Xiaomi TV S Pro Mini LED – Review

As far as home entertainment goes, nothing beats the feeling of kicking back on the sofa, switching on the television, and immersing yourself in a healthy dose of binge TV, movie watching or gaming, for the next few hours. No matter how convenient viewing content or playing games is on a mobile device, there’s nothing quite like a big screen experience, high definition content and with a robust sound system to enhance the experience, and this is a promise that Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is aiming to perfect with the Xiaomi TV S Pro Mini LED.

These days, size continues to matter, and the Xiaomi TV S Pro Mini LED comes in three variations – a 65-inch model, which is our review unit, alongside its 55 and 75-inch counterparts. Decked out in a metallic black finish with dark grey edges and minimal bezels, apart from an enlarged bottom panel featuring the Xiaomi logo, the TV is also designed for easy set-up, measuring just 72mm at its thickest point, with a sturdy standing base of just 330mm comprising two metallic legs at the base of the unit.

This means that the TV can sit nicely in most living rooms and even bedrooms, with a profile that doesn’t eat up too much space, as nothing really juts out awkwardly, unlike other “slim” TVs with irregular body shapes to house the many internals. Of course, users who still find it difficult to fit the TV on an appropriately sized stand can still opt for a wall mount, which Xiaomi provides for an additional S$86.

Its svelte design also allows for an equally slim side-mounted panel for the unit’s various connectivity options, which comprise three HDMI 2.1 ports, one USB 2.0, one USB 3.0, an Ethernet (Lan) port, Optical Digital Audio Out, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, all situated on the left side of the TV’s rear, further negating the need to place the TV away from the wall awkwardly, to make room for cable heads.

On to the screen itself, the Xiaomi TV S Pro utilises Mini LED technology, a much cheaper option compared to the OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology that remains the king of pricing in the TV space, thanks to its individual self-illuminating pixels that excel in colour accuracy and brightness. 

Mini LED is a type of backlight technology that utilises a larger number of smaller LEDs compared to the ones used in standard LED TVs, splitting the screen into numerous independent backlight zones that deliver more precise control over brightness and darkness across the shown image. To this end, the Xiaomi TV S Pro features 532 backlight zones (for the 65-inch variant) coupled with a light sensor to automatically adjust brightness in real time based on ambient lighting, for just S$1,699.

From streaming shows on Disney+ and Netflix to playing video games on the PlayStation 5, the unit delivered crisp colours and details, from the night fight scene between Kim Mu-yeol’s Na Hwa-jin and a bunch of unruly gangsters in the second episode of Netflix’s Teach You A Lesson, to exploring the vibrant lunar simulation of New York City aboard the Cradle in Capcom’s Pragmata.

The Xiaomi TV S Pro peaks at 1,700 nits for SDR (Single Dynamic Range) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) content on its 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) display, which also makes it bright enough to view content clearly even in a well-lit room during the day, with the light streaming in from the window. 

Furthermore, it also sports a low-reflection display (Low reflection film (LR) 0.5%), helping to reduce the glare reflected from light sources like open windows. With its sizable display, viewing angles are also pretty decent, allowing for several family members to sit by the side and enjoy the content on display. The combination of glare and a side viewing angle does mean that colours and brightness does fade slightly at more extreme angles, but that’s to be expected of any TV, even OLED ones.

The TV also impresses due to its wide dynamic range, thanks in part to its Mini LED backlighting, which dims specific parts of the screen where needed, to ensure bright scenes are vivid while still maintaining the richness of darker ones. Of course, blacks won’t be as black as those seen on an OLED display, but it comes close.

The Xiaomi TV S Pro also comes with many visual presets for users to further fine-tune their preferences, alongside a feature known as Ambient Light Detection, which automatically adjusts screen brightness to suit its surroundings, although in our testing, leaving this feature on resulted in our TV being especially dim, requiring us to disable it and tune the brightness manually.

Having to manually adjust settings ended up being a recurring pattern too, as while the TV boasts support for 4K 120Hz output when connected to an external device via HDMI cable, like a PS5, for example, its base settings only allowed for 30Hz at 4K, or 60Hz at 1080p 60Hz. To enable 4K HDR 120Hz output for HDMI devices, we had to manually go into the TV’s settings and switch the external input settings for each of its three HDMI ports from “Standard” to “Enhanced” mode. While this is just a minor inconvenience, it’s strange that the TV doesn’t automatically detect the input, so users intending to use such external devices need to take note. It’s also not just an issue with the PS5, either, as we had to also tweak the settings with an Apple TV connected to it.

Once these settings are tweaked, however, gaming on the Xiaomi TV S Pro was a smooth affair thanks to its support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium, which eliminates unsightly screen tearing. The TV also features a Game Boost Mode, which ups its native refresh rate to 288Hz, which makes it a viable choice for big-screen gaming when connected to an external gaming laptop, for example.

Of course, audio plays a huge role in the enjoyment of content on a big screen, and the Xiaomi TV S Pro delivers a robust sound quality for a TV in its price range. On its base setting, sounds are sharp and immersive enough, though in some portions, like in action films, for example, the audio can come across as a bit flat, especially in the bass department. 

To address this, the TV does come with a suite of audio profiles to choose from, with additional Dolby Atmos and Harman AudioEFX tuning. Dolby Game Mode, for example, helps to simulate more bass to make audio effects like gunshots in first-person shooters sound fuller, although the keyword here is simulate, as a user’s best bet would still be to pair the TV with a dedicated soundbar or speakers with a subwoofer for the best experience.

Wrapping up the experience is the performance of the unit itself, and to this end, the Xiaomi TV S Pro’s 3GB of RAM helps to ensure the responsiveness users expect from a modern TV. It runs on the Google TV platform, formally known as Android TV and one benefit of having such a commonly used OS is that the ecosystem is already well-established, so users don’t have to fumble about too much trying to install various apps like YouTube or Netflix, as they are all neatly presented on the TV’s “Apps” tab, with the above-mentioned apps and Prime Video even receiving a dedicated quick launch button on the included remote.

Scrolling through the interface and menus was smooth without any noticeable delay, and although this might sound like a minor point, having a laggy interface or apps that take too long to open can become a frustrating experience over time, so it’s always nice to see responsiveness on the level offered here.

Priced from S$1,299 for its 55-inch model, S$1,699 for the 65-inch version, and S$2,199 for its massive 75-inch older brother, the Xiaomi TV S Pro Mini LED offers a pretty compelling package at its price range, packing in a host of advanced technologies while still remaining affordable. For users who still haven’t hopped on the Mini LED bandwagon, Xiaomi’s latest offering just might be the perfect option to jump in.

Kevin Low

Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.