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Sony Xperia 1 VII review: has Sony’s long-standing Xperia family lost what it takes to compete?
5:25 pm | November 19, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Sony Xperia Phones | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Sony Xperia 1 VII: Two-minute review

The Xperia 1 VII is Sony’s top Android phone. It’s simultaneously refreshing among its peers and too conservative to be considered all that interesting or dynamic.

It’s very similar to its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 VI, but stands out as one of the few higher-end phones with a headphone jack and microSD expandable storage. These are not expensive features, but do partially come to define the Xperia 1 VII’s appeal against its rivals.

The other side of the phone is a bit more problematic. Aside from using what was at launch the latest, most powerful, Qualcomm chipset, the Xperia 1 series is falling behind in a few areas.

Charging speed, battery capacity, camera slickness, and video modes nowadays feel a little regressive in this class, and some of these areas are more limited than they were in some earlier generations of the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s family.

This would not matter so much were the Sony Xperia 1 VII not extremely expensive, but it costs more than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is the more dynamic phone.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: price and availability

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • Starts at £1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)
  • Launched in June 2025

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was released in June 2025, following an announcement in May.

It costs £1,399 or 1,499 euros, equivalent to around $1,870 / AU$2,885 in a direct currency conversion at the time of writing, but with no current availability in those regions. This is for the model reviewed, which has 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There is also a 512GB model in some parts of the world, but this isn't available in the UK.

In any case, that price puts the Sony Xperia 1 VII among the most expensive Android phones to date, short of unusual models encrusted with jewels or gold bling.

  • Value score: 2 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: specs

Here's a full specs list for the Sony Xperia 1 VII, so you can see what it has going for it at a glance:

Sony Xperia 1 VII specs

Dimensions:

162 x 74 x 8.2mm

Weight:

197g

Screen:

6.5-inch 19.5:9 FHD+ (1080 x 2340) 120Hz LTPO OLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

256GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

48MP, f/1.9, 24mm

Ultra-wide camera:

48MP, f/2.0, 16mm

Telephoto camera:

12MP, f/2.3-f/3.5, 3.5x-7.1x zoom (85-170mm)

Front camera:

12MP, f/2.0, 24mm

Audio:

Stereo speakers

Battery:

5,000mAh

Charging:

30W wired, 15W wireless

Colors:

Moss Green, Orchid Purple, Slate Black

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: design

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Sony Xperia 1 VII in the hand

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Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

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Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

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  • Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection
  • Familiar Sony 'monolith' design
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

Phones these days are often accused of being boring, and in many ways the Sony Xperia 1 VII is also guilty of that. It looks virtually identical to its predecessor, and is part of a design family tree so long it could shame some monarchical dynasties.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a metal and glass brick that offers very little in the way of visible outer progress in tech or style. But that’s kind of the point with this series.

Sony offers lots of the bits other manufacturers have long since discarded in the noble pursuit of copying Apple. For example, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a headphone jack, which I love as someone who actually bought a pair of wired in-ear monitors during testing.

It also has space for a microSD card in its SIM tray, and there’s no notch or punch-hole in the screen, just larger-than-most display borders. And it has a two-stage shutter button for the camera too. I’m not much of a fan of the latter these days, but Sony can make treading water seem valuable because it offers so much that other flagship phones just don’t have anymore.

Most of the build bullet points are largely beyond reproach too. The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a full metal and glass phone, with Corning’s tough Gorilla Glass Victus 2 up front, and aluminum sides. Its rear panel is 'just' Victus rather than its successor, which has better drop resistance, but this still provides a respectable amount of protection.

The back is also textured, with a series of embossed dots, apparent when you look real close. It’s very fingerprint-resistant, and simply gives the Sony Xperia 1 VII a different feel than that of flat glossy glass.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)

It is basically an identical feel to the Sony Xperia VI, though, especially as the two generations also have a sort-of corrugated effect to the frame.

The rectangular shape makes the Sony Xperia 1 VII feel tough, the sort of phone you could use as a bludgeoning weapon. But in previous generations I’ve found it less than ideal for the finish’s longevity. Eventually the paint will wear off the sharp corners of the frame, showing up as bright, raw aluminum highlights. A couple of weeks in, that wear is already visible on the Sony Xperia 1 VII's camera lens housing.

You can fix that with a case, of course, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII does not include one.

Like other phones in this series, the Xperia 1 VII also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor rather than an in-screen one. It doesn’t feel as instantaneous as some, and I find it annoyingly picky. As soon as I’ve done a little exercise, just a bit of sweat will cause my finger not to be recognized.

The speaker array deserves a note too. There are front-mounted stereo speakers, with the fairly full-sounding audio I’ve come to expect of top-tier phones. It may not be the loudest stereo pair among flagship phones, but I’ve happily spent many (many) hours listening to podcasts using nothing more than these speakers.

Water resistance is excellent too, as is typical for Sony. The Xperia 1 VII is rated for IP65 and IP68, for protection from immersion in fresh water and being subjected to jets of the stuff. This finish may be easy to scrape, but the phone is difficult to drown.

  • Design score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: display

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • Bright screen makes good use of HDR
  • Lower resolution than older Xperia flagships
  • Colorful and contrasty

This Sony series used to employ some pretty wild display panels, with ultra-tall shapes and ultra-high resolutions. But the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a far more ordinary 1080p screen that measures 6.5 inches across.

There’s no notch, it’s a totally flat panel, and this is a 120Hz OLED screen with OLED staple deep color and flawless contrast.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII’s default color mode has strong saturation, but there’s also a Creator mode that lowers saturation for a more measured appearance. This also kicks in as standard in apps that try to take over the color presentation of the screen, which is great.

It means your photos end up looking as they will on other well-calibrated screens, rather than severely oversaturated.

There’s nothing too special going on here, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII's screen is at least very bright. Legibility in strong direct sunlight is good, and the high peak brightness makes the most of the latest movements in HDR.

And I’m not just talking about HDR video. You’ll notice in Instagram that sometimes the highlights of the picture are brighter than the app’s white border. That’s HDR for you, and it can look great. It’s used when you look at your own photos in the gallery too, most notably bringing out the bright highlights in clouds in a very eye-catching manner.

Let’s not get carried away, though. Phones are currently on an upwards peak brightness trend thanks to the underlying OLED panel tech developing fairly rapidly in the background. Even fairly affordable phones have ridiculously high peak brightness claims — like the 3,000-nit Nothing Phone 3a.

  • Display score: 3.5 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: cameras

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • High-quality primary camera
  • Could feel more responsive and quick
  • Zoom is fun to use but disappoints on image quality in 2025

You’d think phones like the Sony Xperia 1 VII would have the best phone cameras in the world. A division of Sony, after all, does make almost all of the camera sensors used by the best phones.

Yet despite that the Sony Xperia 1 VII doesn't quite match the best rivals here, not in all respects anyway. While the Sony Xperia 1 VII has mostly top-tier hardware, the experience of actually using the camera doesn’t have the standard-setting gloss and slickness you might expect.

For example, the shutter doesn’t always feel instantaneous, and there’s sometimes a fractional wait between captures as you shoot single stills. The best-feeling phone cameras appear to operate as fast as your finger will go. The Sony Xperia 1 VII isn’t quite there.

Its preview image isn’t the best either. For example, Samsung provides a solid estimation of what a photo will look like before you even take it, including the effects of its HDR processing. The Sony Xperia 1 VII will sometimes show blown highlights in the preview view, even if it pretty much always fixes those highlights by the time the image hits your gallery.

As we’ve seen across the phone, much of the camera is pretty familiar compared to the last generation. The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a large-sensor 48MP primary camera and a still-unusual genuine optical zoom lens – virtually every other phone zoom has what’s known as a prime lens, where the view is fixed.

The ultra-wide gets a notable upgrade, though. Sensor resolution jumps from 12MP to 48MP, which could be good or bad depending on the sensor used. But this time it’s also a much larger sensor, jumping from 1/2.5-inch in the Xperia VI to 1/1.56-inch here. It’s one of the higher-spec ultra-wide cameras you’ll find.

Sure enough, the ultra-wide takes lovely pictures, giving the Xperia 1 VII an admirable sense of consistency between the wide and ultra-wide lenses. Colors aren’t oversaturated, instead appearing largely natural.

Are these two lenses actually equals? It’s not even close, and that becomes clear at night. The Sony Xperia 1 VII can only take (barely) passable low-light shots with the ultra-wide, lacking the dynamic range and detail of the main camera. Far-away brick work turns to mush, and it also seems the ultra-wide shots don’t get as much low-light processing either.

The main camera’s night shots are good, although Sony perhaps leans slightly less egregiously on computational photography to enhance dynamic range. This can mean photos look more natural than the norm, if also less impressive in some scenes.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)

The deficiencies of the zoom camera aren’t too hard to find either, even though having what amounts to 16mm-170mm framing versatility is amazing. This camera allows you to shoot at anywhere from 3.5x to 7.1x optical zoom, but when shooting at the further reaches of the zoom in particular, detail integrity and clarity are actually pretty poor considering we are looking at a non digitally-zoomed image.

It’s likely down to a conjunction of two factors that limit the quality of photos we’ll be able to get. There’s the lowly f/3.5 aperture – which is fine in a 'proper' camera but very poor in a mobile phone. And the sensor itself is small. That said, I’ve found that image quality issues can appear in any kind of lighting, from blazing sunshine to night.

That’s not to say the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s extreme zoom images are unusable. They can look good on the surface, but fall apart a bit when approached with a critical eye.

The zoom camera also has a kind of amazing macro mode, which is available at the 120cm focal length. You can focus at up to 4cm away from the camera. It’s enough to reveal the printed dots in a Magic the Gathering card, or the subpixels in a MacBook Air’s display. I’ve used it to identify tiny spiders, and get a closer look at ripening blackberries, but you need a steady hand as the depth of field is extremely shallow. Thankfully the Xperia 1 VII does have a focus peaking option to help out. This is where in-focus elements of the scene are highlighted.

But, stepping back once more, compared to the more conventional pericope designs in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Sony needs to up its game to compete.

For video, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has some solid skills, with some odd missing parts. It can capture 4K video at up to 120fps, and there’s a software-generated 'bokeh' blur video mode and an extra stabilized 'AI' mode.

However, where Sony used to be the master of slow-mo video, the Xperia 1 VII has no real notable skills here. Back when ultra-powered slow-mo modes became a show-off contest, there was often interpolation involved. But it was fun to play around with, and that’s largely absent here.

Around the front, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 12MP selfie camera. It’s good, capable of rendering natural-looking skin tones, and has the detail to pick out pores, single facial hairs and so on – when you aren’t obliterating such details with filters.

  • Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review camera samples

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Sony Xperia 1 VII camera samples

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Sony Xperia 1 VII review: performance

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • Gradual thermal throttling attempts to manage heat
  • A high-performing phone
  • Still gets a little too warm on occasion

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has one of the best chipsets available to Android phones in 2025. This is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s enormously powerful (though now beaten by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), and here it’s paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

This will be able to handle any game you throw its way and, the largely non-processor-related camera hitches aside, general performance is great. But that's as it should be, as we have every right to expect one of the best possible processors in the Sony Xperia 1 VII, given how much it costs.

When pressure is applied, Sony takes a highly progressive approach to thermal throttling in the Xperia 1 VII. Where some phones hang on for dear life until the internal temperature sensor reaches a certain level, here the performance scales with temperature in a more fine grain way, chipping down almost from the beginning of a gaming session or benchmark test.

After 20 minutes the Xperia 1 VII ends up at 55% of its peak performance. And as that test was performed on a hot day during the summer, I also slung the phone in a fridge to see what happened with the same test. Once again, there was that very gradual loss of power, ending up with 78.8% of its max after 20 minutes.

I have also noticed that the Xperia 1 VII gets hot on occasion, which is predictably accompanied by faster power drain.

In any case, losing up to 45% of peak power may sound pretty bad, but it’s not uncommon to see up to a 55% loss in phones with these high power chipsets.

Some folks had major reliability issues with the Xperia 1 VII at launch, spurring a response from Sony itself. Thankfully, it’s been mostly smooth sailing day-to-day during testing, though.

  • Performance score: 4 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: software

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • Sticks to the AI basics
  • Fewer Sony apps than some older phones
  • Familiar Sony interface style

The Sony Xperia 1 VII runs Android 15 and has Sony’s long-standing custom interface on top. It comes with the promise of four years of operating system version updates and six years of security patches.

There’s nothing too surprising here. It has an app drawer, one that can be arranged either alphabetically or using your own layout. Choose the latter and you can also sort apps into folders.

The only interface niggles we’ve found are that the Wi-Fi switch wasn’t put in the feature toggle drop-down as standard, and that the standby behavior and lock screen layout means it’s easy to accidentally have podcasts or songs skip while the phone is in your pocket.

These are not problems without fixes, but they are annoying.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)

A while back, Sony went big on its own apps, including multiple camera apps for enthusiasts and the point ’n’ shoot crowd. It made a minor splash at the time, but all that has mostly been scaled back in favor of simplicity.

And, let’s be honest, having to maintain multiple apps for the same job has got to be a pain.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII gets a single camera app, a basic video editor, the Music Pro multi-track recorder app, and what Sony calls the Creators’ App. This is part social network, part a way to bring over the photos taken with your 'proper' Sony camera(s).

Sony’s concept here does kind of make sense, to bring together the other sides of Sony’s wider business to lend the Xperia 1 VII additional credibility. It desperately wants to make phones for creatives, but doesn’t really have a hope in hell of bringing many of them over to its stable, especially as there are alternatives to all of these apps floating around, ones with more workflow-boosting features.

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Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

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This phone also does not have an app pre-installed that lets you use the phone as an external monitor for Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras, despite that feature once being hailed as a photographer’s USP for buying a top-tier Xperia. I did install a Sony app that appeared to do that job, but it also appears to be largely brand-agnostic on the phone side, and I’m primarily a Fuji camera user anyway.

Sony has not gone heavy on AI software in the way other manufacturers have – which may be appealing or a turn-off depending on your tastes. It is here, though. Long-press the side power button and Google Gemini AI appears. There’s just not much in the way of Sony-made AI features, which is probably for the best given how at-risk they’d be of coming across as superfluous and try-hard.

  • Software score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: battery

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images

(Image credit: Future)
  • Bottom rung 'fast' charging
  • One-day real-world battery life
  • 5,000mAh capacity

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 5,000mAh battery, just like its predecessor. I have found that with my use it lasts a solid day and no more.

Is it worse than last year’s model? Perhaps not, or at least not hugely, but Sony has not caught up with one of the new meaningful developments in phone tech of late. This is the silicon-carbon battery, which allows for higher-capacity batteries in the same size of cell.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII lasts a full day with my kind of use, but rarely has much spare to keep it going overnight or into the next day. On a couple of occasions – usually when I’ve watched too much YouTube – it has needed an evening top-up too. And, as noted earlier, there have been moments when it has inexplicably got warmer than it should, indicative of excess power drain.

I think if you are able to get Sony’s claimed two-day use, you’re not using your phone intensively enough to justify one this pricey.

Charging speeds are not particularly impressive either, as 30W is the power ceiling. Sony does not include a power adapter with the phone, but plenty of non-Sony plugs will be able to charge it at max speed, over USB-PD.

A full charge from flat took 88 minutes, while it reached 50% in a much better-sounding 29 minutes. It’s not a real fast charger, and is now also beaten by Samsung – not a fast-charging pioneer either, but at least top phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra support 45W charging.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII can be charged wirelessly too, but at up to a dismal 15W. Reverse wireless charging is in as well, though, which should come in handy if you have wireless earphones that support Qi charging.

  • Battery score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Sony Xperia 1 VII?

Sony Xperia 1 VII score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The phone costs a fortune. And while it has the raw power expected at this level, and uses great materials, it’s not clear Sony has really done enough to justify asking for this.

2 / 5

Design

It’s that same old Sony design. Largely impeccable materials and great water resistance, but the brick-like shape creates areas that wear down quickly, and Sony doesn’t include a case.

3 / 5

Display

It’s bright and it has OLED color and contrast. But it’s also pretty ordinary considering the panels Sony used to employ. You don’t miss much, other than the sense you’re paying a lot for a screen like this.

3.5 / 5

Software

Sony offers us some creative apps we imagine most buyers will ignore, but the rest of the software is business as usual. Android 15 with a layer of Sony interface pasted on top, and no obvious AI obsession for better or worse.

3 / 5

Camera

A zero-fat camera array like this is what we want to see. And the phone can take beautiful pictures. It could be better on the slickness of the experience, though, and the zoom is falling behind rivals despite sounding great on paper.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is swiftly and progressively throttled in the phone to manage heat. A sensible move, if not one the techy gamers may love.

4 / 5

Battery

We’re in the process of seeing a big leap in phone battery capacities. But Sony isn’t there yet, and this phone doesn’t last more than a day in our experience. Fast charging needs to improve too.

3 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a phone with a headphone jack
Old-school in a great way, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a high-quality 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been a rarity in all but budget phones for years now.

You are a big Sony Alpha mirrorless camera fan
The phone has software to link up to your 'proper' camera’s photo library, and the screen is a great way to review photos.

You just love Sony’s style
Recognizable from way further than arm’s length to any phone geek, Sony’s phone design hasn’t changed much over the years, and fans may be glad of it.

Don't buy it if...

You want cutting-edge tech
While it has a high-end Snapdragon chipset, other areas of the device do not feel as though they are pushing at the edge of what’s possible in phone tech.

You want a deal
This is one of the most expensive Android phones in existence, and there’s a good argument that Sony doesn’t really justify the outlay fully.

You love fast charging
30W power supply support means the Xperia 1 VII takes almost 90 minutes to charge from flat, which seems a lot in 2025.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: Also consider

Not sure about the Sony? Here are a few alternative options.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
There are plenty of more aggressive and competitively priced phones at this level. The perhaps most obvious one is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has better zoom skills, costs less and has a larger screen. There’s no headphone jack, of course.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Google Pixel 9 Pro
The Google Pixel 9 Pro sticks with a smaller screen, costs loads less and still has a solid 5x camera zoom. It makes much more use of software AI, though whether that’s your bag or not depends on your proclivities.

