Hisense Slashes UR9 RGB LED TV Price by Over 40% on Launch Day
The premium TV market just got a lot more interesting. Hisense has dramatically dropped the price of its UR9 — the first RGB LED television to hit shelves in 2026 — by more than 40 percent, and the cut landed almost immediately after early reviews went live.
When the UR9 was first announced, its pricing raised eyebrows across the tech world. At $3,500 for the 65-inch model, it cost more than flagship OLED sets from LG and Samsung — a tough pill to swallow when OLED still delivers superior contrast and true black levels. The value proposition simply wasn't there.
The New Numbers
Hisense has since restructured pricing across the UR9 lineup:
- 65-inch UR9: $1,999 (down from $3,500)
- 75-inch UR9: $2,999
- 85-inch UR9: $3,999
That works out to between $1,500 and $2,000 off, depending on screen size. A price for the 100-inch model hasn't been updated yet.
The timing is striking: The Verge published its UR9 review identifying price as the TV's biggest weakness — and Hisense moved within two days.
What Is RGB LED?
RGB LED is a display technology that replaces the conventional white LED backlights found in most LCD TVs with separate red, green, and blue LEDs. The goal is a wider colour gamut and more accurate hues by generating each colour at the source rather than filtering white light through colour panels.
On paper, it's a meaningful step up from standard LED LCD. In practice, reviewers have found it impressive for colour volume and peak brightness — but not at the level of OLED, which controls lighting pixel by pixel for infinite contrast and true blacks. RGB LED occupies an interesting middle ground: better than conventional LCD, but still limited by the physics of a backlit panel.
A Market That's Heating Up Fast
Hisense won't be alone in this space for long. Samsung has already unveiled pricing for its own flagship R95H RGB LED TV, injecting more competition into a segment that barely existed commercially a year ago.
For buyers who want maximum brightness — useful in sun-drenched living rooms where OLED's strengths count for less — or who've been priced out of premium OLED sets, the revised UR9 numbers make a far more compelling argument than launch day suggested.
Whether Hisense's rapid course-correction reflects confidence in the technology or a response to critical reception, the end result is more choice at more realistic price points for consumers shopping the upper end of the TV market.
Source: The Verge
