PHILIPS PUS9060 vs XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (85"-98") 144Hz

The One is bright enough to enjoy movies recorded in HDR format. The average brightness of this model is about 500 nits, so we can count on a pleasant viewing experience for movies from streaming platforms without any issues. Of course, it could always be better, because when it comes to brightness, there is never too much for this type of content. Unfortunately, a disappointing surprise may be the DCI-P3 color gamut coverage offered by the PUS9060. Although the manufacturer boasts about using a QLED filter here (it’s actually PFS LED), it's hard to talk about any positive effects of its operation. 85% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage is definitely not a level to brag about in 2025 – especially in a television advertised as QLED.

The larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 offer very similar HDR capabilities. Peak brightness reaches around 1,000 nits, which is a very solid result for a TV at this price point. This is most apparent in bright scenes, where large, heavily lit areas of the image can look really striking. The TV has enough brightness headroom that HDR isn't reduced to just a slightly brighter image. However, very small pinpoint highlights on an almost completely black background perform worse. In those situations the local dimming system significantly reduces their brightness to avoid illuminating adjacent image areas and to preserve deep blacks. As a result, small specular highlights or single lamps don't have the same intensity as in much more expensive designs. This is, however, typical behavior for Mini LED TVs and is hard to treat as something unique to Xiaomi.

HDR colors

Color performance is similarly comparable. Although the manufacturer uses the term QLED, the expanded color gamut here is achieved by a PFS phosphor. In our measurements the TV covered about 94% of the DCI-P3 color space and about 74% of the much more demanding BT.2020. In practice this yields well-saturated colors in most HDR material and it's hard to point to obvious shortcomings. Limitations appear mainly with the most saturated shades of green, which the TV can no longer reproduce in full.

We tested the PUS9060 in the best factory mode it employs – of course, we’re talking about movie mode. Unfortunately, the best in this case doesn’t mean good. The picture in this mode was distinctly yellowed and leaned towards orange tones. The white balance on this TV was definitely too warm, resulting in an artificial, somewhat "sun-kissed" look for the entire scene. This directly translated to significant color errors, which in the worst cases exceeded a delta E value of 6 – thus, they were visible to the naked eye. The situation was the opposite in HDR mode, where the picture became too blue and too cold in appearance. Additionally, there was a slight increase in brightness – the gamma curve and EOTF suggested that the TV slightly brightens the image, which was also evident in the comparison photo below.

In the larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026, Film mode performs best, although the factory settings here are not without flaws. In SDR the white balance was noticeably warm due to an excess of red. In HDR the situation was the opposite: there was too much blue and too little red, which made the image cooler. Additionally, both the gamma curve in SDR and the EOTF curve in HDR were slightly above the reference values. In practice this resulted in a slightly brighter image, especially in the midtones. It wasn't a major fault, but with more demanding content you could tell the image wasn't reproduced exactly as the creators intended.

Thanks to calibration in movie mode, we managed to completely eliminate the yellow-orange hue, which significantly improved the reception of the entire scene. The image has become much more visually pleasant, although it still falls short of reference settings. It may now appear slightly bluish, but it is still a significant improvement compared to the factory settings.

Unfortunately, we could not significantly improve the brightness characteristics, but that is more about the construction of the TV itself – the lack of local dimming limits the possibilities for precise brightness management. The PUS9060 simply cannot dynamically adjust luminance like more advanced models do. Nonetheless, after calibration, the overall reception is much more enjoyable, especially in film materials.

After calibration, we were mainly able to even out the white balance, so colors in both SDR and HDR look much more natural. We also improved the gamma curve, so SDR content is no longer unnecessarily bright and stays closer to reference values. The only significant remaining issue is in HDR. Xiaomi still controls brightness a bit too aggressively and renders some scenes brighter than it should. That is less noticeable on larger screen sizes than on the 55–75 inch models, but the EOTF curve still runs slightly above the reference. In practice, HDR is therefore slightly brightened, even though color reproduction after calibration already looks very good.

In the PUS9060, we find the latest version of the image processor called P5 Perfect Picture, which is designed to improve the picture - especially the imperfect ones. The TV features a distortion reduction function, which smooths out tonal transitions, that is, those "color joins" mentioned earlier. And this function does so very effectively - there is no strong color gradation, but unfortunately, it works aggressively enough that it sometimes dims desired elements, such as material textures or film grain. So this can be considered a compromise. We would not recommend using this function for movies, but for more casual content - such as YouTube or regular television - absolutely.

The P5 processor also improves the quality of lower resolution images, and it does this quite effectively. The test image with the model is very soft - sometimes even too much - but this can be easily adjusted with the sharpness slider to match personal preferences. It is also pleasing that the TV does not cut off edges in SD content - which unfortunately still happens in some TV models.

Larger variants of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 also use the MT5896 processor and perform similarly in terms of digital image processing. Upscaling is not a strong suit of this model. Low-resolution content is upscaled to 4K in a fairly basic way and it does not recover fine detail as well as more refined TVs. The 85- and 98-inch versions do include a feature intended to reduce posterization, but its effectiveness is very limited. With it turned on it's hard to notice any real improvement, so in scenes with visible color banding the TV still does little to address it.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is equipped with a 4K display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, so we can confidently say that it is suitable for both watching sports and playing games. And indeed, it is. But what about movies that are most often recorded at 24 frames? Like most of the TVs we tested with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and higher, the PUS9060 offers two sliders in the motion smoothness options. The “Smoothness” slider allows you to adjust the effect in movies – you can set the image to be smoother, resembling a theatrical effect (higher settings), or more cinematic, with a slight “jump” in frame rate (lower settings). Additionally, there is a function called "Motion Blur Reduction," which reduces blurring – and this is a very useful feature, especially when watching sports.

The biggest difference between the various sizes of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 is the panel's refresh rate. The 55–75-inch models use a 60 Hz panel, which in practice means noticeably less motion smoothness than the larger versions. It's easiest to notice this when watching sports, fast-moving scenes, or playing games, where the picture isn't as smooth or clear in motion.

The PHILIPS PUS9060 is a true gaming monster – it has practically everything you could expect from a modern gaming television. It features VRR, ALLM, and also includes HGiG implementation, which helps set up HDR in games as the developers intended. The TV supports every possible resolution at 120 Hz, including 1080p, 1440p, and full 4K – so regardless of whether you’re playing on Xbox, PS5, or a PC, everything works as it should. There is also a simple Game Bar, which is a special menu for gamers that allows you to quickly check if the ALLM mode is indeed functioning in the lowest latency setting.

And of course – Ambilight TV. Let's be honest – without LEDs on the back, it’s not a true gaming device. 😉 The multicolored backlighting can really enhance the atmosphere, especially in the evening. It may not be to everyone's taste, but younger gamers will be thrilled – because it simply looks impressive.

Unfortunately, the smaller versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 have a significant limitation for gamers: a 60 Hz panel. In 4K we're therefore limited to 60 fps and can't fully take advantage of the PS5 or Xbox Series X. You can run 120 Hz, but only after dropping the resolution to 1080p or 1440p. Otherwise it's fairly reasonable. The TV supports ALLM and automatically switches to Game Mode when it detects a console. There's also a Game Bar that lets you quickly view the most important gaming settings. Our biggest issue is with HGiG. The HDR calibration screens on the PS5 and Xbox don't match the TV's actual capabilities. If you set HDR exactly according to them, some of the brightest highlights may simply be clipped.