The TV manufacturer has recently launched some new screens in the Mini LED spectrum. Both the new QM8L and QM7L offer attractive specifications compared to previous TCL TVs – 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, more dimming zones and higher potential brightness. They promise to deliver even more Google Gemini AI features inside your home entertainment center. Why anyone would want to play ugly AI-generated videos on their TV via Google’s Veo model (available via a future update) is beyond me.
There are a few things that make these new TVs different. The most obvious thing is in the numbers. Both TVs are smaller than the flagship X11L launched at CES 2026. The QM8L, with its 4K resolution and 144Hz refresh rate, promises 4,000 discrete local dimming zones. It is believed to provide better contrast and highlights for HDR (high dynamic range) content compared to the previous generation QM8K. Sure, the X11L claims to use 20,000 discrete dimming zones, but the QM8L starts at $2,500 at 65 inches. The smallest, the X11L, at 75 inches costs $7,000.
Both the QM8L and QM7L can hit the full BT.2020 color gamut. It’s one of those things that makes more sense on paper than in real life. These screens are built on TCL’s advanced “Super Quantum Dots” or SQD, an upgrade to previous quantum dot technology with better brightness and better colors.
If you’re looking for something even cheaper, the QM7L starts at $1,200 for the 55-inch model. One thing to keep in mind is that 4K TVs have a less-powerful chip that doesn’t support the advanced Dolby Vision 2 Max HDR standard. Dolby Vision 2 can deliver better HDR content that is more in line with what you are watching. The QM8K supports Vision 2, but you’ll have to wait for an OTA (over the air) update to add it. While Dolby Vision 2 content will be sparse at launch, TCL promised that all first-generation Dolby Vision content should be enhanced on these new TVs.
Why TCL would want you to buy an SQD screen
TCL also has a new RGB-mini LED TV—the RM9L—that will compete with micro RGB TVs from companies like Samsung. But you should ignore it. That’s not what I’m saying; TCL itself is claiming that the company’s SQD TVs are better and more cost-effective for the average buyer.
From Hisense to Samsung to LG, everyone has their own variety of RGB TV. These TVs rely on tiny LEDs that are capable of displaying red, green and blue light independently. RGB display technology is designed similarly to Mini LED, but it offers a new way of presenting color on the screen. A mini LED uses a bottom layer of slightly larger white LEDs to illuminate different parts of the panel before adding color. The Quantum Dots layer enhances colors to appear more vibrant.
While TCL claims its first RGB-Mini LED TV looks the best, the company is adamant that the screen type hides a number of shortcomings. One is “color crosstalk”, where light from red, green and blue light can overlap, potentially resulting in false color. TCL estimates that you may get worse blooming control than a Mini LED screen with more dimming zones – where white color spills over to the darker edges of the screen. Personally, TCL’s RM9L is no slouch. It produces a great picture, with sharp scenes, minimal halos and blooming, and some relatively deep blacks (though not as deep as OLED).
I asked TCL pointedly where it saw its RGB-Mini LED TV line up with the rest of its Mini LED lineup. While the 85-inch model of the RM9L costs $8,000 – its smallest size – Scott Ramirez, TCL vice president of product planning, said the QM8L can provide “comparable” picture quality for only $4,000 for the same size.
“If we didn’t create RGB and we only had SQD, and we said SQD was better, what would people think?” Ramirez explained. “We said, ‘We’re not going to do that.’ We’re going to make better RGB than other people’s RGB, but then we’re going to make something even better, which is X11L.
Gemini is here too
That doesn’t mean TCL thinks its RGB TVs are bad by any standard. If you saw both the flagship X11L and RM9L showing the same content, you would have to squint to see any difference in quality. It’s only when certain scenes come up, such as pure white flowers on a black background, that you can tell there’s a difference in terms of raw brightness. The flagship Mini LED X11L manages a peak brightness of 10,000 nits. The brightness of the RGB-Mini LED RM9L is just under 6,000 nits.
Even though TCL tells you to ignore your RGB TV, you should also ignore the AI. Lifeless Google Veo video content is already redundant. In an upcoming software update, users will be able to ask to change the picture settings for the new TCL TV using Google Gemini. If you want a better picture for games, the TV may change its display settings or change gamma and other values to boost image quality.
Jameson Brettle, product manager for the Google TV group, told me that TVs should be able to turn off motion smoothing on command. Soon, you won’t have to dig into system settings to eliminate the “soap opera” effect on your parents’ next TV.
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