Xiaomi Smart TV 5A 43 Review: Stellar combo of style, features, value

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Back in 2019, I had a budget of Rs. 25,000 to buy my first TV and I blindly went for Xiaomi’s Mi TV 4X 4K 43-inch model. It was a great deal for the time and it fulfilled two of my major needs — 4K resolution and Android TV experience. Three years since then and the world has changed. For a budget of Rs. 25,000, the best you can get from the big brands is a Full HD TV, while smaller brands are offering 4K TVs with bloated Android TV systems. And Xiaomi now has a new alternative to offer in its already varied range of Redmi and Xiaomi TVs, called the Xiaomi Smart TV 5A 43.

The Xiaomi Smart TV 5A 43 offers a stellar combo of style, features and value. It costs Rs. 25,999 and is offering some of the most desired features in the affordable Smart TV category. It got a slim bezel design, more RAM and storage, and Xiaomi’s own PatchWall UI in its fourth iteration. But the market is full of similar products from Realme, Samsung, and Sony, and if you have got that amount of money to spend on a smart TV, should you pick this up?

To find out, I swapped my trusty old smart TV with this one for a few weeks and this is all you need to know.

Going with the norms of the segment, the Xiaomi Smart TV 5A gets the new bezel-less design that we have seen on some high-end TVs previously. The bezels are there but the TV masks its bulk nicely, despite the stubby chin at the bottom. And this one has got the new “Xiaomi” logo above the white LED status light. The fit and finish feels premium, which is rare for a smart TV in this price range. However, the glossy finish is a dust magnet and in the dusty ambience of Noida, keeping this TV spotlessly clean is a task.

The rear of the TV is bloated like the TVs of the old days, and the port access isn’t