Right around the end of August is when I experience an uptick in people picking my brain about big-screen TV recommendations. As it happens, few events encourage people to shop for a big, honkin’ TV screen quite like the start of the NFL season.

Fortunately for them, football fans fixing to upgrade ahead of kickoff usually have a wide array of options to choose from, as the season’s start coincides with midyear discounts on new TVs.

Sets that hit shelves in 2026 are finally falling in price, and if your list of criteria includes big screen and affordable price, there’s one set I recommend above all else: the Hisense U6SF Pro. Right now, the 75-inch Hisense U6SF Pro is just $799 at Best Buy. It’s a massive 43% discount on a TV that’s bright, colorful and ready to stream the 2026 football season right out of the box.

We’re still hard at work with our full-length review of the U6SF Pro, but I can share a couple of key figures from our test results that help explain why I'm so enthusiastic about its performance for sports in particular.

The U6SF Pro leverages Mini-LEDs, which aren't exactly easy to come by in an affordable TV. With Mini-LED backlighting in tow, the screen is capable of reaching a peak brightness between about 1,200 and 1,400 nits (depending on content and picture mode).

Just a few short years ago, this level of brightness was reserved for higher-end screens. With that much horsepower, the U6SF Pro is plenty bright enough for daytime games. According to our tests, this TV also delivers a wide range of color, and in its best picture mode, its out-of-the-box accuracy is phenomenal.

If you hold watch parties during the regular season — and, with a 75-inch screen, why wouldn't you? — you'll be pleased to learn that the U6SF Pro separates itself from many entry-level and mid-range TVs with a convenient, glare-free finish that combats glare.

Unlike some 2026 Hisense TVs that leverage Google TV, the U6SF Pro is built around Amazon’s Fire TV smart platform. It’s not my top pick for streaming shows, movies and sports, but it supports the majority of the most-popular streaming apps and services (including NFL+, ESPN, and Fox Sports).

There are cheaper 75-inch TVs on sale right now, but it's not easy to find a set with a punchy, accurate picture and a thorough selection of mid-range features.

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• Hisense TV report card 2026: 'One of the best ways to maximize your dollar'

It’s hard to make one of the best TVs under $1,000. The competition is stiff and, for this kind of money, performance has to be top-notch. In short, a model costing a grand needs to justify the investment.

After spending a day with the 65-inch Hisense U7SG ULED Mini-LED Google TV, I think it makes a solid case for itself, even if it’s not perfect in every respect (see: black levels and contrast).

In spite of some tough competition from TCL — and Hisense itself — the U7SG ULED Mini-LED Google TV is one of the better mid-range models on the market in 2026. I’m not crowning it the best 65-inch TV in its class, but its excellent audio quality and $899 sale price help it stand out from the crowd.

Hisense U7SG review: Pricing and availability

Hisense's 2026 U7 series has essentially replaced the U8QG series as the company's top mainstream Mini-LED TV line this year. Meanwhile, the new RGB Mini-LED UR8 and UR9 lines occupy the pricier tier above it. Below the U7SG sits Hisense's U6SF and U6SF Pro tier — as well as last year's budget QD7 line (which I reviewed and liked), that’s currently hovering around $500.

The U7SG lineup ranges in screen size from 55 to a whopping 100 inches. Here’s a full breakdown:

• 55-inch Hisense U7SG (55U7SG): $1,298 MSRP | $699 on sale
• 65-inch Hisense U7SG (65U7SG): $1,499 MSRP | $899 on sale
• 75-inch Hisense U7SG (75U7SG): $1,998 MSRP | $999 on sale
• 85-inch Hisense U7SG (85U7SG): $2,499 MSRP | $1,399 on sale
• 100-inch Hisense U7SG (100U7SG): $4,498 MSRP | $2,498 on sale

Among other TV makers, the 65-inch U7SG lands right alongside last year’s TCL QM7K (lately hovering below $800 for the 65-inch model), with a 144Hz panel and Bang & Olufsen-tuned audio). For a bit more, the 2026 TCL QM7L is also a strong rival. The Samsung QN70F lands in similar territory, but doesn't hold up, based on my review.

Hisense U7SG review: Design

The front facade of the Hisense U7SG features a scarcely visible bezel of just a few millimeters thick and little to no branding. In this case, the text is not for the TV maker, but the tiny words "TUNED BY DEVIALET" in the lower-right corner that reflects a vaguely defined partnership with the French luxury acoustic manufacturer.

Whatever that means, this TV does have a powerful sound system, evidenced by the which you can see more of on the rear of the TV—but I'll say a lot more about audio below.

The U7SG measures 2.3 inches deep and gives you the option of either using an included large central pedestal or wall-mounting, with VESA standard screw holes in the 400 × 300mm arrangement. The audio settings allow you to configure the sound system for table placement vs. wall mounting.

Hisense U7SG review: Ports

The Hisense U7SG has the full complement of connections you'd expect from a performance model. That starts with four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting the highest-grade inputs: up to 4K/120Hz for sources such as the PS5, Xbox Series X, and many gaming PCs; and up to 4K/165Hz for the most-capable game PCs. The panel has a 165Hz native refresh rate to make full use of that.

HDMI port 3 supports eARC, which can output high-end digital audio signals such as Dolby Atmos to a soundbar or home-theater system. (The U7SG also decodes Dolby Atmos internally to feed its powerful built-in sound system.) It also features a standard optical digital audio S/PDIF output.

There are two USB ports (5 volt, 0.5 amp and 5V, 1A) — should you want to connect a hard drive, USB stick, or alternative smart TV stick from Roku or Amazon. But with a fully (even overly) equipped Google TV operating system and Wi-Fi 6E, there may not be much use for such. That argument is even stronger for the old-timey wired LAN Ethernet port.

You can attach a cable or satellite box or a terrestrial antenna via the RF-in port. Inside, it connects to an ATSC 3.0 tuner supporting the NextGen broadcast standard for 4K resolution, HDR, and wider color gamuts. Check this map to see which broadcasters support the standard in your area.

How we test

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom's Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set's performance. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker mode (which may go by different names depending on the TV maker). It is usually the most accurate out of the box color. We take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays's Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV's gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our "How we test TVs" page.

Hisense U7SG review: Performance and test results

*As measured in Filmmaker mode

I can sum up the Hisense U7SG visual performance as: Solid in both dark and bright rooms — except for black levels, and shadows, which are too bright. Our test results bear all this out.

In the TV's Filmmaker mode, which is most faithful to the original content, the one outlier is color accuracy, but not by a meaningful amount. We measure this as Delta-E: the difference (or delta) between the colors in test signals we send to the TV and how they measure onscreen. A lower number is better.

We read a Delta-E of 3, indistinguishable from the average of 2.92 for 2025 and 2026 models (which range from 1.44 to 6.98). In practical terms, the Hisense U7SG aced the colors in clothing, furnishing, and the challenging variety of skin tones in "Bridgerton" (Season 1, Ep 3, 17:00-19:00 minutes). The Netflix stream kicks the TV into Dolby Vision IQ image mode — the right call. It also rendered the lush tones of the Bruno Mars "Risk It All" music video on YouTube, without overdoing it.

Overall, colors appeared nearly identically on the Hisense U7SG and the TCL QM7L, which just earned an Editor's Choice.

On most TVs, Filmmaker mode (or equivalent) tends to be rather dim and only watchable in a dark room. It's not the case here, as Filmmaker was perfectly fine in a bright room. (The dual-layer Anti-Reflection & Glare-Free coating seemed to do its job in the latter case.)

That is not a good sign, however. The Hisense U7SG’s screen never got as dark as it should. I tested this on the HDR10 Blu-rays for "Blade Runner 2049" (Chapters 5 and 6), "Sinners" (Chapters 9, 10, and 12 — and also with Dolby Vision). I also viewed some challenging photos I have taken over the years — including a nighttime shot of a bright neon sign against an almost-black background. I saw more gray than black or near-black areas than with other TVs.

Lab results offer a hint here, too. HDR Brightness for the U7SG (using the 10% window method) came in at 2866.9 nits. It's not the brightest for newer 65-inch LCDs, but it's well above the average of 1683.5. High HDR brightness is often a good thing for expanding dynamic range, but in this case, it may be the cause of lightening what should be darker parts of images.

In a well-lit room, you are unlikely to notice this much, though. Standard dynamic range brightness in Filmmaker mode for the Hisense U7SG is on the dim side at 185.4 nits — below the Filmmaker-mode average of 372.4 nits for newer 65-inch LCDs, and in the lower half of that range. However, some newer blindingly bright TVs have pulled that range and average way up.

One of the most important modes is Game, where the TV harnesses the latest technologies. The U7SG’s panel natively supports the highest possible frame rate of the day: 165Hz. Input Lag (in game mode) is a zippy 9.8 ms. That's better than the average of 10.98 ms for newer 65-inch LCDs, and just half a millisecond off the best score of 9.3 ms. Translation: This TV is as well-equipped for gaming as it can be.

Hisense U7SG review: Audio

The Hisense U7SG’s audio is a big step above what I've heard on other TVs, and here's where specs say something meaningful. The 2.1.2-channel spec translates to two standard stereo speakers (where most built-in TV sound systems stop), one subwoofer (or at least a powerful bass driver), and two height channels for spatial effects like rain or a helicopter overhead—channels supported by Dolby Atmos.

The 50 Watts of power seem to make a difference, too. Most TVs provide just 20 Watts, total. Better sound systems go to 40W. I don't know if "Tuned by Devialet" had a real effect, but I do know that this TV sounds great. It fills the room with spacious sound in music and thundering bass in high-action scenes. I think you could skip the soundbar with this TV — a nice, slimming bonus for wall mounting.

The U7SG delivers on the rich potential of Bruno Mars's "Risk It All." This TV really accents the bright Latin Trumpet sounds, the resonant guitar strings, and the soulful crooning. (Sometimes too much.) I had to crank down the Bass Boost setting from its default 0 to -3 so the thumping wouldn't overpower everything else.

Default Bass Boost was fine for other content, however. It captured the foreboding sounds of the "Blade Runner 2049" Blu-ray (Chapter 5) without default Bass Boost hurting dialogue. It also pleasantly accented the foot stopping, punches and gunshots in the "Sinners" Blu-ray (Chapter 10) without harming the music. In contrast, I didn't notice much difference between the Standard and Theater audio modes.

Hisense U7SG review: Interface and remote

On the surface, the U7SG’s UI will look similar to any other Google TV: At the top is a massive, highly graphical carousel of promoted content. ("Masters of the Universe" got big billing at the time of my review.) That element, plus a "Top Picks for You" section consumed about 75% of the screen, leaving just enough room at the bottom for a side-scrollable row of installed-app icons.

Scrolling down, you see sections such as "Continue Watching," "Top Free Movies on Google TV Freeplay" (nice), collections like "The World of Christopher Nolan" … and a big, fat ad for some vague business service I couldn't even decipher.

Then I found a setting called Apps Only Mode that switches Google TV to a minimalist layout a la the Best Roku TVs. You still see the promoted content up top, but below that is just a scrollable screen of big rectangular icons for each installed app. You can get there by going to Settings (top of the home screen) > Accounts & Profiles > Apps Only Mode. That mimics the minimalist style of Hisense's own content selection — a separate section accessible from a button on the top of the home screen that features hundreds of free (ad-supported) channels.

You might also dig into Google's privacy settings — which often have tracking on by default. Most of these controls are under Settings > Privacy. There you can decide whether to toggle on or off or adjust data-collecting items such as Location, Microphone, Cameras, Usage and Diagnostics, Ads, Voice Assistant, and App Permissions. You might also go to Settings > Advanced System > Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. (In the default setting, Google can.)

Gemini voice control has not been upgraded to the new capabilities that let you adjust TV settings with natural-language comments such as "my screen is too dark." But it provides the solid navigational capabilities I've seen in other Google TV models. For instance: I asked for Matt Damon movie recommendations, and where I could stream each. It found "Good Will Hunting" when I asked if he'd won any Academy Awards. When I asked about "The Odyssey," Gemini explained that it's only in theaters at the moment.

The remote control is rather chunky, favoring more buttons than fewer. They include shortcuts to apps including Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+KiD, and Free TV. In an era of sleek, black designs, this bulky, grayish model with a metal four-way directional ring looks like a throwback.

Hisense U7SG review: Verdict

Were it not for the muddy blacks and shadows, I'd have no qualms praising the Hisense U7SG. But even with those drawbacks, I think this TV is solid, especially for the price. Colors are great, sound is amazing, and gaming prowess are top-notch. Google TV is a good OS (with the right adjustments). If you don't hunker in the dark for a lot of your TV viewing, you probably won't notice this shortcoming much.

Still, there are some competitors worth mentioning around the same price. The TCL QM7L is the top contender, but the 65-inch model will run you $1,199 — $300 more than the Hisense U7SG when both TVs are on sale. There’s also the Samsung QN70F from last year that’s cheaper (the 55-inch model starts at $697 on Amazon) but I think the Hisense has it beat in pretty much every category.

In the right viewing environment, the Hisense U7SG delivers value in spades, making it a top contender for TV enthusiasts looking to get a big-screen TV on a moderate budget.

As much as I love talking about high-end luxury TVs, the truth of the matter is that I rarely recommend them to friends, family and the readers who reach out to me. It makes sense — most of us can’t afford ‘em. Similarly, seldom do I help someone shop for the cheapest TV on shelves.

Instead, most people approach me about affordable models that nevertheless perform with a little oomph. In other words, the idea is to stay within a reasonable budget without surrendering one’s ability to ooh and aah at a fun, impressive-looking new toy.

This year, few TVs fit this bill as well as the Hisense U6SF Pro. It’s an enhanced version of the brand’s entry-level Mini-LED TV, and because of its step-up performance, I’ve recently recommended it to a few people in my life looking to upgrade on a budget. Today, the 65-inch Hisense U6SF is on sale for $598 at Amazon— a ridiculously steep discount that includes 46% off its original price.

We’re still working on a full-length review of the U6SF Pro, but I can share a couple of key figures from our test results that tell some of the story.

The U6SF’s display is built around Mini-LED backlighting and offers a peak brightness between 1,200 and 1,400 nits depending on content and picture mode. That means it’s plenty bright enough for daytime viewing, and with the lights dim, the U6SF Pro’s ability to drive a ton of luminance to small, specular highlights will allow HDR movies and shows to carry a proper, cinematic look.

Quantum-dot color is along for the ride, which is part of the reason why the Pro covers an impressive amount of the BT.2020 color gamut for a TV in its price range (about 75%). According to our tests, in its most-accurate picture mode, its hues are appropriately dialed-in, too.

When it comes to the finer details of picture quality, the U6SF Pro doesn’t offer the sort of finesse you might experience on a higher-end TV, but it’s got the hardware to showcase a bright, colorful picture with accuracy. That’s not easy to find in the $400-to-$600 price range.

Nor is it easy, for this price, to find a glare-free screen and a native refresh rate of 144Hz (though folks with a fleet of devices will need to settle for just a pair of HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs out of four).

One thing to note is that, unlike other 2026 Hisense TVs, the U6SF Pro is built around Amazon’s Fire TV smart platform. It’s not my first or second choice for everyday streaming (those honors go to Roku and Google TV), but it runs the majority of the most-popular streaming apps and will integrate seamlessly into an Alexa-powered home.

In a time chock-full of fantastically expensive (but nonetheless stunning) TVs, budget-friendly sets like the U6SF Pro are quietly becoming better than the mid-range models of yesteryear. It earns its designation as an upscale version of an entry-level option.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best TV Brands 2026: We just graded them on price, performance and more — here’s how their report cards stack up
• Hisense TV report card 2026: 'One of the best ways to maximize your dollar'
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more

The Hisense XR10 isn’t just a successor to the Hisense C2 Ultra that proved to be one of the best projectors, it’s on a different level: The new Hisense XR10 offers extreme brightness and far more advanced optics for incredible flexibility in setups.

It still sports an RGB laser projection system for stunning color, but now it has integrated a physical iris to dial up the contrast.

So what’s the catch? The Hisense C2 Ultra was $2,999 when it launched. The XR10 is $5,999 ($4,999 on sale). You can get a lot from this projector, but it’s not exactly a value-forward device. Is it worth clearing out the coffers for the Hisense XR10? Read on to find out.

Hisense XR10 review: Pricing and availability

The Hisense XR10 debuted at CES 2026 and only took a few months to start shipping in May 2026. It received an initial price of $6,999, but Hisense’s shop was quick to show a $1,000 discount that brought that down to $5,999 while including a free carrying case.

Our test unit was a consumer model that included the case, which is a quality and sturdy suitcase with rollers and multiple carry points. It’s a considerable upgrade over the styrofoam carrying cases paired with recent JMGO and Valerion projectors.

Speaking of the competition, the Valerion VisionMaster Max undercuts the XR10 in price at $3,399 — though it’s not as bright — and the new JMGO N3 Ultimate could be a real threat at a much more palatable price of $2,399.

Hisense XR10 review: Design

The XR10 is lovely, with dark bronze-colored metal wrapping around most of its surface. Its extremely prominent optics dominate the front, flanked by a handful of sensors that handle auto-focus, eye protection, and automatic screen alignment. The back and sides are largely covered in grilles for the considerable airflow needed to keep the projector cool, though an internal liquid cooling loop helps keep it fairly quiet for a 11.5 x 10.7 x 8.4-inch box pumping out over 6,000 lumens.

One side of the projector includes a little stylized flourish with a clear cover hinting at the laser hardware inside. That cover wraps around to the top to give that side some style as well, as it’s otherwise just a blank slab with a small ambient light sensor and a protruding power button that doubles as a hardware volume dial. The lens cover also has a knurled circumference suggestive of manual-focus lenses, though it’s not.

The projector sits on four little feet that screw in and out to help adjust the tilt of the projector. These are very handy to have if you don’t have perfectly level surfaces in your household. There’s an additional hole in the center of the underside for use with tripod and ceiling mount setups. At 23.4 pounds, you’ll want to make sure you put it on a sturdy support.

The rear of the projectors offers three HDMI ports, 3.5mm and S/PDIF audio outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB-A ports. Two of the HDMI ports are high-speed HDMI 2.1 ports, but one also handles eARC. The third is an HDMI 2.0 port. As nice as it is to see Gigabit Ethernet for stable networking, you probably won’t need it since the XR10 supports Wi-Fi 7.

The XR10 somewhat unfortunately uses an external power supply brick that isn’t quite as nice to see on a coffee table or mantle as the projector itself.

Hisense XR10 review: Performance

The action sequence near the beginning of “The Gray Man” is a brilliant showcase of the XR10’s chops. It's full of flashy, colorful fightworks, deep shadows with characters in silhouette, and fluid action. The projector’s punchy RGB-laser lighting provides gorgeous color throughout all that. Its strong contrast keeps the lights brilliant and shadows deep. And its processing handles the motion well, so it’s not stuttery or choppy.

That’s with every setting dialed in, though. This projector, like so many others, has a few unfortunate defaults. For example, many of the picture modes use heavy motion smoothing when the projector first comes out of the box. This may smooth out camera pans, but it more often introduces odd artifacts from on-screen motion. I found it best disabled, set to film, or manually set to a very low level. Occasionally having it enabled could help avoid flicker from high-contrast, fine-detailed elements moving across the screen (think black and white bars in a panning shot), but I never found higher smoothing levels necessary

With a rated brightness of 6,000 lumens, the XR10 delivers amazing performance for daytime viewing, and it’s impressive just how good content still looks even with a couple of lights on in the room. The brighter settings remain a good choice even as you dim the room lights, just so long as you also start to lower the laser brightness a little. Nonetheless, even without running at full brightness and with the aperture half closed, I was quite impressed at how pleasantly clear even cinematic content was, let alone bright shows like “Last Week Tonight” or “Bob’s Burgers.”

In a very dark room with no lights on, clamping down on the iris helps lower the black levels wonderfully. In many cases, especially with Dolby Vision Dark mode, I could no longer see letterboxing around the picture, and starfields like the scene of the “sky people” arriving at the beginning of “Avatar: The Way of Water” offer a brilliant contrast between the glowing thruster heat sinks, the stars, and the black of space. If there’s a little ambient light, the projector has plenty of brightness to overpower it, letting it continue to provide perceptually strong contrast.

All of the projection is channeled through great optics that provide crisp visuals edge to edge. Since the projector has substantial lens shift and zoom range, it’s easy to avoid needing digital keystone or adjustments that sacrifice the picture. The XR10 can shift the image by up to 130% vertically and 46% horizontally while also going from a wide 0.84:1 throw ratio to a longer 2:1 throw ratio.

As the XR10 uses DLP projection, which projects colors in a sequence, it can create the rainbow effect. I am not very sensitive to it generally, but can usually see it if I'm looking for it. However, on the XR10, I have never spotted it. Whatever sequence Hisense is using to deliver each frame seems to do a wonderful job of minimizing the DLP rainbow effect.

The powerful projection does come with some heat, and that means cooling fans need to run much of the time the XR10 is running. Generally, they’re not loud even when it's maxing out brightness, but don’t expect perfect silence.

Though the XR10 features automatic correction features like obstacle avoidance and screen alignment, it may be a little hard to take advantage of all of these. The projector zooms all the way out when attempting these corrections, and its short throw ratio can see it cover a huge area, which makes it easy for the picture to go so far outside of bounds that it can’t effectively make those corrections. Other features, like automatic keystone and eye protection don’t work if lens shift has been used. The trade-off between optical and automatic adjustments isn’t uncommon, but it’s a little disappointing nonetheless.

Hisense XR10 review: Test results

It doesn’t take advanced tools to see how impressive the XR10 is, but even with specific measurements, it stands up. I used a Spyder X2 Ultra colorimeter to measure the XR10’s color gamut reflecting off a 1.1-gain projection screen, and I used a lux meter to measure its brightness using an ANSI test pattern.

It’s rare enough for a projector to meet its specified brightness, but the XR10 actually exceeded it. In its Vivid picture profile at full brightness and with the iris open, the XR10 hit a staggering 6,841 lumens. More importantly, that’s with a useful picture setting. Opting for a cooler whitepoint and using the Brightness Enhanced mode, the projector took on an unsightly green tinge but jumped up to 7,757 lumens. When you don’t need all that brightness, I found keeping the original settings unchanged but clamping the iris down could lower brightness to 1,291 lumens for more palatable viewing in a dark room.

Contrast also proves strong. Taking the measurements proved tricky, as the projector automatically dims extra when displaying a full black screen, but it takes a moment to do so. Taking the measurement of a full black screen before that extra dimming, I measured 1.37 lux which comes out to a 2,431:1 FOFO (full-on, full-off) contrast ratio between fully white screen and fully black screen. Intra-frame contrast is lower, of course, but it was still impressive.

When testing with a 10% APL white box in the middle of the screen, the projector offered a 381:1 contrast ratio with its iris open and a 418:1 contrast ratio with it closed. It’s worth noting here that these are also not even the ideal levels, enough light bounces around the room to raise the black levels. Essentially, the XR10 is good enough that you’ll want to consider painting your walls and ceiling a dark color or putting up velvet to get the most out of its capabilities.

The RGB lasers offer a wide color gamut. I measured 100% coverage of the sRGB color space, 92% of the DCI-P3, and 90% of the BT.2020. This may be a little short of the advertised color gamut, but measuring projector gamut has some margin of error since you can’t take color readings directly from the screen as you can on a TV. Suffice to say, this projector offers gobsmacking color.

Hisense XR10 review: Audio

The Hisense XR10 may pack a 2.1 speaker setup, but that “subwoofer” doesn’t dig quite as deep as you might hope. It gives a little punch to the low end, but no deep booming or thunder. Sub-bass is almost completely absent. The speakers are more tuned to mids and the upper bass range, giving a fullness to most sounds and voices, but leaving a bit to be desired out of music where brilliance and presence are concerned.

The speakers can get quite loud without distorting, too, but they don’t provide much separation. This makes for a congested soundstage that’s neither great for music nor movies. Speech is intelligible, but you won’t get a sense of immersion from the audio.

Hisense certainly intends for the XR10 to be paired with a quality sound system, but it’s nice enough to see that it’s put some effort to a sound system that at least will let you make do when one isn’t readily at hand (such as when you transport the projector to a new location).

Hisense XR10 review: Gaming

Gaming on the Hisense XR10 is a blast, though it still has room for improvement. By default, it’s happy to handle games plenty well. Without even bothering to change any settings for gaming, input lag was satisfyingly low. I played through 20 waves in Brotato and a handful of stages in Towerfall Ascencion, seeing everything in crisp detail and never once noticing input lag at 4K. Playing through the first few hours of 007: First Light with the projector swapped over to 1080p/240Hz mode, I had no trouble navigating the darker opening section, and I found the later gunplay perfectly snappy while controlling with a mouse.

I measured latency by running a timecode generator on my laptop, which has a 120Hz OLED display, and mirroring the display to the projector, then snapped a high-speed photo of both displays to see how far behind the timecode on the projector was compared to the laptop display. With default settings at 4K/60Hz, the projector was just 23ms behind. Switching to Game Mode didn’t move the needle.

The projector can also change to 1080p/240Hz for ultra-smooth gaming. But this also didn’t reduce the latency I measured. It was only after I also enabled DLP Turbo Mode in settings that the latency dropped further, allowing the projector to show 0ms of latency behind the laptop display.

The one thing the Hisense XR10 is missing is support for variable refresh rates. VRR hasn’t been available in projectors for very long, but it is possible to incorporate now. Instead, you’ll want to ensure you’re capping your framerates at 60 for 4K or 240 for 1080p.

Hisense XR10 review: Smart TV interface

You won’t find the typical Google TV or Android TV interface on the Hisense XR10. It runs on Hisense’s own VidaaOS, and that has its upsides and downsides. First, it’s fast, letting me quickly find the app or setting I want and get back to business. Unfortunately, the app selection is far more limited than Google TV. Most of the big streaming services are there and work properly, but if you’re looking for anything even slightly off the beaten path (like Jellyfin), your odds go way down.

Some of VidaaOS’s menus are a little annoying to navigate as they can have a lot of layers to back out of, but it also will display menus over content, which can be helpful for making picture adjustments with content in view. That said, some settings adjustments will automatically back you out of the menu entirely, so if you didn’t like the tweak, you’ll have to dig all the way back in to adjust it further.

Frustratingly, accessing settings with the remote shortcut doesn’t work from the home screen, so you have to instead navigate to the settings or launch an app and then use the shortcut. There’s also no quick access to the projection settings. Having an extra quick way to jump into optical zoom, lens shift, or iris would be very handy.

Sadly, VidaaOS is as plagued by ads as other interfaces, and when connected to the internet, it will proudly pull up large banner advertisements to display on the home screen. It’s just lucky that getting away from these is quick. You can keep VidaaOS offline and operate it as a more basic OS, though, and it doesn’t require an account to use most features, unlike the competition.

Hisense XR10 review: Remote

The XR10 comes with a simple and effective remote. It has the typical navigation controls of a modern smart TV with a prominent navigation circle. Below this are back and home buttons. It includes pill-shaped controls for volume and brightness, making it easy to feel these out, and there’s a dedicated mute button. The bottom of the remote offers shortcuts to Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and Disney+.

At the top of the remote, you’ll find some useful tools. There are shortcuts to input selection, quick settings, auto-focus, and voice control. The remote also conveniently lights up when a button is pressed, illuminating all the controls except the app shortcuts. It’s only a shame the remote doesn’t light up on motion, too, as that can be helpful in a dark theater. It’s easy enough to just quickly tap the volume button to get the lights on at least.

Hisense XR10 review: Verdict

The Hisense XR10 offers simply brilliant projection that’s a knockout in dark home theater environments and can still dazzle even with overhead lights on. The picture settings can use a few tweaks to get the most out of it, but if you’re willing to play around with it, the XR10 will leave you feeling like going to the movie theater is a downgrade.

It works wonderfully for all sorts of content and can game quite well. And all of that comes from a fairly compact, elegant box that is easy to bring wherever you like and set up easily thanks to highly flexible optics. It’s a little annoying that some of the settings that help the XR10 adapt to different environments aren’t a single click away on the remote, however.

The biggest drawback of the XR10 is its extreme price tag: At $5,999, it’s a considerable outlay, and anyone who doesn’t need the extreme brightness can probably get away with something like the Hisense C2 Ultra for half the cost.

Ultimately, the XR10 will be for those seeking a high-end solution that’s extremely flexible with where and how you use it. Its optics let you put it wherever is convenient and still enjoy a killer picture while its brightness and iris make it possible to enjoy content in pitch-black and bright rooms alike. If you can afford it, the XR10 makes an ideal midway point between the more consumer-focused projectors from Xgimi and JMGO and the more professional models like the Epson LS12000 or Sony Bravia Projector series.

We live in an era of sequels. But until Dolby announced a follow-up version of Dolby Vision, I didn’t expect to experience a sequel to an HDR format, of all things.

Several months after the announcement of the new format, Dolby Vision 2 is finally making its way to TVs all over the world. Dolby Vision 2 is arriving on select Hisense models first and will soon expand to additional sets.

If you’re a picture purist, an A/V aficionado, or an all-around home theater enthusiast, you’re probably champing at the bit to peep this premium HDR format. Before we dive into whether or not Dolby Vision 2 is worth seeking out, let’s start with the list of Dolby Vision 2-supporting TVs.

Which TVs have Dolby Vision 2?

As mentioned, the newest version of Dolby Vision is being welcomed into the world by way of Hisense. Right now, Dolby Vision 2 is rolling out in a firmware update to the following TVs:

• Hisense UX
• Hisense UR9
• Hisense UR8
• Hisense U7/U7 Pro

The first Hisense TVs to receive the update are models built around the Google TV or VIDAA OS smart platform. According to Dolby Laboratories, the initial rollout will expand in the coming weeks.

We’ve already tested and reviewed the Hisense UR9 (the brand’s top RGB LED flagship for 2026), and we’re in the process of evaluating the UR8 and the Hisense U7 (dubbed the U7SG here in the states).

Of these models, the Hisense U7SG represents the most-affordable way to secure Dolby Vision 2 support right now. It’s a mid-range Mini-LED TV that gets exceptionally bright and colorful during HDR content, but how well it showcases Dolby Vision 2 content remains to be seen.

Dolby claims that regular, garden-variety Dolby Vision content will look better on TVs equipped with Dolby Vision 2. But, of course, this raises a key question about the nascent feature.

Is Dolby Vision 2 worth having?

Like its predecessor, Dolby Vision 2 leverages dynamic metadata embedded in content to present the picture in a carefully controlled manner. In simple terms, Dolby Vision 2 (and the OG Dolby Vision) work to ensure that whatever you're watching gets as close as possible to matching the creator's intent.

How close it gets comes down to the overall performance of your display. Some TVs get brighter and more colorful than others, and as you can imagine, those TVs make better use of Dolby Vision (and HDR in general). Likewise, many affordable TVs offer Dolby Vision support, but due to their performance limitations, Dolby Vision-enhanced content looks worse than standard HDR content does on a better-performing set.

With all of that being said, let’s consider the newest format. Both Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max (the top-tier version) offer up new features for filmmakers to tinker with. These include Authentic Motion (which allows creators to control motion smoothing on a shot-by-shot basis) and Light Sense 2 (which dynamically adjusts the picture’s brightness based on ambient lighting conditions).

But the newest format’s bread and butter is the flexibility it gives to creators whose content will be screened on the TVs of tomorrow. It’s reportedly been developed for displays that reach up to 10,000 nits of brightness — far higher than anything I’ve personally measured on a consumer-facing, HDR-capable TV.

As TVs evolve, Dolby Vision 2 will be here to take advantage of their performance.

Just as we have to wait for the TVs of tomorrow to see what Dolby Vision 2 is fully capable of, we also need to wait for the content to start flowing. According to Dolby Laboratories, several streaming platforms have already committed to platforming Dolby Vision 2-enabled content, including Peacock and Canal+. But right now, there’s not much to see.

So, what are you missing out on if your TV doesn’t support Dolby Vision 2? Not much. Today, Dolby Vision 2-viewers might notice a slight improvement to the presentation of movies and shows mastered for the original Dolby Vision format, but we’ll have to wait for proper Dolby Vision 2-enhanced content to truly familiarize ourselves with the newest members of the Dolby Vision family.

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In college, two things were especially important to me: being thrifty with my spending and curating a living space that reflected my personality.

Back then, I dragged a bulky, 50-pound CRT TV from one dorm room to another. I didn’t care that it wasn’t a very good TV; it was cheap, so it allowed me to spend money on… other stuff.

But if I was entering the college scene in 2026, I’d have way more cheap TVs to pick from — and cooler-looking ones, at that. The Hisense Déco S5 TV is a prime example of a set that college-me would’ve sprung for. It features an Art Deco-inspired design and looks like nothing else on the market. Right now, the 43-inch Hisense Deco TV is just $279 at Amazon. Here's why I wish I could send it back in time to the younger version of myself.

The world of TVs is full of gray-and-black-colored rectangles. The Deco TV is different.

This TV trades the straight lines and glowering demeanor of a standard-looking TV for a bubbly, cherubic design. It's also white, which doesn't seem like a significant detail until you realize just how breezy the light-colored chassis looks compared to the black-box style of boring ol' TVs.

The Deco TV's design will fashionably stand out in a room with contrasting décor, like warm wood tones and vintage furniture. But it'll also fit right into a colorful, neon-lit dorm room.

Its performance won't be as impressive as what you'll find on higher-end TVs, but for the price, the Deco TV comes with some features that are nice to have in your back pocket. Quantum-dot color isn't exactly standard at the sub-$300 price point, for instance, so I appreciate that the Deco TV leverages a QLED display.

It supports Dolby Vision (one of the most popular HDR formats), but I suspect that the Deco TV's HDR performance isn't very impressive, given the modest nature of its hardware. Nevertheless, I appreciate Dolby Vision's inclusion.

Another perk is the Deco TV's built-in, Fire TV streaming software. Amazon's smart platform isn't my preferred pick for streaming movies and shows, but it'll get the job done if you'd prefer not to clutter up your dorm or studio apartment with a dedicated streaming device.

