With an emphasis on size, brightness, and artificial intelligence, TCL’s recently announced 2024 lineup of smart TVs looks to rival the best models on the market. On Monday,TCLrevealed new entries into its Q-series and S-series of TVs, which boast enhanced features and more versatile settings to so that users can enjoy their favorite shows, films, and video games. With these TVs, the Chinese manufacture hopes to rival to the top TV makers, such as LG andSony, but with prices that may be more attractive to consumers.
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Here’s what to note about TCL’s latest TV drop, including size, pricing, and details on what exactly each new model offers.
1Something big is here
TCL’s giant TV is ready for purchase, but it’ll cost you
Literally the biggest part of the news comes in the form of more details surrounding one of the largest smart TVs available. TCL announced a price for its staggering 115-inch TV that TCL claims is the largest QD-mini LED TV in the world. For now, if you want to get your hands on this immersive piece of tech, you’ll have to drop somewhere near $27,000 – which is a big asking price, even if it comes down in the next few weeks or is available at a special price on launch day.
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The QM89 TV boosts some 20,000 dimming zones, suggesting it’s more than capable of achieving levels of deep blacks and stark contrast on screen. Conversely, the TV can also achieve some impressive brightness, with 5,000 units available to boost the screen. While you’ll likely want to invest in a home stereo system to complete the theater effect, the TV does incorporate an Onkyo 6.2.2 channel speaker system for immersive audio.
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2New Q-Series models
Brighter colors and deeper blacks
While the QM89 gets a lot of attention, and rightly so, TCL also announced new entries into its various tiers of its Q-Series: the Q6, the QM7, and the QM8. These are TVs with quantum-dot screens, capable of impressive brightness and rich colors. The ’m' part of the naming convention denotes mini-LED panels, which balance out the peak brightness by offering high-quality contrasts. They aren’t quite capable of getting to the true blacks of OLED TVs, but they are getting very close.
These new entries come in various sizes, but notably reach 98-inches, which isn’t quite 115-inches, but still a staggering amount of screen. The Q6 represents your cheapest entrypoint into the world of QLED screens, but the additions and innovations present in the QM7 and QM8 make them worth the investment. That includes faster processing, increased brightness, more dimming zones, and a 240 variable refresh rate for high-end gaming.
3An S-Class upgrade
A new budget-friendly model
TCL’s more budget-friendly series also sees an upgrade. These are 4K TVs that lack the mini-LED dimming zones as well as the rich color provided by a quantum dot filter. TCL’s new S5, however, looks to bridge the gap between cheaper models that feel a bit dated and the higher-end models that boast the latest tech. TCL will carry over the S2 and S3, which fall into that former category, but the S5 is getting a boost in brightness and more faithful color recreation across a wider range.
There is also an increased focus on gaming features, including a 120Hz refresh rate, auto low latency mode, and an on-screen game bar to adjust important settings. It also now welcomes Dolby Vision, and HDR10+, which certainly puts some distance between this unit and the rest of the S5.
The S5 also comes in a range of sizes to suit a variety of needs, from as small as 43-inches all the way up to 85-inches. It’s worth remembering that 85-inches is still quite large, even if it now feels small compared to what TCL is putting out there.
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4More AI processing
Automatic adjustments to enhance fidelity
A major component of the announcement involved the introduction of advanced AI processing on a number of TVs, including the large QM89 as well as the S5 TV. TCL is introducing three different levels of processors: the AiPQ, the AiPQ Pro, and the AiPQ Ultra. It’s hard to decipher the differences other than Ultra is better than Pro, and Pro is better than nothing.
Still, the AI processing targets four specific areas in clarity, motion, color, and contrast. The idea is that the TV will take note of what you’re watching and automatically adjust a variety of settings to optimize what you’re watching, and make for a faithful recreation of the content. TCL, among many other top brands, have been pushing for AI in TVs and looking for ways for the content at home to be seen in exactly the same way as the filmmakers intended.
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