Xiaomi OLED Vision TV Review: An unmatched viewing experience

The TV space was just warming up to the idea of QLED TVs in the sub- ₹1 lakh segment when Xiaomi dropped a bomb in the form of its OLED Vision TV. Out of the blue, we suddenly have a non-LG OLED TV that gets all the bells and whistles of the Android TV platform, and everything else you expect in a modern-day smart TV. More astonishing is the price, which comes in at Rs. 89,999 and with current discounts applicable, you can get it for as low as Rs. 84,999. That’s an astonishingly low price for a 55-inch OLED TV.

Such a low price for an OLED warrants suspicion of something being sub-par, right? That’s not the case though. Similar to most Xiaomi products, the OLED Vision TV is a world-class product that is simply priced cleverly. Yes, you only get it in a rather standard 55-inch variant but for someone just wanting to get their hands on an OLED TV, this is more than enough. And after letting it hang on my living room wall for some weeks now, here is everything I found out about the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV.

Xiaomi OLED Vision TV Design

The benefits of an OLED panel have been seen on smartphones – slimmer bezels and thinner panels allowing for more space inside for other components. The OLED Vision TV gets those same benefits too. Sitting in the frameless window, the OLED panel allows for slim bezels all around, while the thickness of the TV is as slim as a coin! Hence, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV looks lean and modern, making similarly priced QLED TVs look old.

There’s a small “notch-like” element sticking out of the bottom to house the far-field mics for Google Assistant, and even an IR sensor (this IR sensor is only meant for Xiaomi technicians to fix the TV in case the remote controller is damaged). The motherboard, speakers and all other technical bits are cleverly held in a thick section hidden behind. And thanks to the slim panel, access to the I/O ports is easy.

Speaking of which, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV offers three HDMI 2.1 ports, out of which one supports eARC. There are two USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, an AV port, an Optical port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless connections include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

You also get the Xiaomi remote controller, which is the same one you get with other TVs. The new controller gets two additional keys for Apps and Disney+ Hotstar.

Xiaomi OLED Vision TV Display

This is what this TV is all about – a magnificent OLED panel. Given that OLED technology allows for self-illuminating pixels, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV offers one of the best experiences when it comes to high contrasts and true blacks. There is a bit of that blooming effect but no other QLED TV at this price range can match the precise backlighting. And there is the benefit of Dolby Vision IQ.

Dolby Vision IQ is a fairly new and unheard technology, which simply uses the TV’s ambient light sensors to adjust the image quality to the local surroundings. This means a web series like Loki can accurately adjust the deep blacks of the space scenes in a dark room and adjust it accordingly when you switch on the room lights. Hence, watching Dolby Vision supported content on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is a superb experience – the bright and vibrant colours, as well as excellent contrasts make those movies and web shows a treat to watch.

Even for HDR10+ content, the experience is nothing short of great. Non-HDR content looks fine too. This is a 4K OLED panel and it does a good job with the sharpness as well as processing. The upscaling performance is great as well, with Full HD content looking fine on the TV. However, you start to see the blurriness on the 720p content, which is a given thing considering this is a 55-inch panel. Viewing angles are fairly wide and there should be no issues for a group-watching session from extreme angles.

The only gripe is that the panel supports 60Hz refresh rate only and with motion smoothening, and you can’t do much to enhance the experience while gaming. Hence, those having a Xbox Series X and PS5 should keep this in mind before going ahead.

Xiaomi OLED Vision TV Audio Performance

For such a slim and lean TV, I was honestly expecting a sub-par audio system to be in place. However, Xiaomi surprises here too. The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV has got an 8-speaker setup, out of which four are passive bass radiators. Hence, the 30W rated sound system on this TV sounds substantial, and almost outdoes those 2.1 channel home theatre systems at times. Not only is the volume loud but the audio itself has a good amount of low-end grunt, and clear mids. There’s a copious amount of bass as well on offer here. When watching Dolby Atmos content, these speakers help in a large way as well.

As for the far-field mics, they are average. The voice detection falters when you have a ceiling fan whirring overhead. In a silent room though, it works. I like how Xiaomi places those Google Nest Home Mini style LED lights to depict the microphone status.

Xiaomi OLED Vision TV Smartness

As with all Xiaomi TVs, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV relies on Android 11 TV OS, which means you are getting the latest in the smart TV experience. There’s no Google TV experience here unlike the Sony and TCL TVs, but that’s alright considering you get Xiaomi’s brilliantly tuned and designed PatchWall 4 experience here. PatchWall in its fourth iteration has lots more to offer with smarter content suggestions, a User Center, access to 300+ Live channels and even IMDb rating suggestions. If you are a movie buff, you are going to love PatchWall.

Even in general, PatchWall does a much better job at being a smart TV UI. It runs smooth too, thanks to a quad-core Cortex A73 CPU, Mali G52 MC1 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. Throughout my time with it, I did not witness any lag or stutter with either PatchWall or the Android TV interface.

And since there’s Android TV running here, you get access to all Google Play apps, support for Chromecast streaming, and the humble Google Assistant at your disposal. Xiaomi bakes in its Quick Wake feature to wake up the TV within 2-3 seconds, a Quick Mute to mute the speakers with a long press of the “Volume –“ key, and a Quick Settings menu. I, like most TV viewers, prefer a dedicated mute key on the remote controller and it is high time Xiaomi adds one instead of adding useless keys for OTT platforms.

I had another issue with this TV – for some reason, my Air Conditioner remote controller was turning on the TV. When I checked with the Xiaomi team, it was told that all of its smart TVs have an IR sensor for its service team to boot up the TV if the standard controller doesn’t work. My unit may have matched frequency with that of the AC remote controller. Maybe something to keep in mind while designing the next model, Xiaomi?

Verdict

The mind begs to believe how Xiaomi manages to sell a full-fledged OLED TV at a price where other brands can only manage to offer LED TVs, or entry-level QLED TVs. At Rs. 89,999, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is simply one of the best smart TVs to pick up, if you care for a jaw-dropping picture quality and great audio experience. For movie and web-show lovers like me, this is a superbly rounded home theatre package – Yes, you don’t even need a soundbar system with this. And unlike the LG OLED TVs, you get the Android TV experience, which means you have at your disposal a robust smart TV experience.

But is it the best? Compared to a similarly priced QLED TV from Samsung, you are getting a TV with much better backlight control, a versatile smart TV interface, and an overall better experience. A TCL Mini LED 4K C825 TV may come close but you aren’t getting those black levels as the Xiaomi OLED TV. The only reasons you would choose something else over the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV are either a requirement of a larger display, or brand loyalty.

On the whole, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is our top recommendation if you have a budget of Rs. 1 lakh to spend on a TV. It simply offers an unmatched viewing experience.