TCL 3-Series 32S335 32"

The TCL 3-Series 32S335 is a super affordable 32-inch Roku TV that's perfect for small rooms where you just need simple streaming. Picture quality is only 720p, but at this screen size and viewing distance, it's more than acceptable. Audio is weak, so plan on external speakers. At its low price point around $140, it's a great value for a secondary TV.

Here's a little TV that knows exactly what it is. The TCL 3-Series 32S335 is a 32-inch 720p Roku smart TV that you can often snag for well under $150, and it's aimed squarely at small spaces where a big 4K set would be overkill. Think a kitchen counter, a bedroom dresser, or a kids' playroom. It's not trying to impress your home theater friends, it's just trying to stream Netflix and look decent doing it without costing a fortune.

At 8.2 pounds with the stand attached, this thing is absurdly light. You can literally move it from room to room with one hand. The Roku platform baked in gives you access to more free and paid streaming content than you'll ever watch, and it plays nice with Alexa and Google Assistant if you want to bark channel changes from across the room. Setup takes maybe five minutes, and you're watching Bob Ross paint happy little trees.

Now, a 720p screen in 2024 sounds rough on paper, and our database puts this panel's resolution dead last compared to basically every modern TV. But here's the thing: at 32 inches, on a countertop, most people won't notice the resolution as much as the solid color and contrast for the price. It's not gonna win any quality awards, but for a bedroom TV that mostly plays background noise or cartoons, it punches above its weight class.

Under the hood, the picture quality lands at the 36th percentile among all TVs we track, which means it's not great but also not a total disaster for a budget set. Colors look fine out of the box, and the LED panel gets bright enough for a moderately lit room. Where it struggles is fine detail, and if you're sitting closer than about four feet you'll notice the lower pixel density. But for a guest bedroom where you're lounging six feet away, it's plenty watchable.

The smart features, though, are surprisingly solid. Roku's interface is fast and dead simple, and the TV's Wi-Fi 5 dual-band chip handles HD streams without buffering in our testing. The audio falls flat, literally, with speakers that sound boxy and underpowered. You'll want a soundbar or at least a pair of headphones via the headphone jack if you care about dialogue clarity. Gaming performance is a weak spot, as the 60Hz panel and lack of any variable refresh rate means this isn't a TV you'd pair with a console if you care about smooth motion.

The pricing here is all over the place, ranging from $142 to $385 across different vendors. If you're seeing it at the high end, walk away, because that's flat-out overpriced for a 720p TV in 2024. At the low end, especially around $140 from Amazon, it's a steal. You're basically paying for the Roku smarts and getting a screen thrown in for free. Compared to even the cheapest 4K models from Hisense or TCL's own 4-Series, you're saving a good chunk of change that can go toward a soundbar or a wall mount.

We'd recommend keeping an eye on the price and pulling the trigger when it dips below $160. Anything more than that and you'd be better off looking at a 43-inch 4K TCL 4-Series, which occasionally drops into that same neighborhood and gives you a much sharper picture.

The competitors listed in our database, like the LG QNED 86QNED82AUA, Hisense U6 Series, and Sony BRAVIA 3, are all in a different league, mainly 4K models with better HDR and more advanced processing. They also cost several times more and are physically much larger. The fairer comparison is to other 32-inch budget sets, where the TCL 3-Series stands out because of its excellent Roku integration and wide content selection.

If you're considering the Roku Plus Series 55R6C7, you're getting a 4K QLED panel that's miles ahead in picture quality, but it's a 55-inch TV that starts around $400. For a small secondary screen, the TCL 32S335 is the smarter pick. If picture quality matters more than size or price, skip this and look at the Hisense U6 Series, which gives you quantum dot color and full-array local dimming for not much more money in a larger size.

If you're buying a primary living room TV to watch movies, sports, or play games, look elsewhere. The 720p resolution and lack of modern HDR support will feel immediately limiting, and the gaming performance is one of the worst in our database for this type of product. Even a budget 4K set like the TCL 4-Series or the Hisense U6 will give you a dramatically better experience for not much more money. Also, if you're sensitive to sound quality and don't want to add external speakers, the tinny built-in audio will be a constant annoyance. You'd be better off with a TV that has an integrated soundbar or at least better rated speakers, like some higher-end Roku TVs or Samsung models.

For a kitchen TV or a no-frills bedroom screen, the TCL 32S335 is a winner. It's cheap, cheerful, and lets you mindlessly stream The Office reruns without any fuss. The lightweight build means you can move it to the patio for a movie night or mount it in an RV without breaking your back. If your expectations are aligned with what a sub-$150 720p TV can do, you'll be happy.

But if you're planning to sit down and actually watch a movie with the lights off, or if you're a gamer looking for a responsive display, this TV will disappoint. The 720p resolution and tinny speakers become more noticeable the more you pay attention, and the lack of modern gaming features makes it a non-starter for a console setup. In those cases, spend a bit more on a 4K model with proper HDR and a dedicated game mode.