Hisense 43A4K 43 inch TV: In-Depth Review and Customer Opinions

The Hisense 43A4K is a new 2022 model 4K Ultra HD smart TV with Google TV interface. This 43-inch TV is aimed at budget-conscious buyers looking for a medium-sized screen with decent features without breaking the bank.

Hisense is becoming a popular brand in the US for its value TVs that aim to provide good specifications and performance at relatively affordable pricing. The 43A4K is one of their latest lineup featuring Google's smart TV platform with built-in Google Assistant.

With its minimalist design, 4K resolution panel, HDR support, and smart TV features, the 43A4K hopes to compete with other mid-range 43-inch smart TV offerings. Its affordable price point could make it enticing for dorm rooms, kids' rooms, secondary bedrooms, or anywhere a decent-sized screen is desired without too many bells and whistles.

Design

The Hisense 43A4K has an attractive, modern design with slim bezels and a sturdy stand. At 42.5 x 27.7 x 8 inches, it has a more compact footprint than many 43-inch TVs, making it a good option for smaller rooms.

Despite the large screen size, the 43A4K weighs just 19.8 pounds without the stand. This makes it relatively easy to lift and install. The included stand has a rectangular base with gently curved corners. It provides sturdy support for the TV and allows for basic swivel adjustments to reduce glare.

The bezels surrounding the display are impressively thin, just 0.4 inches on the sides and top. This creates a streamlined, contemporary aesthetic and allows more of the front panel to be dedicated to the screen. There is a small Hisense logo located at the bottom bezel.

Overall, the clean lines and slim frame give the 43A4K an understated yet elegant look. The lightweight build and flexibility of the stand add to the convenience for setup and viewing.

The design of the Hisense 43A4K is well-suited for modern living rooms and apartments where space is at a premium. Its compact footprint takes up less surface area than bulkier 43-inch models. The minimalist styling also allows it to blend in seamlessly with a variety of decor styles.

For a comparable 43-inch TV with a sleek, contemporary design, consider the VIZIO M43Q6-J04. Like the Hisense 43A4K, the M43Q6-J04 has very narrow bezels for an immersive viewing experience. It measures just 38.1 x 22.5 x 3 inches without the stand, making it slimmer overall.

The VIZIO uses a central pedestal stand with a small footprint. This stand provides stability while taking up less space on a TV console or table. The aluminum frame and smooth black finish give the M43Q6-J04 a premium, high-end look.

When it comes to design aesthetics, both the Hisense 43A4K and VIZIO M43Q6-J04 are attractive options. The VIZIO has a bit more flair with its ultra-thin profile and polished stand. But the Hisense is not far behind with its minimalist styling and compact sizing.

Ultimately, buyers should consider which design best fits their room size and decor. The streamlined builds of both models allow them to blend in well without dominating a space visually. Their slim frames also draw attention to the screen and not the television itself.

Display

The Hisense 43A4K features a 43-inch 4K UHD display with a 3840 x 2160 resolution, providing stunning image clarity and immersive viewing.

Panel Type

It uses an LED-backlit LCD panel, which allows for a slimmer design compared to traditional CCFL backlighting. The LED backlight delivers vibrant colors and deep blacks. The LED backlighting provides better brightness uniformity across the screen compared to CCFL backlights.

Resolution & Image Quality

With over 8 million pixels, the 4K resolution offers 4x the detail of 1080p Full HD, resulting in sharper, crisper images. Fine details in textures, patterns and foliage look realistic. The higher resolution also minimizes pixelation and banding effects. The increased resolution makes the 4K panel well-suited for larger screen sizes where lower resolutions would look pixelated. It also future-proofs the TV for 4K content.

Brightness

The 43A4K has a peak brightness of 300 nits. While not the brightest display, it provides sufficient brightness for most well-lit viewing environments. The anti-glare coating helps to diffuse reflections. 300 nits is a typical brightness level for mid-range 4K TVs, allowing you to watch comfortably in rooms with moderate ambient lighting. Very bright living rooms may require a bit more brightness.

Viewing Angles

It has horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 178°, allowing viewers to see the display clearly from almost any angle in the room without color shifting or degradation. The whole family can enjoy the picture quality no matter where they are seated. The wide viewing angles prevent the image from washing out when viewed off-center, which can be an issue on cheaper panels.

If you're looking for a slightly smaller 43-inch 4K TV alternative, check out the INSIGNIA NS-43F301NA22. It features a 43-inch 4K UHD display with HDR support. While not as bright at 250 nits peak, it includes voice control via Amazon Alexa. The NS-43F301NA22 also has a 60Hz refresh rate and 3 HDMI inputs. Overall a solid budget option if you want to save a little money over the Hisense model.

Smart Features

The Hisense 43A4K comes loaded with smart features to enhance your viewing experience. It runs on the user-friendly Android TV operating system, giving you access to hundreds of apps on the Google Play store. You can download popular streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and more to access a huge library of movies, shows, and other content.

For voice controls, the TV has built-in Google Assistant. You can use your voice to search for content, control playback, adjust settings, ask questions, and more. Google Assistant can understand natural language voice commands and provide accurate results. This makes it easy and intuitive to find what you want to watch or change settings hands-free.

Some other handy smart features include Chromecast built-in for wirelessly casting content from your mobile device to the big screen. There's also Bluetooth connectivity so you can pair wireless headphones or speakers. The TV also works with Google Home for expanded voice control options. Overall, the stellar smart features and Android TV OS make this a great smart TV option.

