TCL QM7L Mini-LED TV Matches OLED Quality, Wired Review Finds

TCL's QM7L mini-LED television, priced at $1,500 and tested at the 55-inch size, earned an 8-out-of-10 rating from Wired reviewer Rick Broida, who found its color and black levels close enough to OLED that a casual viewer would struggle to tell the difference, according to Wired's review.

The set is sold in sizes from 55 inches up to 98 inches, Wired reports. At the time of the review, the TV's $1,500 list price had dropped to $898 at Amazon and $900 at Best Buy, per the retailer prices listed in the piece.

How did Wired's testing process unfold

Broida's evaluation moved through distinct stages, each surfacing a different verdict on the set.

Setup. The reviewer scanned an onscreen QR code with the Google Home app, signed into an account, selected a Wi-Fi network, and waited for a software update before the TV was ready to use, Wired reports. Broida called the process "largely a breeze," even testing it from an iPhone rather than an Android device.

Side-by-side comparison. The QM7L arrived around the same time as a new budget OLED, the Roku Pro Series, letting Broida compare the two directly. He called the results "surprising," concluding the mini-LED set could pass for a lower-end OLED to "the untrained eye, or even a reasonably trained one," per Wired.

Pedestal assembly. Before testing could begin, Broida had to build the TV's stand — a process he described as "kind of a pain," citing eight small screws connecting the riser to the base, four more screws attaching the riser to the TV, and confusion over which of 10 mounting holes to use, according to the review.

Final scoring. Wired landed on an 8/10, writing that the QM7L "might just be the best midrange TV you can buy right now."

How close is the picture quality to OLED

Wired's pros list for the QM7L leads with picture performance: "Amazingly good color and black levels, very close to OLED quality," the review states. The set also ships with Bang & Olufsen speakers that Broida said "sound better than most" built-in TV audio.

One setup note affects picture out of the box: the review's cons list states the TV "arrives with motion-smoothing enabled," a setting many viewers disable manually for a more film-like image.

What problems come with the pedestal stand

The QM7L swaps the usual pair of feet for a single, nearly borderless pedestal base — a design Broida said suits narrow furniture and looks more polished. But the base protrudes more than 4 inches in front of the screen, which means a soundbar cannot sit flush against it, Wired reports.

"Because the pedestal base sticks out in front by a little over 4 inches, it doesn't allow a soundbar to sit snug up to the screen," the review states. Balancing a soundbar on top of the sloped base leaves it sitting unevenly, per Wired.

The stand offers two height settings. Even at the taller setting, the TV's bottom edge sits just 2.25 inches off the furniture below it, Wired reports — enough clearance for an ultra-compact model like the Bose TV Speaker, but not for the 3-inch-tall Sonos Arc, which ends up blocking part of the screen.

"The QM7L might just be the best midrange TV you can buy right now." — Rick Broida, Wired

How does the remote and Google TV smart platform perform

Wired's pros list credits the remote for being backlit, though the review separately calls the remote itself "unremarkable" and notes it "has sharp edges." On the software side, the set runs Google's smart-TV platform with Google Gemini built in; Wired's cons list says Gemini "needs a little more usability and hands-free control," without further detail on specific failures.

What shoppers should watch for before buying

• Measure soundbar height against the QM7L's 2.25-inch maximum ground clearance before assuming a flush fit.
• Plan for assembly time: the pedestal requires 12 total screws and correct alignment among 10 mounting holes, per Wired.
• Expect motion smoothing turned on by default and plan to adjust picture settings after setup.
• Compare the $1,500 list price against the $898 Amazon and $900 Best Buy prices Wired found at review time, since mini-LED and OLED pricing both shift seasonally.
• Wall-mounting sidesteps the pedestal's footprint issue entirely, according to the review.