GoKawiilis 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.
When I first started testing Vizio’s 65-inch Mini LED Quantum TV, I thought the big story was that Vizio was back and that it had a quantum-dot TV for under $398 — the cheapest on the market. Vizio’s been pretty quiet since it was acquired by Walmart in 2024, so putting out a TV with quantum dots, which allow for higher brightness levels and more accurate color, at a budget price seemed like a strong comeback.
But that’s not the big story. While those two points are intriguing, the big news about the Mini LED Quantum TV is that Vizio accidentally made the best dumb TV on the market.
Walmart bought Vizio for its advertising business. Since Vizio’s ad division was responsible for all of Vizio’s profits at the time of the sale, keeping that ad revenue going is likely the priority here, and Vizio’s TV OS is the vehicle.
You now need a Walmart account to use some features on a Vizio TV, and you can’t access any of the streaming apps on the Vizio Mini LED Quantum without agreeing to its activity data policy, which lets Walmart collect all your usage data. That’s annoying, but not unique. Smart TVs collect data on what you’re watching and how you watch it so they can serve targeted recommendations and ads. (Vizio was even caught doing so without consent in 2017.)
Vizio Mini LED Quantum specs Display type: Mini LED with quantum dots HDR formats: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG OS: Vizio OS Connections: 3 x HDMI 2.0 (one with eARC), ATSC 1.0 tuner, USB 2.0, optical audio out Audio support: Dolby Atmos, DTS: X Gaming features: 4K/60Hz, 1080p/120Hz (65-inch and up) Sizes available (inches): 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85
The potential for Walmart — much like Amazon with its Fire TVs, for that matter — is that your watch habit data can be used to target your shopping app experience. Been watching Star Wars movies and shows with the family? Maybe the next time you log in to your Walmart app you’ll get a recommendation for the Luke’s Red Five X-wing Smart Lego set. This might sound great to you, but to me, the close connection between TV OS and retailer is a bit unsettling.
It’s possible to get around it, though, and to a fuller extent than on other platforms. As with any other TV, you can add an external streaming device and set the Vizio up to power on to the last used input and bypass the OS. Even with an external device, though, Vizio and Walmart are still scanning the HDMI port and collecting data on what you’re watching. But by making certain decisions during the setup process, you can keep the OS from even being active (and presumably gathering your viewing information), which I’ve never seen on other televisions.
During setup, the TV asks you to sign in to, or create, a Walmart account. If you choose to skip, you’re asked if you’re sure and warned that “you will not be able to manage payments and subscriptions or link your Vizio devices.” I already manage my subscriptions through each streaming service I use, so no big loss there. After agreeing to Vizio’s terms of service and privacy policy, you’re asked to accept the activity data policy, which enables the TV’s smart features. Declining this brings up another warning screen — this one actually says “Whoops!” — informing you that “skipping this step means missing out on all your Vizio smart TV features, including apps like Netflix, YouTube, and other apps.”
One last decline, and the Vizio is the dumb TV many are looking for: no OS and three HDMI ports awaiting a signal. And to make sure there’s no way Walmart is getting your info, you can always disconnect the TV from the internet entirely by forgetting your Wi-Fi settings. (You can also choose to skip connecting to Wi-Fi at the beginning of setup, which immediately switches the TV to HDMI, but you may also miss out on firmware updates.)
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