I write about TVs for a living and it blows my mind that you can get an 85in QLED TV for under £1,000 this Black Friday
You won’t find a better-specced and more affordable 85in TV than the TCL C655K this Black Friday – though there’s a small catch
Massive screen sizes have been the big TV trend of 2024, with Chinese brands TCL and Hisense spearheading an industry-wide move towards manufacturers offering enormous options across their ranges.
Many people will struggle to fit anything larger than 65in into their house or flat but if you do have the space, the price of super-sized TVs isn’t nearly as much of a limiting factor as it used to be.
We’ve come so far that you can pick up an 85in TV with a quantum dot panel and support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for just £949 this Black Friday. The TV in question is the TCL C655K, which our TV expert John Archer has freshly reviewed, and has been discounted from £1,068.
The C655K supports all four high dynamic range formats – HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – has Freeview Play and countless streaming services available, is powered by an AI-informed processor, has three HDMI 2.1 ports and supports gaming at 120Hz, despite having a native refresh rate of 60Hz.
It does this using TCL’s Game Accelerator technology, which delivers a credible higher frame rate experience, albeit by compromising resolution. A lightning-fast input lag of under 10ms ensures gaming at 60Hz is super smooth and the dedicated Game Master menu is a handy tool for customising your gaming experience.
In addition to its top-notch gaming functionality, the TCL C655K offers far better audio than you’d expect given how much it costs. Its 2.1-channel Onkyo system delivers a healthy helping of bass, clear dialogue and open, expansive sound, though you may still want to buy a soundbar for a truly immersive home cinema experience.
Unfortunately, the TCL C655K didn’t quite live up to expectations on the picture quality front, with disappointing contrast and some backlight smudging visible during camera pans. But even then, you’re getting a hell of a lot of TV for your money.
Is it the best TV around? Far from it. But if size really matters to you and you’re trying to spend as little as possible, the 85in C655K is hard to resist at this frankly outrageous price. And if you’re looking for something even cheaper but slightly older, you’ll want to consider the 85in C645K, which is last year’s model. That one is £100 cheaper at £898.
For more of our favourite Black Friday TV deals, head on over to my live blog, and for offers across the full spectrum of product categories, check out our Black Friday hub.