Read out full Google Pixel 9 Pro review

Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is an alternative you might not instantly think of. It uses more aggressive camera hardware, and has a larger, faster-charging battery. A more cutting-edge design also fits in a significantly larger screen even though the phone itself is only fractionally wider.

Read our full Xiaomi 15 Ultra review

Sony Xperia 1 VII

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Price (at launch):

£1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)

$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149

$999 / £999 / AU$1,699

£1,299 (roughly $1,740 / AU$2,675)

Dimensions:

162 x 74 x 8.2mm

162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm

152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm

161.3 x 75.3 x 9.4mm

Weight:

197g

218g

199g

226g

Displays

6.5-inch OLED, 120Hz

6.9-inch AMOLED, 120Hz

6.3-inch OLED, 120Hz

6.73-inch AMOLED, 120Hz

Cameras

48MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto

200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto

50MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 200MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite for Galaxy

Google Tensor G4

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite

How I tested the Sony Xperia 1 VII

  • Review test period: several weeks
  • Testing included: everyday use, photography, long days away from a charger, a weekend away
  • Tools used: Geekbench 6, 3DMark

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was used as my primary phone for several weeks, to get the best idea of how it works. I took hundreds of photos with its cameras, and used it during a weekend away, with long days away from the charger.

Some benchmark performance testing was done too, in order to back up, or potentially challenge, observations I found from my everyday phone use. However, there were not any grand surprises to be found in those benchmarks anyway.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025

I tested the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 projector, and it has incredible performance and features for the price
1:19 am | November 15, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Theater Projectors Televisions | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000: One minute review

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is the latest, and least expensive, member of Epson's LS series of projectors. At $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299, this entry-level dedicated home theater projector is notably cheaper than comparable options from JVC and Sony, yet still comes with a bevy of great features and performance to match.

Epson’s Pro Cinema LS9000 follows in the footsteps of the Epson LS12000 model that currently sits a the top of TechRadar’s Best Projectors list. The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 aims to continue this excellence, employing the same 15-element glass VRX lens structure, laser light engine, and 3LCD technology as the LS12000.

Similar to the step-up LS12000, the Pro Cinema LS9000 supports 4K 120Hz signals, has relatively low input lag for gaming, and is compatible with the HDR10+ high dynamic range format. Its motorized lens shift, zoom, and focus make setup adjustments easy, and out of the box in Natural picture mode, it delivers accurate colors and a crisp image.

Even with all the great inclusions, some missing features reflect the LS9000’s entry-level status. The most glaring is a lack of dynamic tone mapping, which is also missing from the other LS series projectors that were originally released a few years ago, but is starting to show up in some less expensive home theater models. With a rated 2,200 lumens brightness (white and color), it’s also best suited for a home theater room with decent ambient light control, as opposed to a multi-purpose living space with light streaming in through windows.

Still, the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 offers incredible performance for the price. It’s a solid projector that’s easy to set up, but still offers the ability to tweak and play with image settings that a new (or frugal) home projection enthusiast is sure to love.

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Price & release date

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 on table at angle

The LS9000's 2,200 lumens brightness spec is comparable to many other home theater projectors (Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: July 2025
  • Price: $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 made its debut in July 2025 at the Audio Advice Live show in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the least expensive of Epson’s Pro Cinema laser projectors, coming in at $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299. For comparison, the Home Cinema LS11000 retails for $4,499 (up from $3,999 when released) and the LS12000 now goes for $5,999 (up from $4,999 at release).

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Specs

Screen sizes supported:

50-300 inches

Brightness (specified):

2,200 Lumens

HDR support:

HDR10, HDR10+, HLG

Optical technology:

3LCD laser diode

Smart TV:

N/A

Connections:

2x HDMI 2.1 (one with eARC), 2x USB-A (one 300mA for optical HDMI power, one 5V/2A for power and firmware), Mini USB (service), RJ45 (control), RS-232c, 3.5mm (12V trigger)

Dimensions (H x W x D):

7.6 x 20.5 x 17.6 inches (193 x 520‎ x 447mm)

Weight:

28 pounds (12.7kg)

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Design & features

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 rear panel ports and controls

The projector's connections include two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support (Image credit: Future)
  • Motorized zoom, focus, and lens shift
  • 4K 120Hz support
  • Motorized lens cover

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 shares the same look as its bigger siblings, the Pro Cinema LS12000 and Home Cinema LS11000, and the high-lumen Epson QB1000 released in late 2024. The chassis is large and a bit heavy (the Sony Bravia Projector 7 weighs less, but the JVC DLA-NZ5 weighs a little more), but I find the design and its black color to look sleeker than its heft lets on. All connections are on the back panel alongside touch controls if the remote is misplaced.

The look is not where the similarities to the LS11000 and LS12000 end. Inside, the LS9000 uses the same VRX lens with a 15-element glass structure and has Epson’s 4K 3LCD design architecture with three 0.74-inch LCD panels.

As is the case with all Epson projectors, the LS9000 uses pixel-shifting technology to achieve a 4K resolution from 1080p chips. Some enthusiasts complain about this not being “True 4K” and as lesser than the use of native 4K chips, but the 4K image from the LS9000 (and every other Epson that uses pixel-shifting technology) is detailed and crisp, especially from a normal viewing distance. The chip also allows for a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

The laser light source is specified for 2,200 lumens of both color (IDMS rated) and white (ISO rated) light output and has up to 20,000 hours of life in all modes. This is where the LS9000’s performance separates from the LS11000 and LS12000, which are rated at 2,500 and 2,700 lumens, respectively, and partially accounts for the difference in pricing. The blue laser diode array emits light through a fixed yellow phosphor (first released with the LS12000), as opposed to a phosphor wheel, to create white light, and the laser light source and fixed phosphor allow it to run silently.

The lower lumen output makes the LS9000 more suitable for a dark room – or at the very least, a light-controlled room — than the more expensive, higher light output projectors. But as I’ll discuss below, it still delivers enough brightness for daytime viewing.

There’s a generous +/- 24% horizontal and +/- 96% vertical powered lens shift on the LS9000, along with powered zoom (a ratio of 1-1.2) and focus that can be controlled from the remote to make setup adjustments easy. The projector’s throw ratio is 1.35-2.84:1. There’s also vertical and horizontal keystone correction (+/- 30 degrees), but with the amount of lens shift available, keystone correction likely won’t be necessary (and should always be avoided, if possible, as it can negatively affect the picture).

The LS9000 is compatible with an anamorphic lens kit (sold separately) and third-party options. A memory feature allows you to save image adjustments and lens positioning for different aspect ratio setups, and the lens is also protected by a motorized lens cover that opens and closes with the power cycle.

The LS9000 supports HDR10, HLG, and HDR10+ high dynamic range, and has two HDMI 2.1 inputs that support 4K 120Hz. While that’s great news for gamers, the projector doesn’t support ALLM, so you’ll need to manually switch the image processing from Fine to Fast for the lowest input lag. HDMI2 also supports eARC, so if you decide to connect a streaming stick directly to the projector, you can send out audio including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Master Audio, and DTS:X formats.

One thing missing from the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is dynamic HDR tone mapping. Instead, there’s an HDR Dynamic Range slider that allows you to manually adjust the brightness of the HDR image.

The projector’s remote is a bit chunky, but the keypad is backlit and has all the necessary buttons to make easy adjustments while viewing. There are dedicated buttons to call up features like Fine/Fast (for gaming), different lens memory positions, signal information, lens adjustment, and color modes.

  • Design & features score: 4.5/5

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Picture quality

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 remote control on wood surface

The LS900 has a sizeable, fully backlit remote control with numerous buttons to make adjustments directly, bypassing onscreen setup menus (Image credit: Future)
  • Accurate image in Natural picture mode
  • HDR10+ support
  • No dynamic tone mapping

The LS9000 has five different picture modes — Dynamic, Vivid, Bright Cinema, Cinema, and Natural — and they are the same for both standard and high dynamic range sources. Each mode produces a watchable image out of the box, although all of them have some degree of blue tint to the grayscale, with Natural being the most accurate choice for both SDR and HDR.

The default color temperature setting of 6500K is still slightly on the blue side, but switching it to 6000K causes the color temperature to be a little too red. If you choose to do a professional calibration, you can use two different picture modes – one for SDR and one for HDR – and save them with the Image Memory setting.

Out of the box SDR measurements in Natural picture mode had an average Delta E of 2.8, with some grayscale reaching above 4 because of the blue bias. A calibration can get all dE down below 2.1, with many under 1. UHDA-P3 color gamut coverage measured 90.25%, while BT.2020 came in at 66.86%.

Brightness in Dynamic mode with my unit was 2,062 lumens, but that’s still within the measurement tolerance of ISO lumens, and due to the positioning of my projector, the image was zoomed in a bit, which causes the brightness to come down. It’s enough brightness for a watchable image in a room with ambient light (even with Natural picture mode, which is visibly less bright than other modes), but there’s a loss of shadow detail due to the light reflecting on the screen.

Where the projector really excels is when the lights are off. Colors look accurate and inviting, detail in both SDR and HDR is sharp, and the projector exhibits great contrast and shadow detail with the Dynamic Contrast setting at High Speed. The contrast isn’t as impressive as on the LS12000, which I evaluated a few years ago, but for the price, the LS9000 does an excellent job.

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 on table with laser light on and center channel speaker visible below

The LS9000 excels for dark room viewing (Image credit: Future)

The HDR image does require some tweaking at times. Occasionally, bright highlights can cause some clipping — such as when the shark cage is lowered into the water in The Meg, and we can see the bright sun refracting through the ocean water. In this instance, I adjusted the dynamic range slider from its default of 8 to 10 (which slightly backs off the scene brightness).

Through most of my viewing, I played around with the slider, not just to address high brightness clipping, but also to see its effect on image depth. Generally, I found myself setting it between 8 and 10, with the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Return of the King at 8 and day scenes during Mad Max: Fury Road at a 9 for a bit more depth. None of the adjustments were life-altering, and I wouldn’t suggest changing the dynamic range slider mid-movie, but you’ll learn your preferences. This is where dynamic tone mapping is missed.

Home theater projectors have historically struggled to provide input lag low enough for gaming, but with two HDMI 2.1 ports that are capable of 4K 120Hz, the LS9000 is screaming to be used as a gaming projector. The Image Processing menu allows you to select a setting of Fine or Fast (which provides a lower input lag). With the Fast setting and a 4K 60Hz signal, the lag measured at 20ms (it’s 44ms with the Fine setting). Unfortunately, there’s no ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), so you’ll need to manually switch the setting when you game or watch content.

Input lag is low enough on the LS9000 to satisfy a non-competitive gamer (my son still enjoyed his time playing Minecraft). During my second playthough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which relies on dodge and parry reactions during combat, I was able to still make it through combat without issue. Someone who regularly plays first-person shooter games will likely feel a difference between the LS9000 and one of the best gaming TVs, but for the vast majority of us, the Epson will deliver a great gaming experience.

  • Picture quality score: 4.5/5

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Value

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 mounted on ceiling

The LS9000's 1.35-2.84:1 throw ratio allows for installations at the rear of the viewing space (Image credit: Future)
  • Great performance for the price
  • Solid gaming projector
  • Missing an important home theater feature

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is not only the least expensive model in the LS series, it’s one of the most affordable premium home theater projectors – the JVC DLA-NP5, which is a lamp-based model, retails for $6,000, as does the Sony VPL-XW5000ES, which came out three years ago.

Not only is the LS9000 brighter than both of those projectors, it also has a collection of features neither of them has, including a high-quality laser light engine, HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K/120Hz and eARC support, an excellent lens with motorized adjustments and lens cover, zoom and image memory, and 2,200 lumens of brightness.

There are still some compromises that must be made. Its biggest flaw is a lack of dynamic tone mapping, which we’re seeing in projectors half the price of the LS9000, like the Valerion VisionMaster Pro2. The LS9000 also doesn’t have 3D support, isn’t as bright as the step-up options from Epson, and is missing ALLM for gaming. But even so, the projector delivers a detailed picture with accurate color, which looks very engaging in a dark room. Also, the 20ms input lag time and 4K 120Hz support make gaming a joy on the big screen.

  • Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000?

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 on table at angle with lens cover closed

(Image credit: Future)
Epson Pro Cinema LS9000

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

Motorized zoom, focus, and lens shift, along with 4K 120Hz and HDR10+ support

4.5/5

Picture quality

Accurate color in Natural mode, along with solid contrast, fine 4K picture detail, and low input lag for gaming

4.5/5

Value

A very good value compared to other 4K home theater projectors, most of which cost several thousands more

4/5

Buy it if...

You’re building your first serious home theater
If you’re making the jump from a basic projector to one truly designed for a 4K home theater, the LS9000 delivers an incredibly pleasing picture that rivals home theater offerings from JVC and Sony.View Deal

You also want a great gaming experience
It might not have ALLM, but the Pro Cinema LS9000 supports 4K 120Hz, and its input lag is low enough for all but the most competitive gamers.View Deal

You want HDR10+ support
Since the LS9000 doesn’t have dynamic tone mapping, watching HDR10+ content (with its dynamic metadata) will deliver the best dynamic content.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want dynamic HDR tone mapping
The LS9000, like its bigger siblings, doesn’t support dynamic tone mapping, instead relying on a manual dynamic range slider to adjust the HDR image.View Deal

You plan on watching with lots of ambient light
While 2,200 lumens is a good brightness spec, ambient light causes the image to look a bit washed out, which makes seeing shadow detail difficult.View Deal

Watching 3D movies is a priority
3D isn’t supported by the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 (or by the LS11000 and LS12000), so you’ll need to look elsewhere for your 3D fix.View Deal

Also consider

Comparison: projectors

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000

Epson Pro Cinema LS12000

JVC DLA-NZ700

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Price:

$3,999

$4,999

$8.999

$9,999

Screen sizes supported:

50-300 inches

50 to 130 inches

30 to 150 inches

90 to 130 inches

Brightness (specified):

2,200 lumens

2,500 lumens

2,300 lumens

2,200 lumens

HDR support

HDR10, HDR10+, HLG

HDR10, HDR10+, HLG

HDR10, HDR10+, HLG

HDR10, HLG

Optical technology:

Laser 3LCD

Laser 3LCD

Laser D-ILA

Laser SXRD

Smart TV:

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Connections:

2x HDMI 2.1 (1 with eARC)

2x HDMI 2.1 (1 with eARC)

2x HDMI 2.0

2x HDMI 2.1

Epson LS12000

The LS12000 is the step-up model in Epson's Pro Cinema projector lineup. Rated for 2,700 lumens, it has a brighter picture than the LS9000 and also supports HDR10+ high dynamic range and a 4K 120Hz refresh rate for gaming. Other than brightness, the LS9000 and LS12000 are mostly similar when it comes to features and performance.

Read our Epson LS12000 review View Deal

JVC DLA-NZ700

The JVC DLA-N700 is a big jump up in price over the LS9000, and it lacks Epson's 4K 120Hz support. At a rated 2,300 lumens, brightness is about the same, but the JVC features a native 4K display chipset and sophisticated dynamic HDR tone mapping to augment its HDR10+ high dynamic range support.

Read our JVC DLA-NZ700 reviewView Deal

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Like the JVC DLA-N700, Sony's entry-level projector is a big step up in price over the Epson, costing around $10,000. Its brightness spec is the same 2.200 lumens and it lacks the Epson's HDR10+ support. What you are getting with the Sony is 4K 120Hz and ALLM support for gaming, along with a native 4K display. It also has dynamic HDR tone mapping and Sony’s XR Processor for projector, which improves detail and clarity of images blown up to a cinematic size.

Read our Sony Bravia Projector 7 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000

  • Evaluated under various viewing conditions
  • Measured and calibrated with professional software and hardware
  • I am ISF-certified and have years of experience reviewing projectors

The Epson LS9000 laser projector was connected to my ceiling mount, approximately 11 feet from an Elite Screens CineTension 3 ISF-certified CineWhite screen. Using the Epson’s zoom and lens adjustment controls, the image was adjusted to fit the 100-inch diagonal screen.

I watched a wide range of content with both ambient light from the sun and ceiling lighting during the day and a dark, light-controlled environment at night. Movies and TV shows were streamed with an Apple TV 4K from the Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu apps. I also used a Kaleidescape Strato V for high-quality movie playback, along with 4K Blu-ray discs played on an Oppo UDP-203 disc player. Games were played on an Xbox Series X.

For objective measurement testing, I used an X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, Murideo Seven-G 8K pattern generator, Konica Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and Calman calibration software by Portrait Displays. Input lag tests were made with a Leo Bodnar 4K lag tester.

I’ve been testing projectors and other displays for a couple of decades, and am an ISF Level III certified calibrator.

I tested the Hisense U75QG mini-LED TV, and it’s the best value Hisense TV
3:00 pm | November 8, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Televisions | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Hisense U75QG: Two-minute review

The Hisense U75QG is a solid performer that packs a lot of features in for the price. Typically, flagship TVs are the ones that get the most attention, but people usually aren’t buying the best of the best from any brand. Instead, buying considerations usually fall to midrange TVs like this one.

The Hisense U75QG is a mini-LED display that delivers brightness we generally don’t see from TVs in this price range – I measured over 3,000 nits in HDR Filmmaker Mode, a level that exceeds many of the best TVs from most manufacturers. That makes the U7 an excellent choice for bright spaces where ambient light is difficult to control, such as a living room with large picture windows.

Accuracy with SDR sources is impressive, so while watching broadcast TV or non-HDR streamed shows, the U75QG will deliver nice, accurate colors. HDR has a few issues in color temperature and accuracy, but they’re not drastic enough to distract and pull you out of the viewing experience. They can also be mostly corrected with a professional calibration, if you’re up for spending extra for that.

