Haier OLED C11 review

The C11 is a breath of fresh air amidst the bland more often than not, similar looking flat black panels we’ve become used to. There’s visibly no bezels surrounding the telly but below it rests a beautifully crafted soundbar that wraps around the bottom edges of the Haier C11. The supplied stand also adds to the curvy design aesthetic and the whole setup looks premium.

The Haier C11 is quite thin overall as well except for the bottom bit where the soundbar rests. Made out of plastic, the back of the C11 houses a bass unit for the sound. The overall build quality is premium though and a quick knuckle test confirms there’s no cheap bits on board. The unit feels as solid as some of the other premium sets in the market at the price. It’s thoroughly impressive.

An OLED panel is our preferred choice when it comes to consuming content and even gaming. We have a resident LG G series OLED we use as a gaming monitor and there were no surprises when it came to the quality. It has that typical OLED pop right out of the box, which can be a bit too much at first. Taking matters into your own hands and spending some time tuning the panel helps the final output a lot.

Once done and with all the processing off (our preferred method of testing) the final image is stunning. We put on Laapata Ladies first and are left impressed with the quality on offer here. The first scene at the police station has different shades of brown and the C11 does a brilliant job of distinguishing between each of them. The embellishments on the officer’s uniform also appear crisp and detailed.

We move on the All Quiet on the Western Front and skip to the scene in the bunker. The Haier C11 once again impresses with the way it handles the dark scene with the soldiers huddled up and partly lit. The details of the paint chipping off the helmets, the dust, the chaos and the entire bunker eventually collapsing is a challenging scene for a lesser telly to do justice to, but the C11 shines bright here.

There’s basic viewing modes on offer here and the Haier doesn’t come with specific modes for watching movies like its competitors offer. There’s no dedicated ‘Filmmaker’ mode or anything of the sort, and as we said before, it is imperative that you take time to tune the picture as per your viewing preferences.

Having a dedicated soundbar in the telly is a huge win! Especially if it is as good as the one on the Haier C11. You also get Dolby Atmos on board to handle all the processing, but the telly allows you to switch it off and tune the sound as per your liking. Something that we really loved was the absence of unnecessary gimmicks and unnatural surround sound manipulation.

The sound is full bodied thanks to the bass units at the back and we are left wanting little in terms of definition as well. There’s a dedicated in-built dialogue enhancer too which works well although we barely needed it. Even some music sounds enjoyable played directly from the TV. Of course if you want more immersion, nothing beats a dedicated HT setup.

The Haier C11 comes with almost everything you’d expect from a premium telly. It has Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos, HDR10+ support, MEMC 120Hz and works on Google. If you are planning to use it with a PC, you should know that there is no Gsync or Freesync on board here, which is a missed opportunity.

The UI itself is quite intuitive and straightforward albeit nothing compared to the likes of LG’s WebOS. The supplied remote feels a bit on the cheaper end of the market and doesn’t really shout premium. While the design is great and there’s voice integration too, it just feels a little off-brand.

The main thing to consider here is the price. The C11 costs a cool Rs. 1,58,990 which puts it bang in the middle of the competition heavyweights from LG, Samsung and Sony. LG’s own C3 retails for 1,62,551 and Samsung’s S90D OLED can be had for Rs. 1,64,990. Truth be told, it would be a mistake to write off the C11 just because the industry leaders are not that expensive. Consider the entire package, including the soundbar and the overall quality and it’s a formidable contender even if it isn’t a brand typically synonymous with televisions. No matter what you chose from this crop of OLED, there’s only one winner and that is you.