Pros:– Good picture quality in 4K content– HDMI 2.1 ports with support for eARC– Dual-band WiFi– Access to picture and sound settings on the fly– Android TV 10 with clean UI– Affordable
Cons:– No Dolby Vision support– No analogue audio output– No dedicated power button yet– Erratic contrast at times
Overall Rating: 3.7/5Price: Rs 32,999
The Y series TVs from OnePlus have been their most affordable, as they pack just the minimum necessary features and nothing fancy, which is pretty much what the potential buyers in the segment look for. When you add the Pro suffix, you do get a few extras, and in fact, the latest Y1S Pro series TVs find themselves a lot closer to the relatively more premium U series.
Going by the spec-sheet, the OnePlus TV 50 Y1S Pro that we have for review today feels a lot like the 50 U1S that we reviewed a few months ago, sans the far-field mics and Dynaudio sound for a significantly lower launch price. If that’s the case, it may translate into great value for money. Let’s find out how good this Y1S Pro TV truly is.
OnePlus TV 50 Y1S Pro – Design and connectivity: 8/10Just like the U1S, this TV sports a near bezel-less design on three sides. The bottom bezel isn’t too thick either, and it’s all black here, unlike the grey outline in the U1S. The long trapezoid chin that hosted a bunch of LEDs and receivers for far-field mics has been replaced with a standard tiny one that holds the power LED and IR receiver. Though there is nothing wrong with Y1S Pro’s design, it feels like any other bezel-less TV and not as stylish as the U1S.
The TV can be wall-mounted or placed on a desk using the bundled plastic stands that don’t feel as sturdy as the metal ones, but hold the TV firmly in place. The necessary screws are present in the package. You get the usual OnePlus voice enabled remote along with a pair of AAA batteries to power it. The remote is compact but still doesn’t have a dedicated power button; more on that in a bit.
In the connectivity department, you have the key bases covered, barring one. You get three HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which supports eARC – something I am quite pleased to see in a budget TV. In addition to that, you have two USB 2.0 ports, Optical audio out, A/V input and a LAN port. An analogue audio output like a 3.5 mm headphone jack or a coaxial A/V out continues to be absent. Wireless connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.0 and dual band WiFi with support for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks.
Image Credit: Tech2 Ameya Dalvi
All ports are placed along the left edge of the rear module. And just like in case of the U1S, the ports are located closer to the centre of the TV rather than near the edge, making them hard to access, especially if you wall mount the TV. This is a common design flaw in most budget TVs.
OnePlus TV 50 Y1S Pro – Features and specifications: 8/10As the model number suggests, the OnePlus TV 50 Y1S Pro has a 50-inch panel, and it flaunts an Ultra HD resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and a 60 Hz refresh rate. Information about the panel type and its peak brightness hasn’t been provided by OnePlus, but it looks like a VA panel. It supports HDR10/10+ and HLG formats for HDR content. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision, which I wasn’t expecting either, given that the more expensive U1S also isn’t compliant with it. It does offer 10-bit colour depth and can display over a billion shades.
This TV is powered by a 64-bit quad core processor with Cortex A55 cores and Mali G52 GPU. You get 2 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage (half of U1S), a sizable chunk of which is taken up by the Android TV 10 OS and the preinstalled apps. You are left with just half the space for installing more apps. Sound output is rated at 24 Watts RMS with support for Dolby Audio. Unfortunately, there is no involvement of Dynaudio here, who had done a pretty neat job with the audio tuning in some of OnePlus’ more premium models.
As with all Android TVs, it has Chromecast built-in and lets you cast content to the TV from compatible apps on your phone or tablet. The wireless remote control bundled with this TV operates over IR and Bluetooth both. After pairing it with the TV, you can bring up the Google Assistant by pressing the corresponding button and issue voice commands. You cannot go completely hands free here, as this TV excludes far-field mics to keep the cost down; a fair tradeoff.
Image Credit: Tech2