is a senior reviewer covering TVs and audio. He has over 20 years experience in AV, and has previously been on staff at Digital Trends and Reviewed.
With all of the focus on RGB LED technology, it seemed like more affordable mini-LED TVs had been shooed to the side. But with the Hisense U7SG, we’re getting our first great midrange general-use TV of 2026. It gets bright, comes in a wide range of sizes, supports every HDR mode you’ll ever need, has great gaming support, and runs on Google TV — my favorite built-in OS, and much better than those from LG and Samsung.
It’s a great living room TV, but you shouldn’t buy it yet.
For years, the U7 series has been sandwiched between the U8 and U6 as a capable midrange option. But this year, the U8 moves into the RGB LED lineup as the UR8. This leaves the U7SG as Hisense’s top mini-LED TV and pits it against the upcoming TCL QM7 and QM8, both of which will use the super quantum dots introduced with the X11L. That’s going to be some tough competition, and it’s worth waiting to see how it shakes out. Plus, Hisense prices always go down significantly after a couple months. The 65-inch U75QG was released for $1,500 a year ago, but was down to $1,000 by the end of that May and now sells for $700. If that pattern holds, the U7SG will be a great deal — in a couple months.
The Hisense U7SG features many of the same specs of last year’s U75QG. It can reach 3,000 nits peak brightness, has up to 3,000 dimming zones (that number certainly goes down with screen size), has a 165Hz native refresh panel with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro adaptive sync, and supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic formats as well as IMAX Enhanced. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports and a backlit remote. I tested the 65-inch version that retails for $1,500; it’s available in sizes ranging from 55 to 116 inches with MSRP from $1,300 to $20,000 — although those prices will plummet by early summer.
The picture windows on one side of our living room let in lots of the year-round Los Angeles sunshine, and never once did I find myself straining to see anything I was watching on the U7SG. I measured a peak brightness of 2,992 nits from a measurement standard 10 percent window in Filmmaker mode (the most accurate on the U7SG), which is more than enough to allow specular highlights to pop. I expect the TCL QM7L will be similarly bright when it comes out in a few months. But the Hisense is brighter than last year’s TCL QM7K by more than 600 nits, as well as any of last year’s OLEDs, making it great for a room bathed in light.
Hisense U7SG specs Display type: Mini LED HDR formats: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG OS: Google TV HDMI inputs: 4 x HDMI 2.1 (one with eARC/ARC) Audio support: Dolby Atmos, DTS Virtual X Gaming features: 4K/165Hz, VRR (up to 330Hz), ALLM, FreeSync Premium Pro Sizes available (inches): 55, 65, 75, 85, 100, 116
The color on the Hisense, again in Filmmaker mode, overall is very good. The battle on The Sovereign during the opening credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is awash with bright fire, multicolored explosions, and a cacophony of color behind Groot’s dancing to Electric Light Orchestra. and it’s a visual assault in the best way possible. With more subtle, realistic scenes like those in Ford v Ferrari, I could see some minor issues in the yellows, oranges, and browns of the desert scenes, which aren’t quite as saturated as they should be. Most won’t notice or be bothered, but I’ve watched those scenes often enough to be able to tell they were a little off.
The color temperature is also a little too cool — or blue — with the default Warm1 setting, especially as the picture gets whiter. Usually I would switch to the next warmer option to move the color temp more toward red, but for some reason the Warm2 setting is cooler than Warm1 (I thought this was an issue with my review unit, but Hisense told me it’s intentional). The slightly cooler image didn’t bother me — and many people prefer it — but those intent on accuracy should take note.
Every mini-LED TV struggles with light blooming. Hisense has improved its blooming control quite a bit over the past few years, and the U7SG is less susceptible than last year’s U75QG, but there’s still a subtle glow around things like fireworks or subtitles with black backgrounds. This becomes more apparent when off angle, causing the blooming to look more gray. If reduced blooming or a wide viewing angle is important to you, the better choice is of course an OLED (the 65-inch LG C5 is a little less than the U7SG right now), but you will sacrifice overall brightness.
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