The U75QG’s Google TV OS is, as expected, quick to use and easy to navigate. Google has been the top built-in smart TV platform for a few years now, and Hisense uses it well. Picture adjustments are easy to find and change, especially with a Settings button on the backlit remote, and the Google Store offers hundreds of apps for download, including all the major streamers and smaller ones as well. And for those that want over-the-air broadcasts, the U75QG includes a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner.

The Hisense has great gaming support, with the ability for high refresh rate up to 165Hz on all four HDMI 2.1 ports, with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision gaming, and a game bar to easily access gaming settings. There are some issues with image smearing when using VRR that can detract a little, but casual gamers should be more than happy with the features and performance.

Hisense TVs always see an almost immediate dip in pricing after release, and the same has happened with the U75QG. Those discounts make it an even better value, and it stacks up well against the TCL QM7K – its primary competitor. When everything is taken into account, the Hisense U75QG stands as one of the best value midrange TVs I’ve seen in 2025.

Hisense U75QG review: Price and release date

Hisense U75QG showing image of Acapulco Apple TV+ ad

The Hisense U75QG's picture is bright enough to even watch in well-lit rooms (Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: May 2025
  • 55-inch: $1,300
  • 65-inch: $1,500
  • 75-inch: $1,999
  • 85-inch: $2,499
  • 100-inch: $4,999
  • 116-inch: $21,999

The U75QG is Hisense’s midrange mini-LED TV, falling between the Hisense U8QG and U65QF (a model that uses the Amazon Fire TV OS) in its lineup. The series ranges in size from a 55-inch to a massive 116-inch model – the largest Hisense mini-LED TV available. As is typical for Hisense TVs, prices for all models, apart from the 116-inch, have fallen significantly since the series was released in May. The 55-inch TV can now be found for as little as $698, with prices ranging to just under $3,000 for the 100-inch.

The U75QG pricing is similar to the TCL QM7K, the midrange competitor from that manufacturer. Although the Hisense is currently $100 to $700 more expensive than the TCL, depending on screen size.

Hisense U75QG review: Specs

Screen type:

QLED with mini-LED

Refresh rate:

Up to 144Hz

HDR support:

Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10+ Adaptive, HLG

Audio support:

Dolby Atmos, DTS Virtual:X

Smart TV:

Google TV

HDMI ports:

4 x HDMI 2.1

Built-in tuner:

ATSC 3.0

Hisense U75QG review: Benchmark results

Hisense U75QG review: Features

Image 1 of 2

Hisense U75QG rear panel ports

The U75QG's ports are split between side-mounted and rear-mounted input sections (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2

Hisense U75QG rear panel ports

(Image credit: Future)
  • Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support
  • Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor
  • VA panel with good anti-reflection

The U75QG is a mini-LED TV with an anti-reflection VA panel, which does a great job handling ambient room light reflections. The VA panel does not provide it with wide viewing angles, however, with desaturated colors and raised black levels easily visible starting at around 30 degrees off-center.

Hisense upgraded last year’s Hi-View Engine Pro found in the U7N to the Hi-View AI Engine Pro, which is the same processor the company is using in its step-up U8QG model. Hisense claims improved performance over the previous chip with a 1.6x faster CPU, 2.2x faster GPU, and 1.5x faster NPU, all to deliver a better optimized image.

The Hisense U75QG includes wide-ranging HDR support, including both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic formats. Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive modes use the TV’s processing power to automatically adjust the picture based on the ambient light viewing conditions in your room. Dolby Vision Gaming is included, and, of course, the TV supports HDR10 and HLG.

Console and PC gamers will be happy with the included features on the U75QG. All four HDMI 2.1 ports support a refresh rate up to 165Hz with a Game Booster 288Hz (at 1080p), VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Hisense Game Bar, and the aforementioned HDR gaming modes. Although, as we’ll get into below, there are some minor clarity issues with gaming on the U75QG.

The U75QG runs the Google TV OS, which allows access to thousands of streaming apps. It also has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for those in areas that are broadcasting NextGen TV signals.

  • Features Score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Picture quality

Hisense U75QG showing image of dramatic sunset

The U75QG's picture displays good color accuracy (Image credit: Future)
  • Incredibly bright for a midrange TV
  • Impressive SDR color accuracy
  • HDR benefits from a pro calibration

Hisense has been a leader over the past few years in pushing display brightness to its limits, so there’s no surprise that the U75QG gets nice and bright, especially for a midrange TV. With local dimming and peak brightness set to High, and using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software, in Filmmaker Mode from a 10% window, the Hisense blasts out 3,126 nits. That’s more than double what its predecessor, the Hisense U7N, was capable of, and more than the flagship Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED TV. A fullscreen white measurement tops out at 780 nits.

With local dimming on, the Hisense also delivers deep blacks even when there are some bright images on screen. During starfield shots — the opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi or many scenes in Gravity — there’s excellent separation between the stars, especially for a mid-tier mini-LED TV, and there isn’t a significant amount of blooming along the edges of the Shuttle Explorer against the darkness of space. When bright objects are moving, the blooming is exacerbated a little bit, but overall performance is still great for the price of the TV.

Measurements in Filmmaker Mode out of the box show the U75QG tracks the target EOTF (gamma for HDR) beautifully, so the TV isn’t overbrightening the midtones at all. HDR color accuracy also leaves a little to be desired, with things like grass being a little yellow and skin tones slightly undersaturated. None of this takes away from the overall enjoyment of a movie or TV show, though.

The U75QG excels with SDR content. Grayscale tracks D65 across the range incredibly well, with an average dE of 0.8 and 2.4 gamma. Colors are also impressively accurate for a midrange TV, with skin tones in particular looking exactly as they should.

It’s possible to get similar performance with HDR content. The U75QG has an autocal feature in Calman, the software TechRadar uses to measure TVs, so the TV can be easily calibrated within just a few minutes by a TV calibration professional. And after calibration, the TV’s accuracy is significantly better. Some color temperature issues remain in brighter grays, but if you’re able to make it happen, a calibration is worth it to get the most out of the U75QG.

  • Picture quality score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Sound quality

Hisense U75QG rear panel subwoofer

A rear-mounted subwoofer adds some low-end heft to the U75QG's sound (Image credit: Future)
  • 2.1.2-channel speaker system
  • Clear dialogue
  • Would benefit from a soundbar

The back of the U75QG features an oval subwoofer, part of the TV’s 2.1.2-channel speaker system. Along its edges are speakers to handle the left and right channels, as well as two up-firing speakers for height. In my room, I didn’t find that the up-firing speakers accomplished much, and there isn’t a room calibration system to make them work better.

Overall sound performance is above average for a TV. There’s a decent amount of bass and vocal clarity is good, but it’s still worth pairing the TV with one of the best soundbars for a more immersive experience.

  • Sound quality score: 3.5/5

Hisense U75QG review: Design

Hisense U75QG close up of stand

The U75QG's "pedestal stand" is actually two support feet with a plastic plate mounted on top (Image credit: Future)
  • Center pedestal is really two feet with a plastic plate
  • High enough lift for soundbar
  • Backlit remote control

The Hisense U75QG has a slightly redesigned stand over last year’s U7N. It still utilizes a center pedestal, but instead of a trapezoidal design, the U75QG consists of two feet that are covered by a rectangular plastic plate. The TV feels sturdy on its stand, although the plastic cover is a bit flimsy – which is honestly to be expected at this price point.

While the stand lifts the TV a little over three inches to accommodate a soundbar, the front sticks out a bit, so some extra space on your credenza or table will be needed to put the soundbar in front of it. The 100- and 116-inch models use two separated legs instead of the pedestal base.

The TV is a bit on the thick side, and more so than the comparable TCL QM7K by about half an inch. Connections are split between two panels. The majority are side-facing — including four 165Hz-capable HDMI 2.1 ports (one eARC), the ATSC 3.0 coax inputs, a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5 mm audio out, and an AV in (which requires an adapter). An additional USB 2.0 port, optical digital audio out, and Ethernet port are in a rear-facing cutout. If you plan to use wired Ethernet and wall-mount the TV, this could cause some mounting issues and require the TV to be slightly out from the wall to keep the Ethernet cable from bending and putting stress on the connection. The U75QG supports a Wi-Fi 6E wireless connection as well.

The remote is the same as the one that was introduced with 2024 Hisense TVs. It’s a long silver handset with backlit buttons, which include settings and input buttons (these are sadly absent from some competitors’ remotes). Because of its length, reaching all the buttons – at least for my average-sized hand – required some jostling of the remote, but overall the design is comfortable and easy to use.

  • Design score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Smart TV and menus

Hisense U75QG showing Google TV interface on screen

The U75QG's Google TV smart interface (Image credit: Future)
  • Google TV OS
  • Loads of streaming apps available
  • Some ads on the home page

Google TV is the OS of choice for the U7 series, and it runs well on the TV. The OS is one of the best built-in options when it comes to the combination of usability and streaming app support. On the U75QG, home page navigation is quick, and menus are intuitive. There are thousands of apps available for download – including the major streaming ones such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV – as well as more niche options not included on all platforms, like F1 TV and Dropout.

The gear button on the remote pulls up the menus for adjusting any TV settings. There’s a selection of quick access menus for things like Picture and Sound, or you can call up the full settings menu. It’s pretty easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for — different settings are sensibly placed instead of hidden under a multitude of submenus.

  • Smart TV & menus score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Gaming

Hisense U8QG showing game image with game menu onscreen

Hisense's Game Bar onscreen menu (Image credit: Future)
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports with 165Hz support
  • 9.8ms input lag time
  • FreeSync Premium Pro

The TV has lots of features meant to satisfy gamers, and for the most part, gamers will be happy with the U75QG. The four HDMI 2.1 inputs accept high refresh rate signals up to 165Hz from a computer in 4K, and Game Booster allows for 1080p/288Hz gaming. Consoles will be able to play games at 120Hz with VRR (including HDMI Forum VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and G-Sync compatibility) and Dolby Vision gaming.

The U75QG has the Hisense Game Bar, where adjustments can quickly be made to settings like Dark Detail, Brightness, the Game Genre, and for adding a crosshair for aiming. It also displays your current frame rate, HDR, VRR, and ALLM status.

When in Game/PC picture mode, the input lag on the U75QG with a 4K 60Hz signal is a very low 9.8ms. It’s excellent for gamers who regularly play against others, or for reaction-based games. I played a good amount of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which requires some button timing for dodges and parries, and didn’t feel any lag.

While I found gaming on the U75QG to be an overall good experience, there’s some smearing when VRR is on, particularly with bright objects across a darker background, that can be a bit distracting. I saw this more when using my PC (from an RTX 4070 Ti Super) than on console, so if you’re a PC gamer, you might also see this more.

  • Gaming score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Value

Hisense U8QG remote control held in hand

The U75QG's backlit remote control (Image credit: Future)
  • Excellent picture quality for the price
  • Really needs a soundbar for best experience
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports and backlit remote

Hisense has been delivering significant value from its televisions for years now, and that continues with the U75QG, which might deliver the best performance-to-price ratio of any Hisense TV. Hisense historically lowers its TV pricing after release by a good bit, and the TVs are always on sale during shopping events, so that increases its value proposition even further.

The midrange TV market is fierce, though. The U75QG’s primary competitor is the TCL QM7K, another solid performer with high value. It’s not nearly as bright as the Hisense, and it also has some HDR inaccuracies (overly blue grayscale and some color issues) out of the box. Only two of the TCL’s HDMI ports are version 2.1, as well, although I prefer its overall design.

It gets interesting when we compare against the next tier up. The TCL QM8K has had some deep discounts recently, putting it within a couple of hundred dollars of the Hisense. At that price, the TCL is an absolute steal. Not only is it a much better TV than both the U75QG and QM7K, I think it's one of the best TCL TVs ever made – although the TCL QM9K likely takes that title.

  • Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Hisense U75QG?

Hisense U75QG showing Hulu app interface

(Image credit: Future)
Hisense U75QG

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Good HDR support and gaming features

4/5

Picture quality

Excellent brightness and great overall picture quality for the price

4/5

Sound quality

2.1.2-channel speakers deliver clear dialogue but limited height effects with Atmos soundtracks

3.5/5

Design

Good overall design with backlit remote and plentiful connections

4/5

Smart TV and menus

Google TV is a solid smart interface with plenty of apps

4/5

Gaming

Four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 165Hz support but some picture smearing with VRR, particularly with PCs

4/5

Value

A great overall value given the TV's picture quality and features

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want a good all-around TV
While the U75QG isn’t without flaws, its overall performance is impressive for the price.

Your TV room is bathed in ambient light
Brightness output from the Hisense is more than other comparable TVs and stands up well against uncontrollable ambient light.

You have multiple gaming consoles/PCs
The Hisense U75QG has four HDMI 2.1 165Hz-compatible inputs, while its main competitor, the TCL QM7K, only has two. If you have multiple consoles and a PC to connect, the U75QG is the pick.

Don't buy it if…

You’re looking for top-tier gaming performance
The U75QG has decent gaming performance and a nice game bar option, but its VRR performance doesn’t match competitors.

You want amazing sound from a TV
The sound performance is okay, but you’ll really want to add a soundbar for a better sonic experience.

You watch events with big groups
Picture quality degrades pretty quickly as you move from off from center screen, so any friends that are over and have to sit to the side will see a lower-quality image.

Also consider...

Hisense U75QG

TCL QM7K

Hisense U8QG

Samsung QN90F

Price (65-inch)

$1,500

$1,499

$2,199

$2,499

Screen type

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

Refresh rate

Up to 165Hz

Up to 144Hz

Up to 165Hz

165Hz

HDR support

Dolby Vision IQ//HDR10+ Adaptive/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Google TV

Google TV

Google TV

Tizen

HDMI ports

4 HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

3x HDMI 2.1

4x HDMI 2.1

TCL QM7K
The TCL QM7K is another great mid-range mini-LED TV with an affordable price tag. It has a better design than the Hisense, but its picture isn't as powerfully bright and its gaming flexibility is limited by having only two HDMI 2.1 ports.

Read our full TCL QM7K review

Hisense U8QG
The Hisense U8QG has a similar feature set to the U75QG but a better overall design with a sturdy aluminum pedestal stand. Its picture brightness is about the same, although the U8QG's 4.1.2-channel speaker array provides more immersive sound. It's a bit more expensive than the U75QG but not by much.

Read our full Hisense U8QG review

Samsung QN90F
The Samsung QN90F is the best mini-LED TV on the market when you take into account picture quality, design, and gaming features and performance. It's notably more expensive than the Hisense U75QG but has much better off-axis picture uniformity and is also available in a wide range of sizes, including 43- and 98-inch models.

Read our full Samsung QN90F review

Samsung QN900D showing test pattern

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Hisense U75QG

  • The U75QG was my main TV for a couple weeks
  • Tested with Calman color calibration software
  • Used a variety of test material from streaming and discs

I watched a wide range of content on the Hisense U75QG, including movies and TV shows streaming from the built-in Google TV OS on Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu. I also used a Kaleidescape Strato V for high-quality movies, along with 4K UHD Blu-ray discs played on an Oppo UDP-203 disc player. Games were played on an Xbox Series X.

For grayscale and color accuracy testing, I used a Portrait Displays C6 HDR5000 colorimeter profiled to an X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, Murideo Seven-G 8K pattern generator, Konica Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and Calman calibration software by Portrait Displays. I used a Leo Bodnar 4K lag tester to check input lag.

I’ve been testing TVs, monitors, and projectors for a few decades, and am an ISF Level III certified calibrator.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at TechRadar at that link.

I tested the Hisense U75QG mini-LED TV, and it’s the best value Hisense TV
3:00 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Televisions | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Hisense U75QG: Two-minute review

The Hisense U75QG is a solid performer that packs a lot of features in for the price. Typically, flagship TVs are the ones that get the most attention, but people usually aren’t buying the best of the best from any brand. Instead, buying considerations usually fall to midrange TVs like this one.

The Hisense U75QG is a mini-LED display that delivers brightness we generally don’t see from TVs in this price range – I measured over 3,000 nits in HDR Filmmaker Mode, a level that exceeds many of the best TVs from most manufacturers. That makes the U7 an excellent choice for bright spaces where ambient light is difficult to control, such as a living room with large picture windows.

Accuracy with SDR sources is impressive, so while watching broadcast TV or non-HDR streamed shows, the U75QG will deliver nice, accurate colors. HDR has a few issues in color temperature and accuracy, but they’re not drastic enough to distract and pull you out of the viewing experience. They can also be mostly corrected with a professional calibration, if you’re up for spending extra for that.

The U75QG’s Google TV OS is, as expected, quick to use and easy to navigate. Google has been the top built-in smart TV platform for a few years now, and Hisense uses it well. Picture adjustments are easy to find and change, especially with a Settings button on the backlit remote, and the Google Store offers hundreds of apps for download, including all the major streamers and smaller ones as well. And for those that want over-the-air broadcasts, the U75QG includes a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner.

The Hisense has great gaming support, with the ability for high refresh rate up to 165Hz on all four HDMI 2.1 ports, with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision gaming, and a game bar to easily access gaming settings. There are some issues with image smearing when using VRR that can detract a little, but casual gamers should be more than happy with the features and performance.

Hisense TVs always see an almost immediate dip in pricing after release, and the same has happened with the U75QG. Those discounts make it an even better value, and it stacks up well against the TCL QM7K – its primary competitor. When everything is taken into account, the Hisense U75QG stands as one of the best value midrange TVs I’ve seen in 2025.

Hisense U75QG review: Price and release date

Hisense U75QG showing image of Acapulco Apple TV+ ad

The Hisense U75QG's picture is bright enough to even watch in well-lit rooms (Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: May 2025
  • 55-inch: $1,300
  • 65-inch: $1,500
  • 75-inch: $1,999
  • 85-inch: $2,499
  • 100-inch: $4,999
  • 116-inch: $21,999

The U75QG is Hisense’s midrange mini-LED TV, falling between the Hisense U8QG and U65QF (a model that uses the Amazon Fire TV OS) in its lineup. The series ranges in size from a 55-inch to a massive 116-inch model – the largest Hisense mini-LED TV available. As is typical for Hisense TVs, prices for all models, apart from the 116-inch, have fallen significantly since the series was released in May. The 55-inch TV can now be found for as little as $698, with prices ranging to just under $3,000 for the 100-inch.

