Month: March 2018

Enlarge / No chunky bezels this year. (credit: TCL)

TCL on Tuesday announced that its forthcoming “6-Series” of 4K TVs will be available to purchase by May 1. The TVs were first announced at the CES trade show in January.

The 6-Series is notable for being the latest entry in TCL’s line of Roku TVs, which for the past few years have utilized the streaming device maker’s operating system as their smart TV interface. Think of it like having a Roku box baked into the television itself. Roku lends its platform to a number of TV manufacturers, but TCL, the Chinese electronics firm that’s also known for licensing the BlackBerry and Alcatel brands for its smartphones, appears to have particularly boosted sales with the partnership. The company says it is now the “number three smart TV brand” in the US.

A big reason for that success is because the TVs are often sold at relatively affordable prices, but over the past couple of years, TCL has improved the line’s reputation with picture quality as well. The 6-Series in particular is the follow-up to last year’s P6-Series TV, which garnered near-unanimous praise from reviewers and is generally considered the best TV on the market for less than $1,000.

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

I didn't know what to expect from a $99 smartwatch. I certainly didn't expect a GPS or a heart rate monitor. I also didn't expect it to look much different from a traditional fitness tracker, since those devices come in closer to the $99 price point than most smartwatches available today.

But the Amazfit Bip challenges even the lowest of expectations about what an affordable smartwatch might be. It promises a full smartwatch experience, including features like a heart rate monitor, onboard GPS, a touchscreen, multiple watch faces, full smartphone connectivity, and up to 45 days of battery life—all at the nearly unbeatable price of just $99. Its elevator pitch will be enticing to those searching for a comprehensive wearable that won't set them back hundreds of dollars, like most Android Wear, Tizen, and watchOS devices will.

But after spending a little over a week with the Amazfit Bip, it's clear that this affordable smartwatch doesn't come without compromises. While it does offer a lot wrapped into its $99 price tag, the experience of wearing the Bip day in and day out isn't as polished as that of other popular smartwatches.