Compare: Philips The One (PUS8959 / PUS8919 / PUS8909 / PUS8949 vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

Philips PUS8959, also known by other designations under the abbreviation PUS89 (depending on the sales network), is a model from the popular series The One. Its biggest distinguishing feature is the Ambilight system, which continues to make a great impression. The three-sided lighting adapts to the picture on the screen, making films, series, or games literally spill over the edges of the television. The One is also a good option for gamers. The 120 Hz matrix and low input lag ensure that games run smoothly, and motion on the screen is clear. We tested several dynamic titles on the console, and the television handled them without any issues – no stutters or delays. Additionally, support for HGiG allows for better reproduction of HDR effects in games. This is an excellent solution if we care about consistency of the image with what the creators intended. The picture quality is at a good level, especially during the day. With a brightness of 550 nits, The One performs well even in well-lit rooms, and Dolby Vision in HDR films delivers vibrant colours and sharp details. However, the ADS matrix has its limitations – the black in dark scenes resembles a grey shade more, which can be noticeable when watching in a darkened room. When we watched films with the lights off, the lack of depth in the blacks was somewhat striking. The operating system Titan OS is something that still requires refinement. It is fast, but the limited number of applications can be frustrating for those accustomed to more robust platforms, such as GoogleTV. For daily use of Netflix or YouTube, it works flawlessly, but if we expect more advanced features, the system may not meet our expectations. Generally, Philips The One is a good choice in its price class. The Ambilight system impresses and significantly enhances the viewing experience, especially in the evening. It is also a solid option for gamers, thanks to the fluidity of the image and low input lag. While the black isn't perfect, and the operating system needs improvement, the television performs well in everyday use. For fans of unique solutions, such as Ambilight, it is a proposal that definitely deserves attention.

Is it worth buying the Xiaomi S Pro 2026? The answer to this question is quite complicated. Let's start with what is really great about this television. First of all, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 has an excellent price-to-specification ratio. We get a Mini LED panel with very high brightness that performs exceptionally well in a sunlit living room. Additionally, it has a fast refresh rate of 144 Hz (and even 288 Hz) and a full package for gamers: two HDMI 2.1 ports, support for VRR, and remarkably low input lag (below 10 ms). If we mainly watch "regular" content and play games, this is truly a fantastic screen. Even the built-in 30W speakers are surprisingly good and support Dolby Atmos. Unfortunately, there is also a second, very problematic side to this model. In short: the software. We have the impression that Xiaomi has provided us with excellent "parts," but could not make them work together correctly. The biggest issue is the HDR mode – the primary reason for buying a television today. For unknown reasons, the television in HDR mode (HDR10, Dolby Vision) does not manage its dimming zones well. As a result, the black that should be deep becomes gray or navy blue, like in a standard LCD television. There are also other software faults such as the terrible implementation of HGiG or the fact that the Dolby Vision mode for gamers is useless due to the enormous input lag (100 ms). Additionally, the television has very poor capabilities for digital image processing. So how can this be summarised in terms of price? In its price range, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 crushes the competition in terms of specifications. Other televisions at this price point are usually basic LCD models without dimming and often only with a 60 Hz panel. The question is therefore: what is more important to you? If you are simply looking for a very bright and inexpensive television for watching TV during the day and gaming, and you are willing to calibrate it – you will be very satisfied with it. However, if you are looking for a television to enjoy stunning HDR in films and games right out of the box, you will be terribly disappointed with this model. In that case, in our opinion, it is better to pay a bit extra for a basic OLED television or a more refined Mini-LED model from the competition.

The Philips PUS8959 television is based on ADS technology, which offers slightly different parameters compared to popular VA matrices. In the tested images, the contrast measured around 2000:1, making the black levels far from ideal. ADS panels are known for their weaker contrast compared to VA matrices, which in practice means that instead of deep blacks, we see more navy or grey shades. However, the ADS panel is still better than a standard IPS panel, which cannot achieve such a level of contrast. Additionally, the Philips PUS8959 is not equipped with local dimming technology, which could improve these parameters. The absence of this function exacerbates the effect of shallow blacks, particularly noticeable in dark scenes, like those in the film "Sicario 2". Instead of intense blacks, the screen produces a silvery glow, which can be bothersome, especially when watching in darker conditions. All of this causes the visual experience to lose depth, and details in dark scenes are not as well visible as one might expect from higher-end screens. Despite the lack of local dimming, the television is equipped with something called Global Dimming. The television is capable of completely dimming the panel to achieve higher contrast, but at the cost of details that may blend together, for example, lights in the test image from the film Oblivion. It is worth mentioning that the model we received for testing has quite significant patches resulting from uneven backlighting, although this is not a rule, one must consider that we may receive a unit like this when purchasing.

