Xbox App on Hisense TVs: Setup, Requirements & Limits
Microsoft has begun rolling out the Xbox app on Hisense TVs and other VIDAA OS-powered smart TVs, letting owners stream Xbox games without buying a console. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says Xbox streaming has now reached more than 150 million TVs and devices worldwide this summer, part of a broader push to get the service onto hardware people already own (Thurrott; GamesBeat).
VIDAA OS doesn't just run on Hisense sets. It also powers TVs from Toshiba, Loewe, Schneider, and Akai, which makes this a platform-wide expansion rather than a single-brand partnership (Thurrott). Microsoft announced the VIDAA expansion at CES in January (Thurrott).
Microsoft frames the pitch simply: with a compatible TV and controller, this gives players "another way to enjoy your favorite games with Xbox" (Xbox Wire). Getting from a compatible TV to an actual play session, though, involves clearing several requirements the announcement lays out in detail.
Which Hisense and VIDAA OS TVs are eligible for the Xbox app
Coverage applies to VIDAA OS-powered smart TVs from model years 2024 through 2026, including supported Hisense sets. Microsoft says it has been pushing the app out gradually over the past month (Xbox Wire). Availability will keep expanding as updates reach more devices and regions, rather than landing everywhere at once (Xbox Wire).
The app itself requires VIDAA OS 9.6 or higher, and Microsoft cautions that this update "may not be available on all supported TVs at launch" (Xbox Wire). The staged rollout Microsoft describes applies to that software update specifically, not to whether a household already owns a controller or a Game Pass subscription, which are separate requirements on the user's end.
This expansion builds on an existing footprint. The Xbox app already runs on select Samsung and LG smart TVs and on Amazon Fire TV devices (The Verge). TCL separately announced at CES in January that its Google TV-powered sets would get the app too, though the announcement doesn't specify a rollout schedule for that expansion (Thurrott).
A 2024-2026 Hisense TV running VIDAA OS qualifies as eligible hardware. Whether the software update that makes the app appear has actually reached that specific set is a separate question, one Microsoft's own wording treats as still in progress.
Setting up the Xbox app on a VIDAA OS smart TV
Once a TV has been updated to VIDAA OS 9.6, Microsoft says the Xbox app is designed to appear automatically on the Home Page or in the Games section of the menu, with no manual app-store search required (Xbox Wire). Older models may need to check for a software update first before the app shows up (Thurrott).
From there, the setup sequence is short: confirm the OS 9.6 update, open the app, sign in or create an Xbox account, pair a Bluetooth controller, and pick a game (Xbox Wire). Supported controllers include the Xbox Wireless Controller, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, the Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, and, notably, Sony's DualSense and DualShock 4 (Xbox Wire).
Microsoft lists DualSense as a compatible controller, but the available research doesn't confirm whether its adaptive triggers or haptic feedback work on VIDAA TVs specifically. SmartTVs.org's testing found that cloud-streaming services generally recognize DualSense only as a standard Bluetooth controller, since most transmit standard gamepad input codes rather than Sony's extended controller protocol, but that describes cloud streaming broadly rather than this particular app and platform (SmartTVs.org, three months ago).
Xbox Cloud Gaming on Hisense Smart TV: Game Pass requirements
Access requires an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, on the Ultimate, Premium, or Essential tier, along with what Microsoft describes as "a reliable high-speed internet connection" (Xbox Wire). The announcement does not specify a bandwidth number for VIDAA devices.
Subscribers can stream from the Game Pass catalog itself, and they can also stream supported games they already own outside of it, through what Microsoft calls the "Stream your own game" library (Xbox Wire; Thurrott). Cloud Gaming now works across every Game Pass tier, but only Ultimate unlocks 1440p streaming at a higher bitrate (Thurrott).
On streaming quality, Xbox Cloud Gaming's own connection guide documents its internet requirements, and SmartTVs.org reports the service runs comfortably at 1080p on a typical home broadband connection, maintaining 1080p60 streams consistently as of three months ago (SmartTVs.org). That assessment describes the service's general performance rather than a VIDAA-specific benchmark.
A free tier is also in the works, but it isn't here yet. Microsoft began piloting an ad-supported version of Cloud Gaming with Xbox Insiders last week, and that test is currently limited to consoles (Thurrott; GamesBeat). Thurrott reports it will "likely" expand to the Xbox smart TV app at some point, a characterization from the outlet rather than a commitment Microsoft has made (Thurrott).
Xbox Remote Play on VIDAA TVs: still unconfirmed
Remote Play, streaming games installed on a home Xbox console rather than pulling them from the cloud, is not listed among the features or requirements in Microsoft's announcement (Xbox Wire).
Thurrott reports the app "should" support Remote Play, based on how the Xbox app behaves on other smart TV platforms where the feature already exists (Thurrott). That's an inference built on precedent from other platforms, not a confirmation from Microsoft, and the difference matters for anyone whose library lives on a home console rather than in the cloud.
SmartTVs.org warns that cloud gaming carries a latency floor of roughly 30 milliseconds, which can make it a poor fit for competitive multiplayer, and the outlet advises gamers focused on that use case to buy a console or PC instead (SmartTVs.org, three months ago). That warning concerns cloud streaming generally; it doesn't resolve how Remote Play, which pulls from a home console rather than a data center, would perform on VIDAA TVs specifically.
Until Microsoft confirms Remote Play through an official channel, cloud streaming through Game Pass remains the only feature the company has documented for these TVs.
Conclusion
Getting the Xbox app running on a Hisense or other VIDAA OS TV comes down to five checkpoints: a supported 2024-2026 model, the VIDAA OS 9.6 update, an active Game Pass subscription, a Bluetooth controller, and a stable internet connection (Xbox Wire). Microsoft says the rollout will keep expanding gradually by device and region, so a supported TV that hasn't gotten the update yet may simply need more time.
Two questions remain open. TCL has confirmed its Google TV-powered sets are getting the app, though Microsoft hasn't given a timeline for that rollout (Thurrott; The Verge). And Remote Play, streaming from a home console rather than the cloud, still hasn't been confirmed for VIDAA TVs by Microsoft. Until that changes, Thurrott's "should work" is the best answer available.
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