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.
Here's my read on the Hisense UR9's sudden, steep drop in price: No one's going to undercut Hisense.
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.
LG MRGB95 |
Hisense UR9 |
Samsung R95H |
TCL RM9L |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
65-inch |
N/A |
|
$3,199 |
N/A |
75-inch |
$4,999 |
|
$4,499 |
N/A |
85-inch |
$6,999 |
|
$6,499 |
$7,999 |
98-inch |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$9,999 |
100-inch |
$7,999 |
Coming soon |
N/A |
N/A |
115-inch |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$29,999 |
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.
