The Hisense 2021 TV range has finally emerged from the COVID cone-of-silence lockdown via a video launch from, you guessed it – Melbourne – where Hisense HQ is. We have UHD, ULED and mini-LED, in a traditional 4K or 8K, good, better and best scenario.
Sorry for the intro; we have had to eat crow since we announced the Hisense 2021 TV range on 5 January this year, and numerous readers becoming frustrated with the wait. Samsung, LG, and Sony all beat Hisense to the punch this year.
Hisense TVs democratise a lot of features usually found on more expensive brands. I was very impressed with the 8K ULED U80G (review here 9.1/10) – it was one of the few that passed 100% of our colour, contrast and image quality tests.
The official Hisense 2021 TV range (2021 uses the G identifier)
- All of the models have Dolby Vision and Atmos – unheard of in any brands entry-level TVs (A7G) at this price.
- Mini-LED is a backlight with a Quantum Dot overlay on an LED/LCD panel
- ULED means Quantum Dot colour on an LED/LCD panel
- UHD means LED/LCD
- Full-Array Local Dimming Pro (U8G) means standard LED back-light with increased dimming zones over the U7G
- VIDAA U5 is on al 4K models and Android TV is on 8K models
- Gaming Pro (U80G and U90G) means HDMI 2.1 48Gbps port, VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency).
- Game Mode means partial HDMI 2.1 features VRR, ALLM and eARC using an HDMI 2.0 port – not on the U8G, A7G, or U7G
- All upscale from 576i, 720p, 1080i to 4K or 8K with intelligent AI upscale (not just adding the same pixels)
- Ambient light sensor adjusts the image to the ambient room light
- Anti-Glare Screen (U90G) has 66.7% less glare than standard Hisense screens
Range brief specifications (not all are published yet)
U90G 8K Mini-LED Android TV Website | 75” $7999 | Mini-LED 200SMR IMAX enhanced 1.07B colours Dolby Vision/Atmos and HDR10+/DTS Virtual X (all sound requires a DA or DTS compatible soundbar) DCI-P3 2 x HDMI 2.1 2/4/2 Tweeter/Mid/Woofer 35W |
U80G 8K ULED Android TV Website | 75” $6999 | FALD Pro 200SMR as above except 2/2/0 15W |
U9G 4K Mini-LED TBA | 65” TBA 75” TBA | Mini-LED 200SMR – details TBA but similar to U90G |
U8G 4K ULED VIDAA U5 Website | 55” $1799 65” $2499 75” $3299 85” $5499 | FALD Pro 200SMR HDMI 2.0 4K@60Hz with some HDMI 2.1 features |
U7G 4K ULED VIDAA U5 Website | 55” $1599 65” $1999 75” $2999 85” $4499 | FALD 100SMR As above |
A7G 4K UHD VIDAA U5 Website | 43” $899 50” $999 55” $1099 65” $1499 75” $2299 | Edge-lit 100MHz As above |
Hisense has put a cat among the pigeons, including Dolby Vision and Atmos, even in its entry-level A7G. If you are shopping for a cheapie TV, think seriously about the A7G – it may be twice as expensive, but the picture quality will be worth it.
Knowing Hisense as we do, it is pleasing to see this challenger brand growing up and offering spectacular TVs at more than competitive prices. The sweet spot will be the U8G, but the U7G is not too far behind.
My call on Mini-LED (GadgetGuy guide here) is although it is brighter, it is pushing old LCD technology to the limits, and there are some excellent OLED TVs with self-emissive pixels out there for similar pricing.