After launching the MediaTek Dimensity-powered X7 series in India earlier this month, Realme is now gearing up to launch a new Narzo-branded device. The upcoming device was recently spotted on Chinese certification authority TENAA’s website with the model number RMX3161. While Realme is yet to release any details about the phone, reports claim that it could be launched as Narzo 30 Pro 5G in China and India.
The TENAA certification listing (via fonearena) reveals key details about the Narzo 30 Pro 5G. It also includes a couple of live images that give us a good look at its design. As you can see in the images attached below, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G will feature a large rectangular camera island in the top left corner of the back panel with a triple camera setup and an LED flash. Much like the Realme X7 lineup, the device will feature Realme and “Dare to Leap” branding on the back panel.
The images further reveal that the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G will feature a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the right edge and a volume rocker on the left edge. As far as its specifications are concerned, the certification listing confirms that the device will pack a 6.5-inch hole-punch display and a 4,880mAh battery. It also states that the phone will measure 162.5×74.8×8.8mm, making it slightly slimmer than its predecessor.
Although the listing doesn’t include any other hardware info, fonearena speculates that the device could launch with an FHD+ panel with a 90Hz or 120Hz peak refresh rate. The publication also suggests that the device may feature 65W fast charging support. On the software front, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G will ship with Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11 out of the box.
Exclusive: realme will also be launching gaming accessories along with narzo 30 series. These look cool…
The gaming mouse and the pad also indicates at an imminent launch of a gaming laptop? #realme is yet to announce the launch dates of the narzo 30 series. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/0XBQpITfq2
Along with the Narzo 30 series, Realme is also working on bringing new Narzo-branded gaming accessories to the market. An image featuring the new gaming accessories was recently shared by leaker Ishan Agarwal, who claims that the accessories will debut alongside the Narzo 30 series. The image showcases three new products, including a wireless gaming mouse and a mouse pad.
Lenovo today launched the Tab P11 Pro in India, a productivity-focused tablet that was first announced in August last year. The tablet comes with an optional keyboard and stylus, and it packs mid-range hardware with a couple of high-end features.
The Tab P11 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730G chip, which is powerful enough to handle most apps, games, and daily workloads with ease. It features an 11.5-inch OLED display with a 2560×1600 resolution that includes support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision for an enhanced viewing experience. The display is coupled with an impressive quad-speaker system tuned by JBL that features Dolby Atmos support, making the tab a great choice for media consumption. The Snapdragon 730G is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage that can be expanded using a microSD card of up to 256GB.
The Tab P11 Pro features a total of four cameras, including two 8MP sensors on the front and a 13MP+5MP setup on the back. Lenovo claims that the tablet is one of the slimmest and lightest in the category, weighing just 485g with a thickness of 5.8mm. As for the battery, the Tab P11 Pro packs an 8,600mAh unit that is rated for 15-hours of video playback. It supports Quick Charge 3.0 and reverse wired charging, which will let you charge other devices via its USB Type-C port. On the software front, the tablet will ship with Android 10 out of the box, but Lenovo plans to update it to Android 11 in the future.
As far as accessories are concerned, Lenovo will offer an optional keyboard folio at launch that includes a trackpad and connects to the Tab P11 Pro via a 4-point pogo-pin connector. The tab also supports Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2, but it will go on sale later this year.
The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro is priced at ₹44,999 (~$618), and it will be available for purchase starting February 14 via Lenovo’s website, Amazon, and Flipkart. Early buyers will be able to get their hands on the tablet and the keyboard accessory (worth ₹10,000) at a promotional price of ₹49,999 ($687).
OnePlus had a pretty monumental 2020. The company started it off with the launch of its first “true” flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 8 Pro, which was followed by the company’s first mid-ranger in five years — the OnePlus Nord. OnePlus then further expanded its portfolio to include a couple of budget-friendly devices in the Nord lineup, and the company even dipped its toes in the TWS earbuds space. This year, we’re expecting the company to dial things up a notch and bring some much-needed refinements to its wide range of products, starting with its flagship lineup for 2021 — the OnePlus 9 series.
OnePlus is expected to unveil the OnePlus 9 series sometime next month, and the series is rumored to feature three devices this time. Over the last few months, we’ve seen plenty of leaks about these devices, and here’s everything we know about them so far!
