OnePlus TV’s exclusive ‘Pro’ feature is a stand
After weeks of slowly teasing out information, OnePlus has finally fully detailed its debut TV set. The OnePlus TV Q1 series is first coming to India. On the surface, it looks like a compelling device. It features a 55-inch, 4K QLED panel with support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The Q1 also includes a good mix of connectivity options, with four HDMI 2.0 ports on the back and built-in WiFi as well as Bluetooth 5.0.
As promised, it’ll ship with Android TV and include support for both Google Assistant and Alexa. Using the OnePlus Connect app, you’ll be able to input text and switch between Android TV apps on your smartphone. Anytime you get a call on your phone, the OnePlus TV will automatically reduce the volume of any content so you’re not scrambling to do that yourself. Chromecast support is built directly into the TV as well.
However, more interesting than the TV is OnePlus’ sales approach. Like it does with its smartphone lineup, the company plans to offer two different models of the OnePlus TV. They’ll be a standard model and a “Pro” variant. The two models will cost INR 69,000 ($985) and INR 99,900 ($1407) respectively. While they’ll both come with built-in 50W soundbars that support Dolby Atmos, the Pro model features a sliding eight-speaker array instead of a static four-speaker one. The other big difference is that the Pro model ships with a stand. For the more affordable Q1, OnePlus is taking a page from Apple’s book and asking people to buy a separate dock that costs INR 2,990 ($42).
There’s no word yet on when OnePlus plans to start selling the Q1 series in the US, so we’ll have to wait and see if OnePlus can translate the recent trend of smartphone companies offering more expensive “Pro” to the TV market. Until then, OnePlus fans in the US have the OnePlus 7T to look forward to.
Update 9/26 7:05PM ET: Added the price of the OnePlus Dock.
