This review is based on testing performed on the 55R646, the 55-inch model in the series. Apart from the screen-size difference, the $1,299.99 65-inch 65R646 is identical in features, and we expect similar performance.

TCL has consistently impressed us with its 6-Series TVs, which offer strong performance at reasonable prices. These TVs have all exclusively run on the Roku TV platform, which is an accessible and simple interface, but not the most feature-heavy one. Now TCL offers an alternative in the form of its Google TV 4K 6-Series TVs. They’re priced around same as the Roku TV 4K 6-Series models (the 55-inch 55R646 we tested retails for $949.99), and offer strong app and service support, Google Cast screen mirroring, and hands-free Google Assistant (though they give up the Apple AirPlay support included in Roku TV). And they seem to pack a few engineering improvements over the Roku models, with stronger contrast performance and lower input lag. The Hisense U8G series is brighter, but otherwise TCL's Google TV 6-Series packs the same excellent features for about the same price, earning our Editors' Choice award alongside the Hisense model.

Before we continue, it's worth noting that TCL temporarily pulled its Google TV models from retail channels in response to reports of software instability. We didn't experience this issue in testing, and now that TCL has released a software update for the affected models, they're once again available at retail.

Stylish and Streamlined

Physically, the Google-based 55R646 is nearly identical to the Roku-based55R635. The screen is framed by the same thin band of brushed metal that runs along the sides and top, with the same strip along the bottom edge that holds a chrome TCL logo in the middle. It also sits on very similar V-shaped gunmetal legs, although they're slightly lower and have prominent rubber feet. The big indication that this is the Google TV model and not the Roku model is the rectangular, dark gray, fabric-covered protrusion that sits on the underside of the TV. This is the far-field mic array, which provides hands-free access to Google Assistant.

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The power cable plugs into the left side of the back of the TV, with all other connectors sitting on the right side, facing right. They include four HDMI ports (two 4K120, one eARC), two USB ports, a 3.5mm composite video input, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an optical audio output, an Ethernet port, and an antenna/cable connector. Below the ports sits a combination power/input button and a switch to turn off the far-field microphone.

The remote is a long, thin, rectangular black wand with pleasantly rounded edges. A large, circular gray navigation pad is placed near the top, with power, settings, and Google Assistant buttons above it, along with a pinhole microphone. Menu buttons sit below the pad, with dedicated app buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, TCL Channel, and YouTube below them. The right edge of the remote holds a volume rocker and mute button.

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Powered by Google

While most of TCL’s smart TVs use the Roku TV platform, the 55R646 uses Google TV for its interface. Google TV is a streamlined version of the Android TV platform on Hisense TVs, retaining all of its features, with a menu system that’s more content-focused than primarily driven by app selection. All of the big names in streaming are available, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. Google TV also supports Google Cast for mirroring your Android smartphone or tablet, or Chrome browser tab from a computer, though it doesn’t support Apple AirPlay like Roku TVs do (Roku TVs don’t support Google Cast, however).

Google TV also provides full access to the Google Assistant voice assistant, which you can use by simply saying “Hey Google,” thanks to the far-field microphone array built into the 55R646. This is a welcome trend pushed by some Hisense and Sony TVs in the last few years, before which voice assistant integration almost exclusively required talking into the remote. And, if you’re uncomfortable with a microphone always listening for the wake phrase, you can simply disable the mic with the switch on the back.

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Google Assistant remains a very capable voice assistant, able to answer general questions like weather and sports scores, search for content to watch, and directly control both the TV itself and any compatible smart home devices. It can be extremely useful, especially with hands-free voice control.

Terrific Contrast and Color

The TCL 55R646 is a 4K TV with a 120Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and hybrid log gamma (HLG).

We test TVs using a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software using methodology based on Imaging Science Foundation’s calibration techniques.

Like many TVs, the 55R646 has an adaptive mode that attempts to automatically adjust picture settings based on what’s being shown. This mode is automatically enabled and applies on top of whatever picture mode you're using. We recommend turning this feature off when watching movies, to get the most accurate picture based on the director’s intent, and disable them ourselves when performing our tests.

The 55R646’s mini LED backlight array seems superior to the 55R635’s, able to get both brighter and darker. In Movie mode, using an SDR signal, we measured 750.469cd/m^2 peak brightness with a full-screen white field and 969.671cd/m^2 with an 18% white field, with a black level of just 0.002cd/m^2. An HDR signal can make the TV get even brighter, showing 922.681cd/m^2 with a full-screen field and 1,189.194cd/m^2 with an 18% field while keeping the same 0.002cd/m^2 black level, for a contrast ratio of 594,597:1.

At this point, black levels around 0.002cd/m^2 and below can be seen as registering any ambient light nearby more than the black section of screen being measured, which means LED TVs capable of these numbers are effectively getting nearly as dark as OLED TVs like the LG C1P. This is mostly due to advances in LED backlight arrays that use more and more LED zones that can be individually dimmed and brightened, providing high contrast levels and getting much brighter than OLED panels in the process. This doesn’t mean the technology completely surpasses OLED, though; since LED zones light up sections of the screen and not individual pixels, light bloom can appear when very bright objects are shown right next to very dark ones. We noticed little light bloom on the 55R646, but it’s still a factor that OLED TVs will win on as long as the pixels on a screen significantly outnumber the individual LEDs lighting them.

The Hisense U8G series gets much brighter at 1,763.368cd/m^2 with an HDR signal and an 18% white field, but its contrast level is lower at (a still very impressive) 88,168:1 because of its 0.02cd/m^2 black level. And the TCL Roku TV 6-Series lags behind both with a 1,114.897cd/m^2 peak brightness, a 0.015cd/m^2 black level, and a 74,326:1 contrast ratio. OLED TVs like the LG C1P don’t have a technically measurable contrast ratio because of the perfect black levels their panel technology can display.

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The above chart shows the 55R646’s color levels in Movie mode with an SDR signal compared against Rec.709 broadcast standards and with an HDR signal compared against DCI-P3 digital cinema standards. The 55R646 performs fantastically here, with accurate whites and balanced colors in both SDR and HDR. The SDR picture is nearly perfect out of the box, with slightly undersaturated greens, and yellows and magentas being just a touch warm, as the only (very minor) complaints. The HDR picture is also excellent, covering nearly the entire DCI-P3 color space despite somewhat undersaturated greens and yellows. The colors are all properly balanced and not significantly skewed in any direction besides cyans running just a tad green, with blues, magentas, reds, and yellows all spot-on.

BBC’s Planet Earth II looks excellent on the 55R646. The greens of plants and blues of water both look vivid and natural, with plenty of subtle variety in the colors. Fine details like fur and bark look sharp, both when brightly lit by direct sunlight and in shade.

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Deadpool is similarly impressive on the 55R646, with the red of Deadpool’s costume looking vibrant and accurate in the overcast early scenes of the film. The flames in the burning lab fight appear bright and stand out, while shadow details in the same frame are still visible without looking washed out.

The party scenes in The Great Gatsby show off the 55R646’s excellent contrast. The cuts and contours of black suits can be clearly seen and still look dark even with the bright whites of balloons, lights, and shirts in the same frame. Skin tones look natural against the stark blacks and whites, and various splashes of color in the scenes pop out nicely.

Strong Gaming Performance, Light on Gaming Features

The 55R646 is a 120Hz TV that supports variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM), which should please gamers. However, it doesn’t have AMD FreeSync like the Hisense U7G and U8G, or Nvidia G-Sync like the LG C1P has (along with FreeSync), which is something to keep in mind if you want to connect a PC to it.

Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, we measured an input lag of 8.1 milliseconds in Game mode. This means the 55R646 is faster than our 10ms threshold to consider a TV to be among the best for gaming. The TCL Roku TV 4K 6-Series is slower at 21.4ms, while the Hisense U8G is a tiny bit faster at 7.9ms. Make sure the TV is in Game mode when you want to play anything, however; in Movie mode input lag jumps to 119.1ms.