Xiaomi has made affordable 4G smartphones accessible to a large part of the Indian population, especially with its Redmi sub-brand. After establishing itself as a successful smartphone brand in India, Xiaomi reinvigorated the local smart TV market. With its smart TV being good value for money, Xiaomi is now establishing itself as a major player in the smart TV ecosystem in India and is now shifting its focus from primarily affordable smart TVs. Now Xiaomi is launching a more premium QLED TV, the Mi QLED TV 4K 55, which comes with Android 10, HDMI 2.1, and a lucrative price tag of ₹ 54,999.
QLED or quantum dot light-emitting diodes actually employ LCD panels that are backlit by an LED strip along one of the edges. Compared to normal LED backlit LCD screens, QLED screens use an extra layer of quantum dots and that helps produce richer colors and better contrast. The term was popularized by Samsung, but has now been adopted by a number of other brands, including TCL and OnePlus. The new Mi 4K QLED TV rivals the OnePlus premium QLED TV that we reviewed last year.
As the name implies, the Mi QLED TV 4K 55 uses a 55-inch panel and features slim bezels and a high screen-to-body ratio of 96%. The edges of the TV are lined with sandblasted metal with diamond cut edges. From the front, the design looks quite similar to that of the Mi TV 5 series but with visible nuances to differentiate it.
In terms of image quality, the Mi QLED TV has a 4K resolution along with support for HDR10 + and Dolby Vision. Xiaomi claims that the TV screen covers 100% of the colors in the NTSC color gamut. While the refresh rate is 60Hz, the TV supports “Reality Flow”, which is Xiaomi’s marketing term for MEMC, a technology that smooths video content recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second (fps) by interpolating with artificially generated pictures. Unlike the OnePlus TV, the Mi QLED TV lacks local dimming. However, it does feature ALLM (Low Latency Auto Mode) and automatically switches to gaming mode when it detects a console such as the Xbox Series S or Sony PS5.
In terms of audio, the TV features 6 speakers, including 4 full-range drivers and 2 tweeters with a total sound output of 30 watts. The company says that each of the drivers uses large 1-liter echo chambers for better resonance and louder audio output. The TV also receives Dolby Audio support for compatible content.
In terms of software, Mi QLED TV runs on Android 10 for Android TV and is among the first TVs to get the latest update. Furthermore, the TV uses the latest version of Xiaomi’s proprietary content discovery platform, PatchWall 3.0, as an alternative to the Android TV launcher.
For I / O, the TV features three HDMI 2.1 ports with eARC support, optical audio output, two USB ports, an Ethernet port, a headphone jack, an antenna port, and RCA ports for legacy multimedia devices. It comes with a Bluetooth remote that features an in-line microphone for voice commands, as well as dedicated hotkeys for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Price and availability
The Mi QLED TV 4K 55 will be available in India for ₹ 54,999 (~ $ 750).
It will be available on Mi.com, Flipkart, Mi Home, Vijay sales and other offline retail stores starting December 21. Consumers who buy with an SBI credit card can get a 10% discount on Flipkart.
Specifications of Mi QLED TV 4K 55
| Specification | My QLED TV 4K 55 |
|---|---|
| Display |
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| Processor |
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| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Audio |
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| I / O and connectivity |
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| Interface | PatchWall 3.0 in conjunction with Android 10-based Android TV UI |
