Xiaomi''s televisionsare generally on the radar of many buyers in India while offering high-end options including OLED and QLED TVs. The brand is particularly known for its innovative products, making the new Xiaomi Smart TV X Series particularly beneficial in its growing product portfolio.
For the 50-inch variant (L50M7-A2IN) on review, the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is similar to the Mi TV 5X that was launched in 2021, but with a more spartan approach that sees less features and frills in favor of cheaper pricing. Xiaomi has, however, retained some key features, including the Ultra-HD screen, support for Dolby HDR, and Android TV with the PatchWall and other Android TV UIs. Find out in this review.
The Xiaomi TV X Series is a bit more affordable than the Mi TV 5X, which was originally launched in 2021.
Design and specifications for Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is available in three sizes, from 43 inches to 55 inches. The 43-inch version is priced at Rs. 28,999, the 50-inch variant is priced at Rs. 31,999, and the 55-inch version is priced at 39,999, according to the company''s launch pricing. All versions of the handsets have the same specifications and Ultra-HD resolution, thus the only significant difference between the two is the screen size.
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series skips a few features in favor of better pricing, including some elements of the television''s design. However, the back of the television is quite plain to look at, and the included stands are made of plastic (unlike the metal stands included with the Mi TV 5X), respectively. However, there will be no significant differences at the front of the TV, with a relatively straightforward appearance that includes narrow bezels and a fairly high screen-to-body ratio.
The Xiaomi logo is located above the indicator light. Unlike on the Mi TV 5X, there is no hands-free Google Assistant on the TV X50, and there is no microphone on the TV itself or asliding switch to mull it. Both the rear and the TV have large enough space to accommodate convenient connections, even if the TV is wall-mounted.
Xiaomi hasn''t seen the ports yet, and the options for the Mi TV 5X remain unchanged. There are three HDMI 2.1 ports (one supports ARC/eARC), two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5mm socket for wired headphone or speaker connectivity, and Digital Optical (Toslink), Ethernet, AV Input, and Antenna connectivity.
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The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series runs on Android TV 10, with the stock Android TV and PatchWall UIs on the top.
The TV wall-mounted was perfect for my review, and it didn''t sit too close to the wall even with a low-profile wall-mount kit, allowing them to be able to access the ports as quickly as possible. TheXiaomi technician will provide the wall-mount kit at the time of installation.
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The Xiaomi Smart TV X50 has a 50-inch Ultra-HD (3840x2160-pixel) LED screen with a refresh rate of 60Hz, allowing for the Dolby Audio, DTS-HD, and DTS Virtual X formats to be compatible with the TV. The TV also has a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 16GB internal storage for apps and app data.
Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50 remote and features
Xiaomi''s minimalistic remote returns on the X50 TV, albeit with minor adjustments. There are two new hotkeys for Disney+ Hotstar and apps, and the Mi''s logo has been replaced by the PatchWall logo for the button that swiftly switches to Xiaomi''s custom UI for its televisions. Apart from these, it looks quite similar to previous remotes.
The remote is powered by two AAA batteries, which are fortunately included in the sales package. Some tweaks for the remote, which were introduced to reduce the need for hardware buttons, are still in place. These include pressing the volume down key twice quickly to mute, and long-pressing the PatchWall button to access the quick settings menu.
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Xiaomi''s compact and lightweight remote sees a few changes with the X50 TV, including additional hotkeys.
Other features on the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 include an auto low-latency mode (ALLM) for gaming, Dolby Atmos passthrough when using HDMI ARC with compatible speakers, and Google Assistant access via the remote. Google Chromecast and Miracast also allow casting from compatible devices.
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The interface and software for Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50
Xiaomi''s familiar dual-UI approach based on the Android TV 10 operating system remains in place on the Smart TV X50. If you prefer the PatchWall UI, the company''s custom user interface continues to improve by way of performance, curation, and recommendations from over 30 integrated streaming services. Additionally, the Mi Home app is also available on the TV, which is useful if you have any Xiaomi IoT products.
If you like the ease of the Android TV user interface, that''s also present. Soon after launching the Xiaomi Smart TV X50, the stock Android TV UI was altered to a fresher, Google TV-inspired look. Regardless of which UI, the apps are the same, including access to over 7,000 apps on the Google Play store for Android TV. You may also see other apps and games that you like.
The Android TV interface encountered several issues, with the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 feeling sluggish to navigate around. There were also occasions where apps would not load properly, and subtitle timing on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar was reduced by a second or two. However, the whole reboot would ensure the TV works fine for the majority, until a few days later when the issues resumed.
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The Xiaomi TV+ app is a relatively new addition to the software suite, which allows for the access of linear, programd channels, similar to what you''d expect on a DTH set-top box-based service, with the obvious difference being that the content is streamed via an internet connection.
Even after a while to load on my otherwise fast Internet connection, I found it a bit slow and it took me a while to put it, but this will hopefully improve over time. The channel selection had a decent amount of scope and content, and was a great distraction for situations when I couldn''t think of what I wanted to see, or just wanted to watch something for a few minutes.
Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50 performance
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is positioned below the Mi TV 5X in the company''s order of pricing, but this has more to do with small differences in the TV''s feature set and design. When it comes to performance, the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 is fairly capable and up to the mark for a television in its price segment, thanks to its Ultra-HD screen with support for Dolby HDR, general good picture quality across different resolutions and good sound quality.
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From Ultra-HD with Dolby Vision or HDR10 support, to standard-level video clips and shows on YouTube and Hotstar, I watched a variety of content. While the differences in the high-quality content naturally showed, the 50-inch size of the X50 variant seemed to help conceal some of the limitations of lower-resolution content at typical viewing distances for a living room.
On the Xiaomi Smart TV X50, black levels were somewhat good, and this happened in dark scenes on House of the Dragon.
Watching Home on Apple TV+ in Ultra-HD Dolby Vision was expected to be very good against all other movies, with the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 doing a decent job with the high-resolution format. This did not seem to result in as significant a difference in brightness from a high-end LED or quantum-dot LED TV, but the colours and tones appeared to be better off.
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The lovely, often colourful homes and surrounding nature on Home looked about as good as possible on an entry-level Ultra-HD HDR TV. Pizza on Netflix looked particularly attractive in terms of colours and sharpness, and the gentle motion in these two shows was generally handled well by the television.
Shows such as Andor and House of the Dragon provided a somewhat different viewing experience, which vowed to be in the dark. The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is an entry-level LED television, and this meant that there was always a slight grey tinge across the screen.
This didn''t matter or be seen too prominently as the above two shows relying heavily on dark, night-time scenes, but this made the picture a bit bit dull and often difficult to watch unless the room was completely dark. House of the Dragon''s Ultra-HD resolution appeared to be somewhat similar in dark scenes, with a lot of artefacts and colors appearing.
The Xiaomi Smart TV X50 with full-HD content was decent, but ultra-HD content was expected to be the best in the television.
With HDR10 content, the television appeared to be nearly as capable as with Apple TV+ and Netflix''s high-quality Dolby Vision content. The Grand Tour''s last episode was sharp and fun to watch owing to its mostly bright snowscapes, but the technically inferior HDR format seemed to show in the colours being somewhat less impactful.
The experience will be enhanced in the content itself, and the high-quality content and footage of The Grand Tour arguably appeared better than the dull Dolby Vision stream of Andor on the Xiaomi Smart TV X50. Despite the obvious differences in sharpness, full-HD content such as House of the Dragon and Welcome to Wrexham tipped the camera to the appropriate size. The X50 version''s 50-inch screen size is also a great addition.
On Disney+Hotstar, low-resolution content, such as asepisodes of Sarabhai against Sarabhai, is equally handled fairly well by the television, with decent upscaling and the size of the screen itself concealing some of the shortcomings in the picture from typical living room viewing distances.
Given the price and the size of the TV, the sound on the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series was impressive. The TV is loud, with the sound well tuned to enhance dialogue and background scores. Although the sound was not as noticeable in the lows and background effects, it nonetheless suited much of what I wanted to see. At this price level, this is a particularly beneficial point, because users will not need to buy a soundbar or speaker system along with the TV.
Xiaomi''s televisions in India have always driven the value-for-money proposition much further than the competition, and the X Series tries to fine-tune the concept even further. It''s not quite quite different from the Mi TV 5X range in terms of core specifications, but does also reduce on certain features that might be considered unnecessary frills.
The result is a durable budget Ultra-HD TV that mainly completes the job it intended to do, and at Rs. 34,999 for the 50-inch model (going as low as Rs. 31,999 depending on seasonal pricing), offers excellent value for money. Picture quality is decent, save for some small issues, the sound quality is good, and the software and UI performance are acceptable on the whole. This is a great option for those who want to upgrade to a large screen and want to explore the ever-increa