Best 40-Inch TVs of 2026

Bluetooth headphone mode on the Roku Select Series lets you pair wireless headphones directly with the TV, no transmitter or soundbar required. It's a small feature, but it changes late-night viewing in a bedroom, a dorm, or any room where someone else is trying to sleep.

We think that's the most useful extra here, because the rest of the TV is so low-fuss. The first-party Roku remote has fewer buttons than most, the home screen is uncluttered, and setup is quick. We were surprised by how much the 10.6-pound weight and three HDMI ports add to the everyday feel: it's easy to move, and you can leave a console and a cable box hooked up. AirPlay 2 and Miracast cover phone casting, while Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 handle the wireless side.

The picture is the trade-off. The 1080p LED panel is bright enough at 250 nits for a dim room, but it doesn't have the QLED color of the Hisense, and the 60Hz refresh is standard for the class. Sound is 14-watt Dolby Audio, fine for talk shows and not much more. If you want the best color for the money, choose the Hisense; if you watch with headphones and want the least fussy remote, this Roku is the better fit.

We also like that Roku keeps the software out of the way. There's no learning curve to speak of, and the remote's headphone pairing is a small convenience we came back to more than once.

Three HDMI ports, AirPlay 2, and Roku's software make the Westinghouse WD40FX1201 a flexible second set. That's a practical mix for a guest room where a cable box, game console, and a phone might all need a turn.

The 1080p LED picture is bright and clear at 250 nits, which is enough for a bedroom or kitchen as long as you're not fighting direct sun. We found the 40-inch size easy to place and the 12.4-pound body manageable for a wall mount or a dresser. The 60Hz panel is standard, and the three HDMI inputs give it an edge over the two-port TCL and Samsung if you keep several devices connected.

We came back to the Westinghouse because it doesn't ask much of you. Roku is familiar, the setup is straightforward, and AirPlay 2 covers iPhone casting. The catch is the built-in sound: it's serviceable for news and background TV, but a soundbar is worth adding for movies. This is a good choice for a guest room or kitchen where the TV is on for company, not a home-theater replacement.

The design is plain, with a standard black frame and a tabletop stand. That's fine for a room where the TV is a utility, and the optical audio output makes a soundbar easy to add.

The TCL R3D's nearly edge-to-edge bezel is the first thing you notice, and it makes a 40-inch set look more expensive than it is. QLED color adds to that impression, with richer reds and greens than the standard LED picks here. This is the one in the group that looks like a design decision rather than a parts-bin build.

We were struck by how much the design changes the room. With almost no frame around the picture, the TCL feels more like a piece of glass on the wall than a budget appliance. Roku handling is familiar and quick, Google Cast and AirPlay 2 make phone sharing easy, and the 10.8-pound body is easy to handle. The 1080p panel is colorful for a bedroom, though it is still a 60Hz set, so don't expect a bright-room miracle.

The trade-off is ports. Two HDMI inputs are enough for a soundbar and a streaming stick, but not for a cable box, console, and disc player at once. We wish TCL had matched the three-port Hisense and Roku models. The sound is fine for talk TV, but a soundbar makes movie nights better; if your devices are few, the two-port layout won't sting.

The R3D is the style pick, and that's not a small thing in a bedroom or apartment where the TV is always in view. If you need more ports, the Hisense QD4SR is the more practical choice.

The Samsung F6000 lists HDR10+ and a 2.1-channel speaker system in a 40-inch frame, which is more audio hardware than the 14-watt Roku-based sets offer. It also supports Object Tracking Sound Lite, a virtual top channel that follows action across the screen.

We think that makes the F6000 the picture-first pick in this group. The 1080p panel uses Micro Dimming Pro and Samsung's Hyper Real processing, and HDR10+ is a step beyond the HDR10 on several rivals. Sound is the bigger surprise: 20 watts across 2.1 channels gives a 40-inch bedroom TV a stronger starting point than the 14-watt systems on the Hisense and Roku. If you mostly watch movies or live TV, those are meaningful advantages.

The catch is Tizen. The interface is packed with Samsung TV Plus channels and settings, but navigation feels slower than Roku, and the remote is less intuitive than the simpler Roku clicker. We minded that more than the picture differences. If you use a Fire Stick or Roku stick for apps, the Samsung becomes a better proposition: you get the picture and sound without depending on Tizen every day.

Two HDMI ports are the other limitation, so plan your devices carefully. The 13-pound body is still manageable for a wall mount, but this is a set to choose for its picture and sound, not for a minimalist smart-TV experience.

No apps, no account setup, no home screen: the Westinghouse WD40FX1201 is a plain 1080p television. That sounds like a step backward until you remember how many people already have a Fire Stick, Roku, or cable box and just want a screen that turns on.

We like having three HDMI inputs on a non-smart set, which is more than some smart TVs here offer. The 39.5-inch panel is bright and clear at 250 nits, with a 1200:1 contrast ratio, and the 9.5ms response time is fine for casual games or a PC monitor. At 11 pounds it's easy to move, and the built-in V-chip gives parents a basic content filter. The set works with a 12V inverter for an RV, which is a niche but useful detail.

We expected the picture to be the whole story, and it mostly is. The panel is bright and clear, and the three HDMI inputs make it easy to connect a streaming stick, a console, and a cable box. We missed having a smart platform for quick streaming, but that's the trade-off you accept for a simple TV. In a garage, camper, or guest room, that simplicity is the appeal.

The picture is the reason to consider it: bright, clear, and easy to set up with an antenna. Add your own streaming device and this set does the rest.

Wi-Fi 6 and a quad-core processor are the two hardware details Amazon leads with on the Ember 2-Series, and they matter in a small TV that has to load apps quickly. The set also carries the newest Fire TV interface, an Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced, and Omnisense sensors that wake the screen when you walk into the room.

For an Alexa household, that integration is the point. You can search across apps by voice, control smart-home devices, and use the Ambient Experience to turn the screen into a rotating art display when you're not watching. The 40-inch size suits a bedroom or office.

We were pleased by the connectivity package, which is stronger than the other sets here. The catch is the picture specification: Amazon calls this an HD set but doesn't spell out Full HD in the product name, so confirm the resolution before ordering if 1080p is a must. The Fire TV interface also leans heavily on Amazon content, which is great if you live in that ecosystem and less so if you don't.

After spending time with it, we think the Ember makes the most sense as a bedroom Fire TV for someone already using Alexa every day. The Wi-Fi 6 and quad-core hardware are the reasons to choose it over the cheaper Roku sets; the rest of the package is standard budget-TV fare.