After a week of exposure to new TVs at CES, we have a pretty good idea of the major new models, technologies, and features coming to TVs in 2020. It will still be a few months before these new models are available for purchase, but if you are starting to consider a new TV, it is always worth keeping an eye on what may rank on our best TV list.

While we saw some exciting things in the television arena during our stay in Las Vegas, whether it is worth the wait to purchase one of these new TVs is another matter. Many of the trends we predicted came to fruition, but we were surprised to see that most of the hottest technologies and new features were presented on 8K TVs. Current 4K TVs are limited to incremental updates, such as improved smart TV software, a couple of funky new form factors, etc. [Vizio , Philips, Panasonic, and newcomer Konka will bring new OLED models to market this year. For several years, only LG and Sony (which uses LG's OLED panels) have offered OLED sets, so the emergence of competitors from other brands is refreshing and should open the market to new leaders and lower prices. [However, LG and Sony are still in the OLED game, offering some impressive models that draw on their experience in making top-notch OLED sets; LG has introduced its new Gallery series, a complete OLED TV, including sound system and components, flat on the wall packed into an ultra-thin 20 mm thick package that can be hung flat on the wall. Sony's OLEDs will be updated in 2020 with the Bravia A8H, which boasts an improved version of Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio sound-from-screen technology.

With so many OLED TVs on the market, two things can be predicted: 2020 will bring the best OLED TVs ever, with better picture quality and sound than ever before. But 2020 will also likely be the year of affordable OLEDs. Prices will remain in the premium range at product launch, but with big sales like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday later this year, prices could well drop below $1,000.

We've been seeing 8K TVs at CES since 2018, but so far we've urged people to wait to buy these new sets themselves; 8K TVs are still maturing, but 2020 is the first year we're not actively encouraging people to buy new high-resolution sets This could be the case: with new models from LG, Samsung, and Sony, and the first 8K models from TCL, the range of 8K TVs has never been greater.

New offerings include Samsung's Q950 8K QLED, which boasts a flashy frameless design and a new sound system that offers sound quality to match the beautiful 8K picture. Sony's Z8H is similar, with an improved version of Sony's Acoustic Audio+ technology that actually vibrates the frame of the TV in which the tweeter is embedded to produce sound.

Prices for 8K TVs are coming down, and 2020 will be the first year that 8K content will finally be available. At least some of the Tokyo Olympics will be broadcast in 8K, thanks to a partnership between LG and Japanese broadcaster NHK. In addition, the upcoming Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will both enable gameplay in 8K. Samsung is pushing a new compression technology called AI ScaleNet, which will allow 8K video to be streamed within the bandwidth currently used by 4K streams.

It will still be at least a year before we are encouraged to purchase 8K TVs, but we are at a point where early adopters are no longer throwing money down the drain by purchasing 8K technology prematurely.

Another major trend is that smart TVs will be able to listen to everything around them. The popularity of smart speaker technology has skyrocketed, prompting TV manufacturers to include the same features in their smart TVs.

Since many smart TVs already have built-in voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it is a logical step to make voice interaction more accessible. Also, the ability to speak directly to the TV without having to speak into the microphone built into the remote control will undoubtedly improve convenience.

However, questions remain about privacy and security. TV manufacturers have a history of tracking user data and closely monitoring viewing choices and app interactions. And this information is almost always shared with third parties with advertising in mind. There is no reason to think that manufacturers will suddenly turn a blind eye to this treasure trove of valuable data just because many TVs suddenly come standard with microphones that listen to room sounds.

Nevertheless, all TV manufacturers we spoke with are at pains to ensure that these microphones can be disabled and are asking users to choose to use them, whether as part of the setup process for a new TV or enabled as a separate feature. We will continue to monitor this trend closely in the coming year.

The bottom line is that if you are buying a new TV in 2020, you may not want to hold off for the newest TVs coming out this spring; if you are looking for specific features or performance, such as OLED or 8K, there are several that are worth the wait. And if security is important to you, this might be a good time to get the top models for 2019 before built-in microphones become more common.

But when it comes to most 4K smart TVs, new models and new features each year may not be as compelling as in years past. If you're in the market for a new TV, it's safe to say that you should check out the best TVs of 2020 to see what great models you can buy now.