The U75QG pricing is similar to the TCL QM7K, the midrange competitor from that manufacturer. Although the Hisense is currently $100 to $700 more expensive than the TCL, depending on screen size.

Hisense U75QG review: Specs

Screen type:

QLED with mini-LED

Refresh rate:

Up to 144Hz

HDR support:

Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10+ Adaptive, HLG

Audio support:

Dolby Atmos, DTS Virtual:X

Smart TV:

Google TV

HDMI ports:

4 x HDMI 2.1

Built-in tuner:

ATSC 3.0

Hisense U75QG review: Benchmark results

Hisense U75QG review: Features

Image 1 of 2

Hisense U75QG rear panel ports

The U75QG's ports are split between side-mounted and rear-mounted input sections (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2

Hisense U75QG rear panel ports

(Image credit: Future)
  • Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support
  • Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor
  • VA panel with good anti-reflection

The U75QG is a mini-LED TV with an anti-reflection VA panel, which does a great job handling ambient room light reflections. The VA panel does not provide it with wide viewing angles, however, with desaturated colors and raised black levels easily visible starting at around 30 degrees off-center.

Hisense upgraded last year’s Hi-View Engine Pro found in the U7N to the Hi-View AI Engine Pro, which is the same processor the company is using in its step-up U8QG model. Hisense claims improved performance over the previous chip with a 1.6x faster CPU, 2.2x faster GPU, and 1.5x faster NPU, all to deliver a better optimized image.

The Hisense U75QG includes wide-ranging HDR support, including both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic formats. Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive modes use the TV’s processing power to automatically adjust the picture based on the ambient light viewing conditions in your room. Dolby Vision Gaming is included, and, of course, the TV supports HDR10 and HLG.

Console and PC gamers will be happy with the included features on the U75QG. All four HDMI 2.1 ports support a refresh rate up to 165Hz with a Game Booster 288Hz (at 1080p), VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Hisense Game Bar, and the aforementioned HDR gaming modes. Although, as we’ll get into below, there are some minor clarity issues with gaming on the U75QG.

The U75QG runs the Google TV OS, which allows access to thousands of streaming apps. It also has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for those in areas that are broadcasting NextGen TV signals.

  • Features Score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Picture quality

Hisense U75QG showing image of dramatic sunset

The U75QG's picture displays good color accuracy (Image credit: Future)
  • Incredibly bright for a midrange TV
  • Impressive SDR color accuracy
  • HDR benefits from a pro calibration

Hisense has been a leader over the past few years in pushing display brightness to its limits, so there’s no surprise that the U75QG gets nice and bright, especially for a midrange TV. With local dimming and peak brightness set to High, and using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software, in Filmmaker Mode from a 10% window, the Hisense blasts out 3,126 nits. That’s more than double what its predecessor, the Hisense U7N, was capable of, and more than the flagship Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED TV. A fullscreen white measurement tops out at 780 nits.

With local dimming on, the Hisense also delivers deep blacks even when there are some bright images on screen. During starfield shots — the opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi or many scenes in Gravity — there’s excellent separation between the stars, especially for a mid-tier mini-LED TV, and there isn’t a significant amount of blooming along the edges of the Shuttle Explorer against the darkness of space. When bright objects are moving, the blooming is exacerbated a little bit, but overall performance is still great for the price of the TV.

Measurements in Filmmaker Mode out of the box show the U75QG tracks the target EOTF (gamma for HDR) beautifully, so the TV isn’t overbrightening the midtones at all. HDR color accuracy also leaves a little to be desired, with things like grass being a little yellow and skin tones slightly undersaturated. None of this takes away from the overall enjoyment of a movie or TV show, though.

The U75QG excels with SDR content. Grayscale tracks D65 across the range incredibly well, with an average dE of 0.8 and 2.4 gamma. Colors are also impressively accurate for a midrange TV, with skin tones in particular looking exactly as they should.

It’s possible to get similar performance with HDR content. The U75QG has an autocal feature in Calman, the software TechRadar uses to measure TVs, so the TV can be easily calibrated within just a few minutes by a TV calibration professional. And after calibration, the TV’s accuracy is significantly better. Some color temperature issues remain in brighter grays, but if you’re able to make it happen, a calibration is worth it to get the most out of the U75QG.

  • Picture quality score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Sound quality

Hisense U75QG rear panel subwoofer

A rear-mounted subwoofer adds some low-end heft to the U75QG's sound (Image credit: Future)
  • 2.1.2-channel speaker system
  • Clear dialogue
  • Would benefit from a soundbar

The back of the U75QG features an oval subwoofer, part of the TV’s 2.1.2-channel speaker system. Along its edges are speakers to handle the left and right channels, as well as two up-firing speakers for height. In my room, I didn’t find that the up-firing speakers accomplished much, and there isn’t a room calibration system to make them work better.

Overall sound performance is above average for a TV. There’s a decent amount of bass and vocal clarity is good, but it’s still worth pairing the TV with one of the best soundbars for a more immersive experience.

  • Sound quality score: 3.5/5

Hisense U75QG review: Design

Hisense U75QG close up of stand

The U75QG's "pedestal stand" is actually two support feet with a plastic plate mounted on top (Image credit: Future)
  • Center pedestal is really two feet with a plastic plate
  • High enough lift for soundbar
  • Backlit remote control

The Hisense U75QG has a slightly redesigned stand over last year’s U7N. It still utilizes a center pedestal, but instead of a trapezoidal design, the U75QG consists of two feet that are covered by a rectangular plastic plate. The TV feels sturdy on its stand, although the plastic cover is a bit flimsy – which is honestly to be expected at this price point.

While the stand lifts the TV a little over three inches to accommodate a soundbar, the front sticks out a bit, so some extra space on your credenza or table will be needed to put the soundbar in front of it. The 100- and 116-inch models use two separated legs instead of the pedestal base.

The TV is a bit on the thick side, and more so than the comparable TCL QM7K by about half an inch. Connections are split between two panels. The majority are side-facing — including four 165Hz-capable HDMI 2.1 ports (one eARC), the ATSC 3.0 coax inputs, a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5 mm audio out, and an AV in (which requires an adapter). An additional USB 2.0 port, optical digital audio out, and Ethernet port are in a rear-facing cutout. If you plan to use wired Ethernet and wall-mount the TV, this could cause some mounting issues and require the TV to be slightly out from the wall to keep the Ethernet cable from bending and putting stress on the connection. The U75QG supports a Wi-Fi 6E wireless connection as well.

The remote is the same as the one that was introduced with 2024 Hisense TVs. It’s a long silver handset with backlit buttons, which include settings and input buttons (these are sadly absent from some competitors’ remotes). Because of its length, reaching all the buttons – at least for my average-sized hand – required some jostling of the remote, but overall the design is comfortable and easy to use.

  • Design score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Smart TV and menus

Hisense U75QG showing Google TV interface on screen

The U75QG's Google TV smart interface (Image credit: Future)
  • Google TV OS
  • Loads of streaming apps available
  • Some ads on the home page

Google TV is the OS of choice for the U7 series, and it runs well on the TV. The OS is one of the best built-in options when it comes to the combination of usability and streaming app support. On the U75QG, home page navigation is quick, and menus are intuitive. There are thousands of apps available for download – including the major streaming ones such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV – as well as more niche options not included on all platforms, like F1 TV and Dropout.

The gear button on the remote pulls up the menus for adjusting any TV settings. There’s a selection of quick access menus for things like Picture and Sound, or you can call up the full settings menu. It’s pretty easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for — different settings are sensibly placed instead of hidden under a multitude of submenus.

  • Smart TV & menus score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Gaming

Hisense U8QG showing game image with game menu onscreen

Hisense's Game Bar onscreen menu (Image credit: Future)
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports with 165Hz support
  • 9.8ms input lag time
  • FreeSync Premium Pro

The TV has lots of features meant to satisfy gamers, and for the most part, gamers will be happy with the U75QG. The four HDMI 2.1 inputs accept high refresh rate signals up to 165Hz from a computer in 4K, and Game Booster allows for 1080p/288Hz gaming. Consoles will be able to play games at 120Hz with VRR (including HDMI Forum VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and G-Sync compatibility) and Dolby Vision gaming.

The U75QG has the Hisense Game Bar, where adjustments can quickly be made to settings like Dark Detail, Brightness, the Game Genre, and for adding a crosshair for aiming. It also displays your current frame rate, HDR, VRR, and ALLM status.

When in Game/PC picture mode, the input lag on the U75QG with a 4K 60Hz signal is a very low 9.8ms. It’s excellent for gamers who regularly play against others, or for reaction-based games. I played a good amount of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which requires some button timing for dodges and parries, and didn’t feel any lag.

While I found gaming on the U75QG to be an overall good experience, there’s some smearing when VRR is on, particularly with bright objects across a darker background, that can be a bit distracting. I saw this more when using my PC (from an RTX 4070 Ti Super) than on console, so if you’re a PC gamer, you might also see this more.

  • Gaming score: 4/5

Hisense U75QG review: Value

Hisense U8QG remote control held in hand

The U75QG's backlit remote control (Image credit: Future)
  • Excellent picture quality for the price
  • Really needs a soundbar for best experience
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports and backlit remote

Hisense has been delivering significant value from its televisions for years now, and that continues with the U75QG, which might deliver the best performance-to-price ratio of any Hisense TV. Hisense historically lowers its TV pricing after release by a good bit, and the TVs are always on sale during shopping events, so that increases its value proposition even further.

The midrange TV market is fierce, though. The U75QG’s primary competitor is the TCL QM7K, another solid performer with high value. It’s not nearly as bright as the Hisense, and it also has some HDR inaccuracies (overly blue grayscale and some color issues) out of the box. Only two of the TCL’s HDMI ports are version 2.1, as well, although I prefer its overall design.

It gets interesting when we compare against the next tier up. The TCL QM8K has had some deep discounts recently, putting it within a couple of hundred dollars of the Hisense. At that price, the TCL is an absolute steal. Not only is it a much better TV than both the U75QG and QM7K, I think it's one of the best TCL TVs ever made – although the TCL QM9K likely takes that title.

  • Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Hisense U75QG?

Hisense U75QG showing Hulu app interface

(Image credit: Future)
Hisense U75QG

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Good HDR support and gaming features

4/5

Picture quality

Excellent brightness and great overall picture quality for the price

4/5

Sound quality

2.1.2-channel speakers deliver clear dialogue but limited height effects with Atmos soundtracks

3.5/5

Design

Good overall design with backlit remote and plentiful connections

4/5

Smart TV and menus

Google TV is a solid smart interface with plenty of apps

4/5

Gaming

Four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 165Hz support but some picture smearing with VRR, particularly with PCs

4/5

Value

A great overall value given the TV's picture quality and features

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want a good all-around TV
While the U75QG isn’t without flaws, its overall performance is impressive for the price.

Your TV room is bathed in ambient light
Brightness output from the Hisense is more than other comparable TVs and stands up well against uncontrollable ambient light.

You have multiple gaming consoles/PCs
The Hisense U75QG has four HDMI 2.1 165Hz-compatible inputs, while its main competitor, the TCL QM7K, only has two. If you have multiple consoles and a PC to connect, the U75QG is the pick.

Don't buy it if…

You’re looking for top-tier gaming performance
The U75QG has decent gaming performance and a nice game bar option, but its VRR performance doesn’t match competitors.

You want amazing sound from a TV
The sound performance is okay, but you’ll really want to add a soundbar for a better sonic experience.

You watch events with big groups
Picture quality degrades pretty quickly as you move from off from center screen, so any friends that are over and have to sit to the side will see a lower-quality image.

Also consider...

Hisense U75QG

TCL QM7K

Hisense U8QG

Samsung QN90F

Price (65-inch)

$1,500

$1,499

$2,199

$2,499

Screen type

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

mini-LED w/ QLED

Refresh rate

Up to 165Hz

Up to 144Hz

Up to 165Hz

165Hz

HDR support

Dolby Vision IQ//HDR10+ Adaptive/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Google TV

Google TV

Google TV

Tizen

HDMI ports

4 HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

3x HDMI 2.1

4x HDMI 2.1

TCL QM7K
The TCL QM7K is another great mid-range mini-LED TV with an affordable price tag. It has a better design than the Hisense, but its picture isn't as powerfully bright and its gaming flexibility is limited by having only two HDMI 2.1 ports.

Read our full TCL QM7K review

Hisense U8QG
The Hisense U8QG has a similar feature set to the U75QG but a better overall design with a sturdy aluminum pedestal stand. Its picture brightness is about the same, although the U8QG's 4.1.2-channel speaker array provides more immersive sound. It's a bit more expensive than the U75QG but not by much.

Read our full Hisense U8QG review

Samsung QN90F
The Samsung QN90F is the best mini-LED TV on the market when you take into account picture quality, design, and gaming features and performance. It's notably more expensive than the Hisense U75QG but has much better off-axis picture uniformity and is also available in a wide range of sizes, including 43- and 98-inch models.

Read our full Samsung QN90F review

Samsung QN900D showing test pattern

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Hisense U75QG

  • The U75QG was my main TV for a couple weeks
  • Tested with Calman color calibration software
  • Used a variety of test material from streaming and discs

I watched a wide range of content on the Hisense U75QG, including movies and TV shows streaming from the built-in Google TV OS on Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu. I also used a Kaleidescape Strato V for high-quality movies, along with 4K UHD Blu-ray discs played on an Oppo UDP-203 disc player. Games were played on an Xbox Series X.

For grayscale and color accuracy testing, I used a Portrait Displays C6 HDR5000 colorimeter profiled to an X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, Murideo Seven-G 8K pattern generator, Konica Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and Calman calibration software by Portrait Displays. I used a Leo Bodnar 4K lag tester to check input lag.

I’ve been testing TVs, monitors, and projectors for a few decades, and am an ISF Level III certified calibrator.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at TechRadar at that link.

I’m a big fan of 5K displays for Macs and the stunning but flawed Philips 27E3U7903 is a much cheaper alternative to Apple’s Studio display
6:08 pm | October 4, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: | Comments: Off

Pixel density is something Apple pays far more attention to than most PC builders. Problem is, achieving Apple's signature "Retina" display experience with one of the brand's own monitors is very pricey. But you can now get the very same 27-inch 5K form factor from the ​​Philips 27E3U7903 for not far off half the price.

Up front and centre, this monitor matches the Apple Studio Display's 5K resolution and 218DPI pixel density. It's similar to the Apple panel in other ways, too. There's a comparable feature set with excellent connectivity including Thunderbolt 4, plus an integrated webcam and microphone array.

This Philips even apes Apple with its boxy, metallic chassis aesthetic, and flat-wide base and stand. What's more it even outstrips the Apple display by some measures. Philips has used the latest IPS Black panel tech to offer 2,000:1 static contrast, notably higher than the 1,200:1 ratio of the Studio Display.

Add in VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, broad colour support and other features aimed at creative pros and you have a super strong on-paper package. The one catch is that while the Philips 27E3U7903 is much cheaper than the Apple Studio Display, there are some very good 4K monitors available at a significant discount among our pick of the best monitors for MacBook Pro. You're going to have to really want that 5K thing to justify this new Philips panel.

Philips 27E3U7903: Design and features

Image 1 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 2 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 3 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 4 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
  • Apple-aping design…
  • …but not quite quality
  • Excellent connectivity
Specs

Panel size: 27-inch

Panel type: IPS Black

Resolution: 5,120 by 2,880

Brightness: 500 nits SDR, 600 nits HDR

Contrast: 2,000:1

Pixel response: 4ms GtG

Refresh rate: 70Hz

Colour coverage: 99% DCI-P3

HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 600

Vesa: 100mm x 100mm

Connectivity: HDMI 2.1 x1, 1x Thunderbolt 4 with 96W PD upstream, 1x Thunderbolt 4 downstream,1x USB-C upstream, 1x USB-C downstream, 2x USB-A, headphone out

It's obvious from the get go that the Philips 27E3U7903 is aimed squarely at the Apple Studio Display. That extends well beyond the basic 27-inch 5K form factor. The boxy, metallic-looking chassis and flat, wide stand and base, and glass screen cover all scream "Studio Display." Even the way the fixed power cable sticks out of the rear is awfully Appley.

Where Philips can't quite match Apple is for perceived quality. The 27E3U7903 is mostly plastic where the Apple monitor uses actual metal. So, it doesn't feel nearly as expensive.

The Philip's particularly chunky bezel also separates it slightly from the marginally slimmer Studio Display. To be clear it doesn't feel cheap, either. But to at least some extent, you can see where the extra money goes on the Apple alternative.

Connectivity is both another strong point and another overlap with Apple. Philips has given this monitor Thunderbolt 4 with 96W of power delivery, plus Thunderbolt out for display daisy chaining, another three USB-C ports, USB-A, HDMI and ethernet.

That's all tied together with full KVM switch functionality, picture-in-picture support and the aforementioned display daisy chaining. So, if you have multiple PCs, Mac, laptops, whatever, this display has you covered.

Next up, there's a webcam with AI-enhanced autoframing and a microphone array, which again is redolent of the Studio Display's Center Stage camera, plus stereo speakers.

For creators, there are features like a wide range of preset colour spaces including Apple's favoured Display P3 support, 99% coverage of the DCI P3 gamut, support for Calman Ready automatic calibration.

The Philips 27E3U7903 is also VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified. That level of HDR certification requires some level of local dimming. Philips doesn't quote the number of zones. But as we'll see this monitor almost certainly is limited to a very small number of edge-lit zones, as opposed to full-array local dimming.

Philips 27E3U7903: Performance

Image 1 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 2 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 3 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
Image 4 of 4

Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
  • Crispy 5K visuals
  • Very punchy backlight
  • Limited HDR capability

For 5K neophites, the first question is whether the upgrade in terms of pixel density compared to a 4K 27-inch monitor is obvious. And the simple answer is no, it's not an immediately apparent and dramatic improvement in subjective, experiential terms.

