RGB LED TVs could be affordable 'OLED killers' sooner than anyone expected

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Incoming: smaller, more affordable RGB LED TVs

A section of an RGB backlit mini-LED panel, showing the letters R, G and B lit up in red, green and blue respectively
(Image credit: Future)
  • Hisense to launch models from 55 inches to 100 inches
  • From €1,499 (about $1,759 / AU$2,680)
  • TCL and Sony models expected in similar sizes

It's fair to say that we're a bit excited by RGB mini-LED TVs such as Hisense's massive 116UX and Samsung's and Sony's take on the tech. The promise is OLED-level picture quality with exceptional brightness, accuracy and longevity.

At the moment, such TVs are very big and very expensive, so the conventional wisdom is that it'll be years before the supposedly OLED-killing technology becomes more practical and affordable.

Maybe not. Hisense has confirmed that it'll be bringing the same backlighting tech to much smaller – but still entertainingly large – LED TVs next year for much less money than you might expect.

Hisense's more affordable RGB LED TVs are coming in 2026

As FlatpanelsHD reports, Hisense France has confirmed to two different media outlets that their 2026 range of U9 model TVs, which we're expecting to see in mid-2026, will have RGB LED models as small as 55 inches.

Hisense's branding for the tech will reportedly be RGB-MiniLED TriChroma, and the prices look incredibly low. Even the 100-inch model is very keenly priced.

The prices for each size in Europe will be:

  • 55" – €1,499
  • 65" – €1,799
  • 75" – €2,499
  • 85" – €2,999
  • 100" – €4,999

That's a price range from around $1,759 to $5,869 / AU$2,680 to AU$8,938.

By comparison, Hisense's current RGB-MiniLED TVs are $19,999 for 100 inches and $29,999 for 116 inches.

FlatPanelsHD says that the new TVs are expected to have Hisense's Hiview AI Engine X, refresh rates of up to 165Hz and new anti-glare coatings. The big reveal is planned for CES 2026 in January.

Hisense isn't the only manufacturer working on a broader RGB LED line-up. In late August, Omdia research director David Hseih said that his firm expects Sony and TCL to compete in 2026 with RGB LED TVs of 50 inches and up. It looks like 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the RGB LED.

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Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

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