I saw Hisenses new mid-range mini-LED TV, and it could be the affordable set to beat thanks one key screen upgrade

Date:
Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:21:18 +0000

Description:
Anti-reflection tech makes makes the most of mini-LED tech with impressive results.

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successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter I recently got to see a lot of Hisense 's new TV range in person, including not only its higher-end RGB-backlit TVs, but also its new mid-range traditional mini-LED models.

These models the U7 series have hit a real sweet spot between price and image quality in larger sizes over the last couple of years, and while in
most ways the new models looks like more of the same, they have one upgrade that makes them stand out over their predecessors, and it's an area that I'm really glad to see TV companies addressing more aggressively: reflections. Hisense is launching the U7 models in both the US and the UK, though it's a little complicated to explain exactly what's on offer. In the US there will
be two models, and the only difference will be the smart TV platform: the Hisense U7SG will have Google TV, and the Hisense U7SF will have Amazon Fire TV.

in the UK there will also be two models, but one of them is more premium across the board than the other and it's the latter that's equivalent to the US models for specs, and has the feature that impressed me. The cheaper model is called the Hisense U7S in the UK, and the higher-spec model that I'm
mostly going to talk about is called the Hisense U7S Pro. The key feature that's new this year is an extra anti-reflective coating. Hisense says this
is a matte layer, very much like the Glare Free finish used on the Samsung S95F or Samsung QN90F .

The idea with a matte coating is that it stops mirror-like reflections, which are the really distracting kind. Not only do they have the most detail to them, meaning they catch your eye more easily, but the reflections are on a different focal plane to the image on the screen itself, so your eye
refocuses any time it catches the reflections, making them more fatiguing
too.

The idea of a matte coating is to scatter light into a haze rather than reflecting it like a mirror, and this is what Samsung 's coating does. The downside is that this haze can also raise black tones and reduce the
contrast, which is why it's not been more popular in the past.

Hisense's matte coating is much less aggressively matte than Samsung's, though. This means it doesn't totally haze out strong reflections in fact, knowing it has a matte coating, I was surprised at how clear more brightly
lit objects still appeared but it does massively eliminate less-strong reflections, while still taking the edge off brighter ones. (Image credit: Future) This is in combination with really strong brightness level (a claimed 3,000 nits of peak brightness, though it's full-screen brightness levels that affect how well something overcomes reflections, and those are always much lower. Last year's Hisense U75QG model hit a very impressive 760-880 nits of fullscreen brightness, which is around twice as much as even the best OLED
TVs can manage, making it highly effective at busting reflections on a bright image that fills the screen.

But obviously you can't use brightness to beat reflections in parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark, and a matte layer can help.

The clearest demonstration of what this coating can do is the image below, showing three TVs. The TV on the left is a Samsung S90F OLED , the center TV is a Hisense UR9 RGB mini-LED TV with the same coating as the Hisense U7S/U7S Pro (I double-checked, and Hisense says it's 100% the same treatment, even though it's a higher-end TV), and the TV on the right is the LG C5 OLED.

The two OLED screens are very glossy, and have very clear reflected images; the Hisense just has some fuzzy shapes. (Image credit: Future) When I looked at the Hisense U7S/U7S Pro itself playing demo footage, I was impressed with how well it handled local dimming for strong contrast, and I did get the
sense that the black tones were being aided by the matte layer.

These demo exhibitions are usually nightmares for cheap TVs because there are lights and other TVs everywhere, so any dark scenes show up the strong reflectivity they usually have but on this model, black areas stayed deadened, in a good way.

As another example, here are two photos: the first is the cheaper Hisense U7S UK model at the same exhibition with no matte screen; the second is the U7S Pro. (Sadly, they weren't next to each other and reflecting the exact same thing, so it's an imperfect comparison. But they were in the same space under the same lights, and I think the difference in this image is representative
of what I saw in the room.) Image 1 of 2 The Hisense U7S (UK model) (Image credit: Future) The Hisense U7S Pro (UK model equivalent to the Hisense U7SG or U7SF in the US) (Image credit: Future) This all could make the U7SQ/U7S
Pro the best mid-range TV for bright rooms, where sunlight and strong reflections aren't your friend. This is commonly a problem for sports and other daytime TV viewing, or gaming during the day. (With a 165Hz refresh rate, variable refresh rate support, plus four HDMI 2.1 ports, it looks like
a great gaming TV in general.)

It also looks like the clearest upgrade over the current models, which
already offer great brightness and color depth, and a 144Hz refresh rate (though only two HDMI 2.1 ports).

So, should you wait for this model if you were thinking of buying a mid-range mini-LED soon? Well, it depends on how long you want to wait, because price
is a huge factor here.

We don't have prices for the UK yet, but in the US the Hisense U7SG will be initally available soon for these prices, in these sizes (100-inch and 116-inch sizes are coming later, too): Swipe to scroll horizontally Hisense U7SG sizes and prices at launch

55-inch

$1,299

65-inch

$1,499

75-inch

$1,999

85-inch

$2,499 Now, you might be thinking that this doesn't sound quite as mid-range as I promised, and I'd agree because no one actually pays these full prices for mid-range TVs. The sets start dropping in price shortly after launch, and reach the really good prices around Black Friday , of course.

So if you were thinking of buying sooner than that ready for the World Cup maybe last year's mid-range mini-LED models can be found for far, far
cheaper than the new model.

For example, right now you can grab the following options from Hisense and
TCL : Today's best Hisense mini-LED TV deals in the US & UK Hisense 65-inch U75QG mini-LED TV: was $1,498 now $847 at Amazon We gave this TV four stars
in our Hisense U75QG review , and praised the incredible brightness and four HDMI 2.1 ports. It's just incredible value, especially at current prices, and has nearly all the features the newer model will have, apart from that anti-reflective layer.

Other size: 55 inches: $569 at Amazon 75 inches: $897 at Amazon 85 inches: $1,247 at Amazon 100 inches: $2,197 at Amazon View View the full Amazon Big Spring Sale Hisense 55-inch U7Q Pro mini-LED TV: was 799 now 699 at Currys This is the UK equivalent of the TV above, with four HDMI 2.1 ports and a 144Hz refresh rate. It's much less of a blockbuster deal right now than the
US has but it's still the best-value mid-range mini-LED deal available in
the UK at the time of writing. View So, would I recommend waiting for the new one? Well, if a TV isn't urgent at all, I think the new Hisense might be
worth waiting for. The matte screen makes it better able to handle a wide range of lighting conditions but improvements beyond that look thin.

Still, bear in mind that we haven't actually reviewed it yet, so the new
model may have flaws we don't know about, or be improved in ways that aren't obvious.

Either way, you can definitely get really excellent deals on the current range, and they're great TVs that we highly recommend. More of today's best Amazon Big Spring Sale deals Amazon Devices : Fire Sticks, Echo & tablets
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from $34



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