• TCL's SQD mini-LED TVs get UK pricing, ranging from £1,099 to £3,999
• Sizes from 55 inches to 98 inches
• We're impressed with the tech in our first review

TCL's C8L premium TV and its C7L mid-range TV have launched in the UK, and they're priced very competitively against the LG C-series OLED TVs.

The TVs use mini-LED with TCL's new Super Quantum Dot (SQD) technology, with sizes ranging from 55 inches to 98 inches. Pricing is very aggressive, with the cheapest model coming in at just £1,099 and the range-topper a still reasonable £3,999.

We haven't tested the UK-focused TCL C8L TV just yet. But we've spent weeks testing the same tech in the US-focused TCL QM8L TV, and we're very impressed. It delivers a bright picture, minimizes the light blooming effect of LCD screens in high-contrast scenes, and comes with effective hands-free voice control.

Why we're tempted by these TVs in the run-up to the World Cup

A lot of people will be thinking of buying a new TV for the World Cup, and the excellent performance of the LG C6 OLED TV will mean it's probably high on people's lists as an option — but TechRadar's TV team has been discussing it, and we think that for a lot of people, the TCL models will be a more tempting proposition.

Obviously, the panel technology is very different, with TCL going for mini-LED rather than LG's OLED. That means the TCL is very bright, although it's backlit where the LG is self-emissive.

That usually means a dramatic difference in contrast levels compared to the inky blacks of OLED, but in our review of the TCL QM8L (the equivalent of the TCL C8L in the UK) we were very impressed by how well it controlled backlight bloom. In fact, we thought it was a pretty strong contender for our best TVs of 2026 line-up.

The C7L model has up to 2,176 precise dimming zones and the C8L up to 4,032, and the two ranges come with HDR10+, Dolby VIsion HQ and IMAX Enhanced viewing. Bang and Olufsen-branded audio delivers a 2.1-channel across the range with Atmos support.

We were also impressed with the color range offered in the SQD tech, which is now able to hit the same kind of coverage of the DCI-P3 HDR color gamut as OLED TVs can.

And the brightness is a major factor — the QM8L is capable of 760 nits of fullscreen brightness, which will really help it to overcome reflections if you're watching during the daytime. The LG C6, by comparison, hits 245 nits. Yes, the TCL can be three times brighter — you'll really see that difference in practice.

And then this is all balanced with what screen size you can get for the price, because people are increasingly looking to buy bigger TVs.

The recommended retail prices for the TCL C7L, TCL C8L and LG C6 are:

LG's range includes two smaller sizes, but if we compare like to like you're looking at £1,799 for a 55-inch C6 and just £1,199 for the same sized TCL C8L, before the inevitable retail discounting kicks in.

That's a lot of money, and if you've been thinking of getting a big TV in time for the World Cup that means you could get a much bigger and even brighter TV from TCL than you would with an LG OLED: the same £1,799 for the 55-inch LG would get you a 75-inch TCL C7L with money to spare.

There are lots of reasons to choose the LG OLED still: we prefer its smart TV software to the Google TV used on the TCL, and the contrast of OLED is ultimately better, especially for cinephiles.

But TCL's tech took a step up this year, and the two are on par in so many ways, including on having four HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming. And at these prices, we think a lot of people will be tempted to get a bigger TV for the same price.

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Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.