Should I buy a Hisense TV? A look at the budget 4K television brand

When you’re on the lookout for a new television, you're likely to come across brands you're not familiar with. Hisense may well be one of these – but are their TVs any good?

The Chinese company is a far-reaching manufacturer, principally of white goods like fridges and washing machines but also of consumer electronics, with TVs being a major part of the company’s business. 

Like many Chinese companies, Hisense is state-owned and has made huge waves in recent times with its business growth. 

In 2015, Hisense licensed the famous Sharp brand, bought part of a Mexican TV production line and started making televisions for the US and South American markets using the Japanese company’s name – and then went several steps further by buying Toshiba's TV business.

So you should be in no doubt that Hisense is a major player with a solid presence in the competitive television market.

Should I buy a Hisense TV?

So, after a brief history lesson, are Hisense television deals worth considering? Annoyingly the answer depends on a number of factors. 

Fundamentally the panels used in these sets are decent. They tend to offer nice sharp images, decent black levels, and good color balance. 

However, with the sets that support HDR, don't expect them to offer the same peak brightness as more expensive sets from bigger name brands. This means that the images shown on the sets don't quite have the same sparkle to them as better HDR sets. 

Their smart TV OS can also be a little hit and miss across its different models. We liked it when we reviewed the 55N6800 where we were impressed by the range of apps on offer, even if the overall interface wasn't as sophisticated as other sets. 

However it was a different story when we reviewed the 32M2600 which featured an interface that was sluggish and slow. The app selection was also much less broad. 

Thankfully, these OS issues can be sidestepped entirely by using a streaming box or streaming stick such as the Chromecast Ultra, Roku Streaming Stick+ or Nvidia Shield TV. 

The Hisense TV price range is where its got a real edge - with the Chinese company firmly focusing its sights on the middle-market. 

That means that its flagship televisions - although good - are not quite at the level of the best TVs in the world, but that they often come in significantly cheaper than their peers. 

Lower down the range you are also going to see significant savings. The upshot is that although your television may not be the talk of the neighbours, it's not likely to disappoint, and the money you save can definitely be spent on getting great 4K content.  

Hisense TV reviews

We've reviewed televisions at either end of the spectrum for Hisense recently, the 55-inch N6800 and the 32-inch X 

• For our top TV picks, our guide to the best TVs is here to help

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