- OnePlus is launching its first TV – the OnePlus TV – in September, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau told Business Insider.
- The primary focus for the OnePlus TV will be on image quality – the company will use a QLED screen panel with 4K resolution – as well as sound quality.
- OnePlus is also looking to better integrate smartphones to its TV, with an ongoing rollout of features over time. It will run on Google’s Android TV platform.
- OnePlus is a premium product with a premium price tag, Lau said.
- The OnePlus TV is being released in India first, followed by Europe and the US “later.”
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
OnePlus is launching its OnePlus TV in September, CEO Pete Lau told Business Insider, and the primary focus will be on image quality and sound quality.
“I have been talking to a lot of users and getting a lot of feedback,” Lau said, “[They] told me that image quality is the most important thing they care about.”
To Lau, image and sound quality are the most basic things to get right in a TV, but they’re also the most important. And he’s confident that the OnePlus TV has the best image quality.
Benchmarking against “the best.”
For its first TV, Lau said that OnePlus benchmarked against “the best of the best” in TVs, and that the company is using 4K resolution quantum dot – or “QLED” – screen panels. QLED panels are more advanced and deliver better brightness and color quality than standard LCD/LED panels. Lau didn’t mention whether HDR would feature on the OnePlus TV.
I must admit, when Lau first told me that OnePlus is benchmarking its TV against the best TVs currently available, I immediately thought about LG's OLED TVs. OLED TV panels are the utmost peak of TV screen panel technology, delivering unrivaled contrast and colors.
But Lau said that OLED panels are expensive, and that the "price difference doesn't match the quality difference." Indeed, OLED TVs typically come with higher price tags than LCD or QLED TVs. Even if OLEDs deliver stunning image quality, it's not an absolute necessity to enjoy your TV shows and movies, at least for the price they usually demand. They're an ultra-premium option for those who can afford it.
As for screen sizes, OnePlus didn't want to comment.
What you can expect for price tags.
Regarding affordability, Lau wouldn't say outright what the OnePlus TV's price will be, but he did say said that the OnePlus TV is a premium product, and it'll come with a price tag that will reflect its premium nature.
The OnePlus TV will run Google's Android TV platform.
The OnePlus TV will run on a customized and optimized version of Google's Android TV platform. "It's our prerogative that we optimize and integrate very deeply [with Android TV] for the best user experience," Lau said.
One of the ways the OnePlus TV will differentiate itself from other smart TVs is the way it'll display content. Instead of showing users a list of streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu, it plans to show you the content you like. The idea here is to remove the step of remembering which streaming app has which TV show or movie you're looking for.
Android TV usually includes Google's Assistant, but OnePlus didn't comment on that, specifically.
Making smartphones and TV work together.
When Business Insider first spoke with Lau regarding its TV in 2018, Lau mentioned that connectivity between smartphones and the TV itself will be a major aspect. Lau still says this is a point of focus.
OnePlus plans an ongoing roll-out of features that makes use of smartphone connectivity to the OnePlus TV. One initial example he gave included using the keyboard on a smartphone to type on the OnePlus TV, which addresses the cumbersome experience of pressing the arrow and "Enter" buttons on a TV remote to navigate around a TV's on-screen keyboard. Anyone who's ever typed in their usernames and passwords to log into apps on their smart TVs can already appreciate this feature.
The OnePlus TV will be launched in India first, with the EU, US, and China launches coming later.
Stay tuned for more information coming from OnePlus for its OnePlus TV.