- The good news: TCL launches 163-inch micro-LED for under $40K
- The bad: currently only in China, and it's also quite large
- TCL is also launching a mainstream SQD mini-LED TV in China
TCL has unveiled two enormous micro-LED TVs — and while they're expensive, they're not as costly as you might expect.
Micro-LEDs have been ruinously expensive to manufacture, which is why you'd expect a 100-inch micro-LED TV to cost around $100,000. But TCL's micro-LEDs are much cheaper than that.
As Notebookcheck reports, the more affordable of the two models, the TCL Max163M, has a price in China of 249,999 yuan. That's about $36,375 / £27,410 / AU$51,615. The more expensive is TCL Max163M Pro is 349,999 yuan, which works out at roughly $50,925 / £38,375 / AU$72,259 before taxes and tariffs.
Article continues below
These are amazingly low prices for micro-LED TVs, and looks like a game-changer. While we can't assume that the Chinese price will translate directly to what it would cost in the US (the shipping alone…), consider this: the 116-inch Hisense 116UX RGB mini-LED costs $30,000, so paying $36,000 for a 163-inch TV actually looks right in line with that.
TCL's micro-LED and Super Quantum Dot TVs: key features
The TCL Max163M TVs both feature a 163-inch micro-LED screen that the company says is capable of up to 10,000 nits of HDR brightness and 100% of the BT.2020 color gamut.
The screens are low-reflection and smart functions are powered by TCL's Control System 3.0. Ports are four HDMI 2.1, one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0. The Pro model has a higher refresh rate than the standard model: 4K at 120Hz. TCL hasn't shared the spec of the other TV just yet, but I guess we can assume 60Hz.
Both TVs are currently exclusive to the Chinese market and it's unclear whether they'll be coming to other markets.
Chinese customers can also buy a new quantum dot mini-LED, the TCL Q9M Pro SQD. This will be available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 98-inch sizes. The SQD stands for Super Quantum Dot, and we've just measured a version of this technology in the TCL X11L TV. The panel has a native 150Hz refresh rate that can be boosted to 300Hz (presumably at a lower resolution).
It's very similar to the previous generation, the Q9L Pro, and retains the Onkyo 2.2.1-channel sound system of its predecessor, but the panel is brighter, with TCL claiming 5,000 nits compared to 4,500 in the Q9L Pro. There are four HDMI 2.1 ports and Wi-Fi 6.
As with the micro-LED TVs, there's no news of pricing or availability outside China just yet, but the price in that market ranges from 6,199 yuan for the 55-inch to 19,999 yuan for the 98-inch. That works out as roughly $898 / £677 / AU$1,275, rising to $2,899 / £2,185 / AU$4,110 for the largest model.
TCL's current X11L SQD range in the US tops out at just under $10K for the 98-inch model, so these new TVs could be significantly more affordable — based on the name, it seems like it may sit above the TCL Q9M RGB TV but below the X11L super-flagship.
Thinking of buying a new TV?
Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
English (US) ·