Gadgets
Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 Review
Priced at Rs. 45,999 in India, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Smart TV is very impressive on paper and promises capable performance, without forcing you to spend too much. Some of its key features include support for Dolby Vision, hands-free Google Assistant voice controls, and the combination of Android TV 10 and the company’s popular PatchWall UI. Is this the best 55-inch television you can now buy under Rs. 50,000? Find out in this review.
Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 design and specifications
Televisions from Xiaomi’s Mi brand have sported the Mi logo thus far, but with the Mi TV 5X, there’s a big change. The company announced that it is switching to ‘Xiaomi’ as its brand name on future products, and the Mi TV 5X shows that, even if it’s still called a ‘Mi TV’.
Displayed prominently right below the screen is the new Xiaomi logo on a silver strip, just above the module that has a few indicator lights and the power button. The rest of the borders around the screen are considerably slimmer and similarly silver in colour, giving the Mi TV 5X a distinct look that stands out among the competition as well as other televisions from Xiaomi such as the Redmi TV X Series and Mi TV 4X range.
The Mi TV 5X isn’t quite as slim as some of the flagship TVs I’ve reviewed recently, but it’s reasonably well built and not too thick even at the bottom, which bulges a bit. It looks good for a TV in its price range, whether placed on a wall or on stand mounts. The lower part of the back of the TV has a carbon-fibre-like texture, with one set of inputs and ports facing downwards, and a second set facing to the left of the screen.
The less frequently used ports, including the Ethernet, optical audio out, composite AV input, and antenna port all face downwards, while the two USB ports, three HDMI 2.1 ports, and 3.5mm audio out socket face to the left. The television can be stand-mounted using the metal stands included in the box, or wall-mounted using any aftermarket VESA-compatible kit. Xiaomi can provide a wall-mount kit at an extra cost at the time of installation.
The Mi TV 5X sports the company’s new ‘Xiaomi’ brand logo, instead of ‘Mi’
While I’m reviewing the 55-inch model in the Mi TV 5X series which is priced at Rs. 45,999, you could also choose the 50-inch and 43-inch models, priced at Rs. 41,999 and Rs. 31,999 respectively in India. All three are Ultra-HD TVs with support for up to the Dolby Vision format for HDR.
The Mi TV 5X 55 has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED-backlit screen, with support for the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats.
This television has a rated sound output of 40W, and support for Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD through its two-speaker system. HDMI ARC is supported on one of the HDMI ports, and there’s also dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity. The TV has a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage for apps and app data.
Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 remote and features
While the general design and branding of Xiaomi’s televisions have changed over the months and years, the company’s approach to the remote has been largely the same. The Mi TV 5X has Xiaomi’s familiar, minimalist remote, and expectedly yet still disappointingly, the needed AAA batteries are not included in the sales package.
The remote itself is one that I’m very used to, and the company’s software tweaks such as Quick Mute and Quick Settings access have long since made up for its physical shortcomings. It’s suitably equipped to get you anywhere within the TV’s software quickly, and you can navigate around both the Stock Android TV UI and Xiaomi’s own PatchWall UI easily enough.
Other key features of the Mi TV 5X include hands-free Google Assistant access, Google Chromecast built-in with support for Ultra-HD and HDR casting from supported apps and services, an auto low-latency mode for use with gaming consoles, and the ability to use Alexa as your default voice assistant if you prefer.
The remote of the Mi TV 5X is a familiar one, with a minimalist, compact design
The television has a microphone that can be set to always-on mode to listen for the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ wake words, just as you’d have it on a smart speaker such as the Google Nest Audio. It’s possible to turn off the microphone if you have privacy concerns or just don’t want to use voice commands; there’s a physical sliding switch to control this at the bottom of the TV, just below the Xiaomi logo.
Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 software and interface
Just like the remote, the software experience on the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X remains familiar for anyone who has used a Xiaomi television before. The television runs on Android TV 10, with both the stock Android TV user interface, as well as Xiaomi’s own PatchWall 4 launcher. All major apps are supported, and users have full access to the Google Play Store for Android TV to download any of over 5,000 apps available.
The stock Android TV UI will be familiar for users of other Android TV devices as well, since it works without any real manufacturer-enforced limitations here. The settings are accessible from anywhere in the interface, including if content is playing, by long-pressing the Mi button on the remote. A short-press of the button will switch to the PatchWall launcher, which shows a wide selection of curated content from various streaming services.
PatchWall 4 is slightly improved over previous versions, with IMDB ratings integrated into most titles, a new look for the information pages for titles with additional details, and more. PatchWall allows for easy access to the TV’s settings and other source inputs, as well as different apps that you might have installed on the TV.
Users who like a lot of recommendations and content curation will enjoy what PatchWall has to offer, thanks to its content-centric approach. Also worth mentioning is that the Mi TV 5X supports the Mi Home app through the PatchWall launcher, allowing you to control IoT devices in your home through your TV or through voice commands, if you have the Mi Home app linked to your Google account. This could be convenient if you own and use devices such as the Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P and Mi LED Wi-Fi Smart Bulb.
Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 performance
Good looks and features aside, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 is also well equipped to deliver a pleasant viewing experience, driven by its focus on value. Picture and sound performance are very good for a 55-inch television priced under Rs. 50,000, delivering the sheer impact of a big screen TV, while also doing a good job across resolutions and content types. That said, I did face occasional lag and UI performance issues, which I’ll elaborate on in this section.
Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content brings out the best in the Mi TV 5X 55
The Mi TV 5X 55 is a high dynamic range (HDR) television with support for the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. Naturally, the 55-inch screen means that this TV is best considered for top-quality content, such as Dolby Vision movies and TV shows on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar which looked considerably better than anything else I watched.
Watching Korean hit TV show Squid Game in Ultra-HD and Dolby Vision on Netflix, the Mi TV 5X made for an enjoyable experience. The picture had a gentle, easy-going tone to it, with colours that didn’t quite pop as much as on more premium TVs, but were refined and impactful nonetheless. The bright pinks and greens of the uniforms worn by the guards and contestants in the show were subtly, yet strongly brought out by the TV.
The picture is sharp and detailed, without appearing too jarring and edgy. There was a sense of smoothness to Ultra-HD content, with Dolby Vision content looking even better through brightness and contrast. Visually striking shows such as Our Planet looked impressive on the Mi TV 5X, as did gentler and less impactful viewing such as Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video.
While there is a definite boost in brightness, and the ability to have varying levels of contrast and impact in the same frame with HDR content, the biggest benefit of Dolby Vision on the Mi TV 5X was in the tone. This television usually captured the feel and essence of TV shows well, providing a sombre, dark feel to shows such as Squid Game and movies such as Greyhound on Apple TV+, while the light-hearted Somebody Feed Phil looked bright and fun as Phil Rosenthal explored cities and their unique eateries.
The television retains the tone of shows and movies with Dolby Vision; Squid Game looked sombre and haunting, even while the colours looked good
Many LED-backlit TVs, particularly those priced at under Rs. 50,000, tend to choke a bit when it comes to black levels. The Mi TV 5X, while not quite as impressive as televisions such as the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro (which has local dimming), does a reasonably good job with darker scenes and black tones. Although there was a mild grey wash on the screen, it wasn’t as intense or distracting as on the Redmi TV X55, which costs about Rs. 5,000 less than the Mi TV 5X. Dark scenes looked decent in dully lit rooms as a result, while bright scenes were watchable even with sunlight striking the TV.
Standard dynamic range and standard definition content, while naturally not as attractive to watch as HDR, was decent on the Mi TV 5X 55 nonetheless. The Last Dance on Netflix, as well as assorted full-HD content such as The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, and Schumacher were good to watch, with the TV handling the older, upscaled footage of the Bulls’ historic championship runs and Michael Schumacher’s F1 dominance in the 1990s particularly well. In general, this TV made for a consistently bright, sharp, and clean viewing experience across resolutions and content.
Sound on the Mi TV 5X is comfortable and acceptable in ordinary viewing situations; the TV can get quite loud thanks to its 40W speakers. The sound is well-tuned and uniform, without too many jarring volume spikes. Interestingly, while Dolby Atmos is supported on the TV and was activated with a slider switch in the sound settings menu, the Mi TV 5X doesn’t support Dolby Atmos detection by content platforms – Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar both showed support for 5.1-channel audio at best.
Instead, enabling Dolby Atmos on this TV seems to upscale the sound signal at the hardware stage. This still made a slight difference in sound quality with most content. Some virtualised surround effects could be heard while watching Squid Game, and the sound felt a bit more refined and detailed overall. Even with this switched off, or with content that doesn’t really benefit from the format, sound was decent enough. That said, a good speaker system such as the Sony HT-S40R, which I reviewed alongside this TV, might help improve the listening experience.
PatchWall shows a growing collection of curated content from across various streaming services and content providers
Although the picture and sound were generally good, and the software experience was satisfactory for the most part, I did experience some performance glitches with the Mi TV 5X. These included occasional lag and stutter in the picture when streaming Ultra-HD content, delayed responses to button-press commands from the remote, and a few Wi-Fi connection drops.
I also experienced delays in subtitle timing on some occasions, with the words appearing on screen about a second or two late but clearing on time, making it hard to read along when watching foreign-language content. While these issues weren’t very bothersome and were often fixable by turning the TV off and on again, they did come up every once in a while, so they are worth pointing out.
Verdict
Xiaomi’s focus on value for money and competitive pricing continues to pay off for the company, and the Mi TV 5X is a good example of why affordable TVs are worth considering. Priced at Rs. 45,999, this is quite easily my top pick among 55-inch televisions priced at under Rs. 50,000 right now. It delivers a good blend of design, features, and performance, and gets very little wrong. Above all, it offers you exactly what you would want and expect from a television at this price.
While most things were on point with the Mi TV 5X, I did experience some performance glitches that held the overall experience back a little. However, these weren’t too bad in the larger scheme of things, and the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 is definitely an excellent pick for the good all-round experience it offers, and its price.