TCL QLED 43" Review

A feature-packed steal for a secondary room, but gamers should steer clear. For $250, you get Dolby Vision, Atmos, and Google TV in a tidy 43-inch package.

Look, for $250, the TCL QLED Pro is a solid little TV. The one thing you need to know is this: it's a fantastic smart TV that punches above its weight on features, but don't expect a home theater revolution. The Google TV interface is snappy and intuitive, and getting Dolby Vision and Atmos at this price is a genuine surprise. It's a great pick for a bedroom, kitchen, or guest room where you want a modern, capable screen without breaking the bank.

The performance is a mixed bag, but the audio genuinely surprised us. For a 43-inch TV, the Dolby Atmos support and overall sound quality landed in the 84th percentile in our database. That's impressive. The smart features are also a standout, scoring in the 85th percentile. Where it stumbles is gaming and connectivity. The 60Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.0 ports put it in the bottom quarter for gaming, so this isn't for your PS5 or Xbox Series X. It's fine for casual streaming, but competitive gamers should look elsewhere.

For $250, it's absolutely worth it if your needs match its strengths. You're getting premium HDR and audio formats, a top-tier smart platform, and a decent QLED panel for the price of a basic LED TV. It's a value champ for feature density.

Compared to the Hisense U6 Series, you're trading some picture quality and screen size for a much better smart TV experience and a lower price. The Hisense uses Roku, which is fine, but Google TV is better. Against a basic Samsung or LG model at this size, the TCL wins on paper with Dolby Vision and Atmos, which those brands often skip. But if you care about gaming, even a cheaper TV with HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz support, like some TCL 5-Series models, would be a smarter buy.

If you're a console gamer looking for 120Hz smoothness, this isn't it. Go get a TCL 6-Series or a Hisense U7 instead. Also, if this is for your main living room, you might want a bigger screen—55 inches is the sweet spot for most people.

We recommend it, but with clear conditions. If you need a small, smart, feature-packed TV for streaming movies and shows in a secondary room, buy it. The audio and smart features are fantastic for the money. If this is going to be your main TV for gaming or you're a stickler for the absolute best picture quality, you should spend a bit more for something with better gaming specs and a higher-end panel.