Hisense 55-Inch Class U6 Series 4K Mini-LED ULED Google TV

In 2019 I reviewed an earlier version of this 4K TV, the Hisense 55H9F, and I had almost all positive things to say about it. Sometimes it was a little laggy, and I occasionally had to clear the TV’s cache. The model I am reviewing here, the 55U6K, has a larger ROM (7.3 GB as opposed to 4.2 GB) and the 4-core ARM Cortex-A-53 1500 Mhz CPU is noticeably faster than the CPU of the older model. In almost every way, the Hisense 55U6K is even better than its predecessor, which was great TV.
The Hisense 55U6K runs on a Google TV version of Android, which means that signing into your Google account during setup greatly facilitates the process. Although it is not necessary to have a Google account or to use the Google Assistant for voice commands, it makes sense to use Google on a Google TV. However, just like its predecessor, you have to learn which words work for voice commands and searches, or you will get unexpected results. Not to worry, learning to use Google Assistant is easy, and you can always use the well-designed remote to choose options on the screen. One new feature is a switch on the bottom of the TV that, when turned on, allows you to talk to Google Assistant even when the TV is not turned on.
The TV also kind of integrates with Amazon Alexa if you have that. My success in controlling these TVs with Alexa has been limited. For example, I can ask Alexa to turn them off, but not on. Not too important, given the availability of Google Assistant.
The 55U6K is pretty good at identifying peripherals that you plug into its HDMI ports, and it automatically creates labels for identified inputs, which you can change, if you like. It recognized my rather old Samsung DVD player simply as “DVD Player.” It labeled my Xfinity Flex Box as “Xfinity X1,” which is almost correct. The Flex Box is a simplified version of the full-fledged Xfinity X1 cable box. It didn’t recognize my Dell HTPC as anything, so it left its label as the HDMI 2 port I had it plugged into. Again, it was very easy to relabel this input.
The only peripheral the 55U6K had trouble with was my Roku streaming stick, which had always worked perfectly on the older Hisense TV. The stick never could connect completely. I would get a message, “HDMI 1 has been connected” but when I tried to launch Roku, the Roku screen appeared only briefly, followed by the message “Weak or no signal.” It did not matter which HDMI input I tried. However, when I plugged in a Roku Premiere media player, the Hisense TV instantly recognized it as a Roku Premiere player, and the player functioned perfectly.
Both the older 55H9F and the newer 55U6K have exactly the same display specifications, which are 3840×2160 pixels, Ultra HD 4K 2160p, 1073741824 colors at 30 bits. I was therefore surprised when I played the same 4K video simultaneously on both TVs and found that the color on the 55U6K was a little duller. In the accompanying photos the image on the 55U6K is above the older TV. What appeared as bright yellow on the older TV had a slight orange cast on the newer 55U6K. In most cases the difference was subtle, but in one case a light gray tire appeared as almost black. I double-checked the picture settings to make sure that they both had the same brightness, contrast, tint, etc., and they did. You could of course change these settings if you wanted to, but I am actually satisfied with the default color settings on the 55U6K.
Perhaps the only real disappointment I suffered with the 55U6K is that I was not able to connect peripherals through the HDMI input of my Samsung HW-N650/ZA soundbar when it was connected to the HDMI 1 eARC input of the Hisense TV. This HDMI eARC connect worked fine for streaming sound from the TV to the soundbar (as did the optical connection). But I could not take advantage of eARC to add an extra peripheral HDMI input through the soundbar. This is not a dealbreaker, however, as four HDMI inputs are sufficient for my needs.
The TV scan picked up all 20 OTA channels that are available in our remote area, and the picture quality was excellent.
All-in-all, I am extremely happy with this feature-laden 4K TV, which is an improvement over the 2019 model and well worth the price.

Let me begin by saying that this Hisense 55 inch U6K Mini-LED ULED Google Smart TV can’t be compared to the higher end quality of tv’s like the OLED tv’s. They are two different technologies, so you can’t, and shouldn’t compare them. But, this new 2023 model year Hisense U6K series is a great budget friendly tv that give you a great picture for the price.
