OnePlus CEO Mr. Pete Lau had expressed his company’s intention to diversify from smartphones into the TV segment. Information on the same was not available for a while, but last week, we finally heard more about the upcoming TV as it passed through Bluetooth SIG certification. The certification listing revealed that the TV will be an LED TV running on Android TV, with model numbers suggesting that the same will be available in four screen sizes: 43-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch. Now, new information has emerged which sheds light on a possible time frame for the launch of the OnePlus TV.
According to MySmartPrice‘s sources, OnePlus is planning to launch its range of smart TVs in the last week of September 2019. An exact date has not been confirmed yet by the company, but the reporting website suggests it could be September 26, 2019. The source also suggests that OnePlus will be launching an OLED TV variant. BIS certification information suggests that OnePlus is using panels from TPV Display Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for at least one of the variants, which the reporting website claims does not produce an OLED panel. Since we do know that there are multiple TVs to be launched, there could be differentiation in the core technologies present across the variants.
As per previous information, the 43-inch variant could be exclusive to India, while the 75-inch variant could be only for the US and China. Expectations derived from previous statements from OnePlus lean towards the top variants coming in with a 4K HDR display, though the final specification can only be confirmed by OnePlus themselves. It also remains to be seen what other unique features OnePlus adds into its TV lineup to let them stand out from the competition. Pricing also remains a largely unanswered question, and we wouldn’t be surprised if OnePlus attempts to lean towards the higher end of the pricing spectrum.
Source: MySmartPrice
Update 1: OnePlus TV name and logo confirmed
OnePlus has officially confirmed the name and logo of its upcoming smart TV. Unsurprisingly, the TV will be called OnePlus TV, which is simple and basic as far as names go, but gets the job done. Similarly, the logo for the TV retains the brand logo and does not attempt to morph the branding, but simply adds on the TV suffix at the end.
OnePlus mentions that more exciting news will be shared in the coming days.
Source: OnePlus Forums
Update 2: Launches Next Month
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has announced that the OnePlus TV will be launching next month. The TV will be available in India first, and Lau says they are working to launch the TV in North America, Europe, and China “as soon as we establish partnerships with most of local and regional content providers.” Hopefully, it won’t take long for the TV to launch in other markets.
Source: OnePlus
Update 3: QLED & 55″ Teased
— Akis Evangelidis (@Akis_Evan) August 22, 2019
Akis Evangelidis, Vice President of OnePlus France, sent out a tweet to tease the OnePlus TV (unless they have a very large phone in the works that we don’t know about). The image appears to show a close-up of a display and bezel with the text “55” QLED.”
QLED stands for “Quantum Light-Emitting Diode.” A QLED TV uses “quantum dots” embedded into the LCD panel. A QLED TV doesn’t have as much contrast as OLED, but it can get brighter and the color space is about the same. QLED may lack the “wow-factor” of OLED, but it’s still a great TV viewing experience.
Update 4: Android TV Confirmed
The trickle of new details continues, as we just learned that OnePlus CEO Pete Lau did an interview with Gadgets360 (via 9to5Google), confirming many details about the brand’s first smart television product. To start off with, Mr. Lau confirmed that the television is running Android TV, a fact which some people initially doubted since the Bluetooth certification was rather vague in its description of the device as a “unique Android TV.” Now that we know it really is Android TV, we know it’ll come pre-loaded with the Google Play Store, the Android TV leanback launcher, and all the other goodies you’ll find on televisions certified to run Google software. There are a ton of televisions and set-top-boxes on the market that run Android with custom TV software, but many don’t run Android TV. It’s good to see that OnePlus is sticking with the Google ecosystem here rather than going their own way with fully custom software.
If you were expecting OnePlus to price the TV in the lower end, then you’ll be disappointed. The OnePlus TV is designed to compete against other high-end TVs with great image and sound quality, like those from Samsung or Sony. Although, since the TV will be sold online through Amazon, Mr. Lau says his TV may be “slightly cheaper” than his competitors’ products. Mr. Lau claims his TV will offer a superior user experience with “really great content Internet experience.” For example, OnePlus will be customizing Android TV to add enhancements on top of the standard UI, especially if the user has a OnePlus smartphone.
The TV is launching in India first because the brand has established a strong root in the region. For example, Mr. Lau says that “a lot of families are OnePlus users” and that the brand has already made deals with regional content providers. We’ve seen talk from smartphone companies “disrupting” the TV market from Honor most recently, but the OnePlus TV will actually be accessible outside of China, so we’ll get a chance to see if the company is right.
Update 5: Specifications appear on the Google Play Device Catalog
The upcoming OnePlus TV has been spotted on the Google Play Developer Console’s Device Catalog, giving us an early sneak peek on the specifications of at least one variant.
More info on the @OnePlus TV “OnePlus_Dosa_IN” I talked about yesterday.
It’s using a Mediatek MT5670 (no info found on it, so far) with a good Mali-G51 MP3 GPU. And of course, #AndroidTV 9.
ATV only allows 1080p for the TV menus, don’t worry TV is 4K for compatible content. pic.twitter.com/RuS8TgYBJF
— Android TV Rumors (@androidtv_rumor) August 23, 2019
The upcoming OnePlus TV for the Indian region comes with the device codename “dosa”, and we can certainly appreciate where OnePlus drew its inspiration from. The specifications that show up on the Device Catalog point towards a MediaTek MT5670 SoC, Mali-G51 MP3 GPU and 2560 MB of RAM. The source handle indicates that the TV will be compatible for 4K content. The screen size is not mentioned in the spec sheet available, so this could be either of the three screen size variants (43-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch) that would presumptively be available in India, though we’re leaning towards this being the lower 43-inch TV which is said to be exclusive to India.
Source: @androidtv_rumor
Update 6: Dolby Vision + Speaker Specs
OnePlus has posted a store page for the OnePlus TV on Amazon India. The page lists a few things that we already knew about, such as 55-inch QLED and 4K resolution. There are also a couple of details that were previously unknown. The page says the TV will have Dolby Vision, and on the audio front, it will feature 8 speakers with 50W output and Dolby Atmos. Customers can choose to be notified for future updates on the Amazon listing.
Source: Amazon
Update 7: OnePlus has shared an image of the Remote of the TV
OnePlus CEO Mr. Pete Lau has shared an image of the remote of the upcoming OnePlus TV.
As we see in the image, the remote does not go to either extreme minimalism or too much functionality. The remote appears to be identical to the Apple TV remote, with a trackpad up top and buttons underneath. There is a dedicated button for Google Assistant and another for what we presume would be a dedicated OnePlus content portal perhaps. We also see a smartphone-like volume rocker on the side, and a USB Type-C port on the bottom for charging the remote.
Source: Twitter
Update 8: Carbon Fiber Back
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau shared the image above on Twitter with the caption “No detail is too small.” The most obvious detail is the carbon fiber back, which matches up with the company’s claim of a “premium” design. However, in the case of a TV, the back is rarely seen, so it’s sort of a wasted design choice. We can also see an interesting looking support column for the display. In typical OnePlus fashion, the OnePlus TV is getting hyped up a lot and we don’t expect that to stop.
Source: Twitter
Update 9: OnePlus TV Alexa Skill spotted on the Amazon Skill Store
The OnePlus TV Alexa skill has just been spotted on the Amazon India Skill store, revealing that you can control most of the basic functions using voice commands. Alexa skills expand upon the inbuilt functionality present on Amazon Alexa devices, allowing users to perform more actions with voice-activated controls. The OnePlus TV skill is listed on the Indian skill store and not on the global Amazon skill store, though it could come up in the near future.
With this skill enabled on Alexa devices, customers can issue commands to Alexa to turn on/off their OnePlus device, set the volume, mute/unmute, change channels, and switch between inputs. With the inclusion of this skill, the OnePlus TV will harmoniously work with your existing smart home ecosystem if it relies on an Alexa device.
Source: Amazon Alexa Skill Store; Story Via: Smartprix
Update 10: Faster typing through your smartphone
If you own a OnePlus smartphone, it looks like you’ll be able to enter text into the OnePlus TV using your smartphone keyboard. It’s unclear if this uses an app and if it’s limited to just OnePlus smartphones, but we’ll find out in just over a week since the TV has been confirmed for a September 26th launch date in India.
Faster typing, easier searching, more seamless syncing #OnePlusTV pic.twitter.com/ykfik7k0a6
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) September 17, 2019
Update 11: Quick app-switching through your smartphone
OnePlus CEO Mr. Pete Lau has now teased an app switching functionality that uses your smartphone to quickly switch apps on the TV. This should help users who find TV interfaces and navigation clunky and difficult to use.
Seamlessly switch between your favorite apps with one touch #OnePlusTV pic.twitter.com/vlGoFyJHVZ
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) September 19, 2019
Update 12: OnePlus TV pictured
OnePlus CEO Mr. Pete Lau has shared a photo of the TV, taking the wraps off the product.
From the image, we can spot that the TV can be wall-mounted like most TVs, which was a query that was raised when the TV stand was teased. We also get a glimpse of the UI on the TV, showing off content from Eros Now. Further, it also appears that a smartphone (presumably a OnePlus device) is being used to control the TV. Since current generation OnePlus smartphones do not have an IR blaster, it is entirely possible that TV control will be handled with an app that could also be presumably installed on other smartphones.
Source: Pete Lau
The post [Update 12: TV pictured] The OnePlus TV launches September 26th in India appeared first on xda-developers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment