Only those shopping for a telly truly understands the myriad of options from various brands. From Samsung to Xiaomi, LG and beyond, there is a TV to suit every need and budget. The smart TV race is incomplete without OnePlus' participation, which has added some interesting additions since September of 2019. The latest entrant in the OnePlus smart TV product portfolio is the Y1S Edge, which caters to the demand of budget shoppers.
If the OnePlus Y1S Edge caught your attention and you've been contemplating whether or not to buy it, you've arrived at the right place. In this review, we explore the good and the bad in the new OnePlus TV, helping you to make a purchase decision.
Let us give you a brief about what the OnePlus Y1S Edge has to offer:
- Available in 32-inch and 43-inch sizes
- Bezel-less design
- Gamma Engine
- Dual-Band Wi-Fi
- 64-bit processor
- Android TV 11
- Dolby Audio
- OnePlus Connect 2.0
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge is available for Rs 16,999 for the 32-inch model and Rs 27,999 for the bigger 43 inches.
Design
Keeping in line with OnePlus tradition, the TV Y1S Edge brings a sense of premium-ness to the budget segment here. The bottom bezel has a metallic coating, the panel is sleek and the panel is bezel-less - all of which make for a modern look. For those who want to place the TV on the table, the stands are firmly placed to hold the TV Y1S Edge intact. The subtle OnePlus logo and the light indicator below add to the minimalistic look. Despite the plastic build of the TV (including the stands), it doesn't look cheap.
On the back of the panel are Ethernet port, RF port, HDMI ports, USB, AV Input and Digital Audio output ports, all of them nicely tucked away. In this age of wireless connectivity, you'll use the ports only when there's a lack of an alternative. For everything else, there's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 support and OnePlus Connect 2.0.
Display
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge has a 43-inch panel with 1920x1080 resolution. The LED-backlit LCD panel renders good picture quality. There are a host of features packed inside to ensure you get a premium experience. There is support for HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats, which means your Netflix and YouTube binge-watching sessions are sorted. On the downside, you miss out on Dolby Vision.
The default settings in the TV right out of the box will deliver the optimum viewing experience, but you can fine-tune display settings to your liking and you'll find the settings to be quite useful. The end result, you get a bright, sharp and vivid output. The OnePlus TV, at its affordable price range, is ideal for viewing HDR content.
The Gamma Engine integration offers features like anti-aliasing, noise reduction and dynamic contrast, which are touted to offer a better experience, but you'll notice little difference. The OnePlus TV's colour palette is as good as you'd get on a budget TV, but the details and contrast levels are good. Overall, the viewing experience on the OnePlus TV Y1S Edge is well worth its buck.
Audio
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge comes with two speakers facing downwards, which are complemented by Dolby Audio. The speakers deliver an output of 24W, which gets loud enough to fill the room with clear vocals and bass. Low-frequency notes are often muffled, it's not something you cannot fix with an additional speaker or a soundbar. Or simply just crank up the volume, and you should be good to go, but the only disadvantage would be that all other sounds will get loud, too. Investing in an affordable soundbar won't hurt, but depending on the square footage of the room or living room, you can take a call on whether you really need it or not.
User interface and features
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge is powered by the latest OxygenPlay 2.0 based on Android 11, which bags a host of interesting and useful features. If you own a OnePlus smartphone, you're truly in for a treat. OnePlus has wonderfully built its ecosystem and seamless cross-device integration is worthy of applause.
For instance, you can use your OnePlus smartphone to control most of your TV and even pair the OnePlus Buds as easily as you would with your phone. There's more, if you happen to own the OnePlus Watch, you can do some wizard tricks from your wrist. Like, if you have the habit of falling asleep in front of the TV, the Watch will inform the TV to shut down.
The OnePlus Connect 2.0 app offers a host of connectivity features, including casting, taking screenshots and all this even when there's no Wi-Fi or mobile data to connect.
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge can be controlled via the remote, and we did not notice any major lags and it appeared snappy. It's impressive how much a budget TV such as the Y1S Edge can do for its asking price. OnePlus is not tight-fisted about sharing the features it offers in its premium Q-range.
Under the hood, the Y1S Edge has a quad-core MediaTek processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB storage, which is shared among the OS and apps. The overall performance is acceptable and the apps would launch reasonably quick.
Verdict
OnePlus TV Y1S Edge is a well-rounded smart TV, which can be a perfect addition as your secondary TV or even the primary one if you're looking for something on a budget. At Rs 27,999, it's definitely one of the better choices to go for. If you already have a OnePlus smartphone among other accessories by the brand, this new addition will be well worth its price. In fact, the ecosystem factor is what makes this TV more appealing than the competition, which can be fierce given the price range it competes.
OnePlus TV Y1S has a premium and sleek design, good panel, and some excellent convenient features. The only issue would be that the OnePlus TV Y1S is treading in dangerous territory. There's some tough competition from the likes of Xiaomi and Redmi TVs in this very price range.
