Review: Hisense U8G

For years, I told people to buy the best-looking screen for the money, and then get a streaming device to go with it. The onboard ecosystems on most TVs were so bad that it didn't make sense to even take them into account. 

Flash forward to today: Now you might actually pick your TV based on its interface. Roku is built into many of our favorite TCL models, Vizio’s Smartcast system makes sharing tabs easier than elsewhere, and Android TV is pretty darn great in Hisense models. These screens all look so good, and have such similar specs, that you might as well get the one that uses your favorite streaming OS.

If the TCL 6 Series and new Vizio M-Series are the price-to-performance kings of Roku and Smartcast, the new Hisense U8G is the best TV for fans of Google. The U8G has excellent local dimming, great gaming performance, and a cool-looking center stand. Anyone who loves Android will probably love this Android TV.

The U8G has a nondescript modern design, save for a butterfly-shaped pair of legs that supports the center of the TV. Unlike the spindly sticks that jut out from the bottom of most modern screens, these thoughtful, elegant legs make you want to use them, rather than mount the TV to the wall.

I also love how they raise the TV pretty high off my stand. A few of the larger soundbars don’t completely fit under TVs. Even if you don't care about losing a small sliver of screen forever, it often causes problems with the remote. The U8G’s legs clear every one of my soundbars, including the big Dolby Atmos bars.

Setup is as simple as you’d expect from any modern TV. There’s a two-prong power cord, two HDMI 2.1 ports capable of 120 Hz at 4K with a variable refresh rate (and two other HDMI ports good for 60 Hz), plus all the other bog-standard TV inputs you’ll need. It even comes with an adapter for plugging in classic red/white/yellow cables, like from my old N64. I love it.

The TV immediately asked me to use my Google account for setup. Because I use an Android phone daily, I barely had to look for extra apps that I use. All my logins were either stored or exceptionally easy to input.

Speaking of apps, I was happy to find every major option I needed—including the oft-neglected HBO Max!—on Android TV. Built-in Chromecast makes streaming things from a desktop easy if you use the Chrome browser, and I like that you can turn Google’s voice assistant on or off.

The remote has quick buttons to take you to Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, and Peacock. The remote also has backlighting and Bluetooth connectivity. You do have to pair it with the TV on initial setup.

A $1,000 price tag for the 55-inch model means the U8G looks and feels like more of a premium option than our favorite affordable TCLs and Vizios. Instead, its direct competitors are upgrades like the Samsung QN90A.

In this league, it performs pretty well. Solid local dimming helps with black levels, and it has fairly bright highlights in HDR via HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. 

AMD Freesync made it a great TV to use with my computer’s Radeon graphics card when playing Formula 1 2021. High refresh rates really make racing games look amazing. It works nearly as well as a computer monitor as it does as a TV, a trend I’m happy to see descending from higher-end TVs this year.

I didn’t use the TV in a particularly bright room (my review room lacks windows), but those who have brighter spaces might like that it has a new anti-reflective film that is supposed to limit glare. One thing I did notice and love was Filmmaker Mode, which removes post processing but maintains color and frame rates when watching movies. It’s particularly great when watching older films like Cool Hand Luke, which appear color graded to perfection out of the box.

There's also a Game Mode, which supports the highest frame rates from PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and a Sports Mode, which smooths out motion when watching fast-paced events—great for the Olympics and watching my beloved Portland Timbers.

As with most modern TVs, you want a soundbar. The U8G sounds pretty bad on its own. If you’re spending $1,000 on a TV, get something a bit nice to listen to it with.

In terms of interface, it crushes the competition from both LG and Samsung. Android TV has come a long way since it had terrible apps and felt super clunky. These days, it’s very nearly as good as Roku, with a better voice assistant.

The interface doesn’t have ads, and it pulls shows from all the paid services that Covid boredom made me subscribe to. The main screen is usable in a way that most other interfaces simply aren’t. Even changing between inputs feels easier, thanks to all those buttons for services that people actually use (save Tubi and Peacock).

When you combine this ease of use with the excellent screen, great processing, and 120-Hz refresh rate when gaming in 4K, it’s really hard to find anything not to like about the U8G, except its price.

You can get a cheaper TCL or Vizio model that looks very nearly as good and does very nearly everything this well, but this model does look and feel a bit nicer than those. It has a solid price-to-performance ratio, especially when compared to spendier models from Sony and Samsung.

If you are after a TV that works for gaming, sports, and watching films at home, and you like Google’s not-so-walled garden, the U8G is well worth a peek.