The Hisense U6K was our favorite cheap TV of 2023, and its replacement for 2024 is even better. It's brighter and sleeker, its colors are more accurate, and it remains very reasonably priced at $799.99 for 65 inches (with an even cheaper “everyday price” of $649.99). It falls far below the threshold we use to distinguish cheap TVs ($1,000 for 65 inches) while offering standout picture quality for its class. You can get an even brighter and fancier TV in the Hisense U7N ($1,099.99) or go way brighter with the U8N ($1,499.99), both of which put out much more light and have 144Hz refresh rates instead of 60Hz. But the Hisense U6N is an incredible value, earning it our Editors’ Choice award for affordable TVs.
Design, Ports, and Remote: Plenty to Like
Housed in matte black plastic, the U6N is sleek for a budget TV. The top and sides are free of bezel and bordered only by a thin black band. The bottom edge has a narrow 0.6-inch bezel with a trapezoidal bump below it holding the infrared sensor, far-field microphone array, and mic mute switch. The TV sits on two V-shaped legs that can be mounted four or 13 inches from the sides of the screen, depending on how you want to place it. You can also mount it on a wall.
On the back of the TV, facing left, there are three HDMI ports (one eARC), two USB ports, 3.5mm composite video input and headphone jacks, and an antenna/cable connector. A fourth HDMI port, an optical audio output, and an Ethernet port face directly back. The power cable plugs into the right side of the back.
The long, slim remote looks much more elegant than the U6K's slightly chunky black wand. It has a faux-brushed-steel plastic body and a shiny metallic navigation pad. Power, input, and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Tubi, Netflix, YouTube, and a sixth custom shortcut sit above the pad, while volume and channel rockers and playback controls sit below.
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Smart Features: Google Assistant on Standby
Like all Hisense ULED TVs, the U6N uses Google TV as its smart TV platform. It’s a robust system that covers all major streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Crunchyroll, Disney+, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube, along with local device streaming over Google Cast and even Apple AirPlay.
Google Assistant is built into Google TV, and you can use it hands-free through the U6N’s far-field microphones. Just say, “Hey, Google,” followed by a command, and it will respond. You can use Google Assistant to control your TV and any compatible and connected smart home devices, search for content, and get general information like sports scores and weather. It’s very useful, and a mechanical switch lets you mute the microphone if you don’t want it always listening for a wake word.
Muting the mic makes four indicator LEDs on the bump below the display shine yellow, though, which is annoying. If you don’t mind doing so, putting a bit of black electrical tape over the LEDs will cover them up and blend in with the black microphone block. You can still use Google Assistant by pressing the microphone button on the remote and speaking into it.
Picture Quality: Unbeatable for the Price
The Hisense U6N is a 4K QLED TV with a mini-LED backlight system and a 60Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and hybrid log gamma (HLG). It has an ATSC 1.0 tuner for over-the-air broadcasts, but unlike the Hisense U8N, it does not have an ATSC 3.0 tuner for 1080p and 4K OTA broadcasts.
We test TVs using a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. Out of the box, in Movie mode with an SDR signal, the U6N shows a peak brightness of 367 nits with a full-screen white field, 554 nits with an 18% white field, and a black level of 0.005cd/m^2. In HDR Movie mode with an HDR signal, that increases to 473 nits full-screen, 700 nits with an 18% white field and a 0.003 black level, resulting in an effective contrast ratio of 233,333:1. That’s excellent for a budget TV, mostly afforded by the mini-LED backlight, which is able to produce very deep blacks. It isn’t as bright as the Hisense U7N (1,528 nits, 18% field) or the U8N (2,755 nits, 18% field), but it’s brighter than the U6K’s 591 nits, the $799.99 Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED’s 474 nits, and the $799.99 Roku Plus Series’ 650 nits.
The above charts show the U6N’s color levels in Movie mode with an SDR signal compared against Rec.709 broadcast standards and in HDR Movie mode with an HDR signal compared against DCI-P3 digital cinema standards. In both cases, accuracy is excellent, with whites just barely cooler than ideal and no noticeable drift in colors. The TV’s HDR range doesn’t quite cover the full DCI-P3 color space, but it comes close, and with fantastic accuracy.
BBC’s Dynasties looks excellent on the U6N. Colors are natural and balanced, from the greens of grass and blues of the sky to the tans and yellows of lion fur. A shot of trees silhouetted against a stormy sky highlights the TV’s strong contrast performance, with the trees appearing properly dark while the texture and colors of the leaves can be seen.
Shadow details like black suits in the party scenes of The Great Gatsby look dark while still showing plenty of detail, such as their cuts, contours, and textures. The whites of shirts and balloons stand out well, though they aren’t nearly as bright as they appear on the U8N. Skin tones look natural, and splashes of orange on dresses pop without looking oversaturated.
Demonstration footage from the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD benchmarking disc looks excellent. A time-lapse transition of a landscape from early dawn to midday is smooth and shows accurate color and clear details from very dark to bright. Daytime shots of landscapes and animals are vibrant but natural. Very bright, colorful objects against completely black backgrounds pop out, while the backgrounds themselves look effectively black. Slight light bloom can be seen along the edges of the objects, but it’s relatively minimal thanks to the mini-LED backlight system.
Gaming Features: Low Lag for Fast Play
While it only has a 60Hz refresh rate, the U6N’s responsiveness should please gamers.
Testing in Game mode with an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, the TV shows an input lag of only 3.6 milliseconds. That’s far below the 10ms threshold we use to consider a TV good for gaming, and faster than both the U7N (6.2ms) and the U8N (7.4ms). Amazon’s Fire TV Omni ($759.99) and Omni QLED are slightly faster at 2.6ms and 3.2ms, but to get any faster than that, you’d need to spend much more on an OLED TV like the LG Evo G4 ($3,399.99) or the Samsung S95D ($3,399.99), which both showed sub-millisecond latency in our tests.
Verdict: The Best Budget-Friendly TV
The Hisense U6N is the best affordable TV you can buy right now. Its QLED panel and mini-LED backlight produce fantastic color and contrast performance. It’s loaded with features, including hands-free Google Assistant, and you can get it in 65 inches for around $650. If your budget is a bit more flexible, you can step up to the Hisense U7N for a brighter picture, a 144Hz refresh rate, and an ATSC 3.0 tuner. But if you're looking to save money while still getting a great picture and plenty of functionality, the U6N can’t be beat.
With excellent color and contrast, a strong feature set, and a compellingly low price, the Hisense U6N is the best budget-friendly TV you can buy.
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