OnePlus 9 series: Release Date
Shortly after the launch of the OnePlus 8T last year, we saw the first leak about the OnePlus 9 series. The leak revealed that OnePlus was planning on launching its next-gen flagship devices four weeks ahead of schedule. If that is, in fact, the case, the OnePlus 9 series could be unveiled sometime next month. While OnePlus has neither confirmed nor denied this rumor, Samsung’s move to launch the Galaxy S21 series much earlier than usual gives OnePlus plenty of reason to prepone its timeline as well.
OnePlus 9 series — Regular, Pro, and Lite variants
Unlike previous years, OnePlus is expected to launch three new devices as part of the OnePlus 9 series — the regular OnePlus 9, the flagship OnePlus 9 Pro, and a more-affordable OnePlus 9 Lite. While we’ve already seen plenty of leaks confirming the existence of the OnePlus 9 and the OnePlus 9 Pro, details about the OnePlus 9 Lite have been scarce so far. Rumors suggest that the affordable flagship will either be called the OnePlus 9 Lite or the OnePlus 9E and that it will feature similar hardware to the OnePlus 8T.
It’s also worth noting that the OnePlus 9 series is, most likely, codenamed “lemonade,” according to evidence spotted in the Settings APK from Open Beta 3 for the OnePlus 8 series late last year. The lineup will include five variants, including lemonade, lemonadev, lemonadev, lemonadep, and lemonadept. Based on our understanding of OnePlus codenames, we believe that these devices would be:
lemonade — OnePlus 9
lemonadet — T-Mobile OnePlus 9
lemonadev — Verizon OnePlus 9
lemonadep — OnePlus 9 Pro
lemonadept — T-Mobile OnePlus 9 Pro
The existence of five variants has also been confirmed by a separate leak, which lists the model numbers of the devices. According to the leak, the OnePlus 9 will go by the model numbers LE2110, LE2117, and LE2110, and the OnePlus 9 Pro will go by the model numbers LE2120 and LE2127. As of now, we haven’t been able to confirm the codename or model number for the OnePlus 9 Lite/9E.
Design
Over the last few months, we’ve seen several leaked live images and renders of the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro that have given us a good look at their updated design. Here’s a brief overview of everything we’ve learned from the leaked images so far:
OnePlus 9
We got our first look at the OnePlus 9 in November last year when leaked renders of the device first popped up online. The renders revealed that the OnePlus 9 would feature a new back panel design, more in line with other phones that we’ve seen in the last couple of months. As you can see in the attached image, the device features a new rectangular camera island in the top-right corner with 3 sensors and an LED flash.
Over on the front, the OnePlus 9 features a flat display with a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera in the top left corner. The leak also revealed that the OnePlus 9 would feature a 6.55-inch display that will offer a peak refresh rate of 120Hz. It’s worth noting that while a prominent OnePlus leaker had expressed his doubts about these leaked renders, the design was confirmed shortly thereafter when we first saw leaked live images of the device.
The live images shed more light on the design, showcasing the glossy back panel finish, Ultrashot branding on the camera module, and an unusual logo instead of OnePlus branding. The live images also revealed that the device would feature a secondary noise-canceling mic on the top edge, a USB Type-C port at the bottom sandwiched between the speaker grille and SIM card slot, and the usual button layout on the left and right edges.
Furthermore, the report revealed that the device would feature a 6.5-inch hole-punch display with a peak refresh rate of 120Hz and FHD+ resolution (2400 x 1080p). It’s also worth mentioning that a prototype of the OnePlus 9 5G was sold on eBay for a whopping $6,000 late last year. The listing included a couple of live images of the device, which appear to be the same as those attached above.
OnePlus 9 Pro
Renowned leaker OnLeaks first shared renders of the OnePlus 9 Pro back in November last year. The renders revealed that the device would feature a design similar to the OnePlus 9, albeit with a larger camera island containing an additional sensor and a rectangular LED flash. We also learned that it would feature a larger 6.7-inch curved display with a left-aligned hole-punch cutout.
Recently, YouTuber Dave2D gave us our first look at live images of a OnePlus 9 Pro prototype with Hasselblad branding on the camera module. The video confirmed that OnePlus’ flagship model would feature a curved display with a left-aligned hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera, a quad-camera setup on the back with two large and two small sensors, a circular LED flash (unlike the rectangular one seen in the previous renders), a laser AF sensor, and a rear-facing microphone in the camera island.
The live images also confirmed that the device would feature a QHD+ 120Hz display, a slimmer metal frame, and the same glossy gray finish like the one we saw in the leaked OnePlus 9 live images.
OnePlus 9 Lite/9E
We currently haven’t seen any leaked renders or live images of the OnePlus 9 Lite/9E. We’ll update this post as soon as they surface online. The only bit of information we have about the OnePlus 9 Lite’s design is that it may feature a plastic back panel and a “more mainstream design” to differentiate itself from the OnePlus 8T.
As mentioned earlier, the OnePlus 9 allegedly features a 6.55-inch HD+ display with a peak refresh rate of 120Hz. The device will, most likely, feature Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chip, which will be paired with at least 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. A recent leak from reliable OnePlus leaker Max J. suggests that it will pack a 4,500mAh battery, with a leak from late last year revealing that it will support 65W wired fast charging, 30W wireless charging, and even reverse wireless charging. The leaker also claimed that the device will ship with a 65W charger in the box.
While information about the camera setup on the OnePlus 9 has been scarce so far, a report from 91mobiles claims that it will include a 48MP primary camera with a focal length of 6mm, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, and an unspecified third sensor. We suspect that the third camera could either be a monochrome sensor or a macro sensor. Currently, we haven’t’ seen any details about the selfie camera.
An APK teardown of the OnePlus Camera app has also revealed that the company may introduce several new camera features with the OnePlus 9 series. These include a Tilt-shift mode, Focus peaking, a Moon mode, and more. You can read more about these features by following this link.
OnePlus 9 Pro
The flagship model in the OnePlus 9 lineup will feature a larger 6.7-inch QHD+ curved display with a peak refresh rate of 120Hz. As with the OnePlus 9, the 9 Pro will most likely feature the Snapdragon 888 SoC. However, live images of the device suggest that it will come with up to 12GB of RAM. As far as the storage is concerned, OnePlus will probably include at least 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage on the device, and it may go up to 512GB on the top model.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus 9 Pro is rumored to feature the same battery capacity as the non-pro variant — 4,500mAh. If that’s the case, the device may struggle to last a full day with its QHD+ display running at 120Hz. However, the rumored 65W wired fast charging support will address this to a great extent. As with its predecessor, the OnePlus 9 Pro will also feature wireless charging support. But this time around, it’s rumored to include support for much faster 45W wireless charging.
While we don’t know much about the OnePlus 9 Pro’s camera hardware, we can expect it to be better than what the company will offer with the OnePlus 9. For now, we only know that OnePlus is working with Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad to develop the camera system for its upcoming flagship.
OnePlus 9 Lite/9E
Back in December last year, an Android Central report revealed that the OnePlus 9 Lite/9E will feature similar hardware to the OnePlus 8T. The report claimed that the device will come equipped with a Snapdragon 865 chip, a 90Hz or 120Hz AMOLED panel, and 65W fast charging support. It further added that the device would feature the same camera setup as the OnePlus 8T.
Although we can’t confirm or deny the display and fast charging specifications at the moment, we have reason to believe that the OnePlus 9 Lite/9E will come equipped with the new Snapdragon 870 chip. The new chipset, which is merely a faster version of the Snapdragon 865, was unveiled earlier this year, and during the launch announcement, Qualcomm had revealed that it will make an appearance on a OnePlus device later this year. This, coupled with information shared in the aforementioned report, leads us to believe that the device will pack the newer Snapdragon 870 chip and not the Snapdragon 865.
OnePlus 9 series: Price
The price of OnePlus phones has crept up steadily over the years, and we expect the same to happen this year. While we haven’t seen concrete leaks about the pricing yet, OnePlus may launch the OnePlus 9 around the same price as the OnePlus 8T. The device will likely go on sale at a starting price of around $750 for the 8GB/128GB variant.
The OnePlus 9 Pro, on the other hand, might be slightly more expensive than the OnePlus 8 Pro. The device could launch around the $950 mark, given the fact that it’s expected to feature a premium camera setup. The OnePlus 9 Lite/9E will be priced around $600, according to a report from Android Central.
Based on the leaks and rumors that we’ve seen so far, the OnePlus 9 series is shaping up to be quite a compelling lineup. While I am looking forward to testing the new camera system on the OnePlus 9 Pro, I’m most excited about it’s the OnePlus 9 Lite/9E. It’s expected to usher in a new breed of affordable flagship killers that OnePlus fans have been clamoring for over the last few years, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
What’s your opinion of OnePlus’ upcoming flagship lineup? Is there any particular feature or improvement that you’d want to see on the devices? Let us know in the comments section below!
The smartphone market is incredibly saturated. After thriving in the smartphone business, companies traditionally branch out into other consumer product categories — smart TVs being one of them — and that’s exactly the trajectory that Xiaomi has followed. In India, Xiaomi has been selling smart TVs since early 2018, and in less than three years, it has become the leader in the smart TV market thanks to the appealing prices of their products. After achieving stardom with a diverse set of LED smart TVs, Xiaomi has taken a leap forward by launching its first TV in India with a QLED display. The 55-inch 4K QLED TV from Xiaomi is priced at only ₹54,999, making it one of the most attractively priced QLED TVs in India.
The Mi QLED TV appears to have a striking display due to the advantages of a QLED over an LED. Xiaomi also makes big claims about the optimizations the team has done to the Mi QLED TV’s video and sound quality. Overall, it looks like a very attractive package, but we wanted to put this all to the test in our review.
Mi QLED TV 4K 55 Specifications
Specification
Mi QLED TV 4K 55
Display
55-inch panel
3840 x 2160 pixels
QLED-backlit LCD panel
16:9 aspect ratio
Dolby Vision, HDR10+, MEMC
Processor
MediaTek MT9611
4 x ARM Cortex A55 @ 1.5GHz
Mali G52 MP2 GPU
RAM
2GB
Storage
32GB flash storage, 26GB usable
Audio
30W output
4 x full-range speakers
2 x tweeters
Dolby Audio
I/O & Connectivity
3 x HDMI 2.1 ports
2 x USB
Optical Audio
Ethernet port
3.5mm jack
IR receiver
Dual-band Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 5.0
Interface
PatchWall 3.0 along with Android TV UI based on Android 10
About this review: Xiaomi India loaned us the Mi QLED TV a week before its launch in India. This review is after almost two months of use. Xiaomi had no input on the content of this review.
Build and Design
The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K 55 looks very premium when you view it from the front. With thin sand-blasted aluminum bezels surrounding the display panel, the TV’s front side looks strikingly similar to the Mi TV 5 Pro launched in China back in November of 2019. However, Xiaomi does clarify that this model has been crafted exclusively for India, and the “Designed by Xiaomi” etching along the right edge — instead of the engraving on the Mi TV 5 series — affirms that.
The Mi QLED TV’s frame is comprised of different strips that meet at the edges instead of a single continuous strip wrapping the top, left, and right edges of the TV. At these intersections, the metal strips do not perfectly align and leave some gaps, deducting from the TV’s overall premium image. While there is practically no bezel on the three sides, there are nearly 1cm thick and black-colored bands under the front glass along the periphery of the display. These bands are not active parts of the display and blend in with the panel when the TV is not being used.
While there are virtually no bezels on the Mi QLED TV, there is a thin chin along the bottom edge. This chin is also made of the same metal and has a “MI” logo embossed in the center.
The back of the Mi QLED TV is made of plastic and comes across as starkly different from the front materials. The upper half of the back is straight and has an angled design, while the lower half of the back is thicker and features the input/output ports and the logic board. The back has vents above this area to dissipate the heat. The lower back is also made of plastic but is lined with a Kevlar-like pattern. Coincidentally, we saw the use of a more convincing faux Kevlar on the OnePlus Q1 QLED TV from 2019.
The Mi QLED TV comes with solid metal legs with rubber cushions underneath, unlike the Mi LED TVs that feature legs made of plastic. The solid feet allow the TV to stay anchored and not sway too much when it is touched. The legs are 105cm apart, so you will have to ensure you have a large enough tabletop before buying the TV. If not, you can also mount the TV on a wall using Xiaomi’s standard wall bracket for its 55-inch TVs — or you can get a third-party wall mount like the DazzelOn TV wall mount that also comes with horizontal tilt options.
