Latest OnePlus TV teaser shows off a custom interface on top of Android TV

Ben Schoon | Sep 25 2019 - 8:03 am PT

The OnePlus TV goes official tomorrow and there’s a lot of excitement behind it. One reason people are excited about the product is that it’s using Google’s Android TV platform, but in a teaser today, the company is showing off a custom interface for the OnePlus TV on top of the platform.

To clarify what’s going on here, OnePlus isn’t redesigning Android TV to suits its own needs. Consumer products using Google’s platform can’t change the core design of the platform like products using the operator tier can do. Rather, it seems like OnePlus is taking a note from Xiaomi with a custom interface that sits within an app on the TV.

With this custom app, OnePlus can design its experience however it would like, and from the looks of it, this interface is designed as a hub for content. We’ve seen other parts of this interface in other teasers, such as the search UI being controlled by a smartphone. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau calls this experience more “seamless and intelligent,” hinting at some personalized recommendations and smartphone integration. One of those integrations is lowering the TV volume when a phone call comes in.

This teaser also gives us one of the first looks at the design on the OnePlus TV which, unsurprisingly, is a large panel with thin bezels. As noted previously, there are 8 speakers within the TV and this teaser helps to confirm they’ll all be positioned along the back.