Review: TCL Q6

A good TV should never disappoint you. Whether you’re tuning in for a big game, racing losers online, or just streaming a show in the background, the picture should be clear and the content should be easy to access.

TCL’s latest mid-tier hero to accomplish this task is the Q6 (a replacement of sorts for last year’s 5-Series). It’s a solid TV in every way that matters, right down to its new Google operating system. Casting movies, photos, and apps from your phone to your screen is easier than ever, and you’ll still find nearly the same ease of use as you used to on the older Roku models.

As always, this is one of the best TVs for most people, especially if you don’t need the faster refresh rate of higher-end models for gaming. You can even choose between two positions for the TV’s included legs, which means it can fit on older, more svelte TV stands.

TCL Q6 remote.

Photograph: TCL

Besides a new remote that pairs with the new Google operating system (this one is more pill-shaped and longer), there isn’t much that tells you you’re looking at the latest era of TCL. The TV is still about 2 inches thick and thus easy to mount, and it still has super thin bezels on each side.

The biggest change is the aforementioned legs, which are nicer in the center position, though I’d still prefer a pedestal mount or to wall mount this TV if I bought it. It can be hard to fit a soundbar between the thinner leg sections (yes, you should have a soundbar).

Setup takes no time. Just sign in with Google and download every app that you’re interested in. There isn’t much that this doesn’t have. The one app I couldn’t find that I regularly use was F1 TV, but even that has Google Chromecast integration, so I was able to stream it from my computer or phone to the TV with ease.

The built-in Chromecast functionality finally puts TCL on par with fellow mid-tier TV brand Vizio with its Smartcast interface. It can’t be overstated how nice it is to quickly pull up stuff on a phone to watch it on TV, especially if you have friends and family over. All they need to do to cast to your TV is to connect to your Wi-Fi.

The downside of the new OS is that it can be a bit sluggish. I frequently found myself waiting for it to respond between app changes, occasionally making me a little confused whether I’d actually clicked on an app or was waiting for it to load.

If this lack of speed in the onboard OS bothers you, it’s an easy fix. Google, Roku, Amazon, and Apple all make excellent outboard streaming devices, and all of them worked great with this TV when I tested them in combination.

The TCL Q6.

Photograph: TCL

The new Q6 features a quantum-dot-enabled 4K panel with a direct LED backlighting system that gets pretty darn bright and offers solid black levels. This isn’t the panel I’d go for if I always turned off the lights to watch TV. You can upgrade to higher-end models like the QM8, or other brands like the Hisense U8H (review on the way soon) for mini-LED backlighting and better black levels, but the quantum dot panel does excellently with color.

The lack of a native 120-Hz refresh rate (you’ll have to upgrade to the TCL Q7 ($650) for this feature) won’t bother anyone who doesn’t regularly play video games or watch speedy sports. TCL's game mode can upscale 1080p content to look like 120 hz, and I played my Nintendo Switch and PC through the TV just fine. Don’t expect the buttery-smoothness you’ll get at native 120-Hz in 4K from a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X at maximum output.

One place you’ll definitely want to spend more money is on sound. As usual, the speakers onboard this TCL sound like utter trash. Lucky for us, the TV has HDMI eARC, which means it easily communicates with our favorite soundbars.

For the vast majority of content, this TV is both affordable and excellent-looking. Two years ago, a TV that looked this good would easily have cost twice the price, and it would have been worth it. We’re in a golden age of affordable screens. If I were shopping for an upgrade to a decade-old model, this thing would wipe the floor with it and not put a huge dent in my pocketbook. Especially if I were looking for a larger size—these can be had up to a wall-swallowing 85 inches.

Those who demand higher-end performance like perfect black levels, speedier loading times, or utterly invisible bezels might want to splash out more cash for a higher-end model. But for those of us who just want to binge-watch It’s Always Sunny until the writers’ strike is over, this model will absolutely do the job.

Updated August 23, 2023: We've clarified that this panel is a 60-Hz panel, but that TCL's game mode can use software to upscale 1080p content to 120-Hz.