No question, fonts and text are that little bit crisper and clearer. But 4K on a 27-inch panel is pretty good in that regard too. So, the benefits of 4K are a touch more subtle than that. One benefit, for instance, is that the 3,008 x 1,692 virtual resolution option in MacOS works particularly well.

For some creative workflows, it's also very handy to be able to display a full 3,840 by 2,160 pixel 4K video stream in a window with space to spare for toolbars and controls.

But these are relatively niche upsides. For most users, it's questionable whether the price premium versus numerous cheaper 4K monitors is worth it purely for 5K, and I say that as someone who really appreciates high pixel density in computing displays.

With that in mind, the Philips 27E3U7903 needs to justify itself in broader terms. For starters, it's certainly very punchy. The maximum brightness in SDR mode is well beyond what most users will ever want to dial up.

However, it's good to have some brightness in hand, especially if you want to use this display in a setting with lots of ambient light. You'll have no problem burning that off with the ​​Philips 27E3U7903.

That said, in that context you'll also have to contend with a fair bit of reflectivity from the glassy screen cover. That's a very Apple feature and something you either like or dislike. But it certainly adds to a sense of heightened contrast.

On that note, this is an IPS Black panel with getting on for double the static contrast performance compared to most IPS monitors. From that spec alone, you might expect a dramatic improvement in black levels. The reality is much more marginal. This monitor still has more light bleed than a VA monitor, let alone an OLED panel with perfect per-pixel lighting.

That's relevant for HDR performance, a notable weak point for this display. It has VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification and basic local dimming. But while Philips doesn't quote the number of zones, it's very likely to be around 16 edge-lit zones.

You can toggle the level of local dimming in the OSD. But in all honesty, this type of local dimming is barely any different from a dynamic backlight. Ultimately, this is not a true HDR monitor, even if it is pretty bright.

As for broader accuracy and factory calibration, that's a slight weak point. It's most noticeable when using an Apple laptop where the sRGB preset is actually a better visual match for Apple laptop than the Apple-default Display P3 colour space. To be clear, this is not a poorly calibrated display. But given the lofty price tag, it could be a touch better.

Finally, the integrated webcam is superior to a typical laptop camera, but not truly comparable to the Center Stage camera in the Apple Studio Display.

Philips 27E3U7903: Final verdict

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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)

If you're a tech enthusiast, the very notion of 5K computing is pretty exciting. 5K has to be better than 4K, right? Yes it is, but the difference on a 27-inch display isn't hugely dramatic.

There are advantages, such as slightly crisper fonts and the ability to view 4K content with screen real estate to spare for toolbars and other interface elements. But the benefits are relatively marginal. And I say that as something of a high-DPI aficionado.

With all that in mind, the ​​Philips 27E3U7903 needs to be absolutely excellent in broad terms to justify its premium pricing and not just by virtue of delivering that Apple Studio Display-style 5K experience.

Well, it certainly is excellent in terms of connectivity thanks to a plethora of ports, plus KVM switch and daisy chaining support. Elsewhere, the ​​Philips 27E3U7903 is certainly good, but arguably not exceptional.

The IPS Black panel is certainly nice, with vibrant colours and a very powerful backlight. But the subjective experience doesn't quite deliver on the expectations raised by the on-paper 2,000:1 contrast spec. Likewise, as with most, perhaps even all, HDR 600 monitors, the HDR experience is limited.

Slightly harder to forgive is the factory calibration. This is not a poorly calibrated display. But it's not as excellent as you might expect at this price point, albeit for the most demanding workflows, you'll be calibrating this monitor yourself, something for which it provides good support.

All of which means the ​​Philips 27E3U7903 is ultimately a niche offering. If you're tempted by Apple's Studio Display but don't fancy the price, this is a very appealing and effective alternative. If you want the absolute best possible pixel density, then likewise. But for most users, there's better value to be had from a wide range of 27-inch 4K displays.

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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)
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Philips 27E3U7903 during our review

(Image credit: Philips // Future)

For more high-resolution displays, we've reviewed the best 5K and 8K monitors.

I tested Hisense’s first RGB mini-LED TV and it delivers exciting picture quality and features, but there are still some setbacks that make its sky-high price a tough sell
4:16 pm | October 3, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Televisions | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Hisense 116UX review: Two minute review

The Hisense 116UX is the brand’s flagship 4K TV, and it introduces RGB mini-LED technology to the world in a 116-inch screen size. Some elements of its picture rival the best TVs, and it has a wide array of features, but its appeal is limited by key shortcomings.

With a launch price of $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999, the Hisense 116UX is an expensive TV that will exceed most budgets. And while it features exciting new RGB mini-LED tech, Hisense will also be introducing RGB mini-LED in 100- and 85-inch models in the future, and more buyers are likely to gravitate to those.

The 116UX’s bold, vibrant colors take mini-LED to the next level. Textures are crisp, and the high brightness gives pictures a strong level of punch. Contrast and black levels are mostly good, but backlight blooming and inconsistent backlight control lead to a clouding effect in some dark scenes that hamper what would otherwise be a remarkable picture. Even with the TV’s large size, viewing angles are limited, with pictures losing contrast when viewed from off-center seats .

A 6.2.2-channel sound system delivers mostly solid performance, with immersive effects, impressive accuracy and clear dialogue. Bass has good impact, but the 116UX’s soundstage isn’t as wide as I’d hoped for. A screen this size deserves one of the best soundbars to match, ideally a premium option like the Samsung HW-Q990F.

The 116UX is great for gaming, with 4K 165Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all supported across three HDMI 2.1 ports. While its 14.6ms input lag time is higher than the best gaming TVs, its overall gaming performance is good enough for an enjoyable experience on a big screen.

This TV’s high price is hard to ignore, and even though the 116UX features an RGB mini-LED panel and has a gargantuan screen size, you can build a truly great home theater system with some of the best 4K projectors at this price. The 116UX will deliver better value when its price drops, but right now, it’s a big ask.

Hisense 116UX review: Price & release date

Hisense 116-inch UX RGB mini-LED TV displaying orange flower

(Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: September 2025
  • Price: $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999

The Hisense 116UX, Hisense’s flagship 2025 TV, uses a new RGB mini-LED panel. It sits above the Hisense 110UX, U9Q, U8Q, U7Q and U6Q mini-LED TVs and is priced at $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999.

Although the 116UX had only been available for a few weeks at the time I reviewed it, the price has dropped to $24,999 in the US. I expect the TV's price will drop even further over the coming months.

Hisense 116UX review: Specs

Screen type

RGB mini-LED

Refresh rate

Up to 165Hz (4K)

HDR support

Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio support

Dolby Atmos

Smart TV

Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK& Aus)

HDMI ports

3 x HDMI 2.1

Built-in tuner

ATSC 3.0

Hisense 116UX review: Benchmark results

Hisense 116UX review: Features

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV ports

(Image credit: Future)
  • RGB mini-LED panel
  • Hi-View AI Engine X processor
  • Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ and IMAX Enhanced support

The 116UX features Hisense’s RGB mini-LED panel, which uses RGB mini-LEDs to produce a wider, more refined color gamut. HDR support includes Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+, as well as the HDR10 and HLG formats. It also supports IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker Mode.

Hisense’s flagship TV comes equipped with a 6.2.2-channel speaker system, totaling 110W in power. It supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS. Alongside the usual sound presets - Standard, Movie, Sport - it also has AI sound, which adapts the sound and dialogue based on both the content showing onscreen and the viewing environment.

The 116UX’s gaming features include 4K 165Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM support. All features are supported across the TV’s three HDMI 2.1 ports.

Hisense’s smart TV platform varies by region. Google TV is used in the US, while Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV platform features in the UK and Australia. I reviewed the UK version, so I used VIDAA, which has access to popular streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, and also UK apps such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. If you want a review of the Google TV smart TV platform, check out our Hisense U8Q review.

  • Features score: 4.5 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Picture quality

Hisense 116-inch UX RGB mini-LED TV displaying Ember from Elemental with a glass vase

Color is where the Hisense 116UX really shines, thanks to its RGB mini-LED panel (Image credit: Disney / Future)
  • High brightness and brilliant color
  • Refined detail
  • Black uniformity issues

The 116UX’s peak HDR brightness hit 5,441 nits and fullscreen HDR brightness was 1,090 nits, with both measured in Filmmaker Mode. That peak brightness result is over twice what I measured on the Hisense 110UX, a TV that uses a standard mini-LED panel.

The 116UX’s measured HDR color gamut covered 99.3% of the DCI-P3 color space, which is an excellent result for a mini-LED TV. Its BT.2020 color gamut coverage was even more impressive at 92.64%, which is the highest amount we’ve measured on a TV to date.

I first started my testing with some SDR content, beginning with an HD stream of Fight Club on Disney+. I chose Filmmaker Mode but set brightness and local dimming to medium as the picture was too dim at the default settings. I was impressed by the 116UX’s effective upscaling of textures, which gave the picture a crisper look. Even at a 116-inch size, the image was clean. Lower resolution content on YouTube didn’t fare as well, with the image looking blocky on the large screen.

Color is where the 116UX shines – literally. Watching Elemental on Disney Plus in Dolby Vision IQ picture mode, reds and oranges were vibrant and punchy, with the 116UX’s brightness adding real pop in a scene where Ember makes a vase. In Wicked on 4K Blu-ray, pink flowers in a tree in the ‘Wizard & I’ scene had a bold look, as did the greens of the Emerald City.

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Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV with shot of planet from Alien: Romulus on screen

The 116UX sometimes handles dark scenes well (1) but struggles with others (2), even in the same movie, as shown here with Alien: Romulus (Image credit: Future)
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Hisense 116-inch UX RGB mini-LED TV displaying Alien Romulus in dark room

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios / Future )

As I’ve discovered with most Hisense TVs, motion handling requires a bit of setup. I watched a stream of a soccer game on Prime Video and found that most motion presets worked, but either Standard or Custom, with Blur set to 3 and Judder set to 5, produced the smoothest image. This was also true for movie viewing, as a scene from No Time To Die where a camera pans across a rocky hillside looked much smoother with the above settings.

Textures looked consistently crisp and realistic on the 116UX, with close-up shots of people’s faces showing fine details such as marks or hair. Clothing was also true-to-life and given a 3D look.

Watching black and white scenes from Oppenheimer on the 116UX, whites looked bright and there was a good range of gray tones. Blacks were slightly raised, but they still looked solid. The 116UX also delivered good shadow detail in darker scenes, such as objects against dark walls in a scene where Strauss and Oppenheimer are in an office after their first meeting.

Dark scenes ultimately were a mixed bag on the 116UX. Blacks appeared rich and deep in some instances, such as the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray’s demo footage, but they came across as more of a dark gray in movie scenes from The Batman and Alien: Romulus. While contrast was also strong in these movies, there was a clouding effect across the screen in dark sections of the image. Strangely, one exterior space shot in Alien: Romulus demonstrated good accuracy in the blacks, but another in a dark tunnel revealed the clouding effect at its worst.

The 116UX also demonstrated some backlight blooming around bright objects against dark backgrounds when viewed from off-center. Plus, the clouding issue became more apparent when viewing from more extreme angles.

I reached out to Hisense regarding dark scene viewing and the clouding effect and it said it was aware of and looking into it, but couldn't provide a fix at this time. If there are any updates, I'll be sure to add them to this review.

  • Picture quality score: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Sound quality

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV speakers on rear of panel

The 116UX delivers decent built-in sound, but overall a screen like this deserves a soundbar to match (Image credit: Future)
  • 6.2.2-channel speaker array
  • Clear, expansive, accurate sound
  • Only average soundstage

The 116UX comes with a built-in 6.2.2-channel, 110W Devialet sound system that supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS. It has subwoofers built into the rear of the screen, with two speakers running down each side of its frame and height speakers positioned on the top of the TV.

Watching the Batmobile chase scene from The Batman, the 116UX accurately connected the sound to the action on screen. The overall sound was punchy with clear dialogue. The 116UX’s sound was also immersive at times, going beyond the borders of the screen and making Dolby Atmos effects, such as rain in The Batman, feel as if they’re overhead.

While the 116UX’s built-in sound system is good, at times it felt restrained. Bass in particular lacked fullness. And while there was some suggestion of surround effects, I expected a sound system like this to produce a wider soundstage.

Some people will be happy with the 116UX’s sound, but I feel it deserves a sound system to match its gargantuan, cinematic picture.

  • Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Design

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Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV metal feet

The 116UX uses metal feet to support its heavy weight (Image credit: Future)
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Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV top of frame

But the 116UX is surprisingly thin despite is large size (Image credit: Future)
  • Sleek, modern design
  • Weighty and cumbersome
  • Basic support feet

At 116 inches, the 116UX requires a large space. Its big screen will be too cumbersome for most living rooms and, unlike retractable projector screens of a similar size, it will dominate a space.

Hisense has done its best to make the 116UX appear as sleek as possible while still housing a substantial built-in sound system. Its frame is trim, and it’s made of a premium-looking black metal. As a result, the 116UX is an incredibly weighty 239lbs (108kg), meaning you’ll need to carefully consider installation, although there are two carry handles on the rear. The TV is supported by two metal feet, which, although plain, are expected for a TV this size.

The 116UX comes with Hisense’s solar remote, which is reminiscent of Samsung’s SolarCell remote and can be charged using the rear solar panel or by USB-C. It has a nice design with a burnished steel finish and feels more premium than Hisense’s standard TV remotes.

  • Design score: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Smart TV & menus

Hisense 116UX with VIDAA home screen on display

VIDAA (Hisense's smart TV platform in the UK) has plenty of picture settings and good app access (Image credit: Future)
  • Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK & Australia)
  • Good number of picture settings
  • Performance can lag at times

Like all Hisense TVs, the 116UX’s smart TV platform will be different based on your region. In the US, it uses Google TV, and in the UK and Australia, it uses Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV platform. I reviewed the 116UX in the UK, so I will be focusing on VIDAA. Check out our Hisense U8Q review to read about a Google TV Hisense model.

VIDAA has access to all major streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video, and all UK-based streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. It also supports Freely, a service in which you can watch live TV over Wi-Fi with no need for an antenna or satellite connection.

There are a good number of picture settings on the 116UX. VIDAA’s overall look is plain and not as user-friendly as LG’s webOS, and the 116UX’s overall performance during navigation suffered from lag on occasion. VIDAA could do with a visual overhaul, as it does look dated in some of its menus.

  • Smart TV & menus: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Gaming

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV with Dynasty Warriors Origins and game bar on screen

The Hisense 116UX has great gaming features and impressive picture quality for gaming (Image credit: Future)
  • 4K 165Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium
  • 14.6ms input lag
  • Three HDMI 2.1 ports

The 116UX has impressive gaming features, such as 4K 165Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming, and these are all supported on three HDMI 2.1 ports. There is also a 288Hz game booster mode for PC gaming and a Game Board pop-up menu that displays useful information such as frame rate and VRR, as well as settings that can be adjusted, such as Dark Detail.

Gaming performance on the 116UX is generally smooth and responsive. Playing a demo of Dynasty Warriors: Origins on PlayStation 5, the action felt fast-paced and chaotic as expected at both 60Hz and 120Hz. I noticed during gameplay that the frame rate varied a lot in the 120Hz Performance mode, but I chalked this up to the game itself, due to its rendering of many enemies on screen.

The 116UX’s measured input lag is 14.6ms, which is higher than rivals like Samsung and TCL, but still under the 15ms threshold most gamers look for.

  • Gaming score: 4.5 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Value

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV remote control

The Hisense 110UXN comes with Hisense's premium remote, which has both a USB-C port and a solar cell on the bottom rear for charging (Image credit: Future)
  • Expensive
  • Similarly priced to big-screen OLED TVs
  • Much pricier than the 110-inch 110UX

At $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999, the Hisense 116UX is a pricey, premium TV. It may come with an exciting, new RGB mini-LED panel that produces superb brightness and color, but that’s still a lofty price, even for a TV this feature-packed.

At this price range, you can pick up some of the best projectors on the market, such as the JVC DLA-NZ800 ($15,999 / £15,999 / AU$24,999). It won’t have the 116UX’s brightness, but it will still produce an excellent picture. Plus, you can build an entire home theater system around it with the same budget.

The 116UX is also much pricier than the step-down 110UX ($14,999 / £18,999 / AU$24,999), and while it delivers better performance and picture quality, that's still a significant price gap.

  • Value score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Hisense 116UX?

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV with valley at sunrise on screen

The Hisense 110UXN comes at a premium price that most won't be able to afford (Image credit: Future)
Hisense 110UXN

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

RGB mini-LED panel with good amount of smart and gaming features

4.5/5

Picture quality

Superb color reproduction, brightness and realistic textures, but dark scene viewing can be an issue

4/5

Sound quality

Punchy, precise sound system with decent bass, but sound feels narrow at times

4/5

Design

Trim design considering size, and feels sturdy as well

4/5

Smart TV and menus

VIDAA has good number of picture settings and apps, but looks dated

4/5

Gaming

Great array of gaming features including 165Hz and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and 3 HDMI 2.1 ports

4.5/5

Value

An exciting step forward for mini-LED, but expensive price means it remains exclusive

3/5

Buy it if...

You want a cinema-sized screen
The Hisense 116UX gives you the experience of a cinema at home, delivering high brightness and vibrant color.

You want a big screen for gaming
The 116UX has a great range of gaming features and solid performance to match, but the novelty of gaming on such a large screen is where gamers will be most excited.

Don't buy it if…

You're on a budget
The 116UX carries a very premium price tag and although prices will drop over the coming months, it's unlikely to become affordable for 99% of people.

You want a perfect picture
The 116UX has screen uniformity issues and struggles with some dark scenes. It struggles even more when these scenes are viewed off-center.

