But it's only available in India for now
You probably know OnePlus as the underdog of the smartphone world, taking on Apple and Samsung on specs for a fraction of the price. But for a while the company has been teasing a smart TV, and now it’s finally arrived.
The OnePlus TV Q1 is only launching in India for now, where the company’s phones are already hugely popular, but the company says it’s working on a global release. As for the set itself, it’s a 55-inch TV with barely any bezel and a QLED display.
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It supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and runs OnePlus’ custom scene optimization technology. Perhaps more intriguing are the eight speakers – two subwoofers, two tweeters in the front, and four full-range speakers – which are built into a soundbarthat lowers from the bottom of the TV when you’re using it.
It runs Android TV, and you’ll be able to control the Q1 with the built-in Google Assistant. It will also work with Alexa if you have a connected smart speaker. Plus, you can use the OnePlus Connect smartphone app as a remote or keyboard – and have it lower the TV volume when you receive a call.
If you’d prefer a good-old-fashioned remote, there’s one of those too.
The major selling point here could be the price. It costs 69,000 rupees in India, which is about the equivalent of $1,000. If it can hover around that price when it breaks out into the rest of the world, it would make it very competitive.
Pete Lau, founder and CEO of OnePlus, previously said the TV would have a built-in camera, but there’s no sign of it here. One vision that has come true, at least on paper, is a more seamless connection between the TV and smartphone – but it remains to be seen how good it works in practice.
“At present, we feel the current market of TVs is still feeling quite traditional in their functionality and experience,” Lau previously told Business Insider. “And they haven’t really well-integrated the internet into the experiences, and making the experience match with what would be expected in today’s connected society.”