Let's get to the point, which is what is most important in the Mini LED panel: black levels and contrast. The Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is built on a VA matrix, which already promises deep blacks from the start. Adding to that is the Mini LED backlighting with a very large number of local dimming zones. In the 65-inch variant we tested, we counted as many as 532. This is a solid number that should provide precise control over the backlighting. It should be noted that this number is proportional to the size – by choosing the smaller 55-inch variant, there will be correspondingly fewer zones, and in larger models, more.

So, how does the black level perform on the S Pro 2026? The answer is complex.

Overall, it is really quite good, and we see a clear improvement compared to the problematic model from 2025. As you can see from our measurement charts, the results are sometimes spectacular. In most of the film scenes we measured in SDR (standard dynamic range), the contrast could be confidently described as very good and even comparable to designs three times as expensive. Well, it could be... and here we come to the paradox of this model. The issue is how the television manages the zones in scenarios other than SDR. As soon as we feed the television a higher-quality signal, such as an HDR series or Dolby Vision from streaming platforms (Netflix, HBO Max or Disney+), something strange happens. We have the undeniable impression that the television suddenly... forgets that it has been equipped with local dimming zones at all. As can be seen in our video below, the black levels in such scenes resemble more shades of dark grey or navy blue. Additionally, there is a subtle flickering of the entire screen. This is a level we would expect from televisions entirely devoid of a local dimming system. It seems that Xiaomi decided to fix one, but key, flaw of last year's 2025 model over the course of a year. And they succeeded – we no longer have the annoying "zone disco", the image is stable. It's just a shame that when consuming content of the highest quality (HDR), this entire advanced system becomes completely useless.

The luminance chart for Philips PUS8959 shows that the television is capable of achieving around 550 nits of brightness, which can be considered a satisfactory level. This brightness allows for the effects of HDR to be experienced, particularly standing out in more demanding scenes. In the tested test patterns, the television performed quite well, even in challenging sequences such as those from "Sicario 2". Due to the lack of local dimming, the television does not dim small bright elements, and they shine with the full "power" of the television but at the expense of the silvery blacks mentioned in the paragraph about black levels. It is also worth praising Philips PUS8959 for its good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, which amounts to approximately 94.5%. As a result, colours are vivid and close to the creators' intentions, which further enhances the quality of HDR effects and the experience of watching high dynamic range content.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a very bright television. On our synthetic measurement patterns, we were able to generate peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This result is not only very good but truly spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always emphasise, for our editorial team, measurements and the experiences from the content viewed on a daily basis - from films and series - are more important. So let's analyse how the Xiaomi performs with film material. The result is, unfortunately, quite mixed. When very bright scenes appear on screen, the S Pro 2026 really shows its full potential and can achieve a real 800-1000 nits in bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes - in scenes from the film Sicario 2, small metal elements of the helicopter were truly vivid. The problem is that - and here the story comes full circle back to our contrast assessment - in such scenes we cannot count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too great; high visibility of details in bright areas should not come at the cost of such a significant boost to black levels. And although the HDR effect itself can make a stunning impression here, it is essential to remember that when very challenging, mixed scenes appear on screen, we might feel a slight disappointment. Exactly the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding issues with dimming in HDR mode. As a consolation, it is worth adding that the S Pro 2026 has been equipped with an additional PFS filter (similar in function to a QLED layer), which effectively broadens the colour gamut coverage. As a result, measurements showed DCI-P3 coverage reaching up to 94%. This gives us confidence that in most colourful scenes, the image will appear rich and appropriately saturated.

The television Philips PUS8959 has been tested in the best, theoretically most precise picture mode – Filmmaker. Although the name suggests cinematic quality, it unfortunately falls short of perfection. The biggest problem in this mode is the white balance, both in HD and 4K content. It is characterised by a significant dominance of red colour and drops in green levels, resulting in unnatural colour reproduction. For example, white elements in the image have a noticeable pink hue, and the green is less vibrant, causing the overall image to lose its naturalness and colour balance. The ColorChecker test confirms these errors – it is clearly visible how the colour samples "deviate" from the correct values, which can be best observed on the sample squares that should accurately reproduce the colours. The lack of accuracy in this regard affects the realism and fidelity of the image, which is particularly undesirable in Filmmaker mode.

