can you access art gallery services on other TVs?

Most TVs have a screensaver feature that displays various images when you’re not watching a movie or show. However, these modes aren’t as full-featured as those found on the best frame TVs, and the selection of images is often more limited.

That said, Samsung now offers access to its full Art Store on all of its latest Neo QLED and QLED TV models. Those displays don’t have all the design features of a Frame TV, but they can showcase the same images, so long as you have an Art Store subscription.

Are art TVs good for home theater enthusiasts?

Art TVs place a greater emphasis on design than on picture quality. Generally speaking, most midrange and high-end traditional TVs offer better image performance than even the best frame TVs. This is especially true when it comes to contrast, brightness, and black levels. While casual viewers may not notice the backlight limitations found on most art frame TVs, those with a keen eye will see uneven lighting with distracting patches of brightness. If you’re a home theater enthusiast looking for a TV with picture quality in mind, we don’t recommend buying a frame TV.

For traditional TV recommendations, check out our full suite of buying guides:

• Best TVs
• Best smart TVs
• Best 4K TVs
• Best OLED TVs
• Best sports TVs
• Best gaming TVs
• Best budget TVs
• Best TVs under $500
• Best 100-inch TVs
• Best 85-inch TVs
• Best 75-inch TVs
• Best 65-inch TVs
• Best 55-inch TVs
• Best 50-inch TVs
• Best 43-inch TVs
• Best Sony TVs
• Best LG TVs
• Best Roku TVs

Do art frame TVs have good sound quality?

Generally speaking, most TVs, including art frame-style ones, do not have good sound quality. Brands use small speaker drivers to fit them into flat panel designs, which restricts dynamic range, stereo separation, and depth.

Among the frame TVs we tested, the Hisense CanvasTV had the strongest audio output; however, it was still susceptible to a lack of bass. For optimal audio quality, we recommend using a soundbar.

You can view our top recommendations in our various audio buying guides:

• Best soundbars
• Best budget soundbars
• Best Dolby Atmos soundbars
• Best soundbars with subwoofers
• Best Bose soundbars
• Best Sonos soundbars
• Best surround sound systems

Source: The best art frame TVs of 2026: How do Samsung, Hisense, and TCL models compare?