As a millennial, the good ol’ idiot box has been an essential part of my growing up, development, exposure to the world around me, as well as primary to my entertainment. For this reason, TVs and not smartphones are my preferred mode of entertainment at home. But over the years, our TVs have become smart as well, letting us do what we needed a smartphone or computer to do a few years ago.

The Mi LED TV 4X PRO is decently powered and the quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, and 8GB of storage, seem to satisfy the requirements of a basic smart TV. However, when you bring 4K into perspective, the hardware seems a bit underpowered. Moreover, there’s no dedicated woofer, leaving us with the desire to investigate how well the Mi TV 4X PRO works for reproducing soundtracks or background scores with heavy bass.

But as intended, we shall start by taking a look at the design and the build quality of the display.

Enormous is the first word that comes to your mind when you visit the Mi LED TV 4X PRO for the first time – we say visit because it will definitely take a lot of room. The 55-inch display is really tempting to look at, and the thin bezels make it look even more compelling. But that impression is washed when you witness the Mi TV from up close.

As you move to the back of the display, you can see the same less-than-reliable quality of the construction material. Besides rough edges from the die mold, one can easily feel the bending and flexing throughout the rear panel of the Mi LED TV 4X PRO, which leaves you with nothing but a sense of insecurity about the build quality.

Besides that, there are no button controls on the TV — the only physical button is the power button, which is hidden underneath the infrared receiver under the central Mi branding on the base.

Mi LED TV 4X PRO Picture Quality

The Mi LED TV 4X PRO has a 55-inch panel with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The display can play HDR10 content, although there’s no HDR10+ support. Broadly advertised as an LED TV, which depending on the unit you get is an IPS or a VA panel backlit by LEDs. The first thing we could tell about the display is that it is dull and the colors do not seem striking, nor is it super bright as Xiaomi has claimed it to be.

Mi LED TV 4X PRO Audio

The Mi LED TV 4X PRO features a pair of 10W speakers at the bottom, which relays a sound output of 20W in total. These speakers get sufficiently loud to fill up a big room very easily without any observable crackling. In our office, the sound from the TV could be heard clearly from over 20 feet away. While there’s no Dolby support, the loud output makes up for it, and Xiaomi seems to have done a fair job in terms of the quality.

In the past, Xiaomi has received much flak for not supporting the direct installation of Android apps on its TV despite running an indirect version of Android. With the newer generation of TVs, Xiaomi has opened the gates to Google Play Services right out-of-the-box and the Mi LED TV 4X PRO runs two interfaces or launchers parallelly – one is the classic Android TV interface which separates apps in an organized and structured layout, alongside Xiaomi’s own Patchwall which curates content from different supported apps like Hungama Music, Sony LIV, Zee5 etc. and shows you a catalog that you can play directly without entering each app separately. Xiaomi’s Patchwall

I personally prefer using the Android TV interface more, simply because it’s cleaner and uses a font that does not make me cringe. Further, with the support for Google Play Store, you can install a variety of Android TV apps like Hotstar, Facebook Watch, Vimeo, ESPN, Kodi, VLC Player etc. and even enjoy some games including Hungry Shark and Asphalt 8 on the massive screen – although you might need a keyboard or a gamepad to enjoy these. Furthermore, if the apps are not available directly, you can sideload them using a third-party store called Aptoide TV and this enables you to install apps in tablet mode if their Android TV variant is either not available or not supported.

I used Aptoide to install Prime Video, which is not available via Play Store, and the tablet version of Netflix – since the Mi LED TV 4X PRO does not support the Android TV app for Netflix. It lacks Netflix support probably because Xiaomi appears to have opted out of paying the premium for certification, in order to keep the TV’s price low. Using Netflix with mouse

In terms of connectivity, the Mi LED TV 4X PRO isn’t very well endowed but features some basic input options including three HDMI ports, two USBs, RCA input, an SPDIF jack, and a TV antenna port. Besides these ports, you get dual-band Wi-Fi which guarantees seamless wireless connectivity, although the Ethernet port ensures that you can enjoy lag-free internet access if you are okay with a wired connection.

Apart from that, the TV supports Bluetooth 4.2 which is also used to connect with the remote control alongside Bluetooth headphones, speakers, or the official Mi Soundbar. Lastly, there’s inbuilt support for Chromecast so that you can cast from smartphones or Chrome directly onto the TV. Sadly, this doesn’t work while casting Netflix.

Remote Controller

Coming to the remote controller which accompanies the Mi LED TV 4X PRO, it is fairly compact and tactile. As mentioned above, the Mi LED TV remote pairs with the TV over Bluetooth. It has a fairly simple layout, with a power button at the top-most, a dedicated Google Assistant button, direction pad with a selection button in the center, a volume up and down button, a back button, and dedicated keys for the Android home interface as well Xiaomi’s Patchwall UI. Xiaomi’s decision of omitting the numpad can be appreciated, as it results in a light and minimal remote – although I wish it supported the ability to be used as an air mouse.

The Mi LED TV 4X PRO is surely an intriguing proposition given its large screen and the promise of 4K and while it may feel seem like a useful product, it lacks in certain areas. Here’s a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of buying the colossal Mi LED TV.

  • Thin bezels
  • Great value for 4K
  • Android TV interface
  • Sufficiently loud and clear speakers
  • Basic connectivity options including LAN port
  • Google Assistant and voice control built-in

Cons

Mi LED TV 4X PRO: Leaves You Unsatisfied

The Mi LED TV 4X PRO is, by all means, a delightful product, with its ability to accomplish almost everything a basic Android TV can offer. However, both in terms of the hardware and the software, there are some loose edges, owing to the middling build quality and improper app support, especially in the case of Netflix. Besides that, the picture quality is far from impressive considering it is a 4K panel.