As for the brightness characteristics, the gamma chart resembles a true roller coaster – with small elements displayed on the screen, the brightness is excessive, causing details to become overly exposed. Conversely, at higher gamma values, the image loses contrast and becomes too dark, making the overall appearance lack dynamism. Similar problems can be observed in the EOTF characteristics – the television is unable to accurately reproduce brightness levels, negatively impacting the overall picture quality.

Of course, all our measurements were carried out in "Film" mode, which is typically the best and most accurate choice we get straight out of the box. It needs to be said plainly: although it is the best mode, it is still very far from ideal. Firstly, the television has a clear tendency to impart a cool, bluish tint to the image – this is due to a poorly set white balance. Additionally, there is the issue of how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness straight out of the box, which results in an overly vivid image. These two flaws contribute to truly significant colourimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they were able to exceed our anticipated error scale of "10" by twofold (meaning values close to 20). As a reminder – the threshold for perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 indicate that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

After calibration, the television Philips PUS8959 shows a significant improvement in colour reproduction, especially in HD content. The white balance is exceptionally even, and the Delta E error values are below 1, which can be considered a remarkable result. Additionally, the gamma, responsible for brightness in lower-quality materials, performs very well, maintaining a stable level at 2.4, leading to an appropriate balance between bright and dark areas of the image.

As for 4K HDR materials, a significant improvement is also visible. The white balance, although not as perfect as with HD content, no longer exhibits issues with excessive red exposure, resulting in a more natural and harmonious image. Unfortunately, regarding the EOTF characteristic, it is difficult to speak of any significant improvement, which stems from the structural limitations of the television that prevent any substantial enhancement in this aspect.

Nevertheless, the overall performance is significantly better after calibration, making the Philips PUS8959 one of those televisions where it is truly worth dedicating time to precise calibration to achieve satisfactory picture quality.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration procedure? We have to admit that after calibration, the television becomes a really very pleasant device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the graphs, in HD (SDR) materials, both white balance and gamma values have been brought to nearly perfection. Most importantly, colourimetric errors have become practically unnoticeable to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply an excellent television that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of enjoyment from watching. However, it is worth clearly noting – our efforts have not helped much in 4K HDR mode. Despite the calibration, the television still interprets the image quite strongly "in its own way," which is clearly visible in the measurement of the EOTF curve (brightness tracking). It’s a bit of a shame, as it shows that the problem lies not in the panel itself, but in the software. Underdeveloped image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, rule out this television for many more discerning users.

The gradation on the Philips PUS8959 television looks very good, offering smooth tonal transitions in most scenes. Sometimes minor issues can be observed, especially during transitions between certain colours, where slight unevenness is noticeable. However, these imperfections are subtle enough that they do not significantly impact the overall viewing experience and can be considered completely acceptable. In everyday use, the television provides sufficiently good gradation quality to satisfy even more demanding users, maintaining the naturalness of the image and a lack of glaring tonal distortions.

Let us now turn to the analysis of tonal transitions, that is, the fluidity with which the television can render transitions between closely related shades. In the case of the Xiaomi S Pro 2026, the image that emerges from this is distinctly ambivalent. On the one hand, we have bright gradations. When scenes with a blue sky or other smooth transitions in the light areas of the image appear on the screen, the S Pro 2026 handles them exemplary. They look perfectly smooth, with no visible artefacts.

Unfortunately, the situation changes dramatically as soon as dark scenes take the stage on the screen. Frankly speaking – they look really poor. Instead of a smooth tonal transition in the darkness, the screen very clearly shows the joins of colours and unappealing "stepping" of the gradients. This is very noticeable in darker films or games and can effectively ruin the viewing experience.

When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, the "Distortion Reduction" function at its minimum setting performs quite well, effectively smoothing tonal transitions without excessive impact on other elements of the image. In tests, I did not notice that the reduction negatively affected the image structure, such as film grain or object details – everything remains in its place, which is a significant plus for users who appreciate the natural look of film materials.

