Wirecutter Picks Quantum Dot-Powered Vizio as Best Budget TV

January 5, 2026

The Vizio Mini LED Quantum Series just earned the top budget pick in NYTimes Wirecutter's latest best 4K TV roundup and quantum dots are doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Lee Neikirk writing for Wirecutter:

"If you'd told me a few years ago that I could get a 75-inch 4K TV equipped with mini-LED backlighting and quantum-dot color for $500, I'd have said, 'Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England.' Well, someone needs to pour me a cup of tea because that TV now exists — and we've crowned it the best budget 4K TV of 2026."

The VQM Series pairs mini-LED backlighting with quantum dot color to hit around 1,000 nits of peak brightness, far outpacing the competition in its price bracket. Available in 55", 65", and 75" sizes starting at $278, it's the kind of performance that simply didn't exist at this price a couple of years ago.

We've been saying for a while now that quantum dots belong in every TV, not just the expensive ones. Nice to see Wirecutter agree.

The Vizio Mini LED Quantum Series is available now at Walmart.