Also consider

Hisense 116UX

Hisense 110UXN

Samsung QN90F (65-inch)

Hisense U8QG (65-inch)

Price

$24,999 / £24,999 / AU$34,999

$14,999 / £19,999 / around AU$24,300

$2,499.99 / £2,499 / AU$3,499

$2,199 / £2,199 / AU$2,999

Screen type

RGB Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Refresh rate

120Hz (up to 165Hz)

120Hz (up to 144Hz)

120Hz (up to 144Hz)

120Hz (up to 144HZ)

HDR support

Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10/HLG/HDR10+

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK/Aus)

Google TV (US/Aus), VIDAA (UK)

Tizen

Google TV (US/Aus), VIDAA (UK)

HDMI ports

3 x HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

4 x HDMI 2.1

3 x HDMI 2.1

Hisense 110UXN
The Hisense 110UXN is the step-down model from the 116UX and while its standard mini-LED panel doesn't deliver as vibrant a picture as the 116UX, it does have similar features and is significantly cheaper, while still delivering a big screen experience.

Read our full Hisense 110UXN review

Samsung QN90F
Though it lacks the Hisense's RGB mini-LED panel and doesn't hit the same brightness levels as the 116UX, the Samsung QN90F delivers outstanding picture quality and has one of the most complete feature sets on the market, including an effective anti-reflection screen. Plus, it's a lot cheaper.

Read our full Samsung QN90F review

Hisense U8QG
The Hisense U8QG is one of Hisense's flagship TVs at a more affordable price. While it again doesn't deliver the same picture quality as the 116UX, it is excellent value for money and does deliver strong performance and a brilliant set of features for a good price. It's also frequently on sale.

Here's our full Hisense U8QG review

How I tested the Hisense 116UX

Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED TV with ferris wheel at night on screen

(Image credit: Future)
  • Tested in light controlled testing room
  • Tested SDR and HDR sources for picture quality

I tested the Hisense 116UX in a light-controlled demo room at Hisense Europe HQ in Leeds, England.

I first established which picture modes I would use for my testing with some casual viewing. For my critical viewing, I used several reference scenes from both SDR (broadcast TV and streaming) and HDR sources (4K Blu-ray and streaming). I tested the 116UX's picture for brightness, color, shadow detail and contrast, screen uniformity, upscaling and motion. I also used these same sources to test the UX116's audio performance. To play 4K Blu-rays, I used the Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player.

I also tested gaming performance and features using a PlayStation 5.

Measurements for the Hisense 116UX were taken by my colleague Matthew Murray, Head of Testing at Future, at a separate event in the US.

These tests included peak (10% window) and fullscreen (100%) SDR and HDR brightness, measured on a white window test pattern.

HDR color gamut was also measured, examining the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color spaces. Color and grayscal accuracy were measured using Delta-E values (the margin for error between the test pattern signal and what's shown on screen).

Finally, the TV's input lag was measured using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester.

For a more detailed explanation of how we test TVs at TechRadar, check out the link.

I played all the latest games on this stunning 32-inch 4K OLED monitor and now I can’t go back to plain old LCD
6:00 pm | September 14, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Monitors Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Acer Predator X32 X: One-minute review

The Acer Predator X32 X is not the first 32-inch 4K gaming monitor we've seen using Samsung's QD-OLED panel technology, but it does pack a particularly strong feature set at an awfully punchy price.

As ever, the central appeal here is a stunning 32-inch QD-OLED panel with full 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh. That means you not only have a large, cinematic viewing experience. You also get great pixel density, and therefore super-sharp visuals with oodles of detail.

This isn't the very latest OLED technology, so there are some limitations that I'll come to shortly, but Acer has upped the ante over some of the similarly priced competition. Retailing for $1,199.99 (about £885 / AU$1,800), the Predator X32 X has really strong supporting features, including USB-C connectivity with 65W power delivery and a KVM switch, the latter allowing you to share this monitor with two PCs or maybe a PC and a console.

Just be sure to note that we're talking here about the Acer Predator X32 X and specifically the model with the Xbmiipphuzx suffix. It's distinct from the mere Acer Predator X32 V2bmiiphx, which is similar, but only runs at 165Hz and doesn't offer the USB-C and KVM switch. Oh, and also don't confuse this with the Acer Predator X32 X3, which seems very similar but is actually based on LG's competing WOLED panel tech.

Yes, it's all a bit confusing, and those alpha-numeric jumbles are a branding disgrace, but none of that prevents this monitor from going toe-to-toe with the best gaming monitors on the market right now.

Acer Predator X32 X: Price & availability

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
  • How much does it cost? $1,199 (about £855/AU$1,800)
  • When is it available? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Available in the US and UK, with Australia availability TBD

While the MSRP on this monitor might be $1,199.99, Acer and other retailers have cut the price of this monitor by 25%, making it an even more attractive value for a 32-inch QD-OLED 4K display. View Deal

At $1,199.99 in the US (about £885/AU$1,800), this isn't the absolute cheapest 32-inch gaming monitor based on Samsung's 4K QD-OLED panel. It's also difficult to find in the UK right now, as some retailers like Amazon and Overclockers will have a listing for the monitor, but list it as unavailable and don't give current pricing. I've reached out to Acer about the stock issues in the UK and will update this review if and when I hear back from the company.

One of the things that makes the UK stock issues frustrating, though, is that the Predator X32 X is one of the most competitive 4K QD-OLED gaming monitors out there.

Few if any comparably priced 32-inch 4K OLEDs include both USB-C with power delivery and full KVM switch capability. If you want to share this monitor across, say, a gaming PC and a laptop, that's just perfect.

Even if you don't, you're paying little to nothing extra for the option to do something like that in the future. That makes this Acer a bit of a no-brainer if you're shopping among the various 32-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor options on the market right now, like the Alienware 32 AW3225QF or MSI MAG 321UPX.

  • Value: 4.5 / 5

Acer Predator X32 X: Specs

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
Acer Predator X32 X Specifications

Screen size

31.5-inch diagonal

Resolution

3,840x2,160p

Panel technology

Samsung QD-OLED

Refresh rate

240Hz

Response time

0.03ms

Panel curve

1700R

HDR

HDR Black 400

Brightness

250 nits full screen, 1,000 nits in a 3% window

Features

HDMI 2.1 x2, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C hub with 4x USB-A and 1x USB-C with 65W power delivery, USB-A hub, KVM switch

Acer Predator X32 X: Features

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
  • USB-C with power delivery
  • KVM switch

Though I've seen plenty of best 4K monitors implement Samsung's QD-OLED panel tech, the Acer Predator X32 X is unusual in implementing a curved panel surface. It's fairly gentle at 1700R, but curved monitors aren't to absolutely everyone's taste.

For the record, it also comes with a glossy panel coating for maximum contrast. Again, there's a degree of personal preference in the whole glossy-versus-matte thing, so whether this is a plus or a minus will depend on which side of that divide you land.

More universally welcome is the excellent connectivity. As you'd expect, there's both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 (two of the former, one of the latter). But the extras start with USB-C with 65W power delivery.

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)

You can get USB-C interfaces with over 90 watts of power. But a high performance gaming laptop needs plenty more still. Few, if any, monitors can keep a true gaming laptop fully juiced. So, this Acer's USB-C interface still delivers on the premise of single-cable connectivity for a thin-and-light portable.

To that you can add a USB-A hub and KVM switch capability. That suits the broader capabilities of this monitor pretty handily. As a 4K 32-inch monitor, it's ideal for getting serious work done. But the 240Hz refresh and OLED panel tech are also fantastic for gaming.

With the KVM switch, you can attach both a gaming rig and, say, a work laptop, and seamlessly share a keyboard and mouse across both PCs. The Acer Predator X32 X isn't unique in this class to offer those features. But it is one of, if not the cheapest, we've seen to do so, and it's something not many of even the best monitors on the market don't offer.

  • Features: 4.5 / 5

Acer Predator X32 X: Design

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
  • Narrow bezels
  • Good adjustability
  • Requires a large power adapter

Design considerations are always subjective. But there's no doubting the Acer Predator X32 X is unambiguously aimed at gamers, what with its sharp lines and RGB mood lighting. Minimalist and sleek it ain't.

That said, the most gamery design flourishes including the RGB lighting are at the rear. The front of the monitor is relatively low key with slim bezels on all four sides of the QD-OLED panel.

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)

Likewise, the "Predator" branding on the lower bezel is pretty small. So, it wouldn't actually look that out of place in a work environment.

It's also nicely engineered and has height, tilt and swivel adjustment. Overall, it feels well built and worthy of the relatively elevated price tag. Ergonomically, our only significant complaint is the massive external power brick. Integrated PSUs are just that little bit slicker and neater.

  • Design: 3.5 / 5

Acer Predator X32 X: Performance

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
  • Perfect per-pixel lighting
  • Incredible fluid and responsive gameplay
  • Full-screen brightness can be somewhat muted

The Acer Predator X32 X doesn't throw up any huge surprises, performance-wise. For the most part, that's good news. I've seen lots of these 32-inch 4K gaming monitors using Samsung's QD-OLED technology, and they are pretty incredible, and that's just as true here as the rest of them.

The obvious upsides include perfect per-pixel lighting for infinite contrast and the spectacle of both very bright and very dark objects rendered with incredible precision on the screen at the same time. It's a trick that no LCD panel, even with local dimming, can pull off. Once you're used to the stunning HDR sizzle displays like this are capable of, it's hard to go back to even a really good IPS monitor.

To all that, you can add the advantages of full 4K resolution. That brings a fairly high pixel density of over 140DPI and means that the non-standard triangular RGB subpixel arrangement of QD-OLED technology is no longer a problem when it comes to clear text rendering. This thing is crispy.

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)

It's also incredibly detailed in games. Combine the aforementioned HDR thrills with 4K image detail and precision, plus the 240Hz refresh and ridiculously fast pixel response performance of all QD-OLED panels, and, well, it's an incredible experience. But not a perfect experience.

This isn't the very latest OLED panel tech, so full-screen brightness is limited to 250 nits. That's not terrible, but it does mean that brighter outdoor gaming scenes can look a little dull. This monitor only looks at its absolute best when it's showing a mix of brighter and darker image elements. Light up the whole screen, and the panel dimming algorithms kick in and reduce overall brightness.

Of course, that's true of all monitors based on Samsung's QD-OLED technology, as is the slight problem with how the panel performs in bright ambient conditions. Long story short, if you use this monitor in a really bright room, the panel itself can reflect a lot of light, which impacts perceived black levels and contrast.

It won't be a problem for most users. But it is worth bearing in mind, depending on where you're planning to use a monitor like this.

  • Performance: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Acer Predator X32 X?

An Aceer Predator X32 X on a desk

(Image credit: Future / Jeremy Laird)
Acer Predator X32 X scorecard

Value

This isn't the absolute cheapest 4K 32-inch OLED we've seen. But it does have the best feature set yet at this attractive price point.

4.5 / 5

Design

The Acer Predator X32 X's slightly gamery design vibe won't be to all tastes. The external power brick is clumsy, too. But it's certainly well built.

3.5 / 5

Features

With plenty of ports, downstream USB power delivery, and KVM switching, there are a lot of things to like about this monitor besides the display itself.

4.5 / 5

Performance

This isn't the very latest QD-OLED technology. And some limitations remain. But the combination of HDR sizzle with 4K precision is still very special.

4 / 5

Final score

The very latest OLED tech is slightly superior. But it hasn't hit the 32-inch 4K segment yet and of the currently available options, this Acer might just be the best value.

4.13 / 5

Buy the Acer Predator X32 X if...

You want a 4K OLED experience
Early OLED monitors had disappointing pixel density. But not this 4K beauty. It's sharp and precise with loads of image detail and super crispy font rendering.

You love HDR visuals
When it comes to HDR thrills, you simply cannot beat the perfect per-pixel lighting of OLED technology. No LCD monitor even comes close.

Don't buy it if...

You want maximum full-screen brightness
Full-screen brightness is still a relative OLED weakness, and this Acer is no different, maxing out at a relatively modest 250 nits.

You prefer flat monitor panels
The Acer Predator X32 X is only gently curved with a 1700R radius. But if you prefer absolutely flat, there are lots of alternatives.

Acer Predator X32 X: Also consider

If my Acer Predator X32 X review has you considering other options, here are a few other monitors to consider...

Alienware AW3225QF
This 32-inch 4K QD-OLED is almost identical, right down to its curved panel and USB-C port. But it's just that little bit more expensive.

Read the full Alienware AW3225QF review

MSI MPG 491CQP
If you want to max-out your OLED screen size for similarl money, try this massive 49-inch QD-OLED monster. Just remember the pixel density is much, much lower.

Read the full MSI MPG 491CQP review

How I tested the Acer Predator X32 X

I played all my favourite games on the Acer Predator X32 X. That includes everything from ray-traced graphics fests like Cyberpunk 2077 to online shooters including Counter-Strike 2.

I wanted to get a feel for everything from HDR performance, to pixel speed and responsiveness. Of course, this monitor is also great for getting serious stuff done, so I used it as my daily driver for a week, including work, web browsing and ye olde YouTube.

The QD-OLED panel tech used by Acer is familiar. I've reviewed at least five other 32-inch 4K monitors with the same panel, plus several with LG's competing WOLED tech. The Acer Predator X32 X didn't throw up any surprises. But that's mostly a good thing because it means the competitive pricing is especially appealing when you factor in the excellent connectivity.

  • Originally reviewed in September 2025
OLED is great, but the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide has taught me to respect mini-LED monitors – here is my take after two weeks
2:00 pm | August 8, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Monitors Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Three-minute review

GIF of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Having used an OLED ultrawide for years now, specifically the Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED (a mouthful, I know), I've been curious about a switch to mini-LED. The idea of higher brightness while gaming is intriguing, to say the least, and in came the Mobile Pixels 34-inch curved mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor.

This monitor left me impressed with its quality while gaming or watching content built for high brightness – so much so that I didn't miss using my main OLED monitor. For the first time ever, I've been able to push brightness very high in games and enjoy fascinating visuals, and most importantly, without too much exposure.

Images don't really do it much justice, as it will mostly seem too bright to view in images below. However, believe me when I say it's a treat to view in person – and it comes down to its HDR1000 VESA certification (allowing 1000 nits of peak brightness), and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio producing incredible deep black levels.

With an 180Hz refresh rate, which is higher than what you might find on some of the best ultrawide gaming monitors, I was able to enjoy my favorite games easily.

Side view of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

It's important to note, though, that it's not all great. Dark level smearing (especially when reading white text against dark backgrounds) and ghosting in games are noticeable, and while that's to be expected for a VA panel, it will be bothersome for those who are accustomed to faster displays.

While it didn't completely spoil my gaming or movie viewing experiences, it was a lot more evident for me when playing fast-paced games, especially when using Frame Generation against darker backgrounds in-game. It gets worse (as expected) when enabling any of the overdrive settings via the monitor OSD menu – which I must add, is very finicky, as it sometimes won't save settings or simply undo them randomly.

The biggest examples for me were using path tracing in Cyberpunk 2077, and notably path tracing mods in Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2, which comes with a lot of ghosting already and lacks a denoiser (but served as an easier way for me to notice the difference). When in lighter backgrounds, ghosting was noticeable, but it wasn't too extreme. When stepping into darker areas, the ghosting and smearing were seriously bad.

Perhaps it's a bit unfair coming from using an OLED to a VA mini-LED, but its price is in the same region as other OLED monitors that don't have this issue. It would have worked in Mobile Pixels' favor to use an IPS panel instead of VA for better response times, but that would potentially be a drawback on the great contrast available here.

Notice the ghosting is worse on the darker background? (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

In terms of blooming, it's kept to a minimum when sitting directly in front of the monitor. Bear in mind, what you're seeing below isn't the best representation of how well the haloing effect is kept to a minimum, due to different lighting conditions.

There's a 'Halo Control' setting in the OSD menu, but I found that adjustments weren't very necessary. I was quite happy with how well this monitor handles bloom. Compared to my mini-LED TV (specifically the TCL 55QM8B), which has 300+ full-array local dimming zones, I'd say the results were fairly similar.

I must reiterate that this is a VA panel, so viewing angles are narrow. Essentially, blooming is significantly worse when viewing from either side, but I've never used my ultrawide monitors when sitting away from my desk (unless it's a 32:9 display).

HDR is enabled here... (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Lining this up with an OLED display, again, is pretty unfair, since the AW3423DWF is night and day ahead, but it gave me a good impression of how good the deep black levels are on the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide. If you've been using a regular LED display, mini-LED will still blow you away – and in my eyes, it's the best alternative to OLED.

And the comparison below is proof of that. The OLED's deep black levels are genuinely phenomenal, and while the mini-LED strays far behind due to blooming, it was still great enough for me to enjoy content – and that's even better when you throw in the benefit of very high brightness.

It's also worth noting that there's no worry of burn-in, unlike OLED monitors. It's been a breath of fresh air not to baby my Alienware display with OLED care and pixel refreshes. In some ways, you can almost say that makes mini-LED the better choice, as you're getting the best of the 'brightness world', while still taking some benefits of great contrast – and with an OLED, you're mostly getting the best of the latter.

Yes, multiple OLED monitors like the AW3423DWF can utilize HDR1000, and OLEDs are about to get brighter with True Black HDR1000 VESA certifications. However, my display has a very aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), which kicks in when trying to use HDR1000, and I've not had to deal with that on the Mobile Pixels ultrawide.

It's taught me to respect mini-LED monitors, which I once saw as too low of a step down from OLED, and I'd very much consider using one in a multi-display setup.

Top monitor is OLED, bottom is mini-LED (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

I'm very pleased with Mobile Pixels' decision to place the ports of the monitor directly on its rear, instead of the underside like most monitors do. I get that this is done to avoid strain on cables standing upright and prevent any damage, but it's so easy and convenient to reach if you need to unplug or plug any of them – and it's super beneficial if you have a cramped desktop setup like me.

The 90W USB-C reverse charging port is a welcome addition, and I could use it to charge other devices – and I really saw the benefit of this since I have tons of devices occupying power sockets.

It features 4-array microphones with DNC noise reduction, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't my PC wouldn't recognize this, so I had no luck with testing there.

