Hisense 32A4GTUK review: one of the best cheap 32-inch TVs right now

If you’re on the hunt for one of the best 32inch TVs and you're on a tight budget then this Hisense 32A4GTUK review could be a good place to start. It's not the best 32inch TV you'll find but considering the price it'll give you a great viewing experience overall as well as plenty of smart features to make watching your favourite shows quick and easy.  

Before we get stuck in, it’s worth pointing out that when you’re looking to spend so little on a TV you’re unlikely to be blown away by it. None of the options out there will match up to the best TV you can buy but some can deliver solid HD performance paired with loud, clear audio.

An affordable 32-inch television set will work well in a small living room, bedroom or kitchen but if you want something for a large living room then you may want to look elsewhere. Take a look at T3's guide to the best TV under £500 to see more options of all sizes. 

In this Hisense 32A4GTUK review, I’ll go through everything you need to know to make your decision - from its features, picture and sound quality to its design and usability. 

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: price and features 

Available now from a number of UK retailers, the Hisense 32A4GTUK will set you back around £209, you won't find it in the US or Australia at the moment.

The widgets on this page will provide you with more recent pricing information. 

This is a 32inch HD TV set with the Vidaa U user interface built-in so you can stream TV shows and movies from both streaming and catch up services without an extra piece of kit. Plus, it has the Alexa smart assistant which means it can be easily integrated with the rest of your smart home. 

In terms of connectivity, the Hisense 32A4GTUK has 2 HDMI 2.0 ports - one of which is eARC to connect it to a seperate sound system, check out this guide to the best soundbars to see a variety of options at all kinds of prices. You'll also get 1 x composite input, 1 x USB 3.0 and 1 x USB 2.0. There’s also an optical audio output as well as 3.5mm audio. 

DTS Virtual X should give you immersive sound while the natural colour enhancer optimises colour reproduction to deliver a more accurate experience. 

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: picture quality 

With an LED-backlit screen and an HD resolution of 1366 × 768p, the Hisense 32A4GTUK has decent picture quality, even though it is far from being the best you can get on a 32inch TV. 

Considering how cheap this TV is, the screen has bright colours and deep, dark blacks. Unlike some other affordable TVs, the colours aren’t overexaggerated nor are they too dulled out so you actually get a great experience across movies and live TV. Having said that you won’t get the level of detail and clarity that you would from a pricier set, you’ll notice this most when words are displayed on the screen.  If you just intend to use this in a kitchen or bedroom, that won’t be a huge issue though.

There are a few different picture modes to choose from including Cinema Day and Cinema Night, Dynamic, Sports and Auto. I would mostly keep it on the Auto settings but having an option like Cinema Day is actually really useful, making the screen more visible in bright light and boosting the on-screen colours. 

At only 180 nits, you really won’t get top-tier brightness levels by any means. It’s a problem during the day in particular, don’t expect to be able to see much on the screen if it’s placed in a direct line of light even with the Cinema Day setting switched on. Alongside the lack of brightness, the basic 60Hz refresh rate means this TV is unlikely to be great for console gaming. 

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: sound quality 

From the 12W speaker system inside the Hisense 32A4GTUK the audio quality is surprisingly good. It may not have a particularly powerful bass and it won’t give you the clarity or surround sound you’d get from a soundbar, yet it definitely delivers on volume. I never needed to put the sound above about 30% which shows just how loud it could go. 

You get loads of sound modes to play around with here including Standard, Theatre, Music, Speech, Late Night, Sports and Auto. I found the Auto mode did a good job at adjusting the audio according to what was playing on the screen, and the Late Night mode was useful as well, it improves the clarity of voices when the volume is down low. Elsewhere the modes weren't massively impactful so I wouldn't bother switching to them all of the time.

If you have space for one, you might want to consider buying a seperate soundbar for this, it can be hooked up to the Hisense 32A4GTUK through HDMI eARC. If you plan to use this outside of the living room then it's unlikely you will have space in which case you’ll still get a relatively good audio experience using just the built-in speaker system. 

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: design and usability 

Simply designed, the Hisense 32A4GTUK has slim black bezels surrounding the screen, with the Hisense logo centred on the bottom. The plastic stands are straightforward to attach, you’ll just need to screw them in, and the TV is VESA wall mount compatible as well. 

The setup is all very easy to do yourself because the whole thing only weighs 3.9kg and it measures 469 x 717 x 160 mm so it’s not a big or bulky set either. It'll easily fit on a small table. After you've put it in place, just plug it in and follow the steps to set it up on your Wi-Fi network. It only took me about 5 minutes to do. 

The small black plastic remote looks and feels like it comes alongside a cheap TV. Surprisingly it does actually work well and it is very easy to use despite the buttons being packed in quite tightly together. 

I found the buttons were placed intuitively and there's a dedicated Home button that takes you straight to a page with all of your apps and featured content. There are also five buttons that take you to the most popular streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and FreeviewPlay. You even get two pink buttons that give you quick access to the Sports section on Vidaa or the Free section where you can find a range of video content that won't cost you a penny to watch. 

The Vidaa U user interface is well laid out and easy to use. It doesn’t quite look as nice as Android TV or Roku but I don’t have any major complaints about it. Without needing any extra wires hanging out the back, you’ll be able to watch TV shows and movies from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as well as UK-specific services like Britbox or catch up services like BBC iPlayer and the ITV Hub. You’ll get more options for catch up TV on the Freeview Play app as well. 

What’s more, is that you can hook the TV up to your Amazon Alexa or Google Home to control it by voice. It’s a shame that this particular remote doesn’t come with a microphone to activate the smart assistant functionality as you’ll have to have a separate smart speaker set up in the room for it to work well.

Like most sets, there’s a sleep timer to save on power and parental locks to stop your little ones from watching anything they shouldn’t. 

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: verdict 

The Hisense 32A4GTUK isn’t perfect, it’s not got top-tier picture quality and the sound may not be the most accurate, but you can’t expect that from a £200 television set anyway.  Considering its price it performs quite well across the board.

The Vidaa U interface does everything you need it to, even though it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing TV software there is. As well as that the TV remote is responsive and easy to use, even if the hollow plastic doesn’t feel particularly sturdy. 

I wouldn’t recommend using this as your living room TV but for a kitchen, bedroom or office it’ll do the job - and it’ll be a great choice for students too.

Hisense 32A4GTUK review: also consider  

The Hisense 32A5600FTUK is a very similar TV set to this one, and it costs a very similar amount too. You don’t get voice control using your smart assistant but it does have both Dolby Audio and DBX technologies to enhance the sound quality so does a better job in that sense - it all comes down to what’s most important to you. 

For those who care a lot about all of your smart tech working well together, the Toshiba WK3C will be worth adding to your shortlist as well. Unlike this TV, there’s a far-field microphone on the frame which allows you to call upon the Amazon Alexa voice assistant directly from the TV. That makes it really easy to ask questions or change what’s playing on the screen. 

• These are the best TVs under £500