Although the Mi QLED TV weighs only 14.2kg (which includes its metal feet), I would recommend against handling it all by yourself because of the TV’s width. A typical 55-inch TV or screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio has an approximately 64% larger display area than a 43-inch model. So, it would be best to take someone’s help, or you might end up dumping ₹54,999 into the garbage.
Display
As its name suggests, the Mi QLED TV 4K 55″ has a 55-inch QLED display panel with a 4K resolution. A QLED (or Quantum-dot Light-Emitting Diodes) panel is a variety of an LED-backlit LCD. It features a layer of Quantum dots or nanoparticles that produce different colors based on the applied electricity. This extra layer allows a QLED panel to deliver more accurate colors than a regular LED-backlit LCD panel.
A still from Togo by Disney
Additionally, the Mi QLED TV utilizes a VA-type (Vertical Alignment) LCD panel. The name comes from the “vertical alignment” of liquid crystals in an LCD concerning the glass substrate. VA panels have deeper blacks than IPS and TN panels, and therefore have better contrast (or, a higher contrast ratio). If you are interested in learning why VA panels have better contrast than IPS displays, here’s a good explainer video that answers that: “What is VA (Vertical Alignment) Technology?”
While VA panels do have better contrast, they end up having inferior viewing angles when compared to IPS panels. Therefore, TVs with VA panels are not ideal for small rooms accommodating a lot of viewers.
Regarding their use in the Mi QLED TV, the QLED and VA technologies combine to give rich colors and excellent contrast. Xiaomi claims that display optimizations allow the TV to show 100% of the colors in the NTSC gamut while other LED TVs can only display 72% of the colors in the gamut. Additionally, the TV also supports 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. In contrast, the OnePlus Q1 QLED TV that we reviewed in 2019 supports 120% of NTSC and 96% of the DCI-P3 color gamuts.
A still from Netflix’s Our Planet
The viewing angle limitations of a VA panel also apply to this TV, and you will find the colors washed out if you are sitting at a sharp angle to it.
As I mentioned before, QLED is a type of LCD which means it still uses a backlight to display black colors across the screen, unlike an OLED display. Because a QLED display uses a backlight, blacks on the TV do not appear as pitch black but rather as dark grays. This phenomenon becomes more apparent in dim lighting or in completely dark rooms. The image below was captured in a dark room, and the areas of the screen behind the teacup should be black but appear to be gray. Take a look:
The lighting up of black portions is a property of QLED displays, and there is only so much that Xiaomi or any other brand can do to rectify it. However, the company has done a decent job at ensuring good uniformity of the backlight intensity. The below image on the left shows the backlight uniformity at 20% brightness on a dark gray hue. The middle appears very slightly brighter than the edges, but overall, the intensity is much more uniform than standard LED TVs. Simultaneously, the Mi QLED TV does not support local dimming due to the display’s nature, and the below image on the right confirms that.
The Mi QLED TV comes with support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision to work with supported content to enhance the color output. You can find video content that supports Dolby Vision on Netflix (only with the Ultra HD plan), Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar, among other OTT apps in India. Compared to HDR10 or HDR10+, Dolby Vision produced richer colors with 12-bit color support and aimed to make higher peak brightness. Furthermore, the tone mapping is done dynamically, i.e., frame-by-frame, rather than for the entire video in HDR10, and that improves the HDR quality. (Notably, the color output on the Mi QLED TV is limited to 10-bit only.)
The TV also supports MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation) powered by Xiaomi’s Reality Flow engine. As expected, the technology can increase the frame rate of content by interpolating frames. This means that a movie recorded at 24fps, a TV sitcom at 25fps, or an animated series at 30fps can be boosted to 60fps by the Mi QLED TV to emulate smoother playback. This may not be attractive to all, but Xiaomi does give you the option to choose how aggressively its Reality Flow engine will smoothen content.
Xiaomi has also added a wide range of options to customize the color, contrast, saturation, color temperature, HDR, etc., on the Mi QLED TV. If you prefer, you can also fine-tune the hue, brightness, and saturation of each of the red, green, and blue (RGB) as well as cyan, magenta, and cyan (CMY) colors. Furthermore, the TV lets you choose between different color gamuts, including sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, etc.
In addition to these adequate controls, the Mi QLED TV also comes with local contrast, adaptive luma control, and dynamic brightness. These features adjust the brightness and the contrast of the display according to the content. Notably, local contrast is not related to local dimming, which — as I’ve discussed above — is not supported by the TV. Dynamic brightness is especially useful when viewing Dolby Vision content as it adjusts the brightness of the TV corresponding to the dynamic HDR data. However, it can be distracting for some users if they desire a consistent picture quality.
Overall, the Mi QLED TV gets fairly bright without any significant compromise in terms of the colors. Even when the TV is kept in a brightly-lit room, the viewing experience remains unfettered unless there is a direct beam of light directed at the display.
Audio
The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV, as we learned above, offers excellent display quality for the price, but entertainment remains incomplete without excellent sound output. The TV comes with six downward-facing speakers in total, and the tally includes four full-range drivers accompanied by two tweeters to enhance sounds in the high-frequency range.
Xiaomi claims these full-range speakers support audio frequencies in the range of 50Hz-20kHz instead of the relatively scant range of 100Hz-14kHz for similarly priced TVs. In layman’s terms, the Mi QLED TV is expected to render a richer sound profile than most of its competition. To add to this, the speaker cavity for all speakers combined measures 1 liter. According to Xiaomi, that is more than three times than we usually find in other TVs in this price bracket. The larger speaker cavities allow the sound waves to resonate more and produce a much louder and richer audio output.
I found the Xiaomi Mi QLED TV's audio quality to be outstanding.
In line with Xiaomi’s claims, I found the Xiaomi Mi QLED TV’s audio quality to be outstanding. The low-end, i.e., bass, is rich and profound, while the treble, i.e., high-end frequencies, sound crystal clear. Overall, music or any background score sounds brilliant, allowing you to grasp nuances very quickly.
For the most part, dialogues are clear irrespective of the volume. However, when the background score is too prominent, it can overpower the dialogue. This leads you into the unavoidable paradox where you have to increase the volume to hear something clearly, and that inadvertently makes the background score more overwhelming. This can be bothering for some users, especially if they expect a more neutral sound experience right out-of-the-box. What’s even more jarring is that this effect amplifies while using the Movie sound preset.
Thankfully, if you know your way around, you can fix this to some extent by switching to a different sound preset. The Mi QLED TV features pre-built audio modes such as Standard, Movie, News, and Game. You can also adjust the audio output to your preference by choosing the Custom audio mode and reducing the gain on the 5-band sound equalizer in the audio settings.
User Experience
The Mi QLED TV runs the full Android TV experience based on Android 10. Despite having Android 10, the Mi QLED TV features the standard Android TV interface and does not come with the new Google TV interface. However, you get the latest version of PatchWall, which is Xiaomi’s proprietary content discovery and recommendations platform. PatchWall 3.0 comes with visual and functional improvements over the previous version.
With PatchWall, you can track the progress of movies and TV shows you are watching across all the installed OTT apps on the Mi QLED TV. You can also jump to the next few episodes of the last TV show you watched on the TV and find new suggestions.
Based on what you’ve already watched, PatchWall recommends new content. Besides that, you also get recommendations for content curated by Xiaomi — which potentially includes ads and live TV shows and news. Notably, PatchWall initially recommends content to you in a host of Indic languages, but you can choose your preferred languages for these suggestions.
The content suggestions are segmented into Movies, TV Shows, Live TV, Sports, Kids, Music, and Discover.
You can also scroll down on the Home Page and access curated playlists based on the content’s quality. Some of these playlists include content in Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 4K, etc. However, the suggestions are limited to India-focused apps like Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Sony LIV, and may exclude others, especially Netflix and Prime Video.
If you play a recommendation from any video app that isn’t already installed on the Mi QLED TV, you will see a vague notification saying, “To continue, agree to <app name>’s privacy policy.” If you click on Agree, the app will be installed automatically without any further notice. What is even more irksome is that this app does not appear in the app drawer or the Play Store. Thankfully, you can find any unwanted apps using the TV Manager, Xiaomi’s custom cleaner app for the TV, and delete them.
In addition to browsing content by type, language, video quality, etc., you can also discover new content sorted by artists in PatchWall. You can also head over to the Discover section to find other trending content, including tutorials, fitness and spirituality videos, podcasts, etc.
Performance
The Mi QLED TV is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT9611 processor that uses four ARM Cortex A55 cores clocked at 1.5GHz. According to Xiaomi, the chipset has been specially tuned for the requirements of this TV. In addition, the Mi QLED TV features 2GB of RAM. In my experience, the Mi QLED TV shows no signs of lag while starting up or while switching apps.
The Mi QLED TV also comes prebuilt with a TV Manager app that is comprised of options such as Junk Cleaner, Memory boost, Uninstall apps, Install via USB, and Limit data usage. As the names suggest, these features, respectively, clean up junk files, clear up RAM, uninstall apps that you don’t need, install new apps from a USB storage, and lastly, limit consumption of content if you are on a metered internet connection. It also comes with a data saver option that is said to consume only one-third of the data if you are using the internet from your smartphone via a Wi-Fi hotspot instead of an actual Wi-Fi connection. This feature has been designed especially for Indian users.
You can also connect a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to the TV and enjoy games such as Asphalt 8, Beach Buggy Racing, Hungry Shark, etc. I tried using the Mi Remote Controller app on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro but faced significant input lag. However, if you want to entertain yourself with some more engaging gaming, the Mi QLED TV can be a great companion for your gaming console.
Gaming on the Mi QLED TV
The Mi QLED TV has excellent video and audio capabilities if you consider its price. That might urge users to try it out for gaming connected to a PC or a console. I tried to find out how it works with the Xbox Series S, and the experience was very satisfying. First, the Mi QLED TV supports 4K gaming at up to 60Hz (60fps). Suppose your console supports rendering higher frame rates — like our Xbox Series S unit did at 1440p resolution, the TV will still display it at 60fps. Furthermore, the TV also supports 10-bit color along with HDR10 and Dolby Vision while playing games.
I played a host of games, including Forza Horizon, FIFA 21, NFS Heat, Goat Simulator, etc. without running into any significant issues. As I also mentioned previously, the audio and video hold a strong case in favor of the Mi QLED TV. The only thing worth noting is that the MEMC feature interferes with the frame rendering and might lead to an impression of stuttering. In reality, that is because the MEMC feature cannot accurately predict frames to insert during a game.
The TV does support Dolby Vision on gaming consoles thanks to HDMI 2.1 support. But as I mentioned above, it cannot surpass the 60Hz (or 60fps) refresh rate and thus might disappoint hardcore gamers. The TV also lacks support for VRR (variable refresh rate), thus the display refresh rate will not change dynamically with the frame rendering rate. If you overlook these limitations, the Mi QLED TV offers a reasonably enjoyable gaming experience on consoles or other connected gaming equipment.
Remote Controller
While Xiaomi does a great job at optimizing the display and the audio quality of the Mi QLED TV, the remote controller has been spared from a similar treatment. The standard Xiaomi Mi TV remote is also sold with all other TVs and streaming devices like the Mi Box 4K. The remote has a functional design with sharp edges and curved faces on the front and the back. It communicates with the TV using Bluetooth and uses two AAA batteries for power.
As you can see in the image below, it features a circular directional pad, with the power and Google Assistant buttons above it. Some more buttons exist below the D-pad, and the row immediately below it has a button with a “Mi” logo that launches PatchWall on the left. You can also long-press this button to launch quick settings without having to exit an app. The button in the center is for “back.” Meanwhile, the one at the extreme right is the Home button, and while it is set to bring up the Android TV home by default, you can also choose to set PatchWall as the default home. You also get dedicated hotkeys for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and volume controls below that.
The remote, although utile, does not feel ergonomic. The sharp edges make it uncomfortable to hold, and because all of the buttons lie in the top half, you often need to slide it within your palm. The slot for batteries lies in the lower half, making it heavier than the top part. As a result, the remote’s weight feels off-center, and that is a potential peeve for many users.
It’s high time Xiaomi redesigns their remote and adopts a design similar to what we see in the updated OnePlus TV remote or the standard Realme TV remote. In addition to the off-putting design, the Mi TV remote lacks dual connectivity (Bluetooth + infrared) and does not come with batteries in the box.
