XIAOMI A PRO 2025 vs Hisense U7S Pro

In the HDR category, the Xiaomi A Pro performs poorly overall. Under ideal conditions, it achieves a brightness level of around 250 nits, which is underwhelming. However, many competing models offer similar or even lower brightness levels. Such limited brightness is insufficient to fully showcase the potential of HDR content. In practical terms, the image lacks the depth and intensity expected from high-quality HDR. Instead, the visuals resemble standard dynamic range (SDR), with scenes that should display striking brightness and contrast appearing flat and uninspiring. That said, for its price, the television offers solid DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage at 92%, made possible by its quantum dot (QLED) technology. This ensures vibrant and saturated colours, making it an appealing choice for gamers and movie enthusiasts seeking richer hues and improved colour reproduction compared to standard models.

Let’s start by saying that the U7S Pro is an impressively bright television – in calibrated mode, our measuring equipment indicated a staggering 2200 nits of peak brightness! This is an impressive result, considering that this model is positioned as mid-range.

However, as we know, peak brightness on test patterns is one thing, and actual movie scenes are another. Unfortunately, in real video materials, the backlight power clearly drops. While in the most demanding moments the television can still exceed the 1000 nit barrier – which is still a great result, perfectly fitting the mastering standards of most HDR films – the truly challenging aspect turns out to be the aggressively tuned local dimming algorithms. Because of them, small, bright details, such as stars or the moon in the night sky, are noticeably dimmed. The television tries at all costs to maintain deep black levels, which is of course understandable, but unfortunately, this comes at the cost of dynamics and the brilliance of the HDR effect itself.

The color reproduction is worth praising. The new U7S Pro is a QLED construction that provides very wide color gamut coverage. Unlike last year's model (U7Q Pro), this year's variant is now a “true” QLED, rather than a solution based on a PFS filter. As a result, color saturation has noticeably increased, and coverage of the most demanding BT.2020 space has exceeded the 81% barrier.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 performs best in movie mode for colour reproduction straight out of the box, though it is not without its flaws. An analysis of the white balance shows negative green values, causing distortions in white tones. At full white, there are noticeable deviations, and the high-contrast image leads to poor tonal transitions in red, negatively impacting the overall colour quality. Before calibration, the image often displays a pink hue in its scenery.

The gamma contrast graph falls below the 2.4 mark, indicating an overemphasis on darker tones and a lack of prominence in lighter areas. Additionally, the EOTF curve shows a sharp rise early on, which can result in lost detail in bright scenes and an oversaturated appearance. These issues suggest that further calibration is needed to balance the colour reproduction and enhance the overall image.

Factory colour settings on the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 are average, and while this is common in televisions of its class, users seeking accurate colour representation may need to adjust the settings. After proper calibration, the TV delivers a more natural and vibrant palette, aligning better with cinematic standards. For those prioritising precise colour reproduction, professional calibration will significantly improve image quality.

We tested the U7S Pro model – as always – in the best factory-tuned picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. We can evaluate the displayed colors in two ways. The most disappointing was the profile intended for watching SDR content, such as traditional television, YouTube, and other less demanding materials. The picture was clearly too yellow, which turned out to be a direct consequence of a poorly set white balance. As our graphs show, there is a huge deficiency of the blue component here, which drastically affected the overall color temperature. This is clearly evident on the ColorChecker charts and the graphs of the color palette itself, where most samples veered toward yellow. Fortunately, the factory HDR mode performed significantly better – there, the color errors hovered around a Delta E value of 3, which is already a really solid result.

After calibration, the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 TV shows significant improvement. The white balance is the most noticeable change, with previous errors corrected in HD and 4K content. Most deviations are now minimal, falling within an acceptable range, resulting in a more balanced and natural colour representation that enhances viewing comfort.

In terms of gamma, the drop has been largely addressed, leading to a more consistent rendering of tones across various scenes. However, the EOTF curve still hasn't seen substantial improvement, as there is limited control over dynamic tone mapping. This limitation means that some details may still be lost in bright scenes, affecting the perception of certain materials.

Despite these minor issues, the overall picture quality is improved after calibration. The enhanced white balance and reduced gamma issues provide a more realistic and enjoyable viewing experience. While further adjustments could enhance the image even more, the TV now showcases its potential, meeting the expectations of many users.

However, we know that the Hisense company can do much more – as previous generations have proven – which is why we simply couldn't leave the factory flaws of the U7S Pro model in everyday content. As always in such cases, we subjected the television to professional calibration. The conclusions? This process brought about a colossal change. After manually adjusting the white balance and compensating for the deficiencies in the blue component, the annoying yellow tint disappeared like magic. The white became naturally pure, and skin tones gained the proper, healthy hue. Importantly, the calibration not only tamed the capricious SDR mode but also allowed us to squeeze the maximum from the panel's potential, reducing the average color reproduction errors to values almost imperceptible to the human eye. The only thing we have to nitpick after the entire process is the very nature of the Mini-LED backlighting and its specific cooperation with the HDR signal. The aggressively tuned local dimming algorithms significantly interfere with the EOTF brightness curve. As a result, the backlighting does not always work perfectly with the creator's intent – depending on the scene being viewed, the curve can noticeably run either above or below the reference, which at times disrupts the perfect dynamics of HDR image.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 handles tonal transitions effectively, especially when dealing with lower-quality materials. Thanks to its advanced digital processing, the colour contour removal feature performs surprisingly well. Setting this option to "Medium" provides the best balance, enhancing the smoothness of tonal transitions while avoiding excessive smoothing of other image elements, like film grain.

In the case of a tested frame featuring a model with numerous branches in the background, the TV demonstrated its digital processing strengths. Adding artificial sharpness clarified the model’s details, particularly enhancing the hair's definition. However, around the branches, subtle contours emerged due to digital intervention. While this adds detail to the overall image, excessive sharpness can sometimes cause certain elements to appear unnaturally highlighted.

The digital processing of lower quality signals is at a very high level here, thanks to the MediaTek Pentonic 800 processor utilized in the U7S Pro. The upscaling itself, which is the TV's ability to enhance lower resolution signals to 4K, is also performing well. We did not notice any unnatural, sharp edges on the screen, and our test image with the model looked simply attractive.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 features a motion smoothing option known as "Motion Smoothing," which is designed mainly for film viewing. It allows users to adjust the effect to either a more cinematic, film-like appearance with visible frames or a smoother, theatrical image. This feature will likely satisfy movie lovers. However, gamers and sports enthusiasts might be disappointed. The TV uses a 60 Hz refresh rate panel, typical for this price range, which doesn’t offer exceptional motion handling. Our "Ufo" test revealed some motion blur, so those seeking sharper moving images may find it lacking in this regard.

The Hisense U7S Pro features a panel with a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz in 4K, and in game mode, it can reach up to 330 Hz at Full HD resolution. However, it's important to note that these highest numbers have little significance in everyday use, as most content supports a maximum of 120 Hz (e.g., while gaming on a console). Nevertheless, the TV handles motion quite well and performs really decently for an LCD construction.

There's hardly anything to complain about regarding fluidity. In the menu, we find a motion smoothness enhancer called "Motion Enhancement," which hides two sliders: blur reduction and judder reduction. They allow for manual configuration of the smoothness enhancer, which works well for both movies and sports, effectively improving the raw television signal.

The Xiaomi A Pro 2025 includes several gamer-friendly features, such as the Game Bar, which sets itself apart from the typical dashboards seen in other brands. This feature allows quick access to game-related settings, making it convenient during intense gaming sessions. The TV also supports Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), automatically switching to a game-optimised mode to reduce signal delays. However, it lacks HDMI 2.1 support, limiting compatibility with the latest gaming consoles that require higher bandwidth. Additionally, it does not support features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or G-Sync, which are becoming essential for gamers seeking smoother visuals and reduced tearing. While the Xiaomi A Pro 2025 has some useful features, there are better options in this price range offering more advanced gaming solutions.

If you plan to connect a console or PC to the U7S Pro, you will be more than satisfied – this television is excellent equipment for gamers. Hisense didn't spare any expense and included 4 HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps. You won't need to juggle cables, as each port will handle the full package of features. We have an automatic game mode (ALLM) and VRR, which works over a wide range from 48 Hz to a cosmic 330 Hz. Of course, those 330 Hz are currently just a gimmick for owners of powerful PCs, as consoles will still be limited to 120 Hz, but it's good to have that reserve for the future. The Game Bar also works very well during gaming. It's a handy menu bar for gamers, where you can quickly change the picture mode, turn on a crosshair in the center of the screen, and even change the aspect ratio to ultra-wide without going into the main settings of the television, which PC simulator fans will appreciate. The only downside worth noting is the incorrect implementation of the HGiG format in games. This means that the television ignores the instructions from the console regarding the image generated in HDR10 and constantly meddles with the image it produces, trying to "enhance" it in its own way. Because of this, the correct configuration of HDR in the console menu (where brightness is set on the logo/checkerboard) is somewhat complicated.