Audio Quality

The Hisense 43A4K comes equipped with decent audio performance. It has 2 speakers with a total sound output of 20W. While the max volume is sufficiently loud to fill a medium-sized room, the overall audio quality is just average.

The speakers deliver clear dialogue and vocals. But the bass is weak, so explosions and action sequences lack punch and immersiveness. The soundstage also feels narrow and constrained.

For audio formats, it supports Dolby Audio. There are different sound modes like Theater and Sports to tweak the audio performance, but they don't make a significant difference.

Overall, the speakers get the job done for everyday TV watching. But for a truly cinematic experience, connecting an external soundbar or speaker system is recommended. Audiophiles will likely be disappointed with the mediocre built-in speakers.

Ports & Connectivity

The Hisense 43A4K offers a decent selection of ports and connectivity options. On the back of the TV you'll find:

• 3 HDMI ports - The HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1 and HDCP 2.2. This allows you to connect devices like Blu-ray players, game consoles, streaming sticks etc. in 4K resolution at up to 120Hz refresh rates.

• 2 USB ports - The USB ports allow you to connect hard drives, flash drives or other USB devices. You can play media files directly from USB or record live TV onto a storage device.

• 1 Ethernet port - For connecting to your home network via a wired connection. This can provide faster and more reliable internet speeds compared to WiFi.

• Built-in WiFi - The 43A4K has built-in dual band WiFi supporting the latest 802.11ac standard. It connects easily to your wireless network for smart features and streaming.

• Bluetooth - Bluetooth is also built-in allowing you to pair wireless headphones, speakers or other Bluetooth devices.

The port selection covers most needs for connecting media devices, gaming consoles, soundbars etc. The HDMI 2.1 support is great for next-gen gaming while built-in WiFi provides flexibility.

Remote Control

The Hisense 43A4K comes with a sleek and simple remote control that makes navigating the TV's menus and settings easy and intuitive. The remote is slim and lightweight for comfortable handling.

The most frequently used buttons like power, volume, channel change, and input selection are all located at the center for easy access. There's also dedicated Netflix and YouTube buttons to quickly launch those apps.

Voice control is also built into the remote through Google Assistant. You can press the Google Assistant button and speak voice commands to launch apps, search for content, control smart home devices, and more. This allows you to control the TV without having to constantly press buttons.

The remote has a minimalist design with just essential buttons to prevent button clutter. For more advanced controls like picture settings, you can access them through the settings menu.

Finding the remote is easy since it has a dedicated button on the TV that makes the remote beep when pressed. There's also a Google Assistant voice command that says "Ok Google, find my remote" that triggers the beeping to help locate a lost remote.

Overall, the remote is intuitive and easy to use for core functions while also providing quick access to smart features through Google Assistant. The voice control and remote finder button are handy inclusions.

Performance

The Hisense 43A4K delivers good overall performance for its price range.

Picture Quality

The 4K LED display produces a vibrant and colorful picture with reasonably good contrast. Colors are rich and vivid thanks to the Wide Color Gamut, although black levels could be deeper. While not the brightest panel, it gets sufficiently bright for most well-lit rooms. The image retains its quality even when viewed at an angle.

Motion Handling

The fast response time results in minimal motion blur for fast-moving scenes and gaming. The 60Hz refresh rate keeps the motion looking smooth for most content, although a higher 120Hz refresh rate would be better for sports and gaming.

Upscaling

Lower resolution content like HD is upscaled well to match the 4K resolution. The AI upscaling does a decent job at reducing noise and enhancing quality. There are some minor artifacts visible in highly complex upscaling, but not too bothersome.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Very affordable 43-inch 4K TV with good picture quality
• Runs on Android TV platform for easy access to apps and streaming services
• Built-in Google Assistant allows voice control and smart home integration
• Compatible with Alexa and Google Home devices for expanded voice control
• Decent motion handling and low input lag make it suitable for gaming
• Includes 3 HDMI ports for connecting multiple devices

Cons

• Picture quality could be better - only decent contrast and black levels
• Sound quality from the speakers is subpar
• Lacks advanced gaming features like VRR and ALLM
• Mediocre viewing angles - image degrades at wider angles
• No Bluetooth connectivity

Alternatives

• TCL 43S435 - Very similar Roku TV model but with slightly better picture quality for a similar price
• Amazon Fire TV 43" Omni Series - Alexa built-in instead of Google Assistant, slightly better black levels
• Hisense U6H - Step-up model with much better contrast, brightness, and viewing angles but costs more
• Vizio V-Series 43" - Another affordable option with better motion handling for gaming

Verdict

The Hisense 43A4K is a reasonably priced 43-inch 4K TV that offers good overall performance for most everyday needs. The design is fairly basic but the bezels are slim and should look nice in most settings.

The 4K resolution and HDR support allow for crisp, detailed images, though brightness could be better for HDR content. Motion handling is also just adequate and could use some improvement. The built-in Google TV interface provides easy access to popular apps and services. Voice control works well for searching and controlling TV functions.

For sound, the speakers get reasonably loud but lack bass and sound somewhat hollow. Using a soundbar would be recommended for a more impactful audio experience. Connectivity covers the essentials with 3 HDMI inputs but no analog video input.

Overall, if you want a budget-friendly 43-inch 4K TV with smart features and adequate picture quality, the Hisense 43A4K is a decent option. More discerning users may want to spend a little more for better motion handling, HDR brightness, and audio. But for basic everyday TV viewing in a secondary room, the Hisense 43A4K gets the job done without breaking the bank.