Hisense U7N Review: Incredible Value

Hisense has been creating hit after hit in the mid-range TV segment. The company has been making excellent quality TVs at reasonable prices for years now, proving that you don’t have to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to get close to the best picture quality in town. Of course, its TVs can’t compare to the best TVs from Samsung or LG, but they come pretty close, often for about half the price or less. The Hisense U8N is Hisense’s flagship model this year and boasts amazing picture quality for a TV in its price range. But what if it’s still too expensive for you? The Hisense U7N is designed to be a cheaper model for those who still want mini-LED lighting, but at a slightly lower price.

So how is the U7N different from the U8N? And is it worth buying? It turns out that if the Hisense U8N offers 95% of the performance of the best TVs, then the Hisense U7N offers 95% of the performance of the U8N.

Specifications of Hisense U7N

Display size	55, 65, 75, 85 inches
Permission	3840 x 2160
Display type	Mini ULED
Refresh rate	144 Hz
Ports	2 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0, optical, Ethernet, optional
HDR support	HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
Software	Google TV
Price	$799.99 – $2199.99.

Design

The Hisense U7N’s design isn’t necessarily the most cutting-edge, but for a TV in this price range it’s not bad at all. The bezels around the screen are relatively thin and I really like the stand. The stand is actually just two legs that attach to the bottom of the TV, but you can put the included plastic cover over the legs to make it look like it’s one wider stand.

Image source: Christian de Luper for BGR

However, this design means that there is only one position for the feet at the bottom of the TV, and that position will affect the soundbar if you want to use it with it. However, the soundbar can thankfully be placed perfectly on a stand or legs, although this may look a little silly due to the gap between your TV furniture and the bottom of the sides of the soundbar.

The TV isn’t too thick, but it’s not necessarily super thin either. I really liked the approach Samsung took with its One Connect Box, moving the connectivity and processing capabilities into a separate unit, making the display much thinner and looking more premium when mounted on a wall. This is certainly a premium approach to TV design. It would be interesting to see Hisense experiment with this someday.

Ports

Overall, the Hisense U7N has a solid selection of ports. Like most modern TVs, it has four HDMI ports, two of which are HDMI 2.0 and the other two are HDMI 2.1. This is the same setup as the Hisense U8N, which I wish had four HDMI 2.1 ports. The same goes for U7N. I hope HDMI 2.1 will be the only HDMI port we need in the very near future. Of course, by the time this happens, HDMI 2.2 will start to take off.

HDR 2.1 on this TV provides some useful gaming features. Specifically, when you connect the right hardware via an HDMI 2.1 connection, you’ll get 4K 144Hz imaging that includes support for VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, NVIDIA G-Sync, and ALLM. These are all the modern gaming features you’d want on a TV in 2024, and it’s really great to see.

Image source: Christian de Luper for BGR

I’m also glad that the TV’s eARC port is not one of the HDMI 2.1 ports. I’ve seen a lot of TVs link the two together, leaving one HDMI 2.1 port for gamers who also have an HDMI-connected sound system. I’m not sure if this is an issue with the four HDMI 2.1 ports.

The remaining ports are relatively standard. There’s an Ethernet port for a wired Internet connection, as well as an optical port for older soundbars that can’t connect via ARC or eARC. There is also a USB 2.0 port.

Remote

The remote control that comes with the Hisense U7N is similar to the one that comes with the U8N, and offers software control and a relatively simple layout. The remote also has shortcut buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Tubi, and a sixth programmable button that you can use for services like Max, Hulu, or Peacock.

Image source: Christian de Luper for BGR

Unfortunately, it appears that the remote that comes with the US model is different from the remote that comes with the UK Hisense U7N, which is solar-powered and has USB-C charging. For the US model, Hisense has gone with a AAA battery powered remote control, which I hope is phased out relatively soon in the US. Luckily, Hisense comes with at least two AAA batteries.

Software

As you’d expect from a Hisense TV in 2024, the Hisense U7N comes with Google TV pre-installed. It’s fairly standard software, but it works well, and Google has gone to great lengths to refine the interface so that it’s easy to navigate and well-designed. I think Google TV makes it easy to find the content you want, when you need it. While I primarily exist in the Apple ecosystem and use Apple TV in my personal life, I definitely have no problem scrolling through the Google TV menu and finding my favorite content when I’m reviewing a new TV.

Image source: Christian de Luper for BGR

The Hisense U7N also has some Hisense software features built into it, although not necessarily through Google TV. The best example of this is the Game Bar, which is used to adjust game settings if and when needed. This is really for those who are very specific about the types of settings they want to enable and disable, as the TV is pretty good at automatically turning on the best settings when it detects a console connected with the correct cable – not to mention the majority in modern games you have to adjust things like HDR settings when you first start playing. However, again, if you want more control over your gaming experience, you may well like what the Game Bar has to offer.

Performance

The best thing about modern Hisense TVs has nothing to do with design or even software. This is related to image performance. Luckily, the trend of excellent picture quality at a reasonable price continues with the Hisense U7N.

The Hisense U7N has a mini-LED backlight for better contrast and deeper black levels, and combines this with Hisense ULED technology for more vibrant colors. Overall, I found that these two technologies provided an overall excellent TV picture. However, I found that the picture required a little more adjustment than is required on other modern licensed TVs. This is something I feel completely comfortable with as someone who is very familiar with TV technology and how the various TV settings work, but I don’t have much faith that most average customers will be able to dive into the settings to create the best overall picture.

Fortunately, even with the default settings, the TV looks good. Just with some effort you can make it even better. I generally preferred to use Filmmaker mode in SDR, although the room I tested in was dark enough that ultra-high brightness levels weren’t necessary. If you’re watching in a brighter room, you might want to choose a different mode that increases the brightness a little, such as Theater Day mode. If you’re trying to get some control over your TV’s brightness, I recommend turning off the auto-brightness feature, which uses the TV’s built-in optical light sensor to change brightness based on your environment. This is a great idea for saving energy and if you want to use less energy you can leave it on. However, it is not ideal for those trying to create the perfect look.

Image source: Christian de Luper for BGR

In all situations, I found the TV to have good control over the backlight, which is a byproduct of using Mini LED technology. Essentially, this means the TV is able to reproduce decent shadow detail that would otherwise be lost on a TV with less control. On the plus side, the TV was bright enough even for bright rooms, and Dolby Vision highlights were vibrant.

Of course, I would describe the experience of viewing content on the Hisense U8N in a similar way. So what’s the difference? Well, if we’re being picky, the U7N did exhibit some blurring, although most won’t find it noticeable under normal viewing conditions. Additionally, the off-axis TV viewing experience on the U7N wasn’t as impressive, perhaps due to the fact that the U8N could get a little brighter. Finally, I found the overall display uniformity to be less impressive, at least on my Hisense U7N compared to my U8N. Out of the box, the TV did have some dirty screen effect, and while it wasn’t visible most of the time, there were situations where I could see it in everyday viewing.

All this to say, the Hisense U7N is obviously not as good as the U8N. Why would that be, given the fact that it’s cheaper and made by the same company? But it’s worth at least being aware of the differences and knowing that if you can stretch your budget to U8N, you’ll get a better viewing experience.

And despite these differences, the U7N still delivers an absolutely superb picture for the price. Seriously, it’s incredible how great this TV looks and starts at just $800.

Audio

The sound quality isn’t crazy, but again that’s to be expected from a mid-range TV. I’ve been thinking about stopping discussing the sound built into TVs because I feel like I’m repeating the same few sentences every time I review a TV. But, alas, here we are again. If you care about the sound quality of your TV, you should buy a soundbar instead.

Even a cheaper soundbar would sound much better than the speakers built into the U7N, which sounded great for TV speakers in this price range but lacked deep bass and didn’t reproduce high frequencies very clearly. Seriously, it’s hard to underestimate how important sound is to your viewing experience, and it’s worth pairing excellent picture quality with something that can produce good sound.

Conclusions

Hisense U7N is another hit from Hisense. The TV is certainly not as impressive as the more expensive U8N, and if you have the opportunity to buy the U8N, you should do so. But for this price you simply cannot find a better U7N. It may not produce the best sound or have the most cutting-edge design, but it excels at what matters: picture quality.

Contest

It’s hard to consider any alternatives to be true competition in this price range, because they really aren’t. Take my advice and buy the Hisense U7N if you are looking for a TV in your price range. The only exception to this rule would be if you somehow stumbled upon a high-quality LG OLED or Samsung OLED, which will obviously provide a better picture. But if you’re buying a new TV in the U7N price range, this is the best option.

Is Hisense U7N worth buying?

Yes, this is the best TV in its price category.