The company behind the $530 smartphone that's as good as the iPhone will release its first-ever TV

pulse

September 17, 2018 12:12 AM

In an unexpected move, OnePlus — the maker of cult-sensation smartphones that rival Apple's iPhone — will make TVs.

OnePlus founder Pete Lau.

For almost five years, the only products sold by OnePlus were its well-regarded line of affordable, high-end smartphones, and the accessories that go with them.

The Chinese smartphone company has built up a loyal customer base, who follow each new release with a fervor that can only be compared to Apple fans at the launch of a new iPhone. Few Android phones, if any, get city block-spanning lines of prospective buyers when a new model comes out. But OnePlus does, and did.

On Sunday, the company is announcing that it'll be expanding its product lineup into TVs, bringing OnePlus beyond smartphones for the first time ever.

It's perhaps an unexpected move, but many OnePlus smartphone users have already asked the company why it doesn't make a TV, OnePlus founder Pete Lau told Business Insider in a phone interview, speaking via an interpreter. And while many details on the TV are still unclear, Lau says that OnePlus is thinking big with the new product.

We also don't know what kind of specs to expect in the OnePlus TV, including whether or not it'll come with 4K resolution or HDR (high dynamic range for enhanced colors and contrast). But Lau says that OnePlus is building a premium, flagship TV, and promises it'll have specs to match.

A Samsung smart TV. BusinessInsider

seamless connectivity between your smartphone and TV, as well as the type of AI smarts and assistive functionality offered by devices like Amazon's Echo and Google's Home.

That means beaming photos and home videos to your TV without needing to worry about a clunky app or third-party service. It also means showing you useful information like your upcoming calendar events, suggestions for departure times for your daily commute, and the ability to arrange transportation to and from a destination. This is just a small example of what Lau thinks OnePlus could do with TVs, he says.

To be clear, Lau and OnePlus have just begun the long process to making and selling a OnePlus TV, and the company is still in the very early stages of development — hence the lack of specific details, or a solid launch date.

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