If you're heading to college and you're hoping to find a cheap, reliable TV, you may as well choose one that'll turn heads and spark conversation. At just $279, you'll have plenty of cash leftover for responsible school supplies intended for educational purposes.

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For the past few weeks we've been putting TV manufacturers' feet to the fire. We're holding them accountable by grading them in key categories like design, performance, features and pricing — and now we're asking our readers to get involved.

We recently asked readers which brand they trusted most and one company was the clear winner. Now we're coming to you all directly with a short survey that will help us figure out what you love and hate about the six biggest TV makers: Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL and Vizio.

Fill it out at your leisure and let me know in the comments what your biggest gripes are.

Here's how I'd answer

Testing TVs for a living has left me with an embarrassing amount of screens in my home. In my home office I've got a 75-inch TCL QM9K. Downstairs in my living room is a Samsung S95D OLED. In my music listening room I've got the Hisense U8N.

In the above survey, I'd mark all three down.

How long have I owned those TVs? Not all that long.

The first TV I ever owned was a massive CRT model that I used to play N64 and PS1 games on growing up. My parents bought that TV for me and my brother in 1996 and I was still rocking it to play Halo 2 a decade later.

These days, however, I'm trading out TVs every two to three years. That's probably a bit excessive, honestly, but as someone who covers this stuff, I want to make sure that I have access to all the latest and greatest technology to provide the best analysis to you guys.

Would I buy these TVs again? I absolutely would. They're all great value options. Not everyone probably feels the same as I feel, though. For some of you I'm sure the answer is going to be a resounding no. If that's you, drop a comment below letting me know why that is.

If the answer is yes, also drop a comment below letting me know why you like your TV so much. By doing so, you could be directly helping someone find their new favorite TV.

Stay tuned for the results of these surveys and check out our guide to the best TV brands in 2026 if you haven't done so already. You'll be seeing the results used in more stories in the coming weeks as we continue to break down what's working — and what's not working — in the world of TVs.

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As Senior TV Editor, I see nearly every TV release year after year. It’s a special opportunity to share a ton of helpful context with folks shopping for a new TV, but it also means that I’m liable to lose sight of how the average person feels about the state of the industry.

This is why, for the last several weeks, we’ve been asking you — the readers — which major TV brand you consider to be the most trustworthy.

Between Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL and Vizio, one brand proved more trustworthy than the rest — and it wasn’t particularly close. Sony, makers of some of the best TVs you can buy, rose above the competition. Here’s how the rest of the pack stacked up.

Trusted TV brands: Full results

In just over two weeks, our poll compiled just over 3,200 votes. Here's a breakdown of the results at the time of publishing:

Among our readers, Sony-branded QLEDs, OLEDs and True RGB TVs are the most trusted. LG and Samsung are closely positioned in second and third place, while TCL, Hisense and Vizio received far fewer votes overall.

It's an interesting time to analyze these results. We recently conducted a week-long exercise in which we doled out report cards to these brands, grading each on performance, features, price and more. Sony received our highest grade for performance (A). However, Sony was also the recipient of the lowest grade we handed out for price (C-).

Our reasoning for these grades is simple: Sony's superb engineering and unparalleled picture processing amount to some of the best performance money can buy. Unfortunately, the cost of this consistency is often passed down to the viewer, as Sony TVs tend to be priced higher than rival TVs.

Sony TVs in 2026 and beyond

If Sony's 2026 Bravia TV lineup is any indication, the company is perfectly comfortable assuming the role of a trusted premium TV-maker — even if its mid-range and luxury models are priced higher than the competition.

Interestingly, our poll proves that viewers and TV-shoppers aren't necessarily fazed by this arrangement. Among our readers, Sony is more trustworthy than LG and Samsung (brands that specialize in high-end performance) and far more trustworthy than TCL and Hisense (brands commonly associated with value-forward, budget-friendly models).

Recently, Sony spun out its TV business, with rival brand TCL taking on a 51% stake in the operation. It's tough to say how this might affect Sony TVs, TCL TVs and the reputation of both brands.

We'll be continuing to run the poll, so if you haven't responded to our poll about TV-brand trustworthiness, we want to hear from you: Your input could help shape how these companies will build, tune, and market these TVs in 2027 and beyond.

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This week, we handed out report cards to the biggest brands in the TV industry: Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL and Vizio.

The goal was simple: grade each TV-maker on pricing, design, features and performance. We also took a hard look at each of these brands' software.

Now that these familiar names have received their respective report cards, it's time to meet them in the classroom for a conference about how they're doing this year. If you're shopping for the best TV in 2026, this ought to give you a pretty clear picture about how to spend your money.

Pricing

Of the six names in the mix, Hisense, TCL and Vizio led the class in the all-important pricing category. If you’ve shopped for a TV lately, this probably won’t come as a surprise.

Vizio has focused almost entirely on ultra-affordable TVs in recent years. While the rest of the big-name brands tinker with high-end, cutting-edge technologies like RGB LED and QD-OLED, Vizio is focused on more cost-effective hardware.

Meanwhile, the most-popular entry-level sets in Hisense and TCL’s primary lineups tend to be more affordable than those of LG, Samsung and Sony. In addition, it’s often the case that, when comparing similarly priced models, Hisense and TCL TVs offer a bit more bang for your buck when it comes to features.

Winner: Tie (Hisense, TCL and Vizio)

Design

When it comes to design, Samsung and Sony lead the way. Sony’s top TVs often arrive with multiple stand configurations, and its most recent True RGB TVs feature a unique stand design that effectively hides cables by way of lenticular lensing.

Samsung consistently innovates at the higher end of its lineup, too, popularizing matte-style screens, external connectivity hubs and, most recently, eye-catching metallic frames. Affordable, entry-level Samsung QLEDs lean into the simplistic nature of their display hardware, often arriving with sleek, slim panels that play the part of a more-premium set.

LG’s most noteworthy TVs — its OLEDs — are handsomely engineered, too, but the worldwide leader in OLED TVs doesn’t seem too eager to move away from tried and true formulas.

TCL and Hisense are purveyors of TVs with safe, middle-of-the-road designs that don’t innovate as much as they respond to (and replicate) industry trends. Their higher-end TVs tend to carry their best design characteristics.

Winner: Tie (Samsung and Sony)

Features

Years ago, LG was among the first TV-makers to outfit its TVs with a full slate of HDMI 2.1 inputs. This aggressive approach to supplemental features has carried all the way into 2026, where the company narrowly leads TCL and Samsung when it comes to gaming- and streaming-related enhancements.

Although Samsung’s top-shelf TVs are jam-packed with extras, there are plenty of people shopping in this higher price tier expecting the full package. Without Dolby Vision support, LG’s top TVs are the most feature-complete.

Sony is the last of these brands to embrace full HDMI 2.1 support. Fortunately, that seems to be the new standard for the brand as the company looks to leverage newer chipsets in 2026 and beyond.

This year, Hisense and TCL are similar in how they approach feature availability across their respective lineups, but for the last couple of years, Hisense has traded a fourth HDMI input for a USB-C DisplayPort on its higher-end models — a move that might disappoint home theater enthusiasts looking to plug in every single one of their HDMI-equipped devices.

Being the brand most concerned with affordability above all else, it’s no surprise that Vizio is the brand least concerned with premium features.

Winner: LG

Performance

Although TCL and Hisense make exceptional TVs, LG, Samsung and Sony are the brands to consider if you’re looking for top-tier, best-in-the-business performance.

Of the six brands we graded, LG, Samsung and Sony are the only three that make OLED TVs. Despite the rapid ascension of RGB LED technology, OLED remains the best all-around option (provided you don’t need super-high full-field brightness to overcome a sun-soaked room). And, of the graded brands releasing RGB LED TVs in 2026, Samsung and Sony have impressed me the most with the Samsung R95H and Sony Bravia 9 II.

These brands also deliver better picture processing than Hisense, TCL and Vizio. On the whole, Sony TVs feature better processing than any other brand, but LG and Samsung aren’t far behind.

At the mid-range and entry level, ranking the brands’ performance isn’t as cut and dry. Hisense and TCL have fortified their position as the best bang-for-your-buck brands in these price tiers because they typically offer brighter pictures with better contrast control. In many cases, you could spend the same amount of money on an entry-level or mid-range LED TV from LG, Samsung or Sony and walk away with a less-impressive picture.

Vizio is… Well, Vizio. The Walmart-owned brand doesn’t make high-end flagships anymore, and the rest of its TVs are affordably made models engineered primarily to generate ad revenue by way of its web-based software. There’s nothing wrong with buying a Vizio TV as long as you’re shopping for affordability instead of sheer picture prowess.

Winner: Sony

Smart TV platform

Hisense, TCL and Sony offer the smoothest streaming experiences thanks to their built-in Google TV smart platform. It’s my second-favorite choice behind the Roku operating system on account of its relatively straightforward interface and vast library of downloadable apps.

LG and Samsung fall to a lower tier, primarily because their respective software suites aren’t as easy to navigate. Both LG’s webOS and Samsung’s Smart Hub also come with a unique set of annoyances, like unnecessary AI features and auto-playing content.

Vizio is to be avoided if you’re hoping to avoid buying an external streaming device, as its proprietary software lags behind the five other brands. The interface is inundated with more ads than its competitors (including auto-playing commercials) and its app selection is limited.

Winner: Hisense, TCL and Sony

Overall Brand Grades

So, you’re shopping for a TV this year and you want to put all of this information to proper use. Allow me to simplify things.

If you’re looking to splash out on a top-performing TV with an emphasis on design and features, LG and Samsung ought to be at the top of your list of options. At the highest price tier, Sony’s TVs offer similarly excellent performance and design, but some of these models don’t offer as many gaming-related features despite their steep cost.

If you’re looking for a mid-range TV in the Goldilocks Zone between affordability and high performance, consider Hisense and TCL. These two brands are especially suited for mid-range TV-shoppers on the hunt for the brightest possible picture, since Hisense and TCL specialize in budget-friendly Mini-LED TVs that don’t skimp on display hardware. (For what it’s worth, Hisense and TCL flagship models are usually quite good — just not as impressive as flagships from LG, Samsung and Sony.)

If you’re looking to spend as little as possible, I strongly recommend shopping for something from Hisense or TCL over anything from Insignia, Pioneer or Onn. I also recommend Hisense and TCL over Vizio, unless you’re comfortable with Vizio’s ad-heavy software experience.

Next year, we’ll grade all of these brands again. That means there’s plenty of time for them to study up.

Choosing a TV means choosing a TV brand — the very brand you’ll be locked into a relationship with for the next several years. Specific screens may dazzle you in a store aisle, but it’s important to remember that the experience of living with a TV amounts to more than just picture quality.

With this in mind, we’re playing the role of administrator and doling out report cards to major TV brands this week. We’ve already given grades to LG, Sony and TCL, but today, we’re evaluating the Hisense TV experience in 2026.

This year, like most of the biggest names in the TV business, Hisense is making a case for RGB LED technology along with a series of quantum dot-equipped Mini-LED TVs ranging from budget-friendly to mid-range.

Pricing

In recent years, Hisense has occupied a similar position in the marketplace as TCL, in that both brands aim to deliver competitive performance at lower price points than brands like Sony, Samsung and LG.

In fact, Hisense is a big reason why Mini-LEDs went from being a high-end luxury just a few years ago to somewhat of a standardized feature among entry-level TVs in 2026.

Simply put, Hisense has been aggressive in its expansion of affordable Mini-LED TVs, which put pressure on companies like Samsung and TCL to do the same.

Hisense’s most-recent main lineup follows this familiar formula. Its entry-level model — the U6SF — is currently priced at just $499 for a 55-inch model. The U65F comes with Mini-LEDs and full-array local dimming. In order to get a similar deal from Samsung, you’ll have to settle for the M70H, a TV without local dimming.

Moving up through the lineup reveals even more competitively priced sets with premium hardware. The spec sheet of the Hisense U7SG Mini-LED TV is comparable to the brand’s previous flagship TV (the U8), but you can get a 65-inch U7SG for $649 — far lower than the price of a Samsung QN70H.

And, while the brand’s first-ever flagship RGB LED TV made its debut at a sky-high $3,499 for a 65-inch model, it has since assumed the much-lower MSRP of $2,199. Of all the flagship-level RGB LED TVs on shelves this year, the UR9 is currently the most affordable.

Almost without fail, the best aspect of any given Hisense TV is its price relative to the competition. This makes them an attractive option for deal-hunters who nevertheless want a little oomph when it comes to performance.

Grade: A-

Design

Hisense TVs are not as sleek and seamless as most Samsung TVs. They’re often heavier than their competitors, with big, beefy panels that bulge out with subwoofers and right-angled corners.

The overall vibe I get from the design of mainline Hisense TVs is one of carefully cut corners — as if most of the cost was seemingly put towards the underlying display hardware rather than the outer shell.

The tradeoff isn’t a bad one. After all, I’d rather the bulk of my money go towards picture quality, especially when shopping in the entry-level or mid-range tier.

However, if you’re the sort of person who wants a big, pricey expense to assume the appearance of a luxury purchase, the heavy, industrial-adjacent look and feel of a Hisense TV might not be as soothing as the smooth, svelte appearance of an LG or Samsung TV.

Grade: B-

Features

In addition to their regularly low prices relative to rival sets, one of the reasons I routinely recommend Hisense TVs is their reliably thorough list of features.

Mainline Hisense TVs almost always arrive with Dolby Vision and HDR10+. LG and Samsung offer only one or the other.

Just as Hisense put pressure on the competition to expand Mini-LED across a lower price range, the brand has also been aggressive in their inclusion of HDMI 2.1 compatibility on lower-end TVs. This means that if you want an affordable, entry-level TV in the Hisense U6SF, you don’t have to sacrifice the inclusion of HDMI 2.1.

Unfortunately, over the last two years, Hisense has replaced one of the HDMI inputs on its flagship model (the U8QG and the UR9) with a USB-C DisplayPort. It’s an interesting move, but not one I’ve heard too much positive feedback about, even among home theater enthusiasts.

Grade: B

Performance

Hisense has perfected the art of capturing excellent on-paper test results from TV-reviewers like myself, as their TVs consistently demonstrate impressive benchmarks in areas of performance like brightness and color. In fact, Hisense TVs routinely pump out higher brightness numbers than what is listed in the marketing materials.

But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. Just as I’m regularly impressed by the high brightness levels and color gamut coverage of an aggressively priced Hisense TV, I’m regularly on the fence about that same TV’s overall presentation.

When it comes to the little things — upscaling, motion handling, color gradients, and HDR EOTF tracking — Hisense TVs often lag behind comparable sets from LG, Samsung and Sony. The result is a picture that sometimes looks a little fuzzy relative to rival sets.

To be clear, I do believe that Hisense has improved its picture processing in recent years and I hope that this trend continues. Additionally, there’s no denying the fact that TVs like the U6SF, the U7SG and the flagship-level UR9 are among the brightest in their respective classes, and that sort of horsepower goes a long way in a sunny viewing environment.

In 2026, buying a Hisense TV is like taking a savvy shortcut to pretty-great performance. You’ll still arrive at the desired destination of bright, colorful picture quality, but by skipping the scenic route, you’ll miss out on some of the finer things in life.

Grade: B-

Smart TV platform

Nearly all of the mainline Hisense TVs in 2026 are built around the Google TV smart platform. A handful of lower-end models leverage Amazon’s Fire TV smart platform.

The Hisense U6SF and U6SF Pro arrive with Fire TV right out of the box. Amazon’s streaming platform has seen some improvements in 2026, but to be honest, I wouldn’t rely on Fire TV as a daily driver unless I was an avid Alexa user. Fortunately, the rest of Hisense’s main TV lineup is all about Google.

Google TV isn’t my first choice for streaming software (that honor goes to Roku), but I’d rather use Google TV than Samsung’s Smart Hub or LG’s webOS. It offers a much more straightforward navigational experience, and while it’s plastered with sponsored content, Google TV is much more user-friendly than the cluttered, AI-infused landscapes of Samsung and LG TVs.

Grade: B+

Overall grade: B

In 2026, Hisense TVs represent one of the best ways to maximize your dollar. Its entry-level sets are brighter than just about every other similarly priced option, and its higher-end TVs tend to deliver competitive performance specs for less than the cost of rival flagships.

The catch — if you feel comfortable calling it a catch — is that Hisense TVs often lack the finesse of pricier models from The Big Three (LG, Samsung and Sony). Its picture processing capabilities aren’t nearly as impressive, and the design of its TVs seems more about accommodating hardware rather than harmonizing with it.

For my money, the Hisense TV to buy in 2026 is the U7SG Mini-LED TV. We're still in the process of evaluating this model, but because it sits right in the middle of Hisense's lineup this year, the design- and performance-related shortcomings I've come to expect from Hisense TVs don't weigh as heavily on the experience.

If you set aside their screens, TVs are kind of boring. Most of the time, you know what to expect: gray-and-black panels attached to a pair of pointy-shaped feet. That’s been the design standard since I started testing TVs over a decade ago.

This formulaic approach is exactly why I’m intrigued to see a brand like Hisense crumpling up the predictable playbook for its newest TV. It’s an affordable, offbeat QLED dubbed the Hisense Deco TV (or Déco, to be precise).