I needed to replace a 17 year old 45 inch tv in my bedroom,that while it still worked well and look very good, especially for it’s age and the technology that was available back then. Also, it could only produce 720p, which is fine for a bedroom of kids room, I wanted something bigger, and with 4K quality. I didn’t want to spend much for a tv for the bedroom, and upon doing my research, I found the Hisense brand of tv’s have been well received by the general public and have been given very good reviews over the years by professional reviewers as well as the average every day person. Since my old 45 inch tv was made way back then when the sides and bottom of the frame were way bigger, I could now get a 55 inch tv in the same space as my old 45 inch tv. Amazing !
The Hisense U6K series tv has a back lighting full array local dimming of mini LED’s that creates a brighter, more uniform picture through out the entire screen than regular sized LED’s found in other tv’s which can produce non uniform contrast and color evenly to all areas of the screen. The mini LED’s produce the contrast and color through the entire screen, from top to bottom and corner to corner.This greatly improves the contrast in both darker and lighter areas of your picture.
The Hisense also uses Quantum dot technology which produces more vibrant, colorful and accurate colors that can produce over a billion, yes, that’s billion, color combinations according to Hisense. And it really shows when you’re viewing some high quality 4K HDR enabled content from a 4K blu ray disc, or streaming content fro Prime video or Netflix. Speaking of HDR, this Hisense U6K series tv has Dolby Vision HDR built into it. Dolby Vision HDR ups the color, brightness and contrast of your viewing experience. More and more content is being made with Dolby Vision HDR and as I mentioned above, you’ll find it on may 4K blu ray disc, Prime video, and Netflix as well as other streaming platforms.When you’re viewing a movie or program that is encoded with HDR, on the top right corner of your screen, a small box will appear for a few moments telling you that it’s HDR encoded. Also, in one of my pictures with the tv being off, you can clearly see me in the tv screen. I have a window directly in front of the tv, so when it’s off, you can see a reflection. But in daylight, with the tv on, there is hardly any reflection. In a dimly lit room, the picture quality is fantastic.
As for the audio output of this tv, I wasn’t expecting too much. After all, the bottom of my 55 inch tv is only 3 inches wide. Obviously a speaker won’t be as wide as the tv, so generally it might not sound very good. I was wrong though. There are six different sound modes for this tv. regular, theater, sports, music, speech and late night. In addition to those, you can also adjust the sound quality with TruBass, TruSurround, dialog clarity, TruVolume and Dolby Atmos. And while Dolby Atmos and the TruSurround won’t be nearly as good if you don’t have separate dedicated speakers, it simulates those sound fields to something a bit better than just the regular speaker settings. And as you may see in a few of my pictures, yes, I do have a soundbar for my tv. My brother in law was finally upgrading his tv to a dedicated 5.1 surround sound, and he asked me if I wanted his soundbar, so I said yes. It’s an improvement over the factory speakers in the Hisense, but if my brother in law didn’t offer the soundbar to me for free, then I would be perfectly happy with the sound from the Hisense speakers.
I decided to wall mount the Hisense instead of using the feet that came with the tv. With my previous 17 year old tv, it used a pedestal base. With the 55 inch Hisense it uses two feet. The distance between the feet is 39 inches which was way to wide for my use. My area is only 25 inches wide making it nearly impossible to place my 55 inch Hisense in the same place unless I added a 40 inch wide piece of wood that the tv could sit on. But if i bare touched the tv, it could fall off. So wall mounting was my best option. But beware, whether you wall mount the Hisense 55 inch tv or use the provided feet, the total length of the power cord is only 5 feet. Yes, 5 feet. I measured it. So, you may likely have to buy an extension cord.
Overall, I can highly recommend this Hisense U6K 55inch tv. Whether you use this tv for your bedroom like me, or your main tv in your home, you really can’t go wrong with this very budget friendly tv.
Pro’s :
Excellent picture quality in daylight, dimly lit rooms, or dark rooms.
Dolby Vision HDR
Very good sound from the built in speakers.
2 year factory warranty.
Cons :
5 foot power cord.
Remote is not backlit.
Remote is very, very lightweight even with the batteries. Hopefully it will last.
