Hisense has announced the imminent launch of a new, high-end TV that’s set to debut in European markets soon, and surprisingly, it does not come with a Mini-LED panel. Instead, it’s an OLED TV that’s expected to be showcased at the IFA 2024 event in Germany next month.
The decision to launch a new OLED TV is mildly surprising because Hisense has long been one of the most vocal advocates of Mini-LED, and has even argued that the latter technology is superior to OLED in many respects. It was notably a founding member of the QLED Alliance, together with Samsung Electronics and TCL – a grouping that was formed to advocate for Quantum Dot-based LCD TVs in the face of the growing popularity of OLED televisions. Since that alliance was announced, QLED TVs have evolved to embrace Mini-LEDs, which are miniature LEDs that support thousands of local dimming zones.
With the European launch of the Hisense A85N in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes, Hisense is showing that it hasn’t ignored the benefits of OLED either. The TV notably features the same OLED panel that’s found on LG Electronics’s new C4 OLED TV, and can hit a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits, the company says.
It should be pointed out that this isn’t quite as bright as the new OLED panels with improved Micro Lens Array technology that’s found on LG’s premium G4 OLED model, but given the popularity of that company’s C-series OLED models, the Hisense A85N may well be a compelling option for many consumers.
Importantly, the Hisense A85N matches and even bests the LG C4 in many other areas. For instance, it has superior HDR compatibility because Hisense supports both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+, as well as HDR10 and HLG. LG notably doesn’t support HDR10+. Other features include Filmmaker Mode and IMAX Enhanced picture modes, with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X supported for surround sound effects. The TV also boasts a 60-watt sound system.
In terms of the look and feel, the A85N resembles Hisense’s flagship Mini-LED TV, the Hisense U8N, although the panel is thinner. It has the same hexagonal base, albeit with a unique swivel function that the U8N doesn’t have, and it runs the Vidaa operating system, which provides access to all of the popular streaming apps – plus some U.K.-specific services, such as Freeview.
HDTVTest hasn’t yet tested the Hisense A85N, but our expert reviewer Vincent Teoh recently performed a comprehensive review of the LG C4, revealing that LG Displays has really upped its game in terms of overall picture quality. It means that we can expect good things from the Hisense A85N too, though it will use a different processor and run different firmware than the C4, so there may be some differences. It remains to be seen which is best.
According to the company, the Hisense A85N will go on sale in Germany next month, in addition to other European markets. It didn’t mention the U.K. specifically, but Crampton & Moore has already listed the A85N on its website, strangely priced at £1,499 for the 55-inch and 65-inch models. We expect one of those is an error, and given that the 55-inch LG C4 currently retails for £1,499 in most stores, we can expect that the 65-inch Hisense A85N OLED TV will cost a bit more than that quoted price.
