Rather than rolling out a whole bunch of new TVs here at CES, TCL decided to take a staggered approach in 2025. So it arrived in Las Vegas with just one model to show off: the QM6K Mini LED. The company says this TV, the first in a new Precise Dimming series, “delivers a level of picture quality that has never been offered in its price range before.” TCL found itself in a tough battle with Hisense in the Mini LED category; Both brands have delivered fantastic TVs in recent years that have set new expectations for price points.
Highlights include up to 500 local dimming zones, a 144Hz panel (which can be pushed to 288Hz VRR in Game Accelerator mode), a new Dolby Vision Filmmaker mode, hands-free voice controls for Google TV software and even a “sleeping sound”. mode”. The latter might come in handy if you end up installing one in a bedroom.
But beyond the usual talking points, TCL is really emphasizing its new and improved backlight technology:
TCL has also upgraded to a 23-bit bidirectional backlight controller, allowing granular control of over 65,000 brightness levels for each LED. Additionally, TCL includes a new dynamic light algorithm, which intelligently optimizes the incoming video signal so that SDR signals are rendered at a level close to HDR, for consistently excellent picture quality, regardless of content metadata.
The company is also doing its best to completely eradicate blooming – the halo effect that can surround bright objects against a dark background – which has traditionally been one of the drawbacks of Mini LEDs compared to the pixel-level control of OLEDs. . TCL also emphasizes sound performance with this “affordable premium” television: it has an integrated Onkyo brand 2.1 system.
It’s unusual to get prices for new TVs at CES, but TCL gets right to it. The QM6K is available in sizes ranging from 50 inches to the giant 98-inch XXL, and pre-orders for several of them begin today.
This staggered release cadence means TCL isn’t yet ready to introduce its best 2025 TVs, so a follow-up to the excellent QM8 will have to wait a few more months.
