XIAOMI A PRO 2026 vs TCL P89K / TCL P8K

If you are hoping for a cinematic HDR effect in the new Xiaomi A Pro 2026, you better quickly cool your expectations. This TV is simply too dark to fully convey the capabilities of contemporary movies or series prepared for the highest quality picture. Our measurements showed brightness in the range of 200-300 nits, which are values that suit SDR content more than ambitious HDR productions. In practice, this means that most movies look okay, but they definitely won’t give you the "wow" effect that other TVs deliver. Fortunately, not everything is lost – a plus here is the use of the PFS LED filter, which is a solution similar to the quantum dot known from QLEDs. Thanks to this, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut reaches about 94%, resulting in vibrant, saturated colors in the vast majority of materials.

The maximum brightness of the TCL P8K is around 300 nits, although in actual movie scenes, the TV maintains more around 250 nits. These values cannot be considered sufficient for achieving a full HDR effect – they are more akin to a solid base for SDR content. Therefore, we won’t see spectacular flashes, bursts of light, or moments when the screen truly “blinds” you, as is the case with more expensive models. The image is somewhat flattened, and the differences between light and shadow are more symbolic than realistic. Fortunately, TCL has a few aces up its sleeve that save the overall impression. One of them is the coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut at around 93–94%. Thanks to an additional QLED layer (PFS LED), colors gain depth and intensity, clearly surpassing standard LCD panels. As a result, although the typical “wow effect” associated with HDR brightness is lacking here, the image can still impress with its saturation and vibrant tones, making movie scenes pulse with colors and avoiding a heavily faded appearance.

What we saw in Filmmaker mode surprised us greatly – and unfortunately not in a good way. The mode advertised as Hollywood standard resembled more of a display in a store window. The white balance was shifted towards blue, leading to huge color errors and the effect of washed-out scenes in SDR content. It was a little better, though far from perfect, in HDR materials. There, problems were also visible – color saturation and the entire palette consistently shifted towards cooler tones, which made the image appear more artificial and cold rather than cinematic. In other words: even in Filmmaker mode, which should be the showcase of this television, we got a result far from expectations.

In Filmmaker mode, the TCL P8K revealed certain imperfections in image reproduction from the start. We noticed that the television tends to slightly brighten scenes – its gamma was somewhat lowered, which made the image appear slightly "washed out," lacking depth, as if the contrast had slipped out of control. This was most evident in HDR content, where the EOTF brightness curve clearly deviated from the reference values. As a result, the darker parts of the image looked too gloomy, while the brighter sections didn't always reach the proper level of luminance. A second noticeable issue was a slight oversaturation of blue – the television stubbornly boosted this color, which caused some parts of the image, especially skin tones and reds, to have a slight purple tint. This is not a major flaw, but to a discerning eye – noticeable. Fortunately, most of these errors could be corrected during calibration. You can see the results of this adjustment in the graphs and photos below.

Even though Xiaomi is not a brand associated with top-of-the-line televisions, it must be acknowledged that even in a budget model like the A Pro 2026, the manufacturer left quite a few calibration settings. After a few adjustments, the SDR picture gained a completely new character. The colors stopped veering into blue tones, the whites became more natural, and most errors dropped to a practically invisible level. As a result, SDR content looked very good, surprisingly so for this price range.

It was somewhat different with HDR material. Here, it was immediately noticeable what we had already mentioned - the overexposure of bright scenes and issues with balance control. Calibration only helped partially because the limitations of the panel itself played a role. However, it should be emphasized that in the case of SDR, the television transformed beyond recognition, and in a decidedly positive direction.

After calibration, the TCL P8K showed a completely different face. It managed to achieve nearly perfect, even reference-level color reproduction in both SDR and HDR content. The screen no longer had a tendency towards a cool tint, and the white balance was perfectly balanced. The gamma values for SDR material also finally look as they should – the image has the proper depth and no longer appears washed out. The only remark that can still be made about the P8K concerns its "Chinese" traits, known from most TCL models. The TV still likes to manipulate saturation in HDR content in its own way – sometimes slightly boosting it, sometimes smoothing it out, which means the effect is not always fully predictable. Nevertheless, after calibration, the colors look stunning, and their accuracy is truly surprising. In most cases, measurement errors dropped below values of 1-2, which is a result that significantly more expensive models would not be ashamed of.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 are not among the strengths of this model. One might expect that since the TV wasn’t designed to achieve record brightness levels, the manufacturer would have opted for a more robust processor and a set of features that would "enhance" lower quality images. Unfortunately – we were also quite disappointed here. On the plus side, there is reasonably decent upscaling that handles HD materials and elevates them to 4K in an acceptable manner. However, this is where the list of advantages ends. The TV does not offer any features to improve tonal transitions or smooth out digital imperfections, so in most cases, we get a raw image, exactly as we deliver from an external source. On a large screen, this lack of support makes lower quality materials look simply bland. An additional problem is the phenomenon of overscan. When watching older materials, it sometimes happens that part of the image is cut off, which only intensifies the impression that Xiaomi still has a lot to catch up on in this category.

