Hisense Ultra QLED TV 65U7QF review: A no-frills Android smart television

The Hisense Ultra QLED TV (65U7QF) is not the TV that will complement your home interiors but it sure will keep you entertained

The Hisense Ultra QLED TV (65U7QF) is a smart television launched by Chinese electronics maker Hisense, which made its India debut recently with a whole range of ‘Made in India’ smart TVs based on the Android operating system. Priced at Rs 89,990, the Hisense Ultra QLED TV is not the most affordable 65-inch quantum smart TV with a light-emitting diode (QLED) screen. And, it does not have anything truly exclusive about it.

Why then should you even consider it? Let’s find out:

Design

The Hisense Ultra QLED TV’s front is dominated by a mammoth 65-inch screen with limited bezels on the sides that neither cause distraction nor increase the TVs dimensions to make it unnecessarily big. The TV might not have a gigantic build, but it is heavy and protrudes too much on the back side. Like other TVs, you can either mount it on the wall or place it on a flat table. The bulge makes hanging it on the wall an unattractive idea. It looks better mounted on the table. Thankfully, it uses a centre stand, and not legs, so that keeps it firm without taking much space.

Overall, the Hisense Ultra QLED TV has a minimal design, with no extras anywhere. It is not the TV that will add any charm to your room interiors. But it does not look odd either.

Display

The Hisense Ultra QLED TV sports a 65-inch QLED screen of an UHD (4K) resolution. The screen supports High Dynamic Range formats (HDR10+ and Dolby Vision), full array local brightness dimming, UHD upscale technology, motion smoothing, and a wide colour gamut. It has a peak brightness of 700 nits.

Details aside, the Hisense Ultra QLED TV exceeds expectations in terms of picture quality and features. Being a QLED panel with a wide colour gamut, the screen renders rich colours and makes content lively. The screen is bright and vivid, and both these features come to notice while watching compatible HDR content. Additionally, the screen’s full array local brightness dimming feature tones down brightness on dark areas without completely killing the highlight and shadow details, thereby improving the overall contrast and detailing.

There is a built-in interpolation technology for motion smoothing, which gives additional frames to make on-screen content smooth and stabilised. This feature improves the visual experience, especially when used with fast-paced content like Formula 1 racing. Motion smoothing, however, does not always add charm to the on-screen content, so the TV has an option that lets you disable it. Moreover, there are multiple built-in motion smoothing profiles and an option to customise its intensity, too.

Besides, there are several other value-added features like display profiles, the digital noise reduction setting, colour temperature setting, etc, that improve the user experience by letting you customise the screen output based on the content requirement.

Audio

This is one area where most smart TVs struggle and the Hisense Ultra QLED TV is no different. The TV has a stereo audio set-up of 30W peak output. The speakers support Dolby Atmos for improved acoustics and a surround sound effect. Though loud and crisp, the speakers seem underpowered to deliver the experience that match the majestic visuals on a mammoth screen. The TV has sound profiles but none seems to improve the overall acoustics. Thankfully, the TV has Bluetooth, so you can pair it with a soundbar or any other compatible audio system to improve the audio experience.

Performance

Being an Android television, the Hisense Ultra QLED TV boots the Android TV 9 Pie operating system. There is no custom skin here and you get stock Android launcher with most of the apps and their prime content visible on the home screen. There is a Play Store for TV to download apps, should you need to. The television comes with Amazon Prime Video, Neflix and Disney + Hotstar apps – and some others – pre-installed. There is also a built-in Chromecast – a common feature in Android televisions to allow you to cast content from supported mobiles, tablets or PCs on to the television screen.

As for user experience, it is smooth and consistent across the user interface. Not all apps are optimised and some even close automatically when the TV goes idle for too long, but these are app-related issues hampering all Android TVs, not just this one.

To navigate the television, the Hisense Ultra QLED TV ships with a voice-enabled Bluetooth remote control. The remote also has an infrared sensor, which has to be used for powering the television on and off. The television has built-in Google Assistant for voice commands. The remote has a dedicated microphone to register voice commands, and it does so without faltering. The remote has hotkeys for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Hotstar, YouTube and Google Play and all buttons you need to manage the television, including volume and channel keys.

Verdict

The Hisense Ultra QLED TV (65U7QF) is a no-frills smart TV which is effortless to use and operate. It does not have the best design, and the audio has nothing to write home about, but it still makes a good buy in the premium segment for its brilliant display, extensive value-added features and the familiar Android TV experience. It is not the features that define this smart TV; it’s their implementation that makes it better than others. It is not the TV that will complement your home interiors, but it sure will keep you entertained. It is clearly directed at people who prefer utility to design. It delivers big on parameters that matter the most in smart TVs.