As for digital processing, the image looks quite good, although it features very softened contours, giving it an almost "misty" character. This effect can evoke mixed feelings – some users will appreciate the fluidity and delicacy of this type of presentation, while others may find it too gentle, losing detail. It is a matter of individual preference, but it must be said that the Philips PUS8959 provides fairly subtle yet effective tools for improving tonal transitions without excessive interference in the natural character of the image.

Let's start with the issue we raised in the previous paragraph: can the television actually fix the problem of dreadful tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically, yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Colour Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is chosen – yielded absolutely no real results. So we are dealing with a feature that, in practice, only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling the image from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 performs very poorly at this task. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight cropping of the image) is not a major issue here. The fact is that the television simply displays a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to upscale the signal to a higher resolution looks simply lacklustre and lacks any form of "intelligent" improvement. There is no denying it – the entire digital image processing is the real Achilles' heel of this model.

Philips PUS8959 TV is equipped with a 120 Hz panel, which should satisfy more demanding users, especially those who love watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing games. Such a high refresh rate allows for significantly smoother images, being a key aspect during dynamic scenes and fast actions.

For those who prefer watching movies, the television offers an additional motion smoother that allows adjusting the film's frame rate according to personal preferences. The Philips PUS8959 features a 10-step adjustment for functions called "Smoothness" and "Motion Blur Reduction." The "Smoothness" function is responsible for increasing the number of frames through interpolation, making the motion on the screen smoother, resembling the effect of so-called "soap opera." Meanwhile, "Motion Blur Reduction" focuses on minimising ghosting and improving motion clarity, which is particularly noticeable in dynamic sequences, such as action scenes or fast-paced sports shots.

On paper, the S Pro 2026 specification looks impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, with the ability to display images at up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are amazing results, but what interested us most, in the context of everyday use, was how the television handles motion blur and how the image looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used by consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and it is desired by sports fans. Generally, the panel "holds up". The matrix is sufficiently fast to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at native 120Hz fluidity are shown correctly. As for the software, the television is equipped with motion smoothing technology; however, with a key caveat – it works only for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it is primarily suitable for traditional television, films, and series. Thanks to this, we can adjust the fluidity of the image to our own preferences – from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach to setting the slider to "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

Philips PUS8959 is a television that will certainly satisfy gaming enthusiasts. It supports most modern technologies useful during gameplay, such as HGiG, allowing for better reproduction of HDR effects in games. As a result, the image is closer to what the game creators intended to achieve.

The television also supports displaying images at 120 Hz, ensuring smoothness and dynamism, which is especially important during action games and sports broadcasts. The Game Bar feature allows for quick access to game settings, making it easier to adjust the image according to user preferences without interrupting gameplay.

Unfortunately, the Dolby Vision mode does not offer low input lag, which may be noticeable during dynamic scenes. Nevertheless, thanks to the HGiG feature and high refresh rate, the Philips PUS8959 remains an attractive choice for gamers, providing good image quality and adequate smoothness during gameplay.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is almost an ideal proposition on paper. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, which allow us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full package of features: ALLM, VRR and, crucially, the ability to work in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please the owners of powerful PCs. The television also has something resembling a gamer panel – and although it's hard to call it a fully-fledged "Gamebar", it serves its purpose by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it obscures a relatively large portion of the screen.

The biggest issue we have with this model, however, concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles games in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well at all. Due to the television having a poorly implemented HGiG feature (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), it is very easy to "overexpose" the image during initial HDR calibration on the console. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the image incorrectly, resulting in burnt-out details in the bright areas. Another major problem is the Dolby Vision mode for games. While it does work, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (You can check all our lag measurements in the paragraph below). In summary: Generally speaking, this is a really very good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid using HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually set the brightness bar on the console "by eye", completely ignoring the instructions from the console’s pictogram.

Philips PUS8959 TV offers impressive results in terms of input lag, making it an excellent choice for gamers. For content at 120 Hz, the lag is less than 6 ms, which is an absolutely outstanding result and allows for instantaneous reactions in games, especially in dynamic titles. For content at 60 Hz, the input lag is 15 ms, which is also an excellent result and ensures comfortable gameplay in most cases.

Unfortunately, the Dolby Vision mode does not perform as well, as the input lag increases to 31 ms. While this result may be acceptable for less dynamic content, it may be insufficient for demanding gamers, affecting precision and responsiveness. Nevertheless, in standard modes, Philips PUS8959 still offers remarkable performance, making it a competitive choice in the market for gaming TVs.

