On the same day that Hisense announced the launch of its globally available U-series Mini-LED TVs, TCL has lifted the lid on its lineup of Mini-LED models for Europe and the U.K., and they’re seriously competitive in terms of price.
Some of the new TCL TVs feature the company’s most advanced, 7th-Gen Mini-LED backlight technology, which the company says has been improved in multiple ways.
Among other things, there’s a new LED chip that delivers 53% greater brightness and is also 10% more energy-efficient. In addition, it uses a newly designed micro-lens that helps to focus the light more effectively, ensuring less blooming artefacts, and it also brings the mini-LEDs in closer proximity to the screen, reducing halo-ing and crossover effects between their individual light zones.
A third update relates to the new 23-bit controller, which enables 65,000 different levels of light gradation. That compares with the 22-bit controller on this year’s Sony Bravia 9, which has been hailed for its incredible performance.
TCL also claims that its new Mini-LED backlight has faster adaptation and refresh rates, which means it can react faster than the actual refresh rate of the screen, ensuring that contrast will never lag with what’s being shown in the screen. According to the company, this will help to eliminate the mismatch between what is supposed to have, and what actually does have, high and low brightness,
We should also note that the new TCL TVs, which include the C8K, C7K and C6K feature a new kind of quantum dot that supports up to 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, up from 97.5% before.
TCL’s flagship model in the U.K. this year will be the TCL C8K, and it will be available in 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch sizes. Its new CrystGlow panel has up to 3,840 local dimming zones and is capable of hitting 5,000 nits peak brightness. It sports a 144Hz refresh rate and it has a fancy “Zero Border” design with a super-slim bezel, and a 6.2.2-channel Bang & Olufsen Dolby Atmos speaker system housed inside.
Unlike with Hisense’s new models, we already have pricing information because the C8K is going on sale this week. Prices will start at £1,599 for the 65-inch model, rising to £1,999 for the 75-inch, £2,799 for the 85-inch and £4,799 for the 98-inch version.
The TCL C7K is the company’s next-best Mini-LED TV and it comes in all of the above sizes, plus 50-inch and 55-inch models and a heftier 115-inch model. Its panel isn’t quite as powerful as the C8K’s, as it maxes out at 3,000 nits of brightness, while the number of dimming zones is limited to 2,880.
Like its sibling, it also comes with a 6.2.2-channel B&O audio system, except for the 115-inch model, which instead has an Onkyo 4.2.2-channel system.
As for prices, these start at just £799 for the smallest 50-inch model, rising to £12,999 for the beefy 115-inch version.
TCL’s budget model is the TCL C6K, which is available in 50-inches all the way up to 98-inches and comes with 512 local dimming zones. The company did not specify how bright it is, but it seems unlikely that the panel will exceed 1,000 nits. It’s also notable that it uses a standard panel, as opposed to the CrystalGlow panel used on the C8K and C7K models.
Still, the panel does at least boast a 144Hz refresh rate and it supports all of the major HDR formats, with sound supplied by a 4.2.2-channel Onkyo Dolby Atmos speaker array. Prices will start at £799 for the smallest 55-inch model, rising to £3,199 for the largest 98-inch version.
Beyond its U.K. lineup, TCL also announced a couple of higher-end models that will only go on sale in Europe, so if you’re looking for something more advanced than the C8K, you’ll have to hop on a ferry or the Shuttle to nip over to the continent with a wad of euros in hand.
These Euro-only models are beasts, with the TCL X11K offering a staggering 14,112 dimming zones and an eye-searing 6,500 nits brightness on a 144Hz panel. Like the C8K, it features a 6.2.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker system.
The TCL C9K is a slightly toned-down version of that model, with the same brightness and refresh rate and B&O sound system, but with a smaller number of local dimming zones at just 5,184.
Aside from these, there are some entry-level TVs being shipped out to retailers across the U.K. in the shape of the TCL P8K, P7K and P6K. The P8K and the P7K both come with regular QLED panels, with the former being available in 55-inches to 98-inches with a 144Hz refresh rate and full HDR support and Onkyo sound, making it basically a C6K but without the Mini-LED backlight.
As for the P7K, this will be sold in sizes ranging from 43-inches to 85-inches, but it drops the multi-HDR support though it retains the 144Hz refresh rate and Onkyo sound system. Its image processor is less powerful, too.
The P6K is the cheapest of the bunch as it sports a regular non-QLED LCD panel, available in sizes ranging from 43-inches to 75-inches at the max.
Finally, TCL introduced the S5K, which is a Full HD resolution model with a QLED panel that’s going to be sold in 32-inch, 40-inch and 43-inch sizes, and the S4K, which is only available in a single 32-inch size. The differences between the S5K and S4K weren’t made clear by TCL.
All of the company’s 2025 models will run the Google TV operating system, with the exception of the S5K and S4K, which will run the regular Android TV platform.
