OnePlus 4K QLED TV

The top smartphone brand, OnePlus has launched its first smart television – or to be more exact, two 55in 4K QLED televisions: Q1 and Q1 Pro. The project was first announced in 2018, with teasers being constantly dropped-in about it ever since, it was finally unveiled at a product launch in India on September 26, 2019 and went on sale (only in India) two days later. OnePlus has said that its TV will come to North America, Europe and China “as soon as we establish partnerships with most of local and regional content providers”.

The OnePlus TVs comes with a variety features such as a custom QLED panel, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision HDR, motorized speaker bar and so forth. We’ll take a thorough look at all of them along with other things in this detailed review.

OnePlus 55 Q1 vs. Q1 Pro: What’s different?

As mentioned before, both TVs come with the same 55-inch 4K QLED display screen (so far). They differ in the audio setup and design. First, instead of the 8-speaker setup of the Pro version, you only get 4 speakers on Q1. The combined output remains 50W, but you miss out on dedicated woofers.

Similarly, the standard model lacks the motorized speaker bar. Instead, it offers a more traditional set up with the speakers integrated within the display itself.

The Pro also bundles the OnePlus Dock, which will be available to buy separately for the Q1. The display is propped up on the vertical spine attached to this elliptical chrome base stand called OnePlus Dock. Also, if you want you can wall-mount the TV instead of placing it on a tabletop.

OnePlus TV: Design

With a near bezel-less 95.7% screen-to-body ratio, the OnePlus TVs are simply amazing.

As mentioned above, the Q1 Pro has a sliding soundbar with 8 speakers tucked inside. When the TV is fired up, the bar drops down from the bottom in no more than 8-seconds, making for an interesting spectacle.

The OnePlus Dock (aka the circular stand) is intended to give the impression of the TV floating in the air. Around the back is a simple, sleek, and elegant carbon-fibre effect design, with all ports and connections such as 4 x HDMI ports (with HDMI 2 supporting eARC), 3 x USB (1 x USB-C), Ethernet etc. hidden from view behind a removable magnetic plate.

There are also a number of wireless options too (just so you know) like Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi bands and built-in Chromecast for streaming content.

OnePlus TV: Viewing Experience

OnePlus has somehow created a custom QLED panel (they haven’t revealed the specifics yet), powered by a Gamma Color Magic processor, it is able to best both Samsung and Sony in DCI-P3 tests with a score of 96%, and has the world’s highest color gamut at 120% NTSC.

The viewing experience is enhanced using a number of software algorithms. The OnePlus TV has what the smartphone manufacturer has termed as Super Resolution, it identifies any missing information in a picture and fill in the gaps with 2D information to provide a clearer picture, while De-Contour will remove any hints of banding (solid strips of color) from the image. There’s also MEMC (Motion Estimate Motion Compensation), which smoothes video by inserting an additional frame after each and turns 30fps into 60fps, as well as support for HDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

OnePlus TV: Interface

The OnePlus TV is built on the Android TV platform (with three years of guaranteed updates). The TVs feature support for Android apps through the Google Play Store, Chromecast (as mentioned before) and Google Assistant (for voice search) are also factored in, while everything sounds intriguing, there is one little thing that many would not appreciate. It is that Netflix was notably missing from the list of supported services at launch (but don’t lose hope yet as it is expected to be added later this year).

 

Additionally, there’s a neat little tool called OnePlus Connect that lets you control the QLED TV’s interface using your OnePlus smartphone, allowing for more convenient user experience. The TypeSync feature enables you to type on your TV screen using your handset’s keyboard. With the Quick App Switch feature you can switch between Android TV apps on your smartphone. Also, it turns the volume level down when you’re on a call, and lets you take a screenshot of the entire screen from your phone.

Like other smart TVs, the OnePlus comes with “color rich” wallpapers as well as a screen that’ll detail weather updates. OxygenPlay (comes pre-installed) functions as OnePlus’ own Google Play Store, a one-stop shop for all your content needs.

OnePlus TV: Remote Control

The remote control that comes in the box is made from aluminum, and features USB-C charging, dedicated Google Assistant & Amazon Prime Video buttons, some basic function buttons, a touch-sensitive pad with a centre button for tracking down content and navigating the television’s operating system, along with a OnePlus key.

OnePlus TV: Sound

As mentioned many times before, the Q1 Pro comes with an integrated soundbar (which slides out from the bottom to maintain its slim profile) that house 8 speakers: 4 full-range speakers, 2 tweeters and 2 10W woofers, with 6 forward-facing and 2 back facing units. The overall sound output is 50W thus allowing you to enjoy powerful beats.

While, the standard model lacks the motorized speaker bar. Instead, it offers a more traditional set up with the speakers integrated within the display itself.

Both QLED TVs support Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD audio formats, which covers the bases.

OnePlus TV: Bottom Line

In an official release, OnePlus announced that it managed to gather earnings of Rs 500 crores within the first 2 days of the Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale. And the high earnings came with the help of the newly launched OnePlus 7T as well as the OnePlus TV models.

The reason behind this tremendous uptake is that the OnePlus TV offers almost everything what a modern user aspires to have in his/her living room. It focuses on quality over value. So, if you want to have an ultimate viewing experience at a price (55Q1: Rs 69,900 & 55 Q1 Pro: Rs 99,900) never heard of in the 4K QLED range, then OnePlus TV perfectly fits the bill.

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