OnePlus TV 43 Y1S Pro review: Style and substance on a budget

The OnePlus TV 43 Y1S Pro may have a complicated name but it’s probably one of the simplest tech products we’ve reviewed in recent memory. This makes it special, really.

Gadgets, today, are all about the specs and while it’s nice to have those flashy features especially on a budget, more often than not, they come with strings attached that usually go unnoticed until you have the product delivered to your doorstep and start using it. This is truer about a smart TV than anything else because most of them, well, they suck. Not because the underlying hardware is bad, but because the software – experience – is.

OnePlus has figured out a way to make that experience likeable in the Y1S Pro— a 43-inch 4K TV that costs just Rs 29,999. So even though a TV like, say, the Redmi Smart TV X43 may draw a lot of attention for its specs, trust us when we say this, the Y1S Pro is the kind of TV you’d want to come home to. Even better if you’re invested in the OnePlus ecosystem and own one of its AIoT products.

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The Y1S Pro has the same 4-core MediaTek A55 processor, 2GB RAM, and Android TV 10 software as the Redmi Smart TV X43, but it feels noticeably snappier. Instances of lag and stutter – which is commonplace in almost every Android TV we can think of – are few and far between.

OnePlus has optimised the software well mostly and better than any other competing brand in its class. We can’t stress enough how important that is and how rare. Android TV 11 would have been a nice cherry on the cake, but OnePlus tells us it was able to eke out faster performance with the chosen combination. Well at least, it was able deliver on that promise. As for future updates, it won’t commit anything at the time of writing, so fingers crossed there.

Naturally, you get access to two types of skins—barebones Android and OnePlus’s own OxygenPlay version 2.0. You can switch between them on the fly with the included remote. This is minimal but has all the essentials including dedicated hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney +Hotstar, and Google Assistant. For a budget TV remote, it is built well and is quite ergonomic, too. And yes, batteries are included. This is a small but a nice gesture, regardless.

The design of the Y1S Pro is classy. Now, we know, that may seem like a hyperbole considering the kind of price point we’re dealing with, but it is quite a looker in every sense of the word. It won’t be wrong to say that it is one of the best-looking TVs at its price. The thing looks more expensive than it really is, especially from the front. The screen extends near edge-to-edge on three corners and the bottom bezel, too, is just barely there. When powered down, the whole thing looks like a single, uninterrupted sheet of glass. The bundled stands are also striking to look at, and look metallic, even though they’re made of plastic.

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43-inch is easily one of the most highly recommended screen sizes you can get on a budget. It’s not too big, not too small either. It’s easy to move around, too. 4K may not be something that a budget-conscious buyer maybe looking for directly but who’s to complain if they’re getting it at a price like this. But having 4K doesn’t necessarily mean it would also be good 4K. The Y1S Pro has a good 4K screen, for the most part.

Colours are nice and pleasing, right out of the gate in the Y1S Pro, in part due to OnePlus’s Gamma Engine. Budget TVs generally have poorly calibrated screens, so it’s nice to see a TV like the Y1S Pro that bucks the trend. Still, if you’re someone who likes to tinker about with the settings, there are enough custom toggles that you can work with to tune the display as per your liking. There is support for HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG formats baked in. HDR performance could be slightly better, though, as the panel does not get very bright. There is ALLM and MEMC support, too. The Redmi Smart TV X43 offers Dolby Vision, additionally, but the Y1S Pro shows better, more true-to-life colours, something that has more real-world use-case, we feel.

For audio, you get a dual speaker setup with a 24W combined output and Dolby Audio. The Y1S Pro punches above its weight class, here. Dialogues – which is nothing but the mids —come out nice and crisp so movie-watching is a treat. It gets plenty loud, too, without any visible distortion. The bass and treble could be a bit better but overall, we’re satisfied with the Y1S Pro’s audio credentials.

The port selection is generous. You get 3x HDMI 2.1 (1x eARC), 2xUSB 2.0, optical, and ethernet ports in addition to dual band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0. Chromecast support is available. The TV also Works with Alexa.

OnePlus TV 43 Y1S Pro | Should you buy it?

Instead of chasing specs and features, OnePlus has focused on getting the basics right with the Y1S Pro. In the process, it has created a TV that blends form and function seamlessly into one device that does most things right with barely a hiccup.

The Y1S Pro is gorgeous to look at, has a well calibrated 4K panel, good audio, and ample connectivity options. Most importantly, the software breaks with convention to bring back the fun, excitement, and convenience you expect out of a smart TV like this. Most smart TVs are smart only in name. The Y1S Pro actually justifies the moniker. That it costs so low, is a wake-up call for rivals.     

Pros	Cons
Classy design	Only 8GB storage
Rich colours and contrast	Panel could be slightly brighter
4K on a budget
Fast performance
Plenty of ports
Good audio
Great value

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz