So it dates a year back when on OnePlus forums, OnePlus TV was announced as a vison and given an ‘under construction’ tag by Pete. Since then, there have been numerous leaks and rumors surrounding the device, but very recently OnePlus made it official that the OnePlus TV launch is very near. Here’s everything about the new product lineup known to us so far.
HIGHLIGHTS
The OnePlus TV is slated to launch in India around the end of September, and then in other regions soon after. It is supposed to run on Android TV OS 9 and is expected to release in multiple sizes, varying from 43-inches all the way up to 75-inches. The display panels are supposedly Samsung’s QLED ones, and resolution shall vary from Full HD up to 4K, with some of the best contrast ratios and support for Dolby Vision & HDR10+. The TVs are also confirmed to come loaded with Dolby Atmos for audio. Pricing is expected to start from $700 US (~ ₹50,000).
UPDATE: 6TH SEPTEMBER 2019
The remote control for the OnePlus TV was brought into light by OnePlus. From what we can see, it has the usual quick-shortcut and navigation buttons along with a volume rocker at the right side and a USB (hopefully Type-C) port at the bottom. As expected, we see the minimalistic design approach here, and though we would have liked a matte-black remote control, this silver one does look clean.
Design & Build
Not much can be speculated about a TV’s design, but knowing OnePlus, we can almost be certain of them going with their simple and minimalistic design language. As OnePlus made it public that the TVs shall target the premium market and not budget one, they’re supposedly using premium materials for the internals as well as the outside.
The product is expected to come in at least 3 different variants, according to the screen size. A 43-inch, a 55-inch, and a 75-inch model are what we’ve heard from credible sources. There could be more variants, but these three are definitely present in the launch cards. All of the models shall sport supremely-narrow bezels around the display.
Display & Specifications
Now since OnePlus doesn’t manufacture displays (yet), it is confirmed that they shall use QLED panels made by Samsung. These panels carry vivid colors, deep blacks and some of the best contrast ratios, so we can be happy for them using quality panels. Depending on the display size, the TVs are supposed to carry 16:9 displays from Full HD resolution, all the way up to 4k ones with support for Dolby Vision & HDR10+. Also, Pete hinted at OnePlus making their own image-processing chipsets that can match up to the image standards of Sony’s TVs. This chipset was later revealed by Pete. It’s called ‘Gamma Color Magic’ chip and it is supposed to deliver the best of image quality on the TV’s custom QLED panel. All of this means that OnePlus is chasing pretty much the highest TV-display standards of the present premium TV market.
Amazon India confirmed the presence of Dolby Vision for the display and Dolby Atmos for the Audio department. Talking of audio, the OnePlus TV packs 8 speakers with 50W output. While we can’t comment on the quality of audio just yet, the numbers do ‘sound’ good. Ok, sorry for the pun.
On the specifications part, The India-specific 55-inch model is said to pack a MediaTek MT5670 processor alongside the Mali G51 GPU and 3 Gigs of physical RAM. Additionally, the new TVs are confirmed to come equipped with Bluetooth (for the remote control). Some, if not all models might also come with a camera (for video calling). The TVs are also supposedly equipped with voice controls, hinting at the use of far-field microphones (which shall also make sense while video calling).
For software, the appliances shall run Android TV OS 9 along with OnePlus’s additions on top. Chromecast support is said to be baked in along with a Google Feed that shows reminders, weather, and other important stuff.
Additional Features
The feature that Pete (and OnePlus) have been boasting a lot about is ‘seamless smartphone integration’. This could mean intensive syncing between your smartphone and TV to make that appliance much more than just something to watch movies on. Apart from voice controls, we can also expect integrations with other smart appliances like Google Home or Alexa, making it a part of the smart-home ecosystem. Also, OnePlus say they’ve worked closely with Google to make Android TV OS as smoother and snappier as possible.
Launch, Availability & Pricing
The OnePlus TV is scheduled to launch in September, first in India, followed by China and the US in weeks following the India launch. There are also reports of the device not launching in Europe soon enough, at least before November. In India, the TV shall be available to purchase only on Amazon and OnePlus exclusive offline stores. OnePlus are trying to tie-up with more offline partners according to the latest tip we received.
We don’t have a credible source for the pricing, but multiple reports suggest the pricing to be upwards of ₹50,000 (INR), which just-so-roughly translates to $700 US, and since we know OnePlus prices their devices very competitively, we can expect this base price. Note that this is speculated to be the price of the India-exclusive 55-inch model (codenamed Dosa).
We’ll update this article with more scoop as we approach the launch.
