Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Review: 4K Smart TV Built For Online Streaming

Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Design

The X50 is identical to any other Xiaomi TV released in last year; however, the design team has made some significant changes. The screen-to-body ratio has been increased to 96.7% to provide a nearly bezel-less look, which improves the visual experience somewhat. The metal border around the screen adds a premium touch, but the color selection is a missed opportunity. Xiaomi could have given the bottom bezel a chrome/silver finish to add some visual interest to the otherwise boring all-black front.

Xiaomi has kept the rear design simple in order to keep the price low. The new TV lineup is made of basic plastic, but the material quality is slightly better than on previous Xiaomi TVs. The TV unit can be wall-mounted or simply placed on a flat table. Xiaomi includes the tabletop stand in the box; however, the wall-mount bracket is not included and will cost you an additional Rs. 350.

Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Connectivity Setup

The physical ports reside at the back and there's hardly anything missed here. Let's have a look. The Smart TV X50 gets 3x HDMI 2.1 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, AV Input, an Optical port, and a headphone jack. The TV is eARC compatible to let you connect a soundbar unit for better audio output. For wireless connections, the Budget 50-inch 4K Smart TV supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), Bluetooth 5.0 port, Dual-band Wi-Fi and Miracast.

Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Display Performance

The X50 features a 50-inch 4K Ultra HD (3,840 2,160) display with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The screen type has not been specified by Xiaomi. We believe it's a 10-bit IPS panel with 94% DCI-P3 wide color gamut support, resulting in a total of 1.07 billion colors. The display can stream Dolby Vision content and supports both HDR10 and HLG formats. We put the claims to the test by streaming relevant content on OTT platforms.

The TV recognized the content type quickly, and the visuals looked stunning on the 4K panel. Colors were not overly saturated, and skin tones were accurately represented. The HDR performance is excellent for the price of the TV. It does justice to both bright HDR and darker scenes, which any underperforming panel would struggle with.

4K Display Also Ensures Crisp HD And Full HD Content Streaming

Furthermore, the 4K panel efficiently handles HD and Full HD (1080p) content, making it a good streaming experience for old cable TV content. To make visual adjustments, you can choose from four different color presets: Standard, Vivid, Sport, and Movie, and adjust the basic settings such as contrast, brightness, sharpness, and so on.

Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Audio Quality

If you have access to Dolby Vision content, the X50's picture capabilities will astound you. Thanks to Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, the 2019 action film 6 Underground starring Ryan Reynolds (Netflix) looked and sounded stunning. The TV has a 30W sound system, which is more powerful than most mid-range TVs' 20W systems.

The 30W speaker system with DTS-HD and DTS Virtual:X support produces adequate bass, strong highs, and clear vocals. You can experiment with various sound settings to fine-tune the audio to match the content you're watching on the 4K TV.

Xiaomi Smart TV X50 Hardware-Software Performance

The X50 is powered by a 64-bit Quad Core A55 processor and comes with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. In 2022, this particular hardware appears to be a little dated, and its effects are visible in day-to-day performance. Most apps load quickly, and UI navigation is generally fluid; however, the hardware struggles with heavier tasks such as 4K HDR YouTube streaming and multitasking.

Performance Could Have Been Better

The transition between the Android TV 10 platform and Xiaomi's Patchwall UI is generally sluggish. Even after switching the UI completely, we noticed some erratic screen glitches and delayed app loading times. An additional 1GB of RAM or 8GB of storage space could have solved the problem. I booted the X50 TV with a 4K streaming stick for a quick test run and noticed improved overall performance. The UI was much faster to respond, and the same panel did not struggle with 4K HDR streams.

Moving on, the X50 TV includes the well-known Xiaomi TV remote controller, which is one of the best-bundled TV remotes for an Android TV platform. The remote offers hotkeys to OTT apps, shortcuts, and most utility buttons for smooth UI navigation for a big-screen Android device.

Verdict

If you're looking for a low-cost 4K Smart TV that fully supports the OTT app ecosystem, the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 is a great option. It features a 4K panel with HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos support, making it an ideal affordable TV for buyers who have switched from cable TV networks to OTT platforms. The sound complements the picture quality, and the TV includes the most important wired and wireless connectivity features.

While the overall performance is satisfactory, Xiaomi should consider upgrading the underlying hardware to make its low-cost TVs more performance-driven. Despite some of the issues raised in the review, the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 remains an excellent value-for-money option for anyone looking to purchase a low-cost 4K Smart TV in 2022.