Rear of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

The RGB lighting is decent enough, but not bright enough to appreciate. I won't knock the monitor down for this, though. Most monitors I've used don't have RGB lighting that stands out, except for the Philips Evnia displays that have a special Ambilight feature to sync content on the screen to its RGB lights.

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Price & Availability

  • How much does it cost? $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,370 without import costs
  • When is it available? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia (shipping from the US)

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor retails at $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,730, and while this display's high brightness and contrast ratio have left me impressed, I think it should be much cheaper. Some OLED ultrawide monitors are currently cheaper and don't have issues like dark level smearing or ghosting.

It's not a bad monitor despite some of its issues, but I'd have been more fond of it if it didn't cost this much. Import fees will also bump up the cost if you're outside of the US, which makes its potential total price even more unappealing.

Fortunately, it gets a lot right, specifically within the region of HDR brightness and contrast; there's hardly any loss of detail when looking at bright scenery in movies or games when at maximum brightness, so it's something to consider if you're looking to get your hands on it.

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Specs

Screen Size

34-inch

Aspect Ratio

21:9

Resolution

3440x1440

Brightness

450 nits (Min) 1000 nits (Max)

Contrast Ratio

1,000,000:1

Refresh Rate

180Hz

Color Accuracy

99% sRGB | 94% DCI-P3 | 99% Adobe RGB

Speakers

2x 5W Midrange, 1x 12W Bass

Microphone

4-array microphones with DSC noise reduction

Weight

18.51 lbs

Wall Mountable (VESA)

100 x 100 mm

FreeSync Premium technology

Yes

Power Consumption

Typ. 65W, Max. 270W

Panel Type

VA

Connections

2 × USB-A 3.0

1 × USB-C 3.1

2 × HDMI 2.0

1 × DP 1.4

1 × 3.5mm Audio out

Should you buy the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Plenty of high brightness to enjoy across movies, TV shows, and games, but could benefit from a slightly cheaper price tag.

3 / 5

Design

Bogged down by the mediocre speakers on the bottom of monitor, but is adequate in other areas.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Besides dark level smearing and ghosting, the high brightness with HDR 1000, significantly enhances visual experiences, standing as a great alternative to OLED.

4 / 5

Features

OSD needs an improvement, but a 180Hz refresh rate and USB-C 90W reverse charging port are a very welcome addition.

4 / 5

Average rating

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide would be much better with a lower retail price, repositioning of the speakers, and an IPS panel for less ghosting and smearing, but excels at high brightness for immersion, making it a good option for PC gamers.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You desire an ultrawide with high brightness

The Mobile Pixels mini-LED monitor is ideal for those who crave bright and lively gaming experiences, with HDR1000 blending well with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It's best used in titles that are built for HDR.View Deal

You want to avoid burn-in care

While OLED is an easy choice at an affordable price, it's not for everyone, as there's always a risk of burn-in. OLED burn-in care has advanced, but not having to worry about the possibility at all with this mini-LED monitor is a big win.View Deal

You're upgrading from a regular LED monitor

The jump from a regular LED display to Mobile Pixels' mini-LED, is significant, and while it suffers a total loss to OLED deep black levels, it comes close enough while getting the best of brightness. View Deal

Don't buy if...

You're looking for a budget monitor

This monitor's biggest issue is its price, especially compared to OLEDs that are at the same price range or less expensive. It retails at $899.99, which is too high considering the issues it has with ghosting and smearing.View Deal

You prefer the best deep black levels

Like other mini-LED displays, the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor does a great job with contrast, but it doesn't match up to OLED, which remains undefeated at producing the best contrast.View Deal

You find ghosting and smearing frustrating

If you're a competitive gamer or simply happen to notice dark level smearing and ghosting easily, you might want to reconsider purchasing this monitor. It's using a VA panel, so viewing angles and the response time aren't the best.View Deal

Also consider

Acer Predator X32QFS

If dark level smearing and ghosting are a big issue for you, and you don't mind a 4K mini-LED instead of an ultrawide, then the Acer Predator X32QFS should be on your radar. This features a mini-LED IPS panel, which handles ghosting much better, and compatibility for both PS5 and PC with HDMI 2.1.

Read our full Acer Predator X32QFS review

MSRP/RRP

£899.99 / AU$1,099 (No US availability)

Panel Size

31.5in

Panel type

Mini-LED IPS

Panel resolution

3840 x 2160p; 4K

Aspect ratio

16:9

Refresh rate

150Hz

Response time

0.5ms

Brightness

700 nits (native) / 1000 nits (peak HDR)

Contrast ratio

1000:1

HDR

VESA DisplayHDR 1000

Ports

1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1 x audio jack

Color gamut

99% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3

Display colors

1.07 billion

Warranty

2-years

How I tested the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

  • Two weeks of usage on movies, TV shows, and games, notably titles that implement HDR well
  • Some examples are Assassin's Creed Shadows, Street Fighter 6, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil 4 remake, and Cyberpunk 2077
  • Multiple contrast tests and comparisons with Alienware AW3423DWF OLED ultrawide monitor

Throughout my two weeks of testing, especially when gaming, I had plenty of fun with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch monitor, and put my OLED monitor aside as a secondary display. Despite the drawbacks of blooming and ghosting, it was easy to enjoy bright content without losing much detail.

Testing Stellar Blade, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Cyberpunk 2077 first left great initial impressions, specifically in Cyberpunk 2077, where neon lights and vivid streets provide exceptional visuals on any display, but it took things up a notch. The ghosting issues became far more noticeable when using Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon's Dogma 2, and even more so in fast-paced FPS games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Placing this next to Dell's Alienware OLED monitor, allowed me to point out the mini-LED monitor's drawbacks more easily. However, in terms of deep black levels, I was impressed with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch display, with just how close it can get to OLED, albeit still quite far off.

I used it for work and multitasking, which proved to be beneficial, in comparison to OLED, which notoriously has readability issues – and the mini-LED was a breeze to use while deep into productivity.

OLED is great, but the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide has taught me to respect mini-LED monitors – here is my take after two weeks
2:00 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Monitors Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Three-minute review

GIF of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Having used an OLED ultrawide for years now, specifically the Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED (a mouthful, I know), I've been curious about a switch to mini-LED. The idea of higher brightness while gaming is intriguing, to say the least, and in came the Mobile Pixels 34-inch curved mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor.

This monitor left me impressed with its quality while gaming or watching content built for high brightness – so much so that I didn't miss using my main OLED monitor. For the first time ever, I've been able to push brightness very high in games and enjoy fascinating visuals, and most importantly, without too much exposure.

Images don't really do it much justice, as it will mostly seem too bright to view in images below. However, believe me when I say it's a treat to view in person – and it comes down to its HDR1000 VESA certification (allowing 1000 nits of peak brightness), and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio producing incredible deep black levels.

With an 180Hz refresh rate, which is higher than what you might find on some of the best ultrawide gaming monitors, I was able to enjoy my favorite games easily.

Side view of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

It's important to note, though, that it's not all great. Dark level smearing (especially when reading white text against dark backgrounds) and ghosting in games are noticeable, and while that's to be expected for a VA panel, it will be bothersome for those who are accustomed to faster displays.

While it didn't completely spoil my gaming or movie viewing experiences, it was a lot more evident for me when playing fast-paced games, especially when using Frame Generation against darker backgrounds in-game. It gets worse (as expected) when enabling any of the overdrive settings via the monitor OSD menu – which I must add, is very finicky, as it sometimes won't save settings or simply undo them randomly.

The biggest examples for me were using path tracing in Cyberpunk 2077, and notably path tracing mods in Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2, which comes with a lot of ghosting already and lacks a denoiser (but served as an easier way for me to notice the difference). When in lighter backgrounds, ghosting was noticeable, but it wasn't too extreme. When stepping into darker areas, the ghosting and smearing were seriously bad.

Perhaps it's a bit unfair coming from using an OLED to a VA mini-LED, but its price is in the same region as other OLED monitors that don't have this issue. It would have worked in Mobile Pixels' favor to use an IPS panel instead of VA for better response times, but that would potentially be a drawback on the great contrast available here.

Notice the ghosting is worse on the darker background? (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

In terms of blooming, it's kept to a minimum when sitting directly in front of the monitor. Bear in mind, what you're seeing below isn't the best representation of how well the haloing effect is kept to a minimum, due to different lighting conditions.

There's a 'Halo Control' setting in the OSD menu, but I found that adjustments weren't very necessary. I was quite happy with how well this monitor handles bloom. Compared to my mini-LED TV (specifically the TCL 55QM8B), which has 300+ full-array local dimming zones, I'd say the results were fairly similar.

I must reiterate that this is a VA panel, so viewing angles are narrow. Essentially, blooming is significantly worse when viewing from either side, but I've never used my ultrawide monitors when sitting away from my desk (unless it's a 32:9 display).

HDR is enabled here... (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Lining this up with an OLED display, again, is pretty unfair, since the AW3423DWF is night and day ahead, but it gave me a good impression of how good the deep black levels are on the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide. If you've been using a regular LED display, mini-LED will still blow you away – and in my eyes, it's the best alternative to OLED.

And the comparison below is proof of that. The OLED's deep black levels are genuinely phenomenal, and while the mini-LED strays far behind due to blooming, it was still great enough for me to enjoy content – and that's even better when you throw in the benefit of very high brightness.

It's also worth noting that there's no worry of burn-in, unlike OLED monitors. It's been a breath of fresh air not to baby my Alienware display with OLED care and pixel refreshes. In some ways, you can almost say that makes mini-LED the better choice, as you're getting the best of the 'brightness world', while still taking some benefits of great contrast – and with an OLED, you're mostly getting the best of the latter.

Yes, multiple OLED monitors like the AW3423DWF can utilize HDR1000, and OLEDs are about to get brighter with True Black HDR1000 VESA certifications. However, my display has a very aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), which kicks in when trying to use HDR1000, and I've not had to deal with that on the Mobile Pixels ultrawide.

It's taught me to respect mini-LED monitors, which I once saw as too low of a step down from OLED, and I'd very much consider using one in a multi-display setup.

Top monitor is OLED, bottom is mini-LED (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

I'm very pleased with Mobile Pixels' decision to place the ports of the monitor directly on its rear, instead of the underside like most monitors do. I get that this is done to avoid strain on cables standing upright and prevent any damage, but it's so easy and convenient to reach if you need to unplug or plug any of them – and it's super beneficial if you have a cramped desktop setup like me.

The 90W USB-C reverse charging port is a welcome addition, and I could use it to charge other devices – and I really saw the benefit of this since I have tons of devices occupying power sockets.

It features 4-array microphones with DNC noise reduction, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't my PC wouldn't recognize this, so I had no luck with testing there.

Rear of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

The RGB lighting is decent enough, but not bright enough to appreciate. I won't knock the monitor down for this, though. Most monitors I've used don't have RGB lighting that stands out, except for the Philips Evnia displays that have a special Ambilight feature to sync content on the screen to its RGB lights.

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Price & Availability

  • How much does it cost? $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,370 without import costs
  • When is it available? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia (shipping from the US)

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor retails at $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,730, and while this display's high brightness and contrast ratio have left me impressed, I think it should be much cheaper. Some OLED ultrawide monitors are currently cheaper and don't have issues like dark level smearing or ghosting.

It's not a bad monitor despite some of its issues, but I'd have been more fond of it if it didn't cost this much. Import fees will also bump up the cost if you're outside of the US, which makes its potential total price even more unappealing.

Fortunately, it gets a lot right, specifically within the region of HDR brightness and contrast; there's hardly any loss of detail when looking at bright scenery in movies or games when at maximum brightness, so it's something to consider if you're looking to get your hands on it.

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Specs

Screen Size

34-inch

Aspect Ratio

21:9

Resolution

3440x1440

Brightness

450 nits (Min) 1000 nits (Max)

Contrast Ratio

1,000,000:1

Refresh Rate

180Hz

Color Accuracy

99% sRGB | 94% DCI-P3 | 99% Adobe RGB

Speakers

2x 5W Midrange, 1x 12W Bass

Microphone

4-array microphones with DSC noise reduction

Weight

18.51 lbs

Wall Mountable (VESA)

100 x 100 mm

FreeSync Premium technology

Yes

Power Consumption

Typ. 65W, Max. 270W

Panel Type

VA

Connections

2 × USB-A 3.0

1 × USB-C 3.1

2 × HDMI 2.0

1 × DP 1.4

1 × 3.5mm Audio out

Should you buy the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Plenty of high brightness to enjoy across movies, TV shows, and games, but could benefit from a slightly cheaper price tag.

3 / 5

Design

Bogged down by the mediocre speakers on the bottom of monitor, but is adequate in other areas.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Besides dark level smearing and ghosting, the high brightness with HDR 1000, significantly enhances visual experiences, standing as a great alternative to OLED.

4 / 5

Features

OSD needs an improvement, but a 180Hz refresh rate and USB-C 90W reverse charging port are a very welcome addition.

4 / 5

Average rating

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide would be much better with a lower retail price, repositioning of the speakers, and an IPS panel for less ghosting and smearing, but excels at high brightness for immersion, making it a good option for PC gamers.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You desire an ultrawide with high brightness

The Mobile Pixels mini-LED monitor is ideal for those who crave bright and lively gaming experiences, with HDR1000 blending well with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It's best used in titles that are built for HDR.View Deal

You want to avoid burn-in care

While OLED is an easy choice at an affordable price, it's not for everyone, as there's always a risk of burn-in. OLED burn-in care has advanced, but not having to worry about the possibility at all with this mini-LED monitor is a big win.View Deal

You're upgrading from a regular LED monitor

The jump from a regular LED display to Mobile Pixels' mini-LED, is significant, and while it suffers a total loss to OLED deep black levels, it comes close enough while getting the best of brightness. View Deal

Don't buy if...

You're looking for a budget monitor

This monitor's biggest issue is its price, especially compared to OLEDs that are at the same price range or less expensive. It retails at $899.99, which is too high considering the issues it has with ghosting and smearing.View Deal

You prefer the best deep black levels

Like other mini-LED displays, the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor does a great job with contrast, but it doesn't match up to OLED, which remains undefeated at producing the best contrast.View Deal

You find ghosting and smearing frustrating

If you're a competitive gamer or simply happen to notice dark level smearing and ghosting easily, you might want to reconsider purchasing this monitor. It's using a VA panel, so viewing angles and the response time aren't the best.View Deal

Also consider

Acer Predator X32QFS

If dark level smearing and ghosting are a big issue for you, and you don't mind a 4K mini-LED instead of an ultrawide, then the Acer Predator X32QFS should be on your radar. This features a mini-LED IPS panel, which handles ghosting much better, and compatibility for both PS5 and PC with HDMI 2.1.

Read our full Acer Predator X32QFS review

MSRP/RRP

£899.99 / AU$1,099 (No US availability)

Panel Size

31.5in

Panel type

Mini-LED IPS

Panel resolution

3840 x 2160p; 4K

Aspect ratio

16:9

Refresh rate

150Hz

Response time

0.5ms

Brightness

700 nits (native) / 1000 nits (peak HDR)

Contrast ratio

1000:1

HDR

VESA DisplayHDR 1000

Ports

1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1 x audio jack

Color gamut

99% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3

Display colors

1.07 billion

Warranty

2-years

How I tested the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

  • Two weeks of usage on movies, TV shows, and games, notably titles that implement HDR well
  • Some examples are Assassin's Creed Shadows, Street Fighter 6, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil 4 remake, and Cyberpunk 2077
  • Multiple contrast tests and comparisons with Alienware AW3423DWF OLED ultrawide monitor

Throughout my two weeks of testing, especially when gaming, I had plenty of fun with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch monitor, and put my OLED monitor aside as a secondary display. Despite the drawbacks of blooming and ghosting, it was easy to enjoy bright content without losing much detail.

Testing Stellar Blade, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Cyberpunk 2077 first left great initial impressions, specifically in Cyberpunk 2077, where neon lights and vivid streets provide exceptional visuals on any display, but it took things up a notch. The ghosting issues became far more noticeable when using Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon's Dogma 2, and even more so in fast-paced FPS games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Placing this next to Dell's Alienware OLED monitor, allowed me to point out the mini-LED monitor's drawbacks more easily. However, in terms of deep black levels, I was impressed with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch display, with just how close it can get to OLED, albeit still quite far off.

I used it for work and multitasking, which proved to be beneficial, in comparison to OLED, which notoriously has readability issues – and the mini-LED was a breeze to use while deep into productivity.

Samsung’s mid-range mini-LED TV is pretty good, but I’d opt for one of its better-priced rivals
9:00 pm | July 24, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Televisions | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Samsung QN80F: Two-minute review

The Samsung QN80F is the mid-range model in the company’s 2025 4K Neo QLED mini-LED TV lineup. It is available in 50-100-inch sizes (with the 50-inch only available in the UK and the 100-inch only available in the US and Australia) and carries a stacked feature set.

The QN80F uses the same NQ4 AI Gen2 processor as its predecessor, the Samsung QN85D. While not as effective as the step-up Gen3 processor, it still delivers useful picture and audio enhancements.

Picture quality is mixed on the QN80F. Its vibrant yet natural colors are up there with the best TVs, and it also delivers refined details and solid contrast. While brightness is lacking compared to cheaper rivals such as the TCL QM7K (and even the TCL C7K in the UK), it can still give pictures a nice boost. Black levels, while raised at times, are also generally respectable. Where the QN80F struggles is with its highly reflective screen and inconsistent motion handling, particularly with sports – something its more premium counterpart, the Samsung QN90F, has no issue with.

Sound quality is average on the QN80F. Speech is clear and sound placement is accurate, with a good sense of direction, but bass is lacking, and the narrow soundstage never extends beyond the screen’s threshold. Movie fans will definitely want to invest in one of the best soundbars for this TV.

Gaming is a strong area for the QN80F, which has a near-full list of gaming features, including 4K 120Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro and ALLM across four HDMI 2.1 ports. Plus, Samsung's Gaming Hub is an excellent portal for cloud-based gaming apps. Pair all this with an ultra-low 9.9ms input lag time, and the QN80F competes with the best gaming TVs.

