Hisense OLED TV First Look: Making a premium statement

When Hisense announced their OLED TV back in January it was a surprise, but also a clear signal of intent: Hisense is a premium TV brand.

Makes sense really, the journey for Hisense in Australia has been about affordability and market share – in many quarters for a very long time, Hisense have sold more TVs than any other brand.

But do people see Hisense as cheap?  Maybe.  So, their recent ULED range has added a premium viewing experience but with a still challenger price tag – what then can OLED add to the range?

I sat down with the Hisense OLED TV recently, just to see for myself it was going to be what OLED buyers want.

Lots of people ask me about getting an OLED TV, they are seen – quite rightly as the premium viewing experience.  LG Display (A company separate to LG Electronics) make all the OLED TV panels, for LG, Sony, Panasonic and now Hisense, but it’s what the individual companies do with the packaging and software that really makes the difference.

From a quick look, I can tell you outright this is 100% OLED – the blacks are just so damn black, it’s the missing link on so many TVs.  You’re on a winner there.

When it comes to colour, this is probably at a glance where the Hisense falls behind the likes of LG and Sony.  They’ve invested huge amounts into their brightness ratios, things like Dolby Vision etc and there’s a big chance that side by side with those other brands – this would show up.

That said, as I’ve always said to people buying a TV, you only ever take one home!

Sitting watching this in a City office, I had both bright lights above, and sunlight through the window – reflections were noticeable, but with the lights off and still light through the windows it really wasn’t a huge bother – you get reflections on all TVs.  Yep, this one probably a touch more than others, but not worth walking out of the store over.

I adjusted loads of settings to push the brightness up and play around with colour, made a big difference, I think most people would find it outstanding.

It’s got HDR, and Hisesne’s popular Game Mode, plus the brilliant “Remote Now” app for full control of the TV via your mobile.

Operating system mirrors their premium ULED range and is a breeze to use and customise.

The design is great, very different to other Hisense units, a nice outward V shaped stand, and a small Hisense logo bottom left.

Side profile is very much OLED, super thin all the way down to the bulk at the back.

This thing listed at a big price, already the retail prices are staggeringly lower – I find it hard to believe they wont sell loads of these as Christmas and January sales kick in and the desire for OLED wins over many many buyers.