The wide feet. A single pedestal would be much better IMHO.

Hisense has released their U6K/U8K TVs which are a follow-up to their U6H/U7H/U8H series. U6K is the more economical way to go for these TV series. The box includes TV, 2 base stands with 4 mounting screws, remote control, 2 AAA batteries, power cord, quick setup guide/paperwork. The TV comes with a manufacturer’s 2-year warranty.
Disclaimer: I am reviewing the 55-inch U6K model (55U6K).
PROS:
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* Putting the base stands onto the TV bottom was simple. They can only go on one way, so you can’t mess up or get them backwards.
* Initial setup was simple with the IR remote. During setup, the remote is actually bluetooth’d (paired) with the TV.
* I like that this TV has multiple options for AUDIO OUTPUT – 3.5mm headphone jack, optical, & eARC
* When using the Google Assistant (mic button) to search for apps, TV shows, and movies, this typically worked like a charm. It’s very easy to get where you need to go simply by using the mic button.
* The picture is colorful and ultra-clear with a semi-anti glare screen. The screen is not made of glass; however, there is some slight glare if the light hits it right. The 4K picture looks good and moves well due to the higher refresh rate of this TV. In addition, the blacks on this TV are acceptable when HDR is active.
* 4 HDMI inputs with one of those using eARC is enough for most people. WiFi and Ethernet ports work fine so far. I use Ethernet when possible due to wired signal stability. Two USB 2.0 ports are available that can provide power to other low-power devices if needed.
* TV can be wall-mounted using the VESA standard 400mmx200mm. There is no mounting hardware provided in the box though.
* Quick buttons on the remote to open specific apps – Netflix, Prime, YouTube, Disney+, tubi, and an APPS button to bring up all apps. Other basic remote functions are also available including an INPUT button to switch between HDMI sources and the Smart functions.
* The frameless screen gives a good modern touch to the TV. There is still about a 1/2-inch black border around the screen itself.
* The sound that the TV produces out of the HDMI(eARC) and optical audio ports is normal like other TVs. Most of the sound itself is controlled by external speaker systems.
CONS:
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* The base stands are pretty flimsy. I would like them to have a more solid feel to them. They are a bit on the “thin” side. If you try to move the TV by sliding left or right, you’ll need to be careful with the legs.
* There was significant lag when using the DirecTV Stream app. I felt in that moment that the processor in the TV was 2nd rate since it had a hard time keeping up. Other apps seemed to do ok.
* As with most TVs, it is highly recommended to use a sound bar or sound system of some kind. The sound on this TV is very bad… worse than other TVs of this size with other manufacturers I have owned. There is quite a bit of treble. Sound clarity is average.
* When performing a search (for an app, for instance), when you are typing letters, there is no auto-filter feature WHILE typing. For example, if you are looking to install the “ShowtimeAnytime” app and you start typing “Sho”, nothing appears on-screen until you hit the SEARCH button. This is a basic function on most smart TV devices that should have been implemented here. This is a big miss. In addition, after hitting the SEARCH button (after you have entered text), it takes much longer than other devices I have used in the past (having said that, most other devices were already showing it on the screen due to the text filter). The search function needs to speed up in a big way.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS:
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* The remote is very light, feels semi-cheap, but functions well for the most part. Placement of buttons are in good spots and has a good overall feel.
* The rear of the TV includes an AV IN port which looks like a 3.5mm jack if needed.
* The power button is located under the front-center portion of the TV and is indicated by a white power light on the front. The button is located under the power light area and can also be turned OFF in the TV settings if the white power light is distracting when viewing the TV in low-light environments.
CONCLUSION:
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Overall, this TV is a great cheaper option than some of the other manufacturers. Having said that, there are some minor quality issues this TV has that might concern some people, but shouldn’t be a deal-killer unless the buyer simply wants higher-end equipment. The remote, semi-sturdy stands, and internal processor are three of those issues that could be improved. The picture itself is fine along with the abundance of popular apps available in the Google Store. I would recommend AND buy again; however, the slow processor would be the primary reason I might consider upgrading to another Hisense model or another brand altogether. All-in-all, still a solid TV.