Samsung’s own Tizen 9.0 smart TV platform serves as the QN80F’s smart interface. With smooth performance, tons of picture settings, a customizable home page, several ‘hubs’, and a useful quick menu, Tizen 9.0 is the best iteration of Samsung’s smart TV platform to date. Some settings are buried deep in menus, but this is one of my only gripes.

While the QN80F does have a strong feature list and generally solid performance, its value is a tough category to score. At $1,299 / £1,399 for the 55-inch model I tested, there are cheaper mini-LEDs from Hisense and TCL that deliver very similar features and performance for a lower price. The QN80F is still a good option, but one that you should look for during major sales events.

Samsung QN80F review: Price and release date

Samsung QN80F with aerial shot of city at night on screen

The Samsung QN80F demonstrates decent contrast but minor backlight blooming (Image credit: Future)
  • Release date: May 2025
  • 50-inch: $N/A / £1,099
  • 55-inch: $1,299.99 / £1,399 (roughly AU$1,991)
  • 65-inch: $1,799.99 / £1,699 (roughly AU$2,757)
  • 75-inch: $2,299.99 / £2,599 (roughly AU$3,524)
  • 85-inch: $3,499.99 / £3,699 (roughly AU$5,363)
  • 100-inch: $5,999.99 / £N/A (roughly AU$9,196)

The Samsung QN80F is the mid-range model in Samsung’s 2025 4K Neo QLED (mini-LED) lineup, sitting above the Samsung QN70F and below the Samsung QN85F and the flagship Samsung QN90F. The QN80F is not available in Australia. For the 55-inch model I tested, its May 2025 launch prices were $1,299.99 / £1,399 (roughly AU$1,990).

Since its launch, there have been discounts across the entire lineup. The 55-inch price remains unchanged in the US, but in the UK, its price has dropped to £1,199.

Samsung QN80F review: Specs

Screen type:

QLED with mini-LED

Refresh rate:

120Hz

HDR support:

HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio support:

Dolby Atmos

Smart TV:

Tizen

HDMI ports:

4 x HDMI 2.1

Built-in tuner:

ATSC 3.0 (USA)

Samsung QN80F review: Benchmark results

Samsung QN80F review: Features

Samsung QN80F ports

The QN80F has four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support (Image credit: Future)
  • NQ4 AI Gen 2 Processor
  • HDR10+ HDR support
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz for gaming

The Samsung QN80F uses a mini-LED backlight and has a standard gloss screen rather than the Glare Free screen used in the step-up Samsung QN90F mini-LED TV. It features Samsung’s QN4 AI Gen2 Processor, a step-down from the Gen3 processor used in the QN90F, that supports 4K AI upscaling and Real Depth Enhancer.

Like all Samsung TVs, the QN80F supports the HDR10+ High Dynamic Range format, but not Dolby Vision.

The QN80F’s four-channel, 30W sound system supports Dolby Atmos. There are also AI-based tools such as Active Voice Amplifier and Adaptive Sound, both of which analyze the content on screen and adapt the sound accordingly.

Gaming features include 4K 120Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro included) and ALLM, with all supported on four HDMI 2.1 ports. There is also Samsung’s Gaming Hub, which provides access to cloud-based gaming apps including Xbox and Luna.

The QN80F uses Samsung’s Tizen 9.0 as its smart TV platform. Along with the AI-based picture and sound enhancement tools mentioned above, the TV provides AI content recommendations based on viewing history. It has access to all major streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime Video, and there is built-in voice assistant support from Alexa and Bixby. The QN80F also supports the Samsung Art Store feature previously exclusive to Samsung’s The Frame TVs, which lets you display artworks when the TV is in standby mode.

  • Features Score: 5/5

Samsung QN80F review: Picture quality

Samsung QN80F with orange butterfly on screen

The QN80F's strength lies in its color reproduction, which is punchy and accurate (Image credit: Future)
  • Bold, vibrant colors
  • Generally good contrast
  • Screen reflections

I measured the QN80F in its Standard and Movie picture modes. I did find that Filmmaker Mode was the more accurate picture preset overall, but Movie provided a brightness boost (in default settings) that allowed the QN80F to better show off its picture quality strengths.

Peak brightness (measured on a 10% HDR white window pattern) hit 1,106 nits in Movie mode and 975 nits in Standard. That is a big drop from its step-up sibling, the QN90F, which registered 2,086 nits in Movie and 1,987 nits in Standard. It’s even less than the cheaper mid-range TCL QM7K, which hit 1,733 nits in Filmmaker mode (the UK equivalent TCL C7K hit 1,706 nits). This is quite a disappointing result for the QN80F.

Fullscreen HDR brightness, however, was significantly higher, with the QN80F hitting 754 nits in Movie mode and a mammoth 869 nits in Standard, which should make Samsung’s mid-range mini-LED TV great for daytime viewing in brighter rooms.

This does, however, bring me to the elephant in the room: the QN80F’s reflective screen. I found that I could see objects reflected on the TV’s screen when watching dark scenes, even in dim room lighting conditions.

The QN80F does an effective job upscaling non-4K movies and TV shows. An HD stream of Fight Club viewed on Disney Plus benefited from an uplift in sharpness, giving textures a cleaner look, and contrast was also stronger. But upscaling wasn’t as effective with lower-resolution content. The TV’s Auto Remastering HDR setting is an option here, but I found it gave pictures a too-sharp look.

Color reproduction is the QN80F’s main strength. A scene from Elemental (on Disney Plus) where Ember makes a red and orange glass vase showcased the TV’s vibrant, punchy color display. Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Wicked, a scene where Elphaba sings under pink flowers showcased the QN80F’s ability to deliver more natural hues, giving the flowers and Elphaba’s green skin a realistic yet dynamic look.

When I measured the QN80F’s HDR color gamut coverage, it yielded results of 70.3% for BT.2020 and 93.05% for UHDA-P3. These are surprisingly low results for a mini-LED in this range, but also not far off the QN90F’s numbers, which hit 76.3% and 93.6%, respectively, for the same color gamuts.

Samsung QN80F with peacock feather on black background on screen

Black levels are surprisingly deep on the QN80F, but can also sometimes take on a raised gray tone (Image credit: Future)

The QN80F’s black levels were generally quite good. As Hutler made his way to Orlock’s castle in Nosferatu, blacks looked pretty deep, although they did take on a slightly raised gray tone at times. Contrast was solid, with light sources such as torch and lamplight contrasting well with the dark surroundings in both Nosferatu and The Batman. The QN80F also showcased good local dimming with very few instances of backlight blooming.

Viewed from an angle, the QN80F’s screen took on a gray wash in darker areas, but its contrast wasn’t as bad as what I’ve seen on some older or cheaper mini-LED TVs.

Watching the black and white scenes in Oppenheimer, the QN80F had a good range of gray tones, and while screen uniformity wasn’t as good as what you’d find on more premium mini-LED and OLED TVs, it was still solid.

Textures and details throughout my viewing were rich and lifelike, with the right level of sharpness. Faces looked detailed, and the QN80F’s solid contrast helped to give objects and textures definition and depth.

Motion handling was an area the QN80F struggled with. Setting motion and judder reduction to between 3 and 5 seemed to be the sweet spot for movies, depending on how ‘smooth’ a picture you’re looking for. With these settings active, a scene in No Time To Die where a camera pans across a cliff face was smooth without any of the dreaded soap opera effects.

Using the same settings, sports never looked quite right, however. There always seemed to be motion artifacts, regardless of the settings I used. While football games on both YouTube and Prime Video were watchable, the action wasn’t as smooth as on other TVs I’ve tested, such as the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED.

  • Picture quality score: 4/5

Samsung QN80F review: Sound quality

Samsung QN80F with photo from Art Mode on screen

The QN80F delivers clear speech and accurate sound placement, but struggles in every other aspect with its sound quality (Image credit: Future)
  • Four-channel, 30W speaker system
  • Direct sound
  • Narrow soundstage and limited bass

The QN80F has a four-channel, 30W speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos. It has two preset sound modes, Standard and Amplify, as well as AI sound enhancement tools such as Active Voice Amplifier Pro (to enhance speech volume) and Adaptive Sound Pro (analyzes the content on screen to optimize the sound).

The QN80F’s built-in speakers delivered direct, clear sound throughout my viewing, with speech coming through with good clarity in most movies. Active Voice Amplifier Pro and Adaptive Sound Pro, found in the TV’s AI Mode in Advanced Settings, worked very well for sports by amplifying the commentary. Sound was also accurately connected to the action on screen, as demonstrated by the swerving traffic in The Batman’s Batmobile chase scene.

Unfortunately, the QN80F falls short elsewhere. In the same Batmobile scene, the soundstage was very narrow, and there was no sense of Dolby Atmos height or surround effects. Bass was also lacking, making the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine feel limited and flat. The balance between the vocals and score in Wicked was effective, but it didn’t have the same weight or dynamic quality I’d experienced with other TVs I've recently tested, such as the TCL C7K.

Bottom line: QN80F’s sound is fine for day-to-day viewing, but I’d recommend using it with a soundbar.

  • Sound quality score: 3.5/5

Samsung QN80F review: Design

Samsung QN80F central stand

The QN80F's plain, but sturdy pedestal stand (Image credit: Future)
  • Central pedestal stand
  • Sturdy build quality
  • Bulkier and plainer design than other Samsung TVs

The QN80F’s design plays it safe. It has a slightly bulkier depth than more premium mini-LED TVs and a plain-looking rear panel, though its glossy, silver metal frame does give it a more premium look than other mid-range TVs from Hisense and TCL.

The TV features a central pedestal stand, and due to its placement, it will make it difficult to place a soundbar underneath easily. The stand itself is made of a similar plastic to that used on the TCL C7K, but it still suits the QN80F’s design.

The QN80F uses Samsung’s SolarCell remote, a slim, compact remote control with minimal buttons. It can be charged using USB-C or the solar panel on the rear, eliminating the need for any batteries. In the UK, a second remote with numbered buttons is also included in the box.

  • Design score: 4/5

Samsung QN80F review: Smart TV and menus

Samsung QN80F Tizen home page

The QN80F uses Tizen 9.0, the best iteration to date of Samsung's smart TV platform (Image credit: Future)
  • Samsung Tizen 9.0 interface
  • Home, Game, Daily+ and Art hubs
  • Some settings difficult to find

The QN80F uses Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform, now in version 9.0. The Home screen’s default layout is the For You page, which presents recommendations based on your viewing history, along with a row of customizable apps. There is a large sponsored ad at the top of the screen, but this is not as invasive as the one found on Google TV.

Tizen 9.0 is the most advanced version of Samsung’s smart TV platform to date. A useful Quick Menu provides easy access to major settings categories, and it even remembers your most visited settings for quick navigation. There are four major hubs: Home, Game (a portal for all things gaming), Daily+ (for health and office-based apps) and the Art Store (where artworks can be purchased to display as a screensaver).

There are plenty of picture settings in the menus for those who like to tweak, but this is also one area where Tizen 9.0 falls short. Some settings are buried in several submenus and can be very difficult to find. Still, performance is snappy enough that navigation is easy, though I did find the QN80F to be a bit slower than its more premium counterparts.

  • Smart TV & menus score: 4.5/5

Samsung QN80F review: Gaming

Image 1 of 2

Samsung QN80F with Battlefield V on screen

The QN80F with Battlefield V and game menu (1) and Samsung's Gaming Hub (2) displayed (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2

Samsung QN80F with Game Hub on screen

(Image credit: Future)
  • Four HDMI 2.1 ports
  • 4K 120Hz, AMD Freesync Premium Pro support
  • 9.9ms input lag time

The QN80F has a stacked feature list for gaming. It supports 4K 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming, all featured on four HDMI 2.1 ports. Samsung’s Gaming Hub continues as an excellent portal for everything gaming-related, including access to cloud-based apps from Xbox, Luna and more.

Performance is responsive and snappy, even during fast-paced gameplay. In Battlefield V, the most chaotic of battles felt smooth, and targeting enemies was easy. This is helped by the QN80F’s ultra-low 9.9ms input lag time, which is up there with the best 120Hz TVs.

The QN80F’s Game picture mode delivers superb color and contrast with a nice hit of brightness. Textures are sharp, and motion is smooth and well-handled.

  • Gaming score: 5/5

Samsung QN80F review: Value

Samsung 2025 SolarCell remote

The QN80F's compact SolarCell remote control (Image credit: Future)
  • Good feature set for the price
  • Cheaper rivals available
  • Price drops help value

Value is a difficult area to score for Samsung’s Neo QLED TVs. That was something we discovered in our Samsung QN90F review, and the same holds true for the Samsung QN80F.

The 55-inch model I tested is available for $1,299 / £1,199 at the time of writing. In the US, you can get the Hisense U8Q (the company’s flagship mini-LED TV) for $848, and the TCL QM7K mini-LED TV for $749, a $4-500 price difference from the QN80F. Yes, the QN80F has more features, but both those TVs are significantly brighter.

In the UK, the QN80F is a more tempting option. Priced at £1,199, it's cheaper than the Hisense U7Q Pro (the U75Q equivalent for the UK), which is priced at £1,499. But the rival TCL C7K 55-inch is priced at £849, so again cheaper rivals exist.

The QN80F’s stacked feature list and generally solid performance make it a more premium option than its rivals, but ultimately, the Hisense and TCL alternatives deliver nearly the same performance at a lower price.

  • Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Samsung QN90F?

Samsung QN80F with red and yellow flowers on screen

(Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN98F

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

A full suite of gaming features and AI-based enhancement settings

5/5

Picture quality

Punchy colors and contrast and refined textures but motion is hit-and-miss and the reflective screen can be very distracting in bright rooms

4/5

Sound quality

Clear speech and accurate placement but lacking bass and narrow soundstage

3.5/5

Design

Plain design with slightly bulky depth but solid and sturdy with central stand

4/5

Smart TV and menus

Snappier navigation and a 'hub' design make this the best version of Tizen yet, but some settings still buried in menus

4.5/5

Gaming

An strong list of gaming features, with a responsive performance to match

5/5

Value

More expensive than much of the competition and best sought out at a discounted price

3.5/5

Buy it if...

You want a punchy, colorful picture
The QN80F's main strength lies in its colors, which are bold, yet natural-looking.

You want a great TV for gaming
The QN80F carries a near-full suite of gaming features, including 4K 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM, HDR10+ gaming, across four HDMI 2.1 ports, and it also delivers smooth, responsive performance.

You want a smooth user experience
Tizen 9.0 is the best version of Samsung's smart TV software to date, with a useful quick menu, mostly smooth navigation and an intuitive hub layout.

Don't buy it if…

You want Dolby Vision HDR:
As with all Samsung TVs, the QN80F doesn't support the Dolby Vision HDR format used for 4K Blu-ray and by streaming services. It does support HDR10+, however.

You want the best value mini-LED TV
The QN80F faces stiff competition from cheaper rivals that deliver equally strong performance and features for a lower price.

You have a very bright room
The QN80F's reflective screen resulted in mirror-like reflections during my testing in brighter conditions. View Deal

Samsung QN90F: Also consider...

Samsung QN80F

Samsung QN90F

Hisense U8QG

TCL QM7K/TCL C7K

Price (55-inch)

$1,299.99 / £1,399 (roughly AU$1,991)

 $2,499.99 / £2,499 (roughly AU$3,786)

 $999 / £1,799 (roughly AU$1,513)

$749 / £849 / AU$1,395

Screen type

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

Refresh rate

120Hz

165Hz

165Hz

144Hz

HDR support

HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

DolbyVision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

DolbyVision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Tizen

Tizen

Google TV / VIDAA

Google TV

HDMI ports

4 x HDMI 2.1

4 x HDMI 2.1

3x HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

Hisense U8QG

The U8QQ is Hisense’s top mini-LED for 2025, and its picture quality is brilliant for the price. Although it struggles in similar areas to the QN80F (such as sound quality) it's arguably overall better value for money (in the US at least).

Here’s our Hisense U8QG review

Samsung QN90F

The step-up sibling to the QN80F, the Samsung QN90F offers superior picture and sound quality, plus its Glare-Free screen makes it better for bright room viewing. It is a significant price increase over the QN80F, but the QN90F is a big quality increase as well.

Here’s our Samsung QN90F review

TCL QM7K/C7K

TCL’s mid-range mini-LED model (QM7K in the US, C7K in the UK) delivers higher brightness, better overall sound and impressive gaming performance again for cheaper than the QN80F. But, the QN80F does offer more as an overall package.

Here’s our TCL QM7K review and our TCL C7K review

How I tested the Samsung QN80F

Image 1 of 2

Samsung QN80F being tested with calibration equipment by person

(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2

Samsung QN80F with testing equipment attached

(Image credit: Future)
  • Subjective tests made using HDR and SDR sources
  • Measurements taken using Calman calibration software
  • Tested in varying lighting conditions in our testing lab

Before conducting my subjective and objective tests, I did some casual viewing of the QN80F to determine its best picture mode, deciding on Movie mode due to its added brightness. Filmmaker Mode is a good alternative as it provides a more accurate picture but it lacks the visual punch of Movie mode.

For my subjective tests, I used reference scenes from a variety of HDR (4K Blu-ray and 4K streaming) and SDR (broadcast TV and lower-resolution formats such as DVD) sources to test the QN80F's picture quality, focusing on color, contrast, detail, motion handling and upscaling. I used some of these same scenes to analyze the QN80F's built-in speakers as well.

I took several measurements of the QN80F using a colorimeter, test pattern generator and Portrait Displays Calman Color Calibration software. Brightness was measured using 1-100% white window patterns in both SDR and HDR, with results presented for peak (10%) and fullscreen (100%) brightness.

I also measured the QN80F's grayscale and color accuracy, recording its Delta-E results (the margin of error between the test pattern and what's displayed on screen).

I also measured HDR color gamut coverage for the BT.2020 and DCI-P3 color spaces.

You can check out a more in-depth guide to how we test TVs at TechRadar in the link.

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