T E S T E D H U AW E I V I S I O N S 6 5 I N
Adjust a little During setup there are eight picture presets and six EQ sound presets to play with – but the differences are
Channel dropper Ooh, Huawei is making affordable TVs… but with no tuners to receive broadcasts, are you ready for the streaming-only life? Rtba / consumer.huawei.com ■ The Vision S looks like every other 65in flatscreen TV. The bezels are slim, as are the metal feet – which are very far apart, so your surface will need to be wide as well. The build is very plastic, but well put together. ■ The key here is what’s missing: there are no tuners, so strictly speaking this isn’t a TV, it’s a gigantic monitor. Well, given how we consume content now, perhaps a smart streaming platform is the way to go? ■ This is an edge-lit 4K LED 120Hz screen, with support for HLG and HDR10 HDR, but no HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. A magnetic housing at the top houses a 13MP camera for MeeTime video calls to other Android devices, while four 10W drivers provide the audio. ■ Colours are decent, with clean whites and relatively deep blacks. It controls its backlighting zones well and the detail levels are reasonably high. There’s some shimmering in extremis, but by the standards of big affordable televisions the Huawei does well. ■ It’s nothing like as assured where motion is concerned, working awfully hard with less than confident results. Stepping down from 4K to Full HD, motion difficulties are emphasised and images inevitably softened, but detail and colours remain solid. And as far as sound goes, it completely outperforms its price-point.
■ Key to the Huawei
Huawei has worked hard on its Harmony OS, and it’s certainly clean and logical. It seems likely a final version is in the offing and will be more extensive – let’s hope it doesn’t lose the simple slickness of the version we tested.
■ You make loving phone
The remote is small and nicely shaped, with a bare minimum of buttons. One of them wakes a mic for rapid, reliable voice control, while NFC means Huawei phones can stream content without being on the same network.
Tech specs Screen 65in 3840x2160 120Hz LED OS Harmony OS 2 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 3x HDMI 2.0, USB, 3.5mm audio Dimensions 1449x837x72mm, 19.5kg
STUFF SAYS An impressive opening salvo from Huawei… but it’s not a television ★★★✩✩
One small step on the road to a future where all TV is streamed 56
We’re still awaiting final specs for the Vision S, so obviously a lot depends on how strong they turn out to be… but if you want an actual television, well, this Huawei screen isn’t for you. Still, as the company’s first serious attempt at a big screen at a keen price (which isn’t final just yet), with a bespoke operating system and an impressive audio system, the Vision S is ominous. But, you know, in a good way.
