Black Friday week is the best time of the year to buy a new TV courtesy of the very healthy savings applied to sets across the spectrum. One of the healthiest so far: up to 40 per cent off Hisense's flagship U8 Mini LED TV, which is now available from just $698 at Amazon.
That price is on the 55-inch model, but savings are across the bigger sizes too. The 65-inch U8 is $898; the 75-inch set is $1298, and the 85-incher is $1698.
Prefer to shop at Best Buy? The Hisense U8 Black Friday deal is also available at Best Buy – just add a couple of dollars to those prices.
This is a very good deal on a very good TV, which we awarded four stars to a few months ago when the 65-inch spent weeks in our test room, praising its impressively balanced picture, fantastic upscaling and decent gaming specs in our Hisense U8 review.
This week may have thrown up a handful of good Black Friday TV deals on big-screen OLEDs, but none are nearly as affordable as this Hisense. If you want something bigger, brighter and cheaper, this excellent Hisense TV deal could be just the ticket.
This is Hisense's flagship TV, so you can expect a fully featured specification alongside a solid performance that is particularly good value in light of this generous Black Friday discount.
It's a very decent alternative for those concerned about OLED's (minor) shortcomings such as lower brightness and potential burn-in, or who don't have north of $1000 to spend on a 55-inch OLED TV deal. Indeed, a 65-inch flagship TV at this price is quite a steal, let alone one that has Mini LED panel technology, an exhaustive feature list and a picture performance our TV experts called "very good".
"The U8N delivers a balanced image that gets so much right," to quote our review. "There’s no hint of oversharpening, whites are controlled and bright scenes full of detail... dark areas house oodles of shadow detail."
You don't get the inky blacks or quite as vibrant colours as OLEDs tend to deliver, and it does take some tweaking in the Hisense's picture settings menu to get the TV to reach its true potential. (You can find the best picture settings in our full U8 review within the picture section.) But otherwise, there's not much to fault at all. "If you are coming from a basic LCD, then the U8 will feel like a night and day upgrade," noted our reviewers.
As to be expected with a top-tier TV, the U8 features a comprehensive spec sheet that includes HDR support in all of the major formats – including HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision HDR and HLG – as well as immersive audio support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Gamers are also well catered to with dual HDMI 2.1 sockets that support 4K/120Hz gaming with the PS5 and Xbox Series X, or 4K/144Hz with a capable gaming PC, complete with VRR and ALLM.
The U8's Vidaa smart platform supports all of the major international services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Disney Plus, too.
Audio is less of a highlight, as the U8 proved merely average in this department. But we would recommend anyone buying a big-screen TV to upgrade its sound with a decent Dolby Atmos soundbar anyway.
With up to 40 per cent off the RRP, the Hisense U8 is a brilliant Black Friday bargain for those who aren't interested in (or don't have the budget for) OLED and want bright, big-screen viewing at a very reasonable price.
MORE:
Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs
As well as the best early Black Friday TV deals
And the best OLED TV deals
