Vu Android TV vs Xiaomi Mi TV 4A: Which smart TV should you buy?
Xiaomi's budget TV lineup, the Mi TV 4A, is all set to go on its first sale today (March 16). Available in two sizes – 43-inch and 32 inch – the Mi TV 4A is Xiaomi's big bet for the burgeoning television market in the country, after the company recently jumped into the fray with the introduction of the Mi TV 4 – touted to be the thinnest TV in the world. The latter has a massive 55-inch display, an almost negligible frame and a thickness of 4.99mm at its thinnest point, and only 48mm at its thickest.
Unlike the premium Mi TV 4, which despite its aggressive price and specs is just a statement of intent from Xiaomi, the Mi TV 4A is a more rounded television that is aimed at a larger audience and a device that could truly become India's smart TV. But before the Mi TV 4A can be crowned so, it will need to see off strong competition from Indian television maker, Vu, which announced a new lineup affordable smart TVs earlier in the week.
Vu lineup
After Xiaomi set foot in the ring with its lineup