We move on to one of the most important measurements for gamers, namely signal delay (input lag). Overall, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 performs excellently here. Generally, in game mode, the lag is very low. With 120 Hz content (from consoles or PCs), we easily achieved results below 10 ms. These are truly outstanding results and, in practice, completely imperceptible for most people, even those very sensitive to lag. Unfortunately, there is one "but" that constitutes the biggest flaw of this model in gaming. This is concerning the Dolby Vision Gaming mode. When this mode is activated, input lag rises to an astronomical level of around 100 ms. At this value, the delay between our movements on the controller (we tested on an Xbox console) and what is displayed on the screen becomes really significant and irritating. Therefore, our recommendation is simple: we absolutely do not recommend using the Dolby Vision Gaming mode on this television.

Philips PUS8959 is excellent as a monitor for use with a PC. With support for chroma 4:4:4, it provides full colour clarity, which is crucial for working with text – fonts are sharp and legible, regardless of the background they are on. This makes using office applications, browsing the internet, and graphic editing comfortable and precise.

Additionally, the low input lag offered by the television ensures smooth and responsive operation, which is important both for everyday tasks and for more dynamic uses, such as gaming or media editing. Philips PUS8959 is an excellent choice for users looking for a television that will also serve as a PC monitor, offering high image quality and user comfort.

Generally, when it comes to gaming, the S Pro 2026 is a fantastic screen for PC owners. It offers a refresh rate of up to 288 Hz at Full HD resolution or a full 144 Hz at 4K. All of this, supported by technologies such as AMD FreeSync or G-Sync, really caters to very demanding gamers. And what about "desktop" work? Here we have good news. Although the displayed font may not be perfectly sharp (like on a dedicated PC monitor with an IPS panel), it is presented in a really pleasant and readable manner. This is due to the proper implementation of Chroma 4:4:4 sampling, which ensures that text is clear and there are no issues with coloured fringes.

Philips PUS8959, equipped with an ADS panel, offers quite good viewing angles, definitely better than those found in VA panels. The image maintains its quality even when viewed from a greater angle – colours are clear, and the contrast does not deteriorate as much as with televisions featuring VA panels. As a result, watching the television from different spots in the room still allows you to enjoy well-saturated colours and overall image quality, making the Philips PUS8959 perfect for larger rooms and for watching together with family or friends.

As for a television equipped with a VA panel, we must admit that the decrease in brightness when deviating from the screen's axis is relatively small in the Xiaomi S Pro 2026. However, one must remember the second, crucial aspect – colour saturation significantly degrades at angles. This is typical behaviour for televisions with VA panels that do not have additional coatings to widen viewing angles. Is this a downside of this television? Probably not. It's simply a characteristic, the price we have to pay for the key qualities of a VA panel in the form of its high native contrast.

Philips PUS8959 features a satin finish on the screen that effectively reduces light reflections, which is beneficial when using the television in bright daytime conditions. However, such a finish causes blacks to take on shades of grey during the day, losing their depth and intensity, which affects the perception of image in darker scenes.

With a brightness level of 562 cd/m², it allows for comfortable viewing of the television during the day, even in well-lit rooms. The image is bright enough to cut through daylight, and the reduction of reflections provides decent visibility of content, making Philips PUS8959 a good choice for rooms where the lighting level cannot always be controlled.

Due to its very high peak brightness, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 performs exceptionally well in brightly lit rooms. In most scenarios, it is capable of "cutting through" even very strong room lighting. However, it should be noted that the matrix used here averages out in terms of reflecting light. This means that in darker areas of the image, or when the television is displaying a dark scene, direct reflections (e.g. the reflection of a window or lamp) may be annoying. Nevertheless, the S Pro 2026, as a television for a bright living room, will perform very well indeed, thanks to its tremendous brightness.

Philips PUS8959 is equipped with a three-sided Ambilight system – the flagship patent of this brand, which has enjoyed a devoted fan base for years. Ambilight consists of dynamic backlighting of the wall behind the television, adapting to the content displayed on the screen, significantly enhancing the viewing experience, especially in a darkened room. This effect is unique and adds a certain kind of "magic" to watching, making many users choose Philips specifically for this feature.

