Xiaomi has enjoyed a significant market share in both the smartphone and smart television markets. Adhering to their penetrative marketing strategy, they popularised the smart television market with their absolute value for money approach. In 2022, Xiaomi is an established brand in Indian markets and time for them to improve its offerings in all the market segments. When it comes to televisions, OLEDs always have the top-tier approach. We test Xiaomi’s first-ever OLED Vision TV. At INR 85,000/- for the 55-inch 4K OLED Vision TV, it is also a newer approach in a budget premium viewing category competing against the top dogs of the television market.
OLED beauty
The OLED Vision is only 4.6mm at its thinnest panel size, which dominates the front panel area. It makes the television seem much more premium than its asking price but the bulk with LHS ports is neatly hidden behind the main panel. Its matte finish black on the circumference with a subtle Xiaomi branding upfront and an LED light with a power button below it keep the design clean. There are three HDMI 2.1 ports with ARC, two USB Type-A ports mashed into one socket, an ethernet port, an AV composite port, an optical port and a 3.5mm audio jack. Basics and new-gen console done right! The display is OLED, looks amazing with good picture software support. The remote supports Google Assistant speech to command button right below the power button.
The remote buttons have been updated, and now this television gets 14 controls with a volume rocker. These also include popular OTT applications Netflix, amazon prime video, Disney+ Hotstar and a dedicated apps button to access all the apps quickly.
OLED + Picture Software Goodness
The 55-inch display is the first 4K OLED technology used in a Xiaomi smart TV. A new vivid picture engine 2 powered by a new age A73 quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, and 32GB ROM, make the display brighter and more vibrant. The internal memory too is ample for occasional downloads and extra apps. The overall feel, bezel-less design, and OLED picture quality with a vibrant engine allowing IMAX enhanced HDR content make the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV a worthy competitor in a nascent OLED TV market. The TV comes loaded with Android TV 11 based on Android 11 and thus supports all modern apps available on Google Play Store for Android TV.
The video experience is enhanced with picture modes – HDR standard, vivid, Movie and IMAX. But the main highlight is the vivid picture engine 2 that makes the contrasts, brightness and colours look spot on with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and 98.5% DCI-P3 colour gamut. The most significant thing apart from the stellar display with good viewing angles comes from 30W dual-speakers with Dolby Atmos and DTS-X software enhancements.
The audio quality of the television is further improved with options like DTS-X bass enhancement, surround virtualizer and dialogue clarity. If that wasn’t enough, there is a DAC-4 dialogue enhancer with three levels of settings. Technicals aside, the television sounds above average in its segment and is enough to fill a small room easily. This is a really good visual and audio experience from Xiaomi.
A budget option in a crowded market
The 55-inch 4K OLED TV market is buzzing with good options from all brands. Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is an excellent addition to Xiaomi’s TV line-up aiming to get some of top-tier premium smart TV market share. Android 11, running on good processing hardware and ample internal storage for a smart TV over and above the brilliant audio-video experience make the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV a compelling option in the OLED television space. HDMI 2.1 support also enables newer consoles to display the best of AV experience for gaming albeit at 60Hz. Nonetheless, this Xiaomi television is a worthwhile indulgence if you are looking at a budget 55-inch 4K OLED experience.
Good – OLED with IMAX, HDR10+, Dolby Vision IQ, Android TV 11
Bad – Does not support all video file formats natively
Ugly – Looks average
Specs
55-inch OLED Panel + IMAX enhanced + Doly Vision IQ
Dual-band WiFi, BT 5.0
Android TV 11
Quad-core A73 SOC with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage
30W Speakers with Dolby Audio, DTS-X