Although almost all of us knew the Xiaomi brand through their phones, the truth is that the Chinese manufacturer has products of almost any type that we can imagine. In the Asian country it has practically everything, even products that have little or nothing to do with technology. Little by little some of the devices that were previously only sold in China have been reaching other markets. One of the last to be available in our country are Xiaomi televisions . And as with mobile phones, they seek to seduce users with good features and a more competitive price than the competition.
In fact, right now we can find a Xiaomi brand TV in Spain for 180 euros. Yes, it is a 32-inch television with very basic features, but the price is really spectacular. Of course, the Chinese manufacturer also has in its catalog a model designed for the living room. It is the Xiaomi Mi LED TV 4S, which has 55 inches and 4K resolution. All this with an official price of 450 euros. But how is it possible that Xiaomi sells such cheap televisions? What's the trick? We have tried to collect the pros and cons of buying one of Xiaomi's cheap TVs .
Pros
The price
The first and main pro of Xiaomi televisions is, without a doubt, their price. Currently in Spain we can buy three different models: Mi LED TV 4S 55, Mi LED TV 4S 43 and Mi LED TV 4A 32 . As you can imagine, the number with which the name of each model ends corresponds to the inches that the television has.
The 32-inch Mi LED TV 4A has an official price of 180 euros . On the other hand, the 43-inch Mi LED TV 4S is priced at 350 euros . As for the larger model, the 55-inch Mi LED TV 4S has an official price of 450 euros .
Careful design
Another of the pros that we have found in Xiaomi televisions is their design. Despite being inexpensive devices, the Chinese manufacturer has endowed its models with a fairly careful design .
The 43 and 55-inch models feature an all-metal body that provides a more elegant finish. In addition, the frame is quite small for a television with a low price.
All three models use two small legs at the ends to place the TV on a piece of furniture. On the other hand, all three can be hung on the wall.
Android 9
Xiaomi televisions arrive with Android TV in version 9 installed . Although they are not the fastest televisions on the market, at least in the Xiaomi Mi LED TV 4S 55 that we were able to test the system moved with some ease. It is true that at times we noticed slowness, but it was acceptable.
The incorporation of the Android TV system means that we have access to the vast majority of applications that anyone can search for on a Smart TV. In addition, Xiaomi televisions also have the Google Assistant integrated , with which we can control some functions and devices through voice commands.
Sound
Perhaps for some users it is not important, but we think that Xiaomi has done a good job with the sound section of their televisions. Not because they include a great sound system, but because they are compatible with unusual formats.
And it is that the new Xiaomi TVs are compatible with both Dolby Digital and DTS HD , something that we do not see even in some very high-end models.
As for the sound system itself, it depends on the model. The Mi LED TV 4A 32 has 2 speakers of 5W each. The Mi LED TV 4S 43 has two speakers of 8W each. And finally, the Mi LED TV 4S 55 has two 10W stereo speakers with Bass Reflex .
Cons
Let's now see the less positive things and that we must take into account if we are going to choose a Xiaomi TV for our living room or for a bedroom.
Sizes
Xiaomi has been very conservative in the sizes chosen to be sold in Spain. The manufacturer in China has a very wide catalog of televisions, with large-inch models and even much more advanced technologies.
However, only the 32, 43 and 55-inch models have arrived in Spain . It's fine to give options to users looking for a TV for a bedroom or kitchen, but a single 55-inch model seems a bit short to compete in a demanding market. And even more if we take into account that users are increasingly looking for larger televisions for their living rooms.
We would have liked to see a 65-inch Xiaomi TV and with, for example, QLED technology. Hopefully the Chinese manufacturer will be encouraged to bring these models to Europe.
Decaf HDR
Currently in practically all televisions that are for sale you will see the terms 4K and HDR. Does this mean that all televisions are the same? Not much less. The resolution is the same in all, because 4K UHD is a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and that cannot change.
But HDR is another story. For one thing, Xiaomi's TVs only support the standard HDR system . In other words, they are not compatible with Dolby Vision and HDR10 + dynamic HDR systems. However, this is common on low-end televisions.
The problem is that Xiaomi TVs have a maximum brightness of 220 nits, 250 nits and 330 nits (32, 43 and 55 inches respectively). This figure is completely insufficient to display content in HDR with an improvement in image quality, which is what this system seeks. To give you an idea and you can compare, the brightness intensity values of mid-range televisions are around 500 or 600 nits. The high-end ones reach 1,000 nits.
This means that, although it is true that Xiaomi televisions have HDR support, we will not notice an improvement in the image when we see these types of images.
Price
But wait, didn't we mention that the price of Xiaomi's televisions was undoubtedly one of its pros? Yes, but if we carry out a more thorough analysis of the market we could say that Xiaomi's TVs have low prices but not all the groundbreaking that some of us expected .
And the market is so competitive that now we can find televisions from "traditional" brands with a price very similar to that of Xiaomi models. It is true that they will generally be televisions with a few years, but if we compare characteristics these are very similar to those offered by the models of the Chinese manufacturer.
We do not mean to say that Xiaomi televisions are not worth it, far from it. In fact, if we are looking for a cheap TV, we must have Xiaomi TVs on our list yes or yes . But we need to appreciate both its strengths and its limitations.