Need to know
- Aldi is selling a 70-inch TV for $589 and a 43-inch TV for $249 in its Special Buy sale on Wednesday 27 November
- We've tested Aldi Bauhn TVs in our labs and they haven't performed particularly well
- Our experts test TVs, headphones and speakers from popular brands including LG, Sony, Bose, Samsung, Hisense, TCL and more
It's TV time again in the Aldi Special Buys sale: on Wednesday 27 November, you can pick up a 70-inch 4K ultra HD smart TV for $589 or a 43-inch full HD smart TV for $249 alongside your groceries.
This is significantly cheaper than models with similar specifications from other brands.
The TVs are from Aldi's house label Bauhn, and they're powered by LG's webOS. They come pre-installed with streaming apps such as YouTube, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
At such a low price, they're certainly tempting deals. But how do these Aldi bargains really rate for quality – and are they worth buying?
We have tested other Aldi TVs and – spoiler alert! – Bauhn's track record doesn't paint a pretty picture
Full disclosure: we can provide expert insights that can help you make up your mind, but we haven't tested these exact models.
Aldi products pop up at short notice and usually sell out quickly, so we haven't been able to get our hands on them to test. (We do get the latest Aldi models in for testing whenever we can, though.)
However, we have tested other Aldi TVs in our labs and – spoiler alert! – Bauhn's track record on tech doesn't paint a pretty picture.
We spoke to CHOICE TV expert Denis Gallagher about the patchy performance from Aldi TVs in the past, and what you need to know before queuing up outside Aldi at sunrise.
Bauhn to be bad?
There's no denying that Aldi does some products really well. Cheap ski gear and grocery staples, for sure. Electronics, not so much.
Our experts have lab-tested a range of Bauhn TVs over recent years, and one thing's been consistent – they've all received pretty average scores, never scoring high enough to be recommended.
Unfortunately, in this case, it seems you get what you pay for.
So far we haven't really seen a Bauhn TV that's performed especially well
Denis Gallagher, CHOICE tech expert
"So far we haven't really seen a Bauhn TV that's performed especially well," says Denis.
"Of course, that can change with new models – we've seen that with other brands – but despite the undeniably low prices, shoppers should be careful when considering these bargain models based on what we've seen."
Aldi's track record for TVs
The 75-inch Aldi TV we tested failed to impress.
"Previous test results have ranged from mediocre to poor, so there's a lot of room for improvement," says Denis.
Previous Special Buys have included a 65-inch Bauhn TV priced at $699 that boasted a decent range of features, but fell flat in our lab tests with a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 62% overall.
Then there was the $899 Bauhn ATV75UHDT-0423 75-inch TV that our experts rated 67% overall.
They were unimpressed with its oversaturated 4K picture and tinny, cold-sounding speaker that lacked bass.
The 55-inch Aldi Bauhn TV is a step up from other Bauhn TVs we've reviewed.
Its HD and SD picture quality didn't blow us away either.
Aldi TVs often feature in our list of TVs to avoid buying due to their low scores.
However, our experts gave a $479 Aldi Bauhn 55-inch TV a CHOICE Expert Rating of 70% (this is our overall score).
While it may not have scored high enough to be recommended, our experts said this model is a good TV overall and delivers reasonable video quality for the price.
It's a step up from other models we've tested from Bauhn.
Special Buys tips
- Stocks of all Special Buys are limited, and popular products can sell out quickly.
- You can check Special Buys stock availability on the Aldi website.
- If you're heading instore, make sure you check the weight and size of the item you're buying to make sure you can transport it home.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