In a sea of garden-variety, gray-colored rectangles on sale at Amazon during Prime Day, this breezy, artful little number caught my eye. It’s precisely the sort of TV I can see people placing in a dorm, a cozy studio apartment or a colorful, neon-soaked bedroom. Even more intriguing is its price: Right now, the 43-inch Hisense Deco TV is just $299 at Amazon for Prime Day.

• shop all Prime Day deals at Amazon

The Deco TV's design is destined to garner double-takes. In an era of straight lines and shrinking bezels, its round, cherub-like visage is the Bouba to the modern TV's Kiki.

Sure, some folks might not be too keen on the Deco TV's bubbly personality. But, to these jaded, TV-testing eyes, I see a TV that might exist in the retro-futuristic dwellings of Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

In a room with contrasting décor — warm wood tones, vintage furniture and such — the Deco TV takes on a form that fashion-forward folks might call a statement piece. In a colorful, neon-lit bedroom with a baddie-style aesthetic, it fits right in.

As a TV-tester and all-around picture purist, I've got to hit you with some facts. For one thing, I've not seen the recently released, 43-inch Deco TV up close, so I can't speak to its performance.

The Deco TV sports a 43-inch QLED display, so I assume that its colors are bit punchier than what you'd get on any number of ultra-cheap, $200 TVs that don't look like they belong in the living room of Joaquin Phoenix's character from the movie "Her."

It supports Dolby Vision (one of the most popular enhanced HDR formats), but I suspect that the Deco TV's HDR support isn't much to write home about, given its modest display technology. File that feature — as well as the Deco TV's Dolby Atmos support — under the "just nice to have" column.

Another perk is the Deco's built-in, Fire TV-based streaming software. While Amazon's software suite isn't my top choice for streaming movies and shows, it's a pleasant-enough backdrop for your quirky, goofball-of-a-TV.

The bottom line? I wouldn't go into the Deco TV experience expecting to be blown away by its picture quality, but it's got smart features, looks like nothing else on the market and doesn't cost much. If you're committed to buying a super-cheap TV, you may as well get an adorable one that catches people's eye.

Let me know what you think. Is the Deco TV a stylish screen or a design disaster?

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We live in the era of the lifestyle TV. These thoughtfully designed TVs are meant to look like a portrait, complete with a frame around the screen and, in most cases, a matte-style screen, which adds an oil painting-like texture to the pictures on display.

Brands have seen great success selling these artful TVs, with Samsung's version (dubbed The Frame) leading the pack in popularity. Unfortunately, their elevated design tends to be priced at a premium. That's why I'm laser-focused on Amazon Prime Day lifestyle TV deals — it's a great opportunity for our readers to save on such premiums.

And, if you're fast enough, you can swing a killer deal on Hisense's frame-forward lifestyle TV before Prime Day officially starts. Right now, you can get a 50-inch Hisense S7 Canvas TV for just $749 at Amazon — a full 42% off its usual price.

Its 50-inch screen is rather modest, but folks with smaller living spaces will appreciate the versatility of its size. As mentioned, the S7 Canvas TV is adorned with a replaceable, Teak-style frame, which allows it to nestle into a wall full of paintings or photographs.

Another feature that will help the Canvas TV find a home among your artwork is the wall-mounting hardware that Hisense has included in the box. Because of how the Canvas TV and its mount are designed, there's no gap between the TV and the wall.

The S7 Canvas TV may be designed for style points above all else, but it still comes stocked with plenty of features: It's built around the Google TV smart platform (one of my preferred streaming platforms), so you're covered if you don't want to plug an extra device into your portrait-like TV. It also supports Dolby Vision, a popular, enhanced HDR format found across streaming platforms.

If you're the type of person who values the aesthetic qualities of a TV over fancy features and eye-popping performance, the S7 might be your cup of tea. I suspect it'll be a high-selling TV once Prime Day officially kicks off, so getting ahead of the crowd could be a wise move.

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• 9 early Prime Day deals on Hisense TVs — starting at just $99
• Just got a Hisense TV? Change these 5 settings before you start watching

As a former real homes writer, I’ve spent a fair share of my career nosing around other people’s houses. It was a dream job, even if it did leave me with a permanent case of house envy. So, when Hisense invited me to tour its fully kitted-out show apartment in London, I jumped at the chance to have a snoop.

While I was there to check out the new kitchen line, I also sat down with Matthew Glynn, Hisense’s Senior GTM Product and Marketing Manager in the U.K. What I discovered is a company working tirelessly to shed its “budget” reputation and prove it can compete with the industry’s heavy hitters.

Challenging the TV brand perception

Mention ‘Hisense’ to most people, and televisions probably come to mind. As a home writer, I was already aware that the company offered more than just some of the best TVs, but I positioned them in my own mind as an affordable mid-market brand when it came to appliances.

My TG colleagues, however, weren’t so familiar with the company’s kitchen and laundry offerings; they still described them as “a dependable brand” with “reasonable price points” but assumed their home appliances would lack high-end features.

Glynn was quick to correct that perception. In reality, refrigeration is the “bread and butter” of the business, and the company’s global split between TVs and major domestic appliances is nearly 50/50. But televisions and refrigeration are not the brand’s biggest growth sectors.

“The biggest growth areas are currently the cooking and laundry sectors,” Glynn noted, though he acknowledged these are growing from a smaller base than their established fridge business.

The 'Choose Smarter' strategy

In 2023, Hisense launched the ‘Choose Smarter’ campaign in the U.K. to reposition itself. The goal is to move away from the “cheap” label and toward a premium perception.

Hisense describes the campaign as “designed to highlight the brand’s combination of premium technology and accessibility across its TV and home appliances range.”

Glynn, a former employee of rival brand Shark/Ninja, knows the U.K. is still playing catch-up with the U.S. in terms of brand recognition, but the ambition is clear.

“We want to push ourselves against the likes of Bosch,” says Glynn. The strategy isn’t just about price; it’s about adding value to the product. “If you compared us with a competitor, we should have significantly more features and benefits — but they need to be relevant to the consumer.”

I got hands-on with the premium features

Walking through the showroom apartment, I saw exactly what Glynn meant by “relevant features”. For instance, as food and energy costs rise, the focus has shifted to preservation and refrigeration efficiency to prevent food waste. Here are some of the developments that Hisense was able to demo to me:

Refrigeration

Hisense's Hi3 built-in fridge/freezer features Metal-Tech Cooling, using a stainless steel back wall to radiate cold air more effectively than plastic interiors. It also features a humidity control.

Cooking

The Hi6 induction cooktop features AreaFlex, allowing two zones to merge for large griddles. I was particularly hooked on the sliding-scale power control — a much smoother experience than tapping the +/- buttons.

I was surprised to see a steam function in the Hi8 Multisystem oven and air-fry capabilities — features usually reserved for high-end brands like Smeg.

Dishwashing

Hisense's A-rated dishwasher fits a massive 16 place settings (about 170 items), meaning fewer cycles and lower bills. It even includes a dedicated water bottle holder — a small but genius fix for anyone who struggles to clean gym bottles, and definitely an increasing trend in dishwasher features.

Laundry

In the laundry room, I looked at the 5i Autodose Washer Dryer. As someone currently looking to consolidate two machines into a 2-in-1, the Autodose feature stood out; it dispenses the exact amount of detergent needed based on weight, preventing waste.

Consumer purchasing behavior

Glynn has noticed that consumers are doing a lot more “due diligence” before making a purchase and are confused about energy ratings.

He admits there is still a “green gap” for consumers to bridge, adding, “How much energy can you actually save, and how much do you have to pay out for the privilege [of a higher rating]?”

Final thoughts

Apart from introducing more premium touchpoints to its appliances and Wi-Fi connectivity via its ConnectLife app, Hisense also introduced me to its KitchenFit range.

The appliances are designed to sit flush with countertops without the annoyance of a washing machine door jutting out or a handle getting in the way. The range also eliminates the cost of integrated cabinetry, achieving a sleek kitchen look.

Hisense is addressing consumer needs and incorporating premium flourishes into its appliances, whilst keeping its prices on par with — or lower than — rival brands. That could be through energy-saving measures or extra features, such as air-fry and steam functions in ovens.

It's a trend we've seen in other areas from Chinese brands — like BYD pushing premium features into lower-cost cars or Oppo doing the same with phones.

Hisense has become a staple of the TV market and is gaining ground alongside Sony or LG. I could see these appliances doing much the same thing for established and premium home appliance brands like Bosch or Smeg.

For those of us who want the smart home look without suffering the luxury price tag, Hisense seems poised to not just offer one of the best TVs, but move into the rest of the house, too.

More from Tom's Guide

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• What does it mean for a fridge to have AI? I tried one for 3 months to find out
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been fielding a flurry of requests for TV-buying advice ahead of the biggest event in sports: the FIFA World Cup. It would seem as though footy fans from all around the globe are using the competition as an excuse to kick their old, out-of-date TVs to the curb.

The vast majority of people I’ve spoken to are trying to save as much money as they can on a new set, and I don’t blame them. Everything is expensive right now, and if the TV you’re looking to replace is old enough, you don’t need to shell out thousands of dollars in order to get an impressive-looking upgrade.

The 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $599 at Best Buy right now, and it meets my criteria for a World Cup upgrade. It’s big, bright and remarkably affordable.

The U65QF sets itself apart from other ultra-affordable, big-screen TVs with one key feature: Mini-LED backlighting.

Sure, you’re not getting the sort of eye-popping performance of a flagship-level Mini-LED TV, but at the U65QF’s price point, it’s not easy to find Mini-LED backlighting at all.

So while you won’t be basking in the glow of a multi-thousand-dollar TV, you’re getting better brightness and contrast control with the U65QF than what you’re likely to find on an edge-lit, 75-inch TV.

Trust me: If you’re going to go as big as 75 inches, the last thing you want is a chintzy, edge-lit panel. The U65QF’s modest array of Mini-LEDs will illuminate the pitch better than those bottom-of-the-barrel sets.

According to our test results (which you can peruse in our Hisense U65QF review), this is the brightest TV in its class. No other entry-level Mini-LED TV we’ve tested in the last year comes close to the U65QF’s punchy performance.

Look, I’ve got to be real with you: I don’t yet know where all of these World Cup games are going to be shown. But I do know that you’ll be able to watch most of them on the U65QF. This TV is built around the Fire TV smart platform, and while it’s not my top pick for streaming, it still supports YouTube TV, Fubo, Tubi or whatever app is piping-in all of the action.

The World Cup just happens to arrive at an already-awesome time to save a bunch of money on a TV, as sets like the U65QF are crashing in price as newer models hit the market.

This TV’s original price was $1,299. Today, it’s $599. If you want a big, bright screen ahead of the World Cup and don’t want to feel it financially for the rest of the year, I can’t think of a better option.

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• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

I love cheap TVs. No, really — I do.

As fun as it is to bask in the glory of a detail-rich, OLED-driven picture, or to park myself in front of the bright, borderline-psychedelic colors blasting out of an RGB LED TV, the best budget TVs offer tremendous performance. Regardless of whether you’re a sports fan, binge-watcher or competitive gamer, upgrading your leisure time without breaking the bank can be a massive win.

Unfortunately, at any given time, there are only a handful of models under the $500 mark that I feel super confident in recommending. The good news, though, is that cheap TVs have arguably never been better than they are right now. You just need to know how to shop for one.

1. Hisense U65QF

Recently, a pub-owner and dear friend of mine asked me for help buying a TV ahead of the 2026 World Cup. They didn’t want to spend too much, but they needed a bright-enough screen for the set to sit outside (weather permitting). The Hisense U65QF was my first pick.

Now, my bar-owning friend was in the market for something big — like 75 or 85 inches. It’ll come as no surprise that these sizes are above $500. But the 55-inch version clocks in at a cool $399, and it’s well worth a look.

You can get the full picture on this TV by checking out our Hisense U65QF review, but here's the most important bit to know: The U65QF offers better brightness than just almost everything in this price bracket.

This is in large part because the U65QF features Mini-LED backlighting. These super-small LEDs typically allow for better overall contrast than what you'll see on garden-variety, edge-lit LED TVs (which are quite prevalent at the sub-$500 price point).

Being the brightest TV in its class means that the U65QF is a great choice for people who watch a ton of TV during the day as well as folks with well-lit living spaces. According to our test results, the U65QF is also very accurate right out of the box in Filmmaker mode, which means eagle-eyed viewers don't need to worry about grossly inaccurate color.

Just a heads up: The U65QF comes with Amazon's Fire TV smart platform built right in. It's not my favorite software suite for streaming, but Amazon is rolling out updates for it this year that seek to improve its interface and overall performance. That said, if you're looking for a Google TV-equipped TV, take a look at my next pick.

2. TCL QM5K

The TCL QM5K is a Best Buy-exclusive model, so you won’t find it anywhere else. Like the U65QF, the QM5K is an entry-level Mini-LED TV. Unlike the Hisense's set, however, the QM5K is built around the Google TV smart platform, which is my second-favorite smart TV operating system behind Roku.

If all you’re looking for is an affordable smart TV that doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel, the QM5K is a good pick. The 55-inch version is about $50 more than the U65QF at the time of publishing, but you're still landing a Mini-LED TV for under $500.

Seeing as how the QM5K and U65QF are similar sets, I would recommend the TCL for people who want a smart platform with potentially less friction than the Fire TV experience. If brightness matters to you more than this, I recommend the Hisense.

(One more thing: I know it's technically above $500, but the 65-inch version of the TCL QM5K is just $549 at Best Buy if 55 inches isn't quite big enough for you.)

3. Roku Plus Series

The only 65-inch TV on this list isn't as bright as the Hisense U65QF, nor is it equipped with Google TV. That's OK with me, though, because the 65-inch Roku Plus Series is built around my all-time favorite smart platform.

In fact, I use an external Roku device as a daily driver on account of its straightforward interface and robust app support. The Roku Plus Series puts the entire Roku experience into the software of the TV itself — no box or stick required.

The Plus Series won't net you Mini-LED backlighting, but it does feature direct-LED backlighting with local dimming, which is the next-best option below Mini-LEDs. So it's got that goin' for it.

But the real star of the show is its software. I've been knee-deep in TV technology for over a decade, and Roku is my number-one pick for streaming. But I also feel comfortable recommending this TV to folks who typically find themselves annoyed at TVs on account of confusing software. Roku truly has that sort of crossover appeal.

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• Should you buy a new 2026 TV or save money on a 2025 model? Here's how to shop for a screen like an expert

Given the relatively recent rise of big-screen TVs, it doesn’t surprise me that I often field questions about how to shop for one without spending a ridiculous amount of money. Giant screens don’t just give people a taste of the movie theater experience at home, they’re also a great fixture for social gatherings centered around sports and shows.

There aren’t too many super- affordable, 85-inch TVs that I would earnestly recommend to people who want to avoid scraping the bottom of the barrel. But right now, the 85-inch Hisense U65QF is just $799 at Best Buy. It’s a $1,200 discount on a big-screen TV that’s actually worth buying.

In our full Hisense U65QF review, we commended this entry-level model for punching well above its weight when it comes to picture quality. The U65QF offers better brightness and backlight control than just about every 85-inch model in this price tier, and it's all thanks to its nifty display hardware.

Unlike most cheap 85-inch TVs, the U65QF leverages Mini-LED backlighting, which goes a long way towards maximizing this set's value. These ultra-small LEDs tend to result in better overall contrast (and higher brightness) than what you'll see on TVs that tap rudimentary, edge-lit screens.

The U65QF is also much, much brighter than most of the entry-level LED TVs we've tested in the last year. This makes it a viable choice for people who watch a ton of TV during the day in a sunny room.

This TV isn't lacking in features, either. If you're a casual or dedicated gamer, you'll appreciate that the U65QF supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs. This is the highest 4K spec for current-gen consoles, and even though there are only two high-bandwidth ports, that's more than you'll find on most entry-level LED TVs.

Unlike most of the mainline Hisense TVs, the U65QF is built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform rather than Google TV. Personally, I prefer the look and feel of Google TV, but this is a concession I am more than willing to make for an 85-inch model at this price point.

If you're in the market for a TV like this but 85 inches is too big for your living space, it's worth noting that the 65-inch Hisense U65QF is just $548 at Best Buy right now. It's not quite as eye-popping a deal as what's being offered on the 85-inch version, but it's worth a look if saving money is one of your top priorities.

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• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

The C6 OLED is LG's newest, mid-range OLED for 2026. It's the latest in a long line of popular, award-winning OLEDs that offer incredible picture quality and an array of extra features for less than the cost of a higher-end OLED TV.

The Hisense UR9 is the brand's first flagship-level RGB LED TV. It leverages an all-new type of TV technology known as RGB LED, the advantages of which are high brightness and better color volume than run-of-the-mill Mini-LED TVs.

One of them offers mid-range-level OLED performance while the other — Hisense's top-shelf TV for 2026 — promises bright, eye-popping color. Now's an especially interesting time to be deciding between these two TVs, as the Hisense UR9 was just heavily discounted almost immediately after making its debut. Here's how the C6 and UR9 compare — from performance to features and price.

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: specs compared

First, let's chat about the C6's size availability. In addition to the sizes listed above, the C6 is also available in 77- and 83-inch versions. However, these sizes are classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H. This means if you're considering a 77- or 83-inch C6, you'll technically have to spring for the C6H OLED.

While haven't tested the C6H in our labs yet, LG promises better performance on these sets as they're equipped with LG Display's newest, fanciest RGB Tandem OLED. The 42- to 65-inch versions of the C6, on the other hand, leverage a standard WOLED display. It's still a fantastic set of hardware, but it's worth knowing the difference between the two panel types.

The UR9, meanwhile, is currently only available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes. There's a gigantic, 100-inch version of the TV on its way soon, but at the time of publishing, this version isn't available to purchase yet.

Although all of the main ports on both the C6 and UR9 are of the high-bandwidth, HDMI 2.1 variety, the UR9 is limited to three HDMI inputs while the C6 carries the standard set of four. The UR9 makes up for this somewhat with an added USB-C port, but keep this in mind if you own several HDMI-compatible devices.

Both TVs support Dolby Vision, but like most Hisense TVs, the UR9 also supports the royalty-free format, HDR10+. Of the two, Dolby Vision is more widely available among streaming platforms and physical media.

Like all LG OLEDs, the C6 does not support ATSC 3.0 support. The UR9, on the other hand, does include this feature. It allows over-the-air broadcasts to be received in their native 4K resolution. Such ultra-high definition broadcasts are still relatively rare, but it's nevertheless a nice feature to have for future-proofing purposes.

Both TVs bring a lot to the table in terms of specs, so let's call this one a tie.

Winner: Tie

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: design

The C6 (seen above) features a similar design to its predecessor, the LG C5, but given its elegant look, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I especially dig the marble-like finish on the back of the TV.

The C6's downward-slanting, wedge-shaped stand attaches itself to the back of the panel in a sturdy fashion. Here's something important to keep in mind: The stand's shape keeps the C6's screen relatively close to whatever surface it's sitting on, so people with exceptionally tall soundbars should make sure in advance that it won't obstruct the screen.

Like many of LG's C Series OLED TVs that came before it, the C6's panel is among the thinnest you'll find on shelves. The TV's chassis widens out around the middle of the screen, but even with the added bulk, the TV is narrower than many of the slimmest Mini-LED TVs.

If the light, sleek-looking C6 practically floats into your home, the UR9 (seen above) may as well drop an anchor. It's not an overly thick TV, to be clear, but it has a heavier exterior. It's as though the UR9 is working overtime to contain the power within its panel.

It, too, sits atop a centered, pedestal-style stand, but the plate at its base is much more accommodating for soundbar placement than the C6's configuration. That convenience is the best thing I can highlight about the UR9's overall design, as I do find it to be utilitarian to a fault.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture modes when these tests were taken.)

The standout detail here is the gulf between the brightness of both sets. Even in garden-variety, non-HDR content (like cable TV or most streaming shows), the UR9 is wildly bright. For HDR content, this serves as a feather in the UR9's cap. For SDR content, you might its 2,000+ nits of brightness to be too much. Nevertheless, this makes the UR9 a more viable option for people with a sun-drenched living space.

The UR9 put up some of the best color volume-related test results I've ever seen. It covers around 93% of the BT.2020 color space, which is higher than even most quantum dot-enhanced OLED TVs.

This is an impressive figure, no doubt, but according to my colleague Dylan Haas (who recently reviewed the UR9), the punchy palette doesn't always quite translate to real-world content. With color volume being the bread and butter of an RGB LED TV, some might find this disappointing.

The C6 is significantly dimmer than the UR9, but it's got a serious trick up its sleeve: OLED display technology. OLEDs are capable of perfect black levels and pixel-level dimming, which has a hugely positive impact on picture quality. Its ability to produce perfect black levels means its contrast is through the roof.

Since specular highlights can be controlled with surgical precision, HDR highlights on the C6 tend to stand out more. 1,400 nits of highlight brightness is way less than the UR9's 3,400-nit benchmark, but the C6's perceptible contrast carries its picture further. This allows for a deeper, more-detail-rich presentation, too.

The C6's picture is better tuned out of the box, too. In Filmmaker mode, the Hisense UR9 manages to put up a Delta-E of below 3 (widely considered the threshold for color error perceptibility), but the C6 is incredibly accurate in LG's Filmmaker mode — more so than the UR9. That, combined with its top-notch contrast control, leads to a more refined presentation.

In a side-by-side comparison, you'll almost certainly clock the UR9's bolder, more-voluminous color. It will surely be the brighter of the two pictures, too. But contrast is the first thing our eyes notice when assessing an image, and Hisense's RGB LED TV still falls short of the C6 in the contrast department.

The C6, therefore, is the safer pick for A/V enthusiasts, home theater-builders and all-around picture purists. If you're looking for the brightest possible experience, however, it's hard to deny the UR9's sheer horsepower.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: smart platform and features

The C6 comes with the newest version of LG's webOS built right in. It's similar to last year's version of the software (webOS 25), but LG has tossed in some new, AI-based features on webOS 26. Unfortunately, my colleague Dylan Haas referred to them as "meaningless" if you don't already use AI-related features around the house, and I'm inclined to agree with Dylan.

Although webOS isn't my favorite (I find its interface to be cluttered and sluggish at times), I suspect that casual users won't mind bumping up against it from time to time. If you want to silo your streaming experience into a separate streaming device, you'll get no complaints from me; I recently decided to replace webOS with Roku and haven't looked back.

Good news for dedicated gamers: The C6 arrives with almost every gaming-related feature under the sun, including support for 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium. Support for these features runs across all four of the C6's HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs, so you won't have to juggle devices depending on your needs.

One of the C6's best gaming-related features is LG's Game Optimizer mode. This quick-menu puts all of your most-important settings in one place and automatically launches when you access the settings menu during gameplay.

The UR9 is built around the Google TV smart platform. All told, I prefer Google TV over LG's webOS, as its interface is easier to navigate and tends to be snappier. Along with Roku, Google TV is one of my top picks for streaming software.

As mentioned, the UR9 is limited to just three HDMI ports. They're all HDMI 2.1 compatible, thankfully, but people with several devices (more than one console, a streaming device and soundbar, for instance) might end up feeling restricted by the lack of a fourth.

Across those HDMI inputs, the UR9 supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 180Hz with a gaming PC linked up), as well as VRR and FreeSync Premium Pro. Hisense does offer a dedicated gaming settings menu like LG's Game Optimizer mode, but I don't find its contents to be quite as useful as what LG is cooking with.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: outlook

What we're left with is a better-designed TV in the C6 that offers a more refined picture with sensational, OLED-driven performance, more size options to choose from and an additional HDMI input.

The UR9 has a leg up on the C6 when it comes to overall brightness, which makes it more viable for bright-room viewing. That said, the C6 doesn't exactly wilt in a sunny room, so your living space would have to be pretty dang bright for me to recommend the C6 (and its OLED display) over the Hisense UR9.

But there's another critical factor to consider: price. Right now, you can spring for a 65-inch C6 for $2,699 on Amazon. The 55-inch LG C6 can be had for $1,999. These prices are certain to steadily drop throughout the year, but for now, it's tough to find the C6 on sale.

The UR9, on the other hand, just saw a massive price cut a mere week and a half after its initial launch. The 65-inch Hisense UR9 is just $1,999 at Best Buy right now after making its debut at $3,499. The 75-inch UR9 is $2,999 at Best Buy, but when it first hit shelves, it was priced all the way at $4,999.

The UR9 is a bright, capable TV, but Hisense's RGB Mini-LED technology can't quite eclipse the self-lit pixels of an OLED display. At the very least, its current sale price puts the UR9 further in line with its performance profile.

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• OLED is safe: I tested the Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV, and it's very good but falls short
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I’m no stranger to the concept of a good ol’ fashioned street price. In the TV business, new models often launch at a set price only to see some small- to medium-sized discounts shortly thereafter. In many cases, the original MSRP remains on the page, and for folks clicking around on Best Buy, Amazon or a brand’s online store, the red-colored savings indicator can be enticing.

Hisense isn’t a stranger to this, either — I’d wager that the majority of Hisense TV launches I’ve covered over the last decade have dabbled in the art (perhaps science?) of the street price. But I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening with the Hisense UR9, the brand’s highly-touted, first-ever RGB LED TV.

After just a week and a half on shelves with an MSRP of $3,499, the 65-inch Hisense UR9 is already on sale for just $1,999 at Best Buy. The $1,500 discount is bigger than any street price-related reset I’ve ever seen. Here’s what this situation tells us about the state of the RGB LED TV market.

The UR9 faces fierce competition

While keeping in mind that I'm not working off inside information, here's my read on the Hisense UR9's sudden, steep drop in price: No one's going to undercut Hisense.

Since their surge in the North American TV market about a decade ago, Hisense has been a TV brand associated with value. Hisense representatives will be the first to tell you this, too; I've heard them proudly reference their reputation for over-delivering on reported performance specs, very often at lower price points than their competitors.

But with the biggest names in the TV industry launching their own cutting-edge RGB LED TVs in 2026, this narrative was about to shift.

As you can see in the chart below, the 65-inch UR9 was sitting on shelves next to a 65-inch Micro RGB TV from Samsung with a heftier price tag — $300 worth of additional heft, to be precise. As the only two TV-makers currently offering 65-inch RGB LED TVs, Samsung was poised to be the value-conscious pick at this popular size point.

Additionally, at the 75-inch size point, the UR9 was a whole $500 more than the Samsung R95H. That doesn't seem much like the Hisense that I know, the brand that over-delivers at a lower price point than its rivals.

With these new sale prices in effect, the 65-inch UR9 is now $1,200 less than the 65-inch R95H. The 75-inch version is $1,500 to $2,000 less than the 75-inch R95H and the 75-inch LG MRGB95. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be? If you're Hisense, maybe.

Bear in mind that we're almost sure to see some sale pricing for LG and Samsung Micro RGB TVs in the coming months. TCL — whose sole RGB Mini-LED TV is only confirmed to exist in three sizes at 85 inches and above — will likely drop in price throughout the year, too.

And then there are the step-down RGB LED-based models from Hisense and Samsung: the UR8 and R85H. We've yet to test these sets, but I'm interested to see how they stack up against their flagship-level counterparts. It seems logical that the steep sale pricing on the UR9 could potentially have ripple effects on the UR8, too.

Should you buy the Hisense UR9?

If you're looking for bright, sizzling performance, a ton of features and the satisfaction that comes with getting in on the ground floor of a brand-new display technology, the Hisense UR9 is officially the most affordable way to do so. If you were on the fence about splashing out on this TV a week ago, this newly minted street price is bound to be tantalizing.

However, if you need some excuse — anything at all — to persuade you away from buying a flashy new TV right now, I can certainly help with that.

Are RGB LED TVs worth it? Well, having spent some time with a few of them, I can say that their performance ranges from "pretty good (if not a little disappointing)" to "excellent." And, for what it's worth, that level of "excellent" is closer to being on par with some of the best quantum dot-equipped Mini-LED TVs I've ever seen, so your mileage may vary on whether you think that justifies these prices.

In our full Hisense UR9 review, my colleague Dylan Haas remarked that, while the UR9 fared well in our tests, its color performance during real-world use didn't seem to meet the impressive nature of the numbers. In other words, a classic case of looks good on paper.

Its 3.5-star review isn't indicative of a bad TV, though, and the UR9's bright performance sounds best suited for bright-room viewing. Maybe, with its new sale price attached, the UR9 can find a groove as the most-affordable flagship RGB LED TV rather than a potentially tough sell.

More from Tom's Guide

• OLED is safe: I tested the Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV, and it's very good but falls short
• Samsung just made its 2026 Mini-LED TV lineup official, but one popular TV won’t be returning this year
• Samsung's new Micro RGB TV is finally here — but I'd rather buy this OLED instead

Update: After this review was originally published, Hisense reached out to Tom’s Guide, suspecting our original review unit was faulty, and sent us a replacement UR9 to retest. This article has been updated with our findings from the new unit, including revised brightness results and viewing impressions.

I want to start this review by saying that I really wanted to love Hisense’s latest addition to its lineup of RGB Mini-LED TVs, the UR9. I’m usually an OLED guy, but after hearing about the hype behind the UR9 — which is basically a more compact version of the Hisense 116UX that dazzled us at CES 2026 — I was excited to see how the brand’s RGB Mini-LED technology could be miniaturized in one of the best TVs of the year.

Unfortunately, after spending some time with the UR9, I walked away with mixed feelings. While the TV certainly excels in the brightness department, it ultimately falls short in a few key areas, including inconsistent color depth and balance, and just-okay gaming features.

There are some highlights that I think show promise for the future of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LEDs, but it might be best to hold off on buying a UR9 until later this year — or, if that feels too soon, until 2027 when the next iteration of RGB Mini-LED comes out.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Price and release date

The UR9 is the latest addition to Hisense’s 2026 lineup of RGB Mini-LED TVs. The UR9 is currently up for preorder, and was officially released on April 23.

Below is a breakdown of the available sizes and pricing (we reviewed the 65-inch model):

• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (65-inch): $3,499.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (75-inch): $4,999.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (85-inch): $5,999.99
• Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV (100-inch): $8,999.99

The UR9 is the only mid-budget model of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LED TVs that you can buy right now. The next step up would be its flagship model, the 116UX, which will run you anywhere from $19,999.99 to its original MSRP of $29,999.99, depending on sales and discounts. In other words, if you’re at all interested in trying out one of Hisense’s RGB Mini-LED TVs without having to take out a loan, the UR9 is going to be the most accessible option at this time.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Design

The UR9 is a bulky TV. It has thick bezels and feels heavy to move around, but the sturdiness you get in return may be a good tradeoff for you, depending on your preferences.

The TV still looks nice from a design standpoint, but it will definitely take up a lot more space compared to something like an LG C6 OLED or TCL QM8L Mini-LED TV. If you’re thinking of mounting it, I could see it being more of an eyesore just because of how much it’ll protrude from the wall.

I will say, I thought the setup of the Hisense UR9’s central pedestal was a little overcomplicated. Although very durable, I thought the way it all fit together wasn’t very intuitive, and the assembly instructions didn’t help all that much.

The multiple layers of screws felt like overkill, but one thing’s for sure: This pedestal will stay attached, barring some sort of disaster.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Ports

The TV has a nice suite of ports, including three HDMI 2.1 ports (one of them being eARC-compatible in case you want to connect a soundbar), two USB-A ports, a LAN port, an antenna port, and an optical digital audio out port. A pretty standard setup without any glaring omissions.

One extra port that’s definitely worth mentioning, though, is the unique USB-C DisplayPort that works perfectly with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. I was able to plug in all of my devices on the fly and mirror their displays on the UR9’s screen, which was really convenient.

Not everyone has a DisplayPort cable on hand, but I’m willing to bet almost everyone has a spare USB-C cable lying around. That alone will encourage more people to get a lot of use out of this port. It’s a great addition that you’re not going to find in other mainstream TVs.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Performance

Update: After receiving the replacement UR9 unit from Hisense, I made a point of rewatching everything I'd watched the first time around to keep the comparison as fair as possible. The difference was definitely noticeable. Everything looked brighter and more vibrant, and the overall picture came across as a bit more balanced, both in a fully lit and a dark room. And it didn’t require nearly as much fiddling with picture modes and settings to get there. It's still not a TV I'd call flawless, but this second round with the new UR9 unit left a better impression than my first.

While testing out the Hisense UR9, I watched a variety of films, TV shows, and YouTube videos to get an idea of how it would perform during daily use. I also played a few PS5 titles to judge its gaming performance and features.

Upon booting the UR9 up and starting to watch some content, I immediately noticed how bright the TV was, even in the fully lit room I was testing it in. I was definitely impressed, but I quickly started to notice some issues. While watching 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in the UR9’s standard picture mode, I couldn’t help but become distracted by the near-blinding whites in multiple scenes from the movie, and the color balance just felt “off.” I’d seen this movie at least ten times by now, and the range of colors felt way less vivid than ever before.

Even with all the lights in the room turned on, I was having trouble focusing on the film because of the brightness and lack of balance. With the lights off, I had to squint to avoid discomfort. Switching to a dimmer picture preset like filmmaker modes helped ever so slightly, but the picture felt even more washed out and muted in terms of color depth. So, I switched up what I was watching to see if the problems persisted.

Unfortunately, they did, to varying degrees. I watched a bit of “Thrash,” a new shark-attack thriller from Netflix, and had the same brightness issues, especially when it came to the TV’s whites. Trying to tone them down had negative effects on the contrast and blacks, and I just couldn’t get the color saturation to look right. I eventually settled on switching over to the vivid picture mode and tweaking the brightness myself, which looked better, but I was still frustrated that I had to do so much work to get a brand-new flick to look good.

I had better success watching an episode of Hulu’s “The Bear” in filmmaker mode, but still had to make some adjustments to balance everything out. No matter what I put on, I had to go through a bunch of extra steps to get the settings right, and it got old fast.

Switching over to YouTube to watch some Coachella 2026 highlights and 4K travel videos yielded similar results, but the UR9’s vivid mode played nicer with the YouTube app than it did with Netflix and Hulu. When viewing in 4K, the details actually looked really nice, but had just a slight grain over it — a product of the TV’s lackluster upscaling. I did notice some blooming around the YouTube logo, but didn’t encounter that issue within any other apps.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Gaming performance

The UR9’s gaming mode also left me wanting more, especially after reviewing the LG C6 OLED just a few weeks ago, which has some of the most stellar gaming performance I’ve experienced on a TV. Still, there’s some worthwhile stuff here: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro mitigates screen tearing, a dedicated HDR gaming picture mode, and 120Hz support.

I also liked the UR9’s game bar interface, though, which lets you hop between different game genre presets, make brightness adjustments, and add helpful overlays like aiming reticles and an FPS counter.

The Hisense UR9 isn’t necessarily a poor gaming TV, but I wouldn’t buy one solely for gaming purposes.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Test results

Update: After receiving the replacement UR9 unit from Hisense, we retested the TV and got a noticeably higher result in the HDR brightness category: 4,370 nits, compared to the 3,327 nits we measured on the original unit. That's a substantial jump, and puts the UR9 well ahead of the TCL QM8L's 3,772 nits result rather than on par with it. That makes the UR9 one of the brightest Mini-LED TVs we’ve tested, and tracks with the punchier, more vibrant picture I saw during my follow-up viewing sessions.

From our test results, you can see that the Hisense UR9 is a super-high performer in the brightness department. In HD/SDR, it blows the TCL QM8L Mini-LED, LG C6 OLED, and Samsung QN90F QLED out of the water with a peak SDR brightness of 2,486 nits. That is extremely bright, and explains why the UR9 is at its best during daytime viewing. In HDR, that number is 4,370 nits, way above the TCL QM8L's 3,772 peak brightness.

Our Delta-E test results, which is how we measure a TV’s color accuracy, paint a different picture. The Hisense UR9 scored only a 2.72 Delta-E, which isn’t terrible, but illustrates why the TV’s depth of color seemed a bit “off” during my testing period. When it comes to Delta-E results, the lower the number, the better, and as you get closer to a Delta-E of 3 and above, color accuracy issues start to become noticeable to the naked eye.

Compared to the TCL QM8L, which scored a Delta-E of 3.74, the UR9 is definitely better in this category, but when compared to the LG C6 (1.62) and Samsung QN90F (1.83), there’s something left to be desired.

When it comes to gaming, the UR9 isn’t great compared to the competition. It scored 12ms in our input latency test, which underperforms against the TCL QM8L, Samsung QN90F, and LG C6. Even in the UR9’s gaming mode, there was no way to boost this, which resulted in a choppier experience overall. You can still definitely enjoy gaming on the Hisense UR9, but there are much better options out there if it’s your top priority.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Audio

If you don’t go into the settings to tweak them, you likely won’t be impressed by the UR9’s built-in speakers, which sounded a bit tinny and crackly to me, especially at higher volumes. During action sequences or scenes where music takes the foreground, the speakers’ flaws became even more noticeable.

The good news is that the TV does have different sound modes that you can play around with, including modes designed for sports, music, speech, gaming, and more. The speech-enhancing mode, in particular, was a lot better than some of the other TVs I’ve reviewed — it didn’t wash out all the other noise in a given scene as a lot of other speech modes do, and was overall pretty balanced while still giving spoken dialogue a nice boost. I actually thought the TV’s theater audio mode sounded best, and it became my default audio mode for the remainder of my time with the UR9.

Still, I always think it’s worth investing in a great soundbar to go with your TV. Stock TV speakers are almost always lackluster (at least in my experience), and the best soundbars will enhance your media setup by a wide margin.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Interface and apps

The Hisense UR9 uses Google TV with Gemini as its OS of choice, and I thought it worked well. The home screen was situated in a way that everything I needed was easy to find, and menu navigation was simple in the best way. Just a solid, uncomplicated OS that I expect most users won’t have an issue getting used to.

The implementation of Gemini wasn’t bad either, although I wasn’t able to use it long enough to really get the most out of its personalized recommendations. In theory, those recommendations should suit you more and more over time as Gemini learns your content preferences.

However, I was able to get some good use out of the TV’s Gemini search function, which can help you find specific movies and shows, or even suggest something to you based simply on the vibe that you’re looking for. I can see this coming in handy whenever you encounter the all-too-common choice paralysis that we experience when it comes to streaming apps today.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Remote

If you regularly lose your remote in between the couch cushions because they just make them too small nowadays, you’ll appreciate the Hisense UR9’s larger remote. That being said, it will definitely take up more of that precious coffee table real estate. I personally like more compact remotes, but that’s just me.

In terms of buttons, the UR9’s remote is well-rounded, with five streaming app buttons, voice controls, and a dedicated mute button. I appreciated having the customizable star button, which you can assign to your go-to app, most-used input, or specific TV functions like a sleep timer, audio output adjustments, and more. Also, I like that silver, brushed metal finish.

Hisense UR9 Mini-LED TV review: Verdict

The Hisense UR9 isn’t perfect, but it actually has a lot going for it. The TV generally looks good in a bright room as long as you have the patience to make some settings adjustments, the UI is clean and unobstructive, and fresh additions like the USB-C DisplayPort show that the brand is interested in pushing TV tech forward.

However, due to the inconsistent performance I experienced throughout my time with the UR9, I just can’t say it’s a “run out and buy this now” type of TV. This TV should have dazzled me with an excellent balance of cutting-edge brightness and depth of color, but it just didn’t. If you’re dead-set on trying a UR9 on for size because you’re intrigued by the brand’s RGB Mini-LED technology, your best bet is to at least wait for it to go on sale.

Considering this is Hisense’s first iteration of RGB Mini-LED tech, I have a feeling the next RGB Mini-LED from Hisense will be a big step up in almost every way.

It’s April, which means the newest and most intriguing TVs are making their way into our testing lab as we speak. We’re busy sizing up a slate of new displays, including the most compelling of them all: an all-new type of TV called RGB LED. Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony and TCL are all dropping their own version of RGB LED TVs in 2026, and many of them already have the making of some of the best TVs of the year.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the bunch is the Hisense UR9. This flagship model was one of the first RGB LED TVs confirmed to exist just a few short months ago at CES, and Hisense has seemed mighty confident about the prowess of RGB Mini-LED technology.

We recently put the Hisense UR9 through its paces in our test lab, and while we’re still evaluating the set for our soon-to-be-published review, I can spill the beans about one key performance metric: The UR9 is one of the most colorful TVs we’ve ever measured, which could spell trouble for the competition.

Hisense UR9 color: how it stacks up

The UR9 sits at the top of the 2026 Hisense TV lineup, and separates itself from standard, quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LED TVs with its array of red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs.

RGB LED TVs like the UR9 promise better color than what we've seen on consumer TVs in the past, and so far, the test results are bearing this out. If you're shopping for the brightest, purest color money can buy in 2026, there are three types of TV that ought to be on your radar: RGB LED, quantum dot-enhanced OLED (also known as QD-OLED) and SQD Mini-LED (a display variation currently only being offered by TCL).

To get a sense of how Hisense's top RGB LED compares to the most colorful QD-OLEDs and SQD Mini-LED TVs we've measured to date, take a look at the chart below.

Heading into the year, the pair of 2025 QD-OLEDs on the chart above represented the best color we'd ever measured. The Samsung S95F and the Sony Bravia 8 II blend quantum dot-color with the bevy of benefits that come with OLED technology, and until just recently, their ability to cover between roughly 90.2% and 90.3% of the BT.2020 color gamut was worthy of distinction.

Since then, two heavy-hitting TVs from TCL have surpassed these numbers in our test lab — and they did it without the help of RGB LED-based backlighting. The TCL X11L and the TCL QM8L leverage the brand's Super Quantum Dot (SQD) display, which shakes up the traditional QLED formula for brighter, bolder color.

But the Hisense UR9 tops them all, covering an impressive 93% of the BT.2020 color space. It's quite a feat, but ultimately, the best RGB LED TV of the year will come down to more than just color.

Hisense UR9: outlook

The difference between 93% and 91% of the BT.2020 color space won't always be apparent to the average viewer. It's important to note, too, that the vast majority of content you'll be watching on any of these new sets won't be taking advantage of the entire BT.2020 color gamut.

Ultimately, the best RGB LED TVs of the year — and the best sets in general — will come down to which models offer the best blend of contrast, color, and what I like to call the little things. These are the details that are often overlooked when comparing numbers on a chart, like motion handling, upscaling and how well the processing renders gradients.

We'll be publishing our full review of the UR9 in the coming days. On paper, it certainly has the specs and test results to earn the title of best Hisense TV ever made. Like always, though, it'll come down to the little things.

More from Tom's Guide

• I saw Sony's True RGB up close — and the downfall of OLED TVs might come sooner than expected
• Samsung's new Micro RGB TV is finally here — but I'd rather buy this OLED instead
• Micro-LED vs Micro RGB TVs: What's the difference?

When friends, family and readers ask me about buying a big-screen TV on a budget, I typically tell them to be careful. If you settle for the cheapest 75-inch screen you can find, there’s a good chance you’ll be setting yourself up for a dim, disappointing picture.

But today, Amazon is running a deal on an affordable big-screen TV that I actually recommend. The 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $499 at Amazon right now, and this TV features that rare combination of being cheap, big and bright. (Note: Best Buy offers the same price).

You can learn all about this model in our full Hisense U65QF review, but in a nutshell, here's what you need to know: The U65QF offers better brightness and backlight control than most 75-inch TVs in this price bracket. A major reason why has to do with the U65QF's hardware.

Unlike most ultra-affordable, big-screen TVs, the U65QF is built around Mini-LED backlighting. These teeny-tiny LEDs typically allow for better overall contrast than what you'll see on TVs that use basic, edge-lit screens. Even modest Mini-LED backlighting is immensely helpful at the 75-inch size point, given how much screen real estate is in play.

The U65QF is also sensationally bright, especially for a $500 TV. Of all the affordable Mini-LED TVs we've tested in this price range, the U65QF is the brightest of the bunch. This makes it a reliable pick for people who watch a ton of TV during the day, or for anyone in the market for a punchy picture.

The U65QF isn't just packed with performance-related value — it's also equipped with more features than most TVs that occupy its price range. Gamers get a TV that supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, which meets the 4K benchmark set by current-gen consoles.

As far as streaming-related features go, it's a bit different than most TVs in Hisense's catalogue. The U65QF is built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, and in the past, Fire TV hasn't been my favorite software suite due to its sluggish interface. That said, there are major updates to the Fire TV software rolling out this year that aim to improve the user experience.

Previously, I sounded the alarm when the 75-inch U65QF dropped down to $549. Now that its price has crashed even further, it's hard to imagine this TV getting any cheaper before stock runs out.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

If you're looking for a big-screen bargain, the Hisense QD7 should be on your shortlist. Colors are generally pleasing and accurate; contrast and high dynamic range (HDR) performance are adequate; and sound, especially bass, is quite booming from the built-in speakers.

Of course, Hisense had to cut corners somewhere. A slow 60Hz native refresh rate is sometimes noticeable in action scenes, although tweaking the motion settings can help. Middling brightness levels can be a challenge in well-lit rooms; and the Amazon Fire TV interface can be agonizingly slow.

Despite the drawbacks, however, this TV offers a lot for the money, and could very well be one of the best TVs under $500

Hisense QD7 review: Pricing and availability

With a list price of about $500, regularly discounted, QD7 sits in the middle of Hisense's 2025 model year TV offerings. Below it are sets like the new QD6 (selling for about $380), which lacks local dimming for improved contrast and dynamic range, runs at 60Hz native refresh rate, and provides just 20W of audio output.

Above it, the Hisense U7QG (also a 2025 TV, priced around $1,500) upgrades to HDMI 2.1 ports (vs. the QD7's slower-frame rate HDMI 2.0), a native 165Hz refresh rate (vs. 60Hz), up to 3,000 nits peak brightness (as advertised, vs. 600 nits, as measured for the QD7), and 50W multi-channel audio (vs. 30W).

However, the QD7 is no slouch and a solid deal, holding its own on content standards, supporting Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision Gaming, and the full HDR10+ Adaptive suite (more on those, below). The 65-inch QD7 is also priced competitively against rivals from companies and quite cheaper than the pricier 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED QN70F (at about $900), which we tested side-by-side and found lacking in most respects.

It's worth noting that the larger versions of the Hisense QD7 line — the 75-, 85-, and 100-inch screens — provide significant upgrades, especially for gaming. These include a native 144Hz refresh rate (vs. 60Hz) and two HDMI ports supporting the 2.1 standard for full-bandwidth PS5, Xbox Series X, and high-end PC gaming.

Hisense QD7 review: Design

The Hisense QD7 is virtually all screen, save for a slim bezel measuring about 8mm on the top and sides. A 15mm strip on the bottom is empty, save for a barely legible "Hisense" in the lower-left corner.

The TV's a tad chubby, measuring roughly 7 mm (2.76 inches) at its thickest point on the bottom. This wouldn't be very noticeable if the TV is on a table, as the stand would push it out even farther from the wall, but it could look a bit chunky if wall mounted. Should you decide to pair it with one of the best TV wall mounts, the QD7 has the four VESA standard screw holes forming a 400 x 400 mm square on the back of the TV.

The 65-inch QD7 rests on the common two-foot design, with feet extending perpendicularly about 4.5 inches beyond the front and back of the panel. They are spaced about 44 inches apart, so you'd want a table at least a few inches wider on both sides to hold it safely.

Hisense QD7 review: Ports

When viewed from behind, the QD7's power cable connects in a well on the left side. All ports are to the right, in two groups: a LAN, digital audio out, and one HDMI port point straight out the back.

A recess to the right holds the remaining three HDMI ports, an RF-in for cable or antenna reception, a 3.5mm headphone-style jack, a mini combo analog audio/video port, and two USB ports. All these ports face to the side, so the cables are parallel to the TV panel.

The HDMI ports are limited to the 2.0 standard, supporting up to 4K input but at just 60Hz — the native refresh rate of the panel. One of the HDMI ports supports eARC to provide lossless Dolby Atmos audio to a soundbar or home theater system. The USB-A ports provide power at 5 volts and 0.5 amps — which should suffice to power streaming sticks from Roku or Google. I’d highly recommend either as an alternative to the TV’s sluggish Fire TV interface (more about that below).

An RF-in port takes input from terrestrial (over-the-air), cable, and satellite broadcasts. The set includes an analog tuner and an ATSC/Clear QAM digital tuner. Supporting only the aged ATSC 1.0 standard (we're now on ATSC 3.0), it's limited to the 1080i standard dynamic range versions of TV broadcasts, which could be phased out in the U.S. in two or three years (though nothing has been set in stone).

How we test

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

Hisense QD7 review: Test results

*As measured in Filmmaker Mode

Hisense QD7 review: Performance

Aside from a sluggish 60Hz refresh rate and older HDMI 2.0 ports, the QD7 ticks some key boxes for a modern LED LCD TV. These include some key terms we'll discuss below: quantum-dot color technology, full-array LED backlighting, and support for the Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio formats. These features boost overall quality compared to simpler models.

Pretty common in today's TVs, the QD7 uses quantum dot crystals to absorb a portion of the backlight and re-emit it as more-saturated green and red (blue isn't generally a problem with LED backlights). More important: This TV makes good on the tech's promise. I saw faithful colors in a wide range of content, including an NFL Super Bowl recap reel on YouTube, “Bridgerton” on Netflix, and the Blu-rays for “Dune: Part One” and “Spider Man: No Way Home”. I especially appreciated the fine tonality that brought skin tones of all shades to light with subtle shading. This was true in both the Filmmaker mode (that aims for greatest precision) and the brighter Standard mode that the TV is set to out of the box.

Lab results back this up. Its Delta-E score (a gauge of color fidelity in which lower numbers are better) was 1.75, which fell in the middle of the pack among similarly priced 65-inch TVs.

The TV has thousands of individually controlled LEDs in a grid behind the LCD screen. This full-array backlight is a step up, even from some more expensive sets. The local dimming this enables should help the screen produce a better dynamic range from dark to bright; and it does, to some extent, after some tweaking.

I saw it in clearly rendered shadowy content in clips from Netflix's “Stranger Things” (Trailer 1, Part 3). Chapter 10 of “Dune” is a great test for this: It begins with Duke Leto waking up in near darkness and proceeds to an epic battle that lights up the night. The Duke's face was easy to make out at the beginning, and the orange and blue explosions popped against the night sky.

Despite the name, Filmmaker mode is not best for high dynamic range content. It produced a dull, muddy appearance in the meeting between Peter Parker and Dr. Strange in Chapter 4 of “Spiderman,” for instance. Switching to Movie mode improved both highlights and shadows.

The QD7 supports Dolby Vision, which provides extra metadata to help the set render images as the director intended. (One feature I especially like: Movies play in the original 24 fps format, rather than being soothed into a newscast-style 60 fps.) In “Bridgerton,” the set kicked into Dolby Vision Dark, producing a grayish cast that obscured detail in shadows — especially noticeable in faces during a candlelit party scene (Season 1, Ep 3). Switching to Dolby Vision Natural or even Vivid (there's not much difference) cleared up faces that had been lost in shadow and managed to retain detail in highlights, such as sunlight glinting on a character's forehead.

The need for these tweaks is obvious from our lab tests. In Filmmaker mode, HDR brightness peaks at just 659 nits (measured in 10% window), vs. an average of 1260 among TVs we've recently tested. Brightness with standard dynamic range (SDR) content is also poor, at 449 nits in Standard mode, vs. an average of 831. All this poses challenges for viewing in a bright room with the lights cranked up or daylight streaming in. The QD7 could do little to dispel glare from bright overhead lights in our tests. This isn't a dealbreaker, just something you have to consider when placing the TV.

The set's weakest specs are the HDMI 2.0 ports and a native panel refresh rate that are both limited to 60Hz. This was noticeable with some content, such as some choppiness in the Super Bowl clips. Switching on Smooth Motion Processing noticeably reduced the effect, however.

I was perhaps most impressed not with how the 65QD7QF renders top-quality content, but how it cleans up lousy material. My torture test is the 1975 premiere episode of police procedural comedy “Barney Miller,” streamed from Amazon Prime. Scenes are often overexposed, blurry, or sometimes woefully lacking any detail. The QD7's upscaling to 4K was stupendous, filling in an almost blank face in Barney's wife and rendering fine texture in his hair, moustache, and face.

Hisense QD7 review: Audio

Audio is another standout feature — again, after some tweaking. The pair of downfiring speakers produced such powerful bass that several colleagues in the office took notice (one of them, with slight annoyance). One colleague even asked if we were using a soundbar. The audio was powerful enough to fill a room at just 25% volume; even 50% could be overwhelming.

The downside is that, in the default Standard audio mode, voices sounded a bit muffled and flat, as if the speaker were inside a wooden box. This occurred with both music, as in the trailer for the “KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along,” and dialogue, such as an intense conversation in “Spiderman: No Way Home.” But the fix is simple: Switch to the Movie audio mode.

Hisense QD7 review: Gaming

This TV has an incongruous collection of specs and performance for gaming.

With our Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester, we measured input lag (the time between a video signal entering the set and appearing on the screen), at a miniscule 9.4 milliseconds. That's the lowest of the rival TVs we tested (next-fastest: 9.8 ms, average: 10.9). This should help save you from getting fragged because the images can't keep up with the pace of the game.

That 60Hz refresh rate is the downer, however, in a field where 120Hz is becoming the norm. The QD7 offers some image interpolation and smoothing that may help. I tested it with the low-impact Astro's Playroom on a PlayStation 5 Slim. Video seemed smooth enough, so this shouldn't be a hindrance for casual gaming, but the QD7 would not be a top choice for serious gamers paying high-end titles rigs: consoles that output 120Hz content and high-end gaming PCs at up to 144Hz.

Hisense QD7 review: Interface

The Amazon Fire TV interface, or at least its performance on this model, is the QD7's glaring weak spot, due to its agonizingly slow response (possibly the result of bloated software, an underpowered processor, or both).

The TV took 50 seconds to start up — which may not sound like much, until you're forced to stare at the screen all that time. Amazon Prime Video (the house brand of this OS) took about seven seconds to launch — still slow, but lightning fast compared to the full minute for Netflix. If this drives you batty, adding a streaming device such as a Roku stick or box is an easy fix.

Snail's pace aside, the TV's operating system is easy to navigate and similar to other interfaces, such as Samsung Tizen's. A massive graphic for rotating featured content takes up nearly the top-half of the screen. A bar below it shows a selection of your video apps: Click one to see its featured content, without having to launch the app.

Other key items include broadcast TV mode, input selector, search, and the full suite of settings: both picture and audio as well as nuts-and-blots items like Wi-Fi setup. The right-side menu provides all the day-to-day items you need, such as input selection, TV mode, and screen mirroring. It also gives access to full picture and audio adjustments — even the most advanced items such as Dolby Vision modes, local-dimming level (for HDR performance), and Dialog Enhancer. This is far more complete than the quick-settings popup in Samsung Tizen, for instance.

Hisense QD7 review: Remote

The remote control is a straightforward affair with the standard four-direction ring and central button and shortcuts to select video apps, plus video play, TV channel, and audio controls, as well as a menu button.

Up top is a light-blue button for launching the Alexa voice assistant to answer questions about and make recommendations for what to watch.

Hisense QD7 review: Verdict

It’s never easy knowing which features to leave on the cutting room floor, but Hisense did a commendable job in its selection with the QD7.

It would be nice, of course, to have a 120Hz refresh rate like the TCL QM7K, and Fire TV doesn’t quite function as well as it does on, say, the Hisense U65QF, but the colors are good and the upscaling is exceptional given the sticker price.

The competition for the best TV under $500 is fierce — but its lower-than-average price and above average performance makes the 65-inch QD7 worthwhile bargain in a world where most prices keep climbing.

While a ton of focus is on the newest and priciest TVs that are beginning to hit shelves, some of the best TV deals this side of Black Friday are flying under the radar. This is why, on most mornings, I start my day with a tall cup of coffee and perusal of the deals available at various big-box stores.

For a handful of TVs, prices have been plummeting for a while now. But in recent weeks, some of my favorite sets have cratered in price ahead of the release of new models. For instance, the 65-inch version of the Hisense U75QG is $699 at Best Buy right now — a full $800 off its original price. With new Hisense TVs fast approaching, there's rarely been a better time to save on a TV like the U75QG.

In fact, it's been my go-to recommendation for anyone who's tired of not being able to see their TV during the day. For much less than the cost of a high-end TV, the U75QG delivers a sensationally bright picture that will hold up in nearly every viewing environment.

Like many flagship-level TVs, the U75QG taps Mini-LEDs for higher brightness and better backlight control than what you'll typically see on cheap LED TVs. If you're going to get a non-OLED TV, a Mini-LED model is one of the best options available to you.

Additionally, if you watch a ton of TV during the day (or if your living space is well lit), the U75QG offers a reliable performance profile. In our Hisense U75QG review, we reported well over 3,000 nits of HDR highlight brightness, making it one of the brightest TVs in its class.

It's also a solid pick for people looking for gaming- and streaming-related features to go along with a punchy picture. The higher-end Hisense U8QG offers an even brighter picture, but the U75QG comes with almost all of the same features. That's a great value proposition.

Like many Hisense TVs, the U7 Series is built around the Google TV smart platform. Its snappy, easy-to-navigate interface and robust app support make it good enough to use as a daily streaming hub if you'd rather not deal with an external streaming device.

Gamers also get a ton of features, too, as the U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz and up to 165Hz for PC gamers. Combine that with a bright HDR picture and you've got a recipe for a good time.

If you're in the market for something a little smaller, the 55-inch version of the Hisense U75QG is just $579 at Best Buy today. It likely won't get quite as bright as the 65-inch model, but it still packs a powerful punch and comes with all of the same features.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

If you missed the Amazon Big Spring Sale last week, I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that many of the 4K TVs that were previously on sale have jumped back up in price. The good news is that one of my favorite TV deals from Amazon’s sales event is back — and better than ever.

Right now, the 75-inch Hisense U65QF is just $549 at Amazon. That’s a wildly good deal for a bright, punchy Mini-LED TV at the 75-inch size point. In fact, it’s the lowest price ever for this model, beating its previous sale price by about fifty bucks. (For more discounts, check out our guide to the best TV deals).

You can get the full scoop on this TV by checking out our Hisense U65QF review, but if you're looking for the basic gist, here's what you need to know: The U65QF offers better brightness and overall contrast control than most 75-inch TVs in this price bracket.

This is because the U65QF's display features Mini-LED backlighting. These super-small LEDs typically allow for better overall contrast than what you'll see on TVs that rely on more rudimentary backlighting. And, given the sheer amount of screen real estate you're looking at with a 75-inch TV, you definitely want a set with Mini-LEDs.

As mentioned, the U65QF is also sensationally bright — especially for a TV that costs $550. Of all the entry-level Mini-LED TVs we've tested in this price range, the U65QF is the brightest. This makes it a terrific option for people who watch a ton of daytime sports, or for people with well-lit living spaces.

As far as features go, the U65QF offers more than you might expect for an ultra-affordable model. Gamers will appreciate that the TV supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, since this is the meets the 4K benchmark set by current-gen consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Unlike other Mini-LED TVs from Hisense that are built around Google TV, the U65QF leverages Amazon's Fire TV smart platform for all of its built-in streaming functionality. In the past, Fire TV hasn't been one of my preferred pieces of software for streaming movies and shows, but there are some upcoming updates to the Fire TV software rolling out this year that aim to improve the user experience. This could improve the U65QF's entire software experience.

There aren't very many examples of a 75-inch TV for under $600 that I'd actually feel comfortable buying, but the U65QF is one of them. Its Mini-LED backlighting and bright presentation make it an easy recommendation.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

The Amazon Big Spring Sale will soon enter its final days. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade your living room or home theater, there's only a few more days to do so.

As Senior TV Editor, I've spent the sales event separating the good deals from the bad. If you're shopping at the 75-inch size point, your options are limited, but there's one 75-inch deal that towers above the rest.

Right now, you can score the 75-inch Hisense U65QF for just $597 at Amazon's Big Spring Sale. It's an all-time low price for Hisense's entry-level Mini-LED TV, and if you're trying to keep costs down while maximizing screen size, it's the first deal I'd shop this weekend.

• shop the entire Amazon Big Spring Sale

As we noted in our Hisense U65QF review, this set offers one of the brightest pictures for a 75-inch TV in this price range, thanks to the inclusion of Mini-LED backlighting. These extra-small LEDs also allow for tighter contrast control than what's on offer from ultra-cheap 75-inch TVs with edge-lit panels.

Take it from someone who's been testing and reviewing TVs for over a decade: If you're shopping at the 75-inch size point, you definitely want Mini-LEDs instead of edge-lit LEDs. With this much screen to look at, the performance issues associated with lesser LED displays especially impactful. The U65QF's backlighting isn't as tightly engineered as that of higher-end Mini-LED TVs, but you'll be happy to have Mini-LEDs nonetheless.

The U65QF also has a surprising amount of features up its sleeve for an entry-level model. It supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 144Hz) across two out of four HDMI inputs, so it's ready to get the best possible 4K performance out of current-gen consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

It's built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, which comes with a slate of preinstalled streaming apps and plenty more to download later. I'll be the first to admit that Fire TV hasn't been my top software choice in the past, but imminent updates to the Fire TV software to improve the user experience could very well have me singing a different tune.

If you've got your heart set on a 75-inch TV but you want to keep the price under $700, the U65QF is one of your best options. Even at this price, you shouldn't settle for a model without Mini-LEDs.

More from Tom's Guide

• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away
• Buying a Hisense TV in 2026? Here's my expert guide to its new RGB Mini-LEDs, QLEDs and more
• Your smart TV isn’t old, it’s just laggy — 5 easy ways to reclaim its speed

It’s officially new-TV season, and if you've waited until 2026 to upgrade to a new Hisense TV, your time may have come. The popular TV-maker is rolling out an array of all-new TVs, some of which are hitting shelves as we speak.

This is a massive year for Hisense. For one thing, it's finally selling RGB Mini-LED TVs at popular size points like 55 and 65 inches, and these cutting-edge displays will be going head-to-head against Micro RGB TVs from Samsung. Plus, Hisense is debuting several new Mini-LED TVs aimed squarely at value-conscious consumers looking for a deal. In recent years, mid-range Mini-LEDs have been Hisense’s bread and butter.

There's no way around it: The Hisense TV lineup looks different this year. To help make heads and tails of the tricky model names and the technology itself, I've put together a roadmap for shopping for a Hisense TV in 2026. The first stop is the brand's newest Mini-LED TVs.

2026 Hisense Mini-LED TVs

Hisense's popular mid-range QLEDs are back, but the lineup has seen a few changes. Like last year, there are three quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LEDs to choose from. However, they don't follow the same naming convention.

This year, the lineup consists of the U6SF, the U6SF Pro and the U7SG. Last year, the main lineup had the U65QF, the U75QG and the U8QG. So, what gives?

Well, it would seem as though Hisense has replaced its top-shelf U8 Series with the newest U7 Series. In the process, the TV maker split up its entry-level U6 Series into two categories.

The U6SF and U6SF Pro are both built around Amazon's Fire TV smart platform (hence the "F" in their model names). While Hisense hasn't yet confirmed key specifications, the U6SF Pro will likely have some performance-related benefits over the non-Pro version. According to Hisense, the standard U6SF will come in a wider selection of sizes, and together, these TVs will be available in models ranging from 55 to 100 inches.

The Hisense U7SG is built around the Google TV smart platform (which explains the "G" in its model name). Unlike the U6SF and the U6SF Pro, this set is actually available right now from Best Buy.

The all-new U7 Series will be available from 65 to 116 inches, with the 65-inch version coming in at $1,499. This is comparable to last year's U75QG price at launch.

We don't know too much about the U7SG, but we know more about it than the U6SF and U6SF Pro. As a higher-end model, the U7SG will likely feature a higher amount of Mini-LED dimming zones and a brighter overall picture. Hisense claims that the U7SG reaches up to 3,000 nits, which probably puts it somewhere between last year's U75QG and U8QG.

It features a 165Hz panel, ATSC 3.0 support (which means it's ready to receive 4K broadcasts via antenna), and comes with four HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs. Needless to say, I'm excited to see it in action.

2026 Hisense RGB Mini-LED TVs

The UR9 and the UR8 feature Hisense's all-new RGB Mini-LED backlighting. They represent the brand's first attempt to take technology that was previously limited to a 116-inch display (in the Hisense 116UX) and scale it down to smaller-sized screens. Hisense says that these sets will be available in sizes ranging from 55 to 100 inches, including the ever-popular 65-inch screen size.

There's a ton of hype surrounding RGB LED TVs this year, with nearly every major TV brand (including Samsung and LG) getting in on the action. Similar to Mini-LEDs, RGB LED TVs leverage an array of ultra-small LEDs arranged in dimmable zones. Unlike Mini-LEDs, however, RGB LEDs are red, green and blue. This makes way for brighter, purer colors than what we’ve come to expect from even the best TVs available to date.

Despite the imminent nature of these cutting-edge TVs, there's a lot we still don't know about the UR9 and the UR8. The former will presumably offer better performance (and maybe even more features), but both will tap Hisense’s new Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor.

Which Hisense TV should you buy in 2026?

I'll feel more confident offering specific recommendations after we've tested and reviewed Hisense's newest TVs, but that doesn't mean I can't give you a head start when it comes to your shopping plans.

For most folks, the U6SF, the U6SF Pro and the U7SG will be the three Hisense TVs to choose from, due in large part to their entry-level and mid-range pricing. The U7SG is built around one of my preferred smart platforms in Google TV (making it a solid choice for habitual streamers), and because it's decked out with four HDMI 2.1 inputs, this will also be a popular pick amongst gamers.

The U6SF and U6SF Pro will be cheaper than the U7SG, so they'll have wider appeal for budget-conscious shoppers looking to spend a bit less. In past years, I may have warned people about the inclusion of Fire TV, but Amazon is rolling out major Fire TV updates in 2026 that just might improve the overall experience.

Of course, the brand's hotly anticipated RGB Mini-LED TVs could prove to be the biggest disruptor in 2026. Hisense is known for coming out of the gate swinging with competitively low prices relative to its competition, and while we don't yet know how much the UR9 and UR8 will cost, I'm willing to bet it'll be lower than most of the competition in the RGB LED space.

In any event, 2026 is one of the most ambitious years yet for Hisense TVs. The brand already made its mark in the Mini-LED marketplace — let's see if it can do the same for RGB LEDs.

More from Tom's Guide

• Which Samsung TV should you buy in 2026? Here’s my expert guide to Samsung’s newest OLEDs, Micro RGB TVs and more
• In the market for an OLED? Here’s my expert guide on shopping for an LG TV in 2026
• Micro RGB TVs vs OLED TVs — here's the TV I'd buy in 2026

One of the benefits of waiting until March or April to buy a new TV is that many of the best models are heavily discounted. This is because big-name brands like Hisense are gearing up to launch a new slate of TVs, leaving the prices of last-year’s models at (or close to) all-time lows. Additionally, Amazon is gearing up for its Big Spring Sale.

Every March, I recommend to friends and readers that they take advantage of these sales in order to save big on TVs that were much pricier just a few months ago. Case in point? Right now, you can get the 75-inch Hisense U75QG for just $899 at Amazon. That's about two bucks short of its lowest price ever, and closer to the price we saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events.

As someone who's spent a ton of time with the U75QG over the past several months, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people who want to prioritize saving money, but who nevertheless want an impressive, cinematic picture.

The U75QG makes use of Mini-LEDs for higher brightness and better backlight control than what you might find on a lower-end LED TV. Mini-LEDs are especially valuable at the 75-inch size point, as they're better equipped to deliver deep black levels and minimal blooming than garden-variety LEDs.

The U75QG is also one of the brightest TVs in its class. It's bright enough for daytime viewing, which makes it a fantastic pick for people who want a punchy picture for daytime sports. (Baseball, anyone?)

