An interminable pandemic has meant more people are avoiding movie theatres, what with their sticky floors and… other people, and turning instead to jumbo-sized home entertainment options in the comfort of their own living rooms. In that spirit, TCL has announced that it will continue to focus on a bigger-is-better approach for buyers in 2022 with its XL Collection of TVs.
A range of TVs that all exceed 80 inches, the biggest (and arguably most exciting) offering from the XL Collection is a 98-inch QLED TV, the TCL C735, which is available now for a cool $US8,000 ($11,131) — a price that beats out similar 98-inch TVs from competitors like Samsung and makes immersive, cinema-style home entertainment more accessible than ever before. (If you have $US8,000 ($11,131) to drop on upgrading a TV, that is.)
TCL Senior Vice President Chris Larson said the company’s big TVs — 60 inches and up — made up 25% of its TVs sold in North America last year, so clearly people are upgrading their homes with more cinematic options.
TVs in the XL Collection use TCL’s mini-LED display tech, which the brand first introduced in a TV three years ago under the “Quantum Contrast” marketing name. TCL’s third-gen mini-LED tech is baked into the new 85-inch 8K QLED X925pro, which is set to feature the company’s OD Zero mini-LED display tech for enhanced image depth and precision contrast.
TCL has long been known for its well-priced, high-tech TVs, and these giant new offerings are likely no exception. Though the company has struggled with software issues in recent months, pulling its 5-series and 6-series Google TV models from Best Buy shelves due to quality, the company’s 4K TVs are usually well-reviewed.
Much to the dismay of everyone on Earth, the pandemic might not be ending anytime soon, but at least the experience of a never-ending quarantine is forcing brands to innovate on new technologies designed to bring the outside world inside to us.