The TCL P8K performs somewhat worse when it comes to the fluidity of tonal transitions in lower quality materials. The television does offer a feature to smooth out unwanted bands, but its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. Even at the highest setting, it’s hard to say there’s a real improvement – at times the effect is even the opposite of what was intended, as the feature can introduce small artifacts and unnatural blurriness on the screen.

On the other hand, upscaling, or scaling the image to 4K resolution, looks significantly better. The P8K handles this task surprisingly well – HD content, and even SD, is enhanced in an aesthetically pleasing manner without excessive loss of sharpness. There are indeed slight "hard" edges typical of this class of equipment, but this can easily be adjusted with the sharpness slider according to personal preferences. The final effect is more than satisfactory, especially considering the price range in which this model is located.

The motion fluidity in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 is an interesting compromise that results from the hybrid matrix used here. At the native resolution of 4K, the maximum refresh rate is 60 Hz – sufficient for those who mainly watch movies and series. It is precisely for them that the manufacturer added a motion smoother, allowing users to adjust the image to their own preferences – one can opt for greater fluidity or leave the more "cinematic" frames depending on the settings.

TCL P8K is one of the cheapest televisions offering a 144 Hz refresh rate, which in itself is already a significant advantage in this price segment. Thanks to the fast panel, this model can confidently be recommended to both sports fans and video gamers – the image is smooth, and movements of the ball or dynamic actions look natural. However, this does not mean that the P8K is only suitable for sports. On the contrary – it can maintain the right dynamics in movies as well, without introducing an artificial effect of "theatricality," as long as we set the parameters wisely. The television is equipped with a motion smoother called "Motion Clarity," which features two sliders: blur reduction and flicker reduction. The first is responsible for smoothing the image by generating additional frames, which increases fluidity but may cause a slight soap opera effect. The second, on the other hand, limits flicker and improves sharpness in motion, although it may slightly darken the screen. Appropriately adjusting these two parameters allows for a really good balance between natural movement and fluidity. The 60 Hz panel is good for dynamic content, although more demanding users will notice that it is not a top-tier display in terms of motion clarity.

Indeed – since Xiaomi has added the "Game Boost 120 Hz" feature here, one might expect that they would follow up with a solid gaming package. Unfortunately, reality quickly dampens that enthusiasm. Aside from this mode (which, it must be said, is a great addition in a budget build), we have just a rather bizarre player panel. It's hard to call it a fully-fledged "game bar" – it's more of a simple overlay on the TV Menu with limited options. And that would be about it. There is no ALLM, so the TV won't automatically switch to game mode. There is no VRR, so you can forget about smooth frame synchronization. We also won't find support for Dolby Vision in games or the HGiG format, which are becoming increasingly standard on consoles. In short: apart from Game Boost 120 Hz, which does indeed make playing more enjoyable in 1080p or 1440p, the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 offers nothing particularly appealing to gamers.

Although the TCL P8K is a budget TV, it certainly can’t be said that it’s not suitable for gaming. On the contrary – this is a screen that can pleasantly surprise any gamer. It features two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing us to easily output 4K at 120 Hz. For those gaming on PC, they will also appreciate the fact that the TV can even operate at 240 Hz refresh rate in lower resolution – a small thing, but it’s nice. In addition, there’s a full set of gaming-specific features: automatic game mode, Game Bar for quick parameter previews, VRR, HGiG, and support for Dolby Vision in games. All of this makes gaming on the P8K a truly enjoyable experience – the picture is smooth, the response is quick, and the TV communicates well with next-gen consoles. The TCL P8K shows that a cheap screen doesn’t have to mean giving up fun. Definitely not when it comes to gaming.