The U75QG is also jam-packed with streaming- and gaming-related features. The higher-end Hisense U8QG might offer a brighter overall picture, but the U75QG comes with almost all of the same features as its pricier sibling.

The U75QG leverages the Google TV smart platform. Its clean, easy-to-use interface is good enough to use as a daily streaming hub if you don't want to plug in a dedicated streaming device.

Gamers get a ton of bells and whistles, too. The U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz and up to 165Hz for PC gamers. Despite its mid-range status, the U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smooth, artifact-free gameplay.

If you're looking for something a bit smaller, the 65-inch Hisense U75QG is on sale at Amazon for just $786. That's a sensational deal on one of the brightest 65-inch TVs you can buy.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

Hisense has begun rolling out its 2026 ULED Mini-LED TVs today with the Hisense U7 Series. The series will come in two variants: the U7SG, which supports Google TV, and the U7SF, which supports Fire TV.

Besides a difference in smart platform, both versions feature the same native 165Hz refresh rate and Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor alongside a 50W 2.1.2 Dolby Atmos speaker system — perfect for World Cup watching.

As of this morning, the 65-inch U7SG is already available to order on Best Buy for $1,499.

A confusing (but affordable) Mini-LED lineup

Hisense’s 2026 lineup is a little more complicated than last year — last year, the Hisense U7QG sat above the U65QF and below the U8QG. Pretty logical, right?

This year, it’s more confusing: The U7 sits above the U6SF Pro, which itself sits slightly above the base U6 (both of which were also announced today).

The U7 will sit below the brand’s new UR8 and UR9 RGB Mini-LED TVs, which we first saw at CES 2026. The latter will obviously use a more advanced backlight that promises better color volume — a claim I'm taking with a grain of salt.

At the top of the pyramid this year is the Hisense UXS that I called “the best-looking LCD TV at CES 2026.”

According to Hisense, the U7 will start at $1,299 for the 55-inch model, and the U6 will cost even less when it begins rolling out in a few weeks.

More mid-range models to come this month

With flagship models already announced at CES, expect several new mid-range models to be announced this month.

TCL has already hinted at its new L-Series mid-range models (the QM8L, QM7L and QM6L), and Samsung won't be far behind with its 2026 Neo QLEDs.

LG will push on with its QNEDs, though they no longer occupy a spot as the brand's top-tier LCD TVs; that honor now belongs to its MicroRGB TVs.

Overall, 2026 will be an interesting one for TV shoppers — and we're already starting to receive review samples for our in-depth lab tests. We should have full reviews ready to roll out sometime in the next few weeks.

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• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• RGB LED TVs are flagship killers, but there's one big catch
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

Google TV is one of the most popular smart platforms. These days, TVs made by Hisense, Sony and TCL all arrive with Google’s streaming software built right into the experience right out of the box.

If you don’t want to sign up for a Google Account or you’d rather not connect your TV to the internet at all, Google TV offers a way for you to bypass the experience altogether, leaving your TV free to pipe in pictures the old-fashioned way: from a cable box, satellite, indoor antenna, or physical media player.

To enable Basic Mode, you need to do so during the TV's initial setup. This means that if you've previously set up Google TV, you'll need to perform a factory reset on your TV. If you're setting up Google TV for the first time, skip to step #2.

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As many of the biggest brands in the TV industry gear up to launch their newest QLEDs, OLEDs and RGB LED TVs, one question is on the minds of people hoping to upgrade their living room in 2026: Will the ongoing RAM crisis affect the price of a new TV this year?

While we haven’t seen much in the way of confirmed pricing for 2026 TVs, many analysts are predicting higher TV prices this spring as the demand rapidly increases for DRAM and RAM. I’m one of the experts sounding the alarm, and if I were in the market for a new TV, I’d be looking to buy one as soon as possible.

With this in mind, I’ve corralled several of the best deals you can currently get on TVs that are actually worth buying. We won’t know how these prices compare to newer models until brands begin rolling out their 2026 TVs, but they’re already massively discounted and worth your consideration.

1. TCL QM5K

TCL's most-affordable Mini-LED TV is the QM5K, a Best Buy-exclusive model that prioritizes value above all else. Over the last several months, I've been recommending this TV for people who just want an affordable, 4K smart TV that doesn't scrape the bottom of the proverbial barrel. Given its ultra-low price, I suspect I'll be recommending it even more in the coming months in the face of RAM-related price hikes.

The QM5K's modest array of Mini-LED backlights are better to have at your disposal than the low-contrast, edge-lit panels that budget-friendly TVs typically use. You'll appreciate having Mini-LEDs whether you're streaming shows during the day or dimming the lights for movie night.

The QM5K also comes with Google TV built right into the software. If you're hoping to rely on your TV's smart platform for all of your usual streaming needs, Google TV is an excellent software suite to hang your hat on. Right now, the 55-inch version is well under $400.

2. Hisense U65QF

If you want something a bit more performance-oriented than the QM5K but still want to keep costs down, consider the 55-inch Hisense U65QF. It comes with a brighter picture than any set we've tested in its entry-level class, which makes it a great choice for folks who watch a ton of TV during the day.

The 55-inch version of the U65QF costs about $100 more than the 55-inch QM5K, but the U65QF's price is still remarkably low for a TV of its type.

Hisense will almost certainly launch a new entry-level Mini-LED TV sometime in the coming months, but it's almost guaranteed to cost more than the U65QF currently costs on sale. If you're hoping to get out in front of the RAM crisis' downstream effect on TV pricing, this is a great TV to go for.

3. TCL QM6K

If a 65-inch TV is what you seek but you're not looking to spend more than $550 on a screen of this size, I recommend taking advantage of Best Buy's current deal on the TCL QM6K. It features a better Mini-LED display than that of the QM5K, and right now, the QM6K is heavily discounted.

Another benefit that the QM6K has over the aforementioned QM5K is that it supports 4K gaming at 120Hz or 144Hz across two of its HDMI inputs. This makes it a better pick for casual and dedicated gamers.

TCL has been relatively tight-lipped about the release dates and prices for its mainline series of 2026 TVs, but you can reasonably expect this 2025 model to undercut new models by a few hundred dollars.

4. Roku Pro Series

If you've had an opportunity to use a Roku device before, you probably understand the appeal. The software's clean-looking interface is easy to warm up to, while Roku's library of downloadable apps is vast.

But the Roku Pro Series' best feature is its display, which blends Mini-LED backlighting with quantum dot-enhanced color. It's truly an impressive TV for movies and shows, and the fact that it comes with my favorite smart platform is an excellent bonus.

Not much is known about Roku's plans for 2026, but if you're already shopping for a well-engineered TV that simplifies streaming, I'd put the Pro Series at the top of the list of candidates. Right now, the 65-inch version is $300 off at Best Buy.

5. TCL QM7K

Much like the Roku Pro Series, the TCL QM7K offers a much punchier picture than what you'll find on entry-level sets like the QM5K and QM6K. This TV is pricier than those models because, in many cases, it gets at least twice as bright.

In addition, the QM7K's thorough collection of gaming features is one of the reasons I've been recommending it to people for several months now.

Its current sale price brings it down to a relatively low price when compared to higher-end Mini-LED TVs, and it's also a safe bet to assume that this deal will look even better when 2026 TVs begin to reach the market.

6. LG C5

If you've spent several years yearning for one of LG's award-winning C Series OLED TVs, take note: This might be your last opportunity to get a good deal on the LG C5. There's a very good chance that the upcoming LG C6 will debut at a higher price than its predecessor.

All of the benefits of OLED technology are accounted for, including perfect black levels, ultra-wide viewing angles and pixel-level dimming. Right now, the 65-inch version is about 48% off its original price, and stock is sure to shrink as the year moves along.

The LG C5 is one of my favorite TVs in recent years, and while I'm excited to see what the C6 brings to the table in the coming months, I will find it much harder to recommend the C6 if its price is, indeed, affected by the ongoing RAM crisis.

7. Samsung S95F

If you're comfortable splurging on a top-of-the-line OLED TV but you're nonetheless nervous about how current economic forces might impact TV prices, I recommend choosing one of last year's best OLED TVs, the Samsung S95F.

Like the LG C5, the S95F is capable of perfect black levels and pixel-level dimming. However, Samsung's flagship OLED delivers quantum dot-enhanced color for brighter colors and highlights. Unsurprisingly, this incredible, flagship-level OLED comes with plenty of streaming- and gaming-related features.

Samsung is one of the only TV makers that's been transparent about the possible impact of the RAM shortage on the newest models, and I'm inclined to take them at their word. There's no guarantee that the S95H will ever be as affordable as the S95F currently is.

More to consider

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• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV
• Best OLED TVs in 2026 tested: Our top picks from LG, Samsung and more

There are two types of people shopping for a 75-inch TV: those who don't mind splashing out on a high-end, top-of-the-line TV, and savvy shoppers looking to save some money while still securing a sizable screen. Every now and then, a TV deal comes along that satisfies both.

I've been keeping tabs on Hisense's mid-range Mini-LED TV for several weeks now, tracking the price of the 75-inch version in particular. A few weeks ago, it dropped below $1,000. Today, it's fallen even further.

Right now, you can get the 75-inch Hisense U75QG for just $899 at Amazon. That's all the way down from it's original price of $1,297. This is one of the best deals I've seen on a big-screen, Mini-LED-powered TV since Black Friday, but it's also a phenomenal TV in its own right.

I spent a ton of time with the U75QG in the past year, and as someone who knows this set quite well, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people seeking two things: impressive performance and a reasonable price. This is why the 75-inch version makes a ton of sense for both budget-shoppers and A/V enthusiasts.

The U75QG leverages Mini-LEDs for better brightness and backlight control, the latter of which is critical for producing excellent contrast at the extra-large size of 75 inches. It's bright enough for daytime viewing, but its local dimming is engineered well enough to give the U75QG a truly cinematic presentation during dark-room viewing, too.

The truth is, you could save even more money on a less-impressive TV that may or may not offer Mini-LED backlighting, but there's a very good chance that those sets wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting to watch as the U75QG.

The U75QG is also stuffed with streaming- and gaming-related features. The higher end Hisense U8QG might come with a brighter picture, but the U75QG offers nearly all of the same features as the U8QG.

For one thing, it's built around the Google TV smart platform. Its speedy, easy-to-use interface is plenty good to use as a daily driver.

People who own current-generation consoles will feel right at home with the U75QG, since it supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz for PC gamers). Despite its mid-range status, the U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smoother gameplay.

Amazon has slapped its limited-time label on this deal, so there's no telling how long it'll ultimately be available. If you're looking for something a bit smaller, the 65-inch Hisense U75QG is on sale at Amazon for just $796. It's not as steep of a discount as that currently being offered for the 75-inch model, but it's still a terrific deal for a Mini-LED TV of this caliber.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away

We review dozens of the most popular TVs every year, but only a handful are good enough to take home our coveted four- or five-star rating. Some are ultra-affordable, entry-level sets overwhelming with value, while others are high-end marvels with incredible picture quality.

In the spirit of awards season, I put together a list of some of the newest TVs to earn a four-to-five-star rating in our test lab. As it happens, all of these TVs are currently on sale, too.

Everything is covered — from affordable QLEDs to eye-popping OLEDs. They’re among the best TVs we’ve seen in recent months.

1. Hisense U65QF

Hisense's most-affordable QLED to feature Mini-LED backlighting is the U65QF, one of the most bang-for-your-buck sets you can find on shelves right now. It's available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 100-inch sizes.

Why we love it: As we noted in our Hisense U65QF review, this TV packs a brighter picture than any set in the entry-level, Mini-LED TV class. That makes it a fantastic choice for folks who watch a good amount of TV during the day or in an otherwise well-lit room. In its most-accurate picture mode, it also looks very sharp right out of the box.

If that weren't enough to earn its four-and-a-half-star rating, the U65QF also comes with more features than most TVs in its price range, too. These features include a pair of HDMI 2.1 inputs that support 4K gaming at 120Hz or 144Hz.

2. TCL QM6K

Like the Hisense TV mentioned above, TCL's entry-level Mini-LED TV is also packed to the gills with value. It's available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch screen sizes.

Why we love it: While not as bright as the U65QF, the TCL QM6K is bright enough for impactful HDR performance, be it a TV show, movie or game. If you were to spend just a bit less on a cheaper TV, you’d probably end up with one that doesn’t offer Mini-LED backlighting. This feature is the primary reason why my colleague, Malcolm McMillan, described being "blown away by the picture quality."

In addition, the QM6K supports 4K gaming at 120Hz or 144Hz across two of its HDMI inputs. It also arrives with Google TV built right in, which I much prefer over the Hisense U65QF's Fire TV software.

3. TCL QM7K

If you want a little more oomph on a screen that's still fairly affordable, consider the TCL QM7K, a higher-end sibling to the QM6K. It's also available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch screen sizes.

Why we love it: Like the QM6K, the TCL QM7K also blends quantum dot-color with Mini-LED backlighting. However, the Mini-LEDs on the QM7K are much brighter, more bountiful and feature all-around better backlight control. It's a great choice for folks who want better performance and more features than what they'll get on the QM6K or the Hisense U65QF.

In our TCL QM7K review, we awarded this TV four stars in large part because of its implementation of Google TV and its thorough array of features for gamers. When you get right down to it, though, this TV is pricier than entry-level models because it gets at least twice as bright as many of those sets.

4. LG C5

We've arrived at the only TV on this list to have received a perfect, five-star rating. It's a mid-range OLED TV with a ridiculous amount of value, and it's available in 42-, 48-, 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch sizes.

Why we love it: In our LG C5 review, we heaped praise onto this value-packed OLED for its sensational performance, its class-leading selection of features and its approachable price. (It's 50% off its debut price right now, too, which definitely adds to its value.)

All of the benefits of OLED technology are on display here: perfect black levels, ultra-wide viewing angles and a sharp, detail-rich picture. It's also one of the best gaming TVs money can buy. How's that for earning its five-star rating?

5. Samsung S95F

The LG C5 may be the best-rated OLED TV on this list, but the Samsung S95F is easily the best-performing OLED TV on this list. You can find this incredible TV in 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch sizes, though the 83-inch model lacks the quantum dot-enhanced panel we marveled at in our four-and-a-half-star Samsung S95F review.

Why we love it: Like the LG C5 (and all OLED displays), the S95F is capable of perfect black levels and pixel-level contrast control. Unlike the C5, Samsung's flagship OLED delivers quantum dot-enhanced color for brighter, purer hues and higher HDR highlight brightness. The result is a deep, visually arresting picture that needs to be seen to do it any sort of justice.

We also appreciated the screen's matte finish, which does a remarkable job at blunting direct glare from nearby windows or light sources. As expected, the S95F comes with a laundry list of features and enhancements. It's just as powerful a gaming machine as the LG C5, but like all Samsung TVs, the S95F doesn't come with Dolby Vision support.

More from Tom's Guide

• I test TVs for a living — 5 signs it's time to replace your TV
• LG OLED TVs are getting a free update that fixes a huge Dolby Vision problem
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV

If you’re kicking yourself for missing out on Presidents’ Day TV deals, I’ve got some good news: This is still an excellent time of the year to find some under-the-radar deals on excellent TVs. This is because most major brands are gearing up to launch their 2026 models in the coming months.

Basically, if you know where to look, there are TV deals out there that are very much worth buying. For instance, this morning I noticed that the 75-inch Hisense U75QG is just $997 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on this TV to date — who needs Presidents’ Day?

Hisense’s mid-range Mini-LED TV is a match made in heaven for folks who want to save money on a 75-inch TV but still seek an impressive, cinematic picture. After spending a great deal of time with the U75QG in the past year, it's been one of my go-to recommendations for people shopping for a bright, versatile TV with a ton of features.

What sets the Hisense U75QG apart from more affordable 75-inch TVs is its higher-end hardware. This TV leverages Mini-LEDs for better brightness and backlight control, the latter of which is extra important at this extra-large size point.

Because the U75QG's Mini-LED display is bright and its local dimming well-engineered, this set is great for both daytime viewing and movie nights. It's a mid-range TV, sure, but it's also downright fun to watch.

The U75QG is also packed with features. In fact, while the higher-end Hisense U8QG features a brighter, punchier picture, the U75QG arrives with a nearly identical set of features. In other words, it offers a flagship slate of features for a mid-range price.

Console-owners will get all of the support they need, since the U75QG supports 4K gaming at 120Hz. The U75QG also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smoother gameplay.

And, for folks who'd rather not waste an HDMI slot on an external streaming device, you'll be happy to learn that the U75QG is built around the Google TV smart platform. It's fast, easy to navigate and offers a ton of downloadable apps to customize the streaming experience.

Amazon has slapped its limited-time label on this deal, so I don't expect to it to be around for very long. If you've got your heart set on something smaller, the 65-inch U75QG is on sale for $796 at Amazon (though this isn't quite its lowest price to date).

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested the Hisense U75QG Mini-LED TV for two weeks — and it’s my go-to gaming TV of 2025
• Hisense U75QG vs Hisense U8QG: Which Mini-LED TV is the better deal?
• If you just bought a Hisense TV, change these 5 settings right away