Connectivity and I/O
In terms of connectivity, the Mi QLED TV is abundant with modern input and output features. All the ports are present on the backside of the TV, split in an L-shaped layout. The ports available on the TV include:
3 x HDMI 2.1 ports
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x optical audio out (Toslink) port
1 x antenna port for cable TV
1 x Ethernet port
1 x 3.5mm headphone jack
RCA audio-video jack
Out of the ports listed above, the vital ones, including HDMI and USB ports, are placed on the side and are easily accessible. The ports facing downward are less likely to be used than those on the side. As for the HDMI 2.1 ports, all of them support Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC).
For wireless connectivity, the Mi QLED TV supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2×2 MIMO) Wi-Fi across dual bands. As a result, streaming in 4K becomes a lag-free experience on the Mi QLED TV if you have a decently fast Wi-Fi connection. The TV also comes with Bluetooth 5.0 for lower latency with audio devices and other controllers and a wider operating range. It also supports infrared so you can control it using an IR blaster on any Xiaomi device.
Conclusion
Xiaomi has been associated with affordability and great value for money for a very long time. It is now edging out of the segment of strictly affordable products without losing its essence of value-for-money, and the Mi QLED TV 4K 55-inch conforms to this philosophy. Xiaomi is not the only brand selling QLED TVs in this price range, but it benefits from its brand image and the trustworthiness brought by its extensive after-sales network, which is something that other brands like Vu or TCL have failed to achieve in India.
The Mi QLED TV provides for an immersive viewing experience in moderate to large-sized rooms.
The Mi QLED TV has a good-ish picture quality, and the audio isn’t far behind either. With support for standards like Dolby Vision, HDR 10+, and HLG for video, and Dolby Audio and DTS-HD for audio, the Mi QLED TV provides for an immersive viewing experience in moderate to large-sized rooms.
With the Mi QLED TV, Xiaomi primarily endorses its talent to make all forms of technology accessible to the masses. This economization comes with some compromises in quality — you can find better QLED TVs if you are willing to shell out more money. However, if you are in the market for a good TV that consistently impresses without having to stretch your budget, then the Mi QLED TV makes absolute sense.
The Xiaomi Mi QLED TV is available only in India for a price of ₹54,999. You can buy it at Xiaomi’s official online store, i.e., mi.com, at Flipkart, or at offline Mi Home stores. At Flipkart, you can also avail of a discount of ₹1,500 using an Axis Bank credit card.
The Mi QLED TV is one of the most effectively priced QLED TV in India. It features good picture and sound quality and comes with ample onboard storage.
Instagram is taking a stern stance against recycled TikTok videos populating its Reels section. In the latest guidance for Instagram creators, the photo-sharing platform said it will start limiting the reach of videos that have a watermark/logo or are blurry due to low-resolution. Although Instagram didn’t explicitly mention it, it was quite clear the company was referring to TikToks and the creator’s habits of recycling content.
Instagram says these recycled videos won’t be recommended or promoted as often in the Reels tab. They will remain visible on the creator’s feed and to their followers, but you’ll be less likely to stumble upon them through Reel’s discovery tab from now on.
We heard that low video quality reels (i.e. blurry due to low resolution) or content that is visibly recycled from other apps (i.e. contains logos or watermarks) makes the Reels experience less satisfying. So, we’re making this content less discoverable in places like the Reels tab.
On the most basic level, Reels is nothing but a clone of TikTok. So it’s only natural that Instagram wouldn’t want to have its platform plagued with its rival platform’s content. To that end, Instagram’s decision to suppress these videos can be a good thing in that it will force creators to come up with fresh content that’s tuned for their Instagram audiences rather than simply recycling their TikTok content.
Pro Tip: Remove the watermark from your TikTok videos
However, this change makes the life of content creators a bit difficult as they would be forced to produce two separate videos with the same content for both Instagram and TikTok. Ideally, you should have saved the raw footage before uploading to either platform as that would give you the best quality. But if you have forgotten to do so, or you just prefer creating content directly for TikTok first, it is possible to upload your TikTok videos on Instagram without being penalized by the new algorithms. Since Instagram’s algorithms actively look for the TikTok watermark and logo, you can use a web service like Musically Down (via Matt Navarra) to remove the watermark from your video. To do so, just copy the video link of the TikTok video you want to share on Instagram, paste the link into the URL box of Musically Down and click on the download button below.
