Hisense QLED TV Lawsuit Alleges False Advertising

Milberg attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that TV manufacturer Hisense made false and misleading claims about the display performance of certain QLED televisions, marketing them as having quantum dot technology that is nonexistent or imperceptible to most consumers.

• The lawsuit claims Hisense falsely marketed some TV models as “QLED” despite them lacking key QLED technology features.
• Plaintiff Robert Macioce says he paid a premium for a Hisense QLED TV based on the advertised QLED technology, and that it did not not deliver the promised performance.
• Eligible class members include New York residents who purchased a Hisense QD5, QD6, QD65, QD7, U7, or U7N series model TV.
• The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for affected consumers and an injunction requiring Hisense to change its marketing practices.

About QLED TVs

QLED (Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode) technology is designed to enhance TV display performance by using a layer of quantum dots—microscopic semiconductor particles—that improve color accuracy, brightness, and contrast.

These dots range in size from approximately 2 to 10 nanometers in diameter and are made of semiconductor materials such as cadmium selenide or indium phosphide that filter the LED backlight, producing richer and more vibrant colors compared to standard LED TVs.

Genuine QLED technology is known for delivering enhanced visual quality, especially in terms of color saturation and detail. A 2017 research paper on quantum dot displays states “QD-enhanced LCD appears 1.26x more efficient than organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display due to its wider color gamut.”

Hisense QLEDs Allegedly Lack QD Technology

Hisense has manufactured QLED televisions since at least 2017 and sells them throughout the United States at retailers that include Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club, as well as directly to consumers through Hisense-usa.com.

Hisense, TCL, and Samsung formed the “QLED Alliance” in 2017 to collectively advance and promote QLED televisions as a competitor to OLED in the high-end TV market. At the time, quantum dots were described as “the best lighting material that mankind has ever found.”

One of the leading U.S. TV sellers, Hisense was was second only to Samsung in U.S. television sales in the second quarter of 2024. The Hisense website makes numerous claims about its QLED televisions, such as the claim that they “dramatically increase the color space and improve color saturation” and that QLED technology allows viewers to “see color like you’ve never seen it before.”

Hisense explains on a website blurb for its 65” QD7 Series QLED TV that quantum dot technology “significantly broadens the range of color you perceive to create over a billion individual shades. So, you can soak up every wave of the Caribbean Sea and every brushstroke of the desert sunset.”

Hisense’s misleading and untrue statements about the technical specifications and performance of its televisions allow Hisense to sell its lesser-quality product at a higher price and to realize a profit it may not have otherwise made if it were truthful regarding the performance capabilities of its televisions.

However, according to Milberg’s complaint, Hisense’s advertised technical specifications of so-called QLED or QD televisions is misleading and untrue because the products lack quantum dot technology in amounts sufficient to provide a meaningful improvement in the television’s display performance.

These misleading and untrue statements, the complaint adds, “are likely to deceive consumers and are intended to try and influence their decisions on whether to purchase a Hisense television.”

The false statements were allegedly made to allow Hisense to “sell its lesser-quality product at a higher price” and to “realize a profit it may not have otherwise made if it were truthful regarding the performance capabilities of its televisions.”

Not only are the QLED marketing claims false, the complaint alleges, but “whether a television actually has quantum dot technology cannot be readily verified by the consumer, especially prior to purchase.”

Plaintiff and Proposed Class

Plaintiff Robert Macioce purchased a 43-inch QD5 model Hisense television from the Best Buy website in November 2024 after reviewing advertising materials and comparing the TV to competitor QLED TVs.

Had Hisense truthfully marketed and advertised that the television did, in fact, not contain QLED or QD technology, plaintiff and other class members would not have purchased the television, or else would have paid substantially less for it.

He says that the main reason he purchased the Hisense TV was due to the promised performance benefits, such as better picture quality and more vivid colors, of its QLED technology, as compared to a standard LED TV, and that he would not have purchased it—or would have paid substantially less—if he had known the product did not have the technology necessary to deliver the advertised benefits of improved QLED performance.

Macioce seeks to represent the following class of similarly situated consumers:

• All individuals in the state of New York who purchased a Hisense QD5, QD6, QD65, QD7, U7, or U7N series model television was marketed as containing QLED or QD technology and which did not contain QLED or QD technology, or contained QLED or QD technology in such negligible amounts as to not provide the advertised benefits.

The proposed class action is awaiting certification in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Plaintiff and class members are represented by Milberg consumer protection attorneys Adam A. Edwards, William A. Ladnier, and Virginia Ann Whitener.

Edwards and Ladnier are part of a group that previously secured a multi-million dollar TCL television class action lawsuit settlement.

Milberg pioneered the use of federal class action litigation 60 years ago and remains a national leader in filing class actions that hold big companies accountable.

From 2021 to 2023, Milberg filed the third-most  consumer protection lawsuits of any U.S. law firm and the fifth-most class action lawsuits of any firm.

Since 1965, Milberg has recovered billions of dollars for our clients, set groundbreaking legal precedents, and used class action litigation as a tool for corporate reforms.