Hisense has a new home entertainment offering for 2023 that could become one of the best TVs of the year — and not just one of the best budget TVs, as the brand is known for.
The Hisense UX Mini LED TV sits a step above the company’s flagship Hisense U8K Mini LED TV, introducing a show-stopping boost to brightness that blew me away when I saw the 85-inch TV in person. For those who have waited for a Mini LED TV that rivals the brightness abilities of Samsung’s premium Neo QLED TVs, but at a more affordable price, the UX might just be the most exciting alternative yet.
So what makes it special? The Hisense UX’s 20,000 Mini LEDs and 5,000+ local dimming zones are powered by the company’s new ULED X platform. It runs the TV industry’s first 16-bit light control algorithm, promising better performance in terms of picture clarity and color reproduction.
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In the demo space, the set’s picture looked outstanding, even compared to the U8K. What stood out to me most were the black levels, which weren’t quite OLED good, but still surprisingly well nuanced with little-to-no blooming. In some ways, it seems to me like ULED X is Hisense’s answer to the QD-OLED technology being embraced by premium competitors like Sony and Samsung.
It looks the most premium of any of Hisense’s TVs, too. Unlike the company’s other sets — which typically sport a simple, even uninspiring, design — the UX is flashy. The left and right sides of the frame have a beveled effect with chrome details. I’m guessing it’s supposed to create the illusion that the TV isn’t as thick as it actually is, but it’s still certainly eye-catching.
The side frames also have visible speaker grills, and upon further inspection, I saw the top of the frame also had upward firing speakers. I listened to a brief audio demo from the built-in 80W 4.2.1 channel system, and was impressed by both the height of the sound and overall volume levels.
The UX supports many of the key formats you’ll find on all the best TVs: Dolby Vision, Dolby Audio, HDR 10+ and AMD Freesync Premium Pro. It also has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for Next Gen TV (in the markets where it’s available) and Wi-Fi 6e, meaning it gets some of the most modern connectivity technology available on the TV market.
I’m excited by the fact that the UX is a Google TV, too. The Google TV interface is easy to navigate and integrates seamlessly with Google Home devices and Google accounts. It has all the most popular streaming apps, further embracing a message of user accessibility.
Of course, a big part of accessibility is price. From what Hisense has said, it sounds like the UX will look to undercut the competition. While it’ll be more expensive than the U8K, it could still help make Mini LED more mainstream with a friendlier price point than both QD-OLED TVs and other premium Mini LED offerings.
Hisense hasn’t announced the price yet but has told us that the 85-inch UX will arrive in the U.S. later this year. I'm hopefully I'll get to spend more time with the set up close to get a stronger sense of whether it's truly as strong as what I gathered from first impressions.
