Xiaomi X Pro QLED 55-inch TV review: a value-for-money QLED TV
Read our review to know about the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV's picture quality, sound, performance, and more
Xiaomi’s X series of smart TVs has delivered terrific value in the past by offering modern features and premium design at affordable prices. We saw this with the first Xiaomi X series TVs back in 2022. The brand then released the X Pro series (review) in 2023, which offered even better features, such as Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision IQ. This year, Xiaomi has added another new model to the X Pro series, called the Xiaomi X Pro QLED. As the name suggests, this is a QLED TV that aims to offer even better picture quality than before.
I’ve been using the 55-inch model for a few weeks now and here’s what you need to know.
Table of Contents
Design
The Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV stays true to being a Pro series TV as it comes with some premium design elements. Xiaomi has gone with a seamless, single-piece aluminium body that covers the display from the sides and the back. And it’s all black, which makes the display stand out even more than it did on the non-QLED X Pro model that had a silver metallic border.
The only downgrade is the plastic table-top stands included in the box, which feel slightly flimsy compared to the TV itself. To recall, the 2023 Xiaomi X Pro comes with metal stands. If you plan to wall mount the TV, you will need to purchase the wall mount bracket separately.
Everything else about the design remains fairly familiar. It is a bezel-less TV, meaning you get extremely slim bezels on the sides and top, offering an edge-to-edge viewing experience.
Over at the back, the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV sees a bunch of elevated lines that don’t look as clean and minimalistic as the back of the non-QLED X Pro. It also loses the carbon fibre finish on the bottom mound. However, this shouldn’t be a deal-breaker as you’ll not look at the back of the TV often, especially if you wall mount it.
As for the ports, you get the usual set of options including three HDMI ports (includes one eARC), two USB 2.0 ports, and one port each for ethernet, AV, earphones, and antenna. The eARC HDMI port allows you to hook up a Dolby Atmos-supported sound bar, which you might want to invest in.
Display
Quickly moving to the USP of the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV – the display. The 55-inch VA DLED QLED panel looks great. For a 55-inch QLED TV that costs under Rs 50,000, the Xiaomi X Pro QLED punches above its weight, at least as far as the display is concerned.
QLED is short for Quantum-dot Light Emitting Diode and it’s a technology that enhances colour and brightness, offering a more vibrant picture compared to traditional LCD TVs. And that’s pretty much what you can expect from the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV as well – a vibrant and bright picture. Now, I didn’t have a lux meter with me to test the exact peak brightness levels, but I can safely say that brightness will not be an issue in whatever scene you watch. I compared it with my personal 2023 Xiaomi X Pro 55-inch model and I found the brightness levels to be a touch better on the QLED one.
A quick colour test on YouTube showed good white uniformity with no noticeable darkening or dirty screen effect in the corners compared to the Sony Bravia 2 (review).
Now, when I reviewed the 2023 Xiaomi X Pro, I was quite happy with the picture quality. It also supported Dolby Vision IQ which was an excellent addition on a sub-Rs 50,000 TV. The new QLED model does support Dolby Vision, but not Dolby Vision IQ. That’s quite alright because I did find Dolby Vision IQ would sometimes deliver a washed-out effect on the 2023 model. You’ll see supported content on platforms like Netflix, Hotstar and Prime Video with the ‘Dolby Vision’ sight appearing. Watching Dolby Vision content automatically adjusts the picture to deliver high brightness and contrast levels.
Dolby Vision content on the QLED TV looks great, especially during brighter scenes or scenes in daylight. Colours look bright and vibrant while blacks look quite deep. The TV also delivers good dynamic range and contrast levels, especially at this price point. Xiaomi is using a VA panel and the viewing angles aren’t the best.
The TV also supports HDR10+ content which you’ll find on platforms like Prime Video. Again, HDR10+ content looks great with excellent colour reproduction, deep blacks and dynamic range.
The Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV is capable of upscaling older HD shows and movies, but the quality of upscaling is not on the level of what Sony can do. It’s passable and you won’t feel disappointed when watching a rerun of The Office or The Lord of the Rings. It’s in the darker, indoor scenes where you’ll see the most pixelation/noise and lack of proper upscaling.
If you connect a gaming console like the Sony PS5, the picture setting automatically switches to Game Mode with ALLM, which delivers a faster response time compared to other picture modes. You can further tweak the picture settings in Game Mode, such as backlight level, dark scene boost, and more. The TV delivers a refresh rate up to 60Hz. However, you won’t find any dedicated gaming features like VRR and crosshair type (like the one on the Sony Bravia 2).
Sound
One downgrade with the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV is the sound system. While the 2023 55-inch X Pro model came equipped with 40W speakers with Dolby Atmos support, the QLED model features 30W speakers with Dolby Audio support. This downgrade is likely Xiaomi’s way of keeping the price of the TV under Rs 50,000, but the difference is noticeable.
In its default settings, the sound quality from the Xiaomi X Pro QLED lacks that punchiness and dialogue clarity that you get with the previous model. The good thing, however, is that the QLED TV supports DTS Virtual: X, which includes options to enhance bass, surround, and dialogue clarity. Enabling all of these three does improve the overall output to near Dolby Atmos levels, but you might still want to invest in a good Dolby Atmos soundbar and hook it up to the eARC HDMI port (which supports Dolby Atmos passthrough) if you want a cinematic audio experience.
Performance and software
The QLED TV is powered by a quad-core Cortex A55 chipset paired with Mali G52 MC1 GPU. The Xiaomi TV comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, the latter allowing you to install many more apps than you could on its predecessor. Considering the Xiaomi X Pro QLED is on the more premium side of things as far as Xiaomi’s lineup is concerned, an additional gig of RAM would have been welcomed cause the UI does tend to lag and freeze when switching between apps. If you find specific apps freezing or crashing, something that I frequently face with JioCinema, for example, that’s more of an app issue than a TV issue.
The Google TV platform is what you get with the Xiaomi X Pro QLED. My thoughts on Google TV’s OS are largely the same as before. The UI is designed to deliver a more personalised experience compared to Android TV OS, suggesting show and movie recommendations based on your viewing history. That said, I wish the suggestions would keep changing frequently rather than show me the same four to five shows/movies that it thinks I would be interested in.
Other features include built-in Chromecast, Hey Google along with Google Assistant voice support, free live TV channels with PatchWall+, and more. Xiaomi hasn’t been great with OS updates, so it will be interesting to see what kind of support we’re looking at with the Xiaomi X Pro QLED.
You get a familiar Xiaomi TV remote in the box that comes with six hotkeys for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, YouTube, SonyLIV, and one to launch the apps menu.
Verdict
The Xiaomi X Pro QLED 55-inch TV is an impressive offering in the sub-Rs 50,000 segment, particularly for those seeking premium display quality at a reasonable price. Its sleek design, vibrant QLED panel, and support for Dolby Vision deliver a visually engaging experience, making it ideal for content consumption. However, the omission of Dolby Vision IQ and a downgrade in speaker output to 30W from the previous model’s 40W are noticeable compromises. While the audio can be improved with DTS Virtual:X settings, a soundbar is recommended for a fuller experience. With solid build quality, a rich feature set including Google TV, and competitive pricing, the Xiaomi X Pro QLED TV stands out as a value-packed choice for those prioritising display performance over top-tier sound and ultra-smooth UI performance.
Editor’s rating: 8 / 10
Pros
- Bright and vibrant QLED panel
- Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support
- Premium design
- Value for money
Cons
- Downgraded speakers
- Lacks Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision IQ
- Plastic stands, no included wall mount