As for the operating system, Philips PUS8959 uses Titan OS – a system that is still in its early stages of development. Here, we can see the issues of growing pains, especially since Philips has moved away from Android in most of its models. Titan OS has a limited number of available applications. This is frustrating for those accustomed to a broader ecosystem like GoogleTV. Additionally, the television lacks AirPlay functionality, which limits its compatibility with Apple devices and may be a drawback for users seeking a flexible way to stream content.

The usability features of Philips PUS8959 are a mix of advantages and disadvantages. The remote control that comes with the television is quite annoying – it requires aiming directly at the screen, which can be inconvenient. On the other hand, the voice function works without the need to aim, but it only supports the English language. On the plus side, the remote is backlit, making it easier to use in the dark. The television does not have Picture-in-Picture (PiP) functionality or the ability to record programmes, which is a significant drawback. However, the television is equipped with Bluetooth, allowing for the connection of headphones or a keyboard, which can be useful – especially due to the limited number of available applications, which may encourage use of the built-in web browser.

Operating System (Google TV)

The enormous advantage of the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly the presence of the Google TV system. This gives us access to a gigantic library of applications – we can find literally everything here, from leading VOD platforms to niche players. The system also offers a plethora of useful features, such as a built-in Chromecast, support for AirPlay and Screen Mirroring, as well as an efficiently functioning voice search. The Google TV system itself is great, but one must take a slight grain of salt with its implementation by Xiaomi. During our tests, it occasionally exhibited what could be described as a "breathlessness." Animations could stutter slightly, and the response to commands was not immediate. This is certainly not the level of fluidity that we are accustomed to with top-tier, significantly more expensive models equipped with more powerful processors.

Television Features and Connectivity

How does the S Pro 2026 perform as a "regular" television? Unfortunately, here we have less good news. In terms of traditional television viewing, we can only commend this model mainly for having a convenient remote control with a numeric keypad – which (surprisingly) is not a standard today. However, this is where the conveniences end. We will not find either USB recording functionality (PVR) or a PiP (Picture-in-Picture) option. On the plus side, we appreciate the extensive Bluetooth connectivity options. We were able to connect external devices to the television, such as wireless headphones, a keyboard, or a mouse, without any issues, which significantly simplifies operation.

Despite the fact that the Titan OS system in the Philips PUS8959 television is still in its infancy, it deserves praise for supporting Polish subtitles embedded in films, which is a significant convenience for users relying on external files. If we want to play a film from a connected USB device, the television will do so without major issues, providing comfortable viewing without the need for additional subtitle configuration.

When it comes to photos, the television should have no major difficulties playing them. It supports most popular formats, although there is a lack of support for less common standards, such as HEIC used in Apple devices. This means that some photos, particularly from newer Apple devices, may require prior conversion to a more standard format for them to be played on the Philips screen.

The built-in, default media player in the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is – given the capabilities of the Google TV system – simply weak. Its biggest drawback is the fact that it does not support characters other than those from the standard alphabet. As a result, it does not display, among others, Polish fonts in subtitles or file names. Fortunately, as we have already mentioned, the heart of the television is Google TV. This system allows for the quick installation of an external, significantly better player, such as VLC or Kodi. For this television, we recommend installing an alternative player immediately after the first start-up.

The sound in Philips PUS8959 unfortunately leaves much to be desired. Although low tones can be heard in the playback, the bass is very weak, which translates to an overall unsatisfactory sound quality. The television plays at an average level, especially when compared to more advanced sound systems available on the market.

Despite the average quality of the speakers, the television supports all essential audio codecs, which may please users using external home theatre systems. Thanks to compatibility with various audio formats, the Philips PUS8959 is able to provide good audio experiences if connected to the right external speakers or receiver, delivering a fuller, more cinematic sound.

We have to admit that the S Pro 2026 has pleasantly surprised us. The television is equipped with a 30W speaker system, which, for its class, sounds really very good. There is even a noticeable hint of bass, and the mid and high tones are quite well balanced. Of course, all of this is within the capabilities of what the television's speakers can deliver, yet it is a level we did not expect from such a relatively inexpensive model. A huge plus is also the support for top audio technologies. The television is capable of decoding not only the very popular Dolby Atmos format but also the recently quite rarely seen DTS:X, which we mainly find on Blu-ray discs.

Philips The One (PUS8959 / PUS8919 / PUS8909 / PUS8949 vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Operating System (Google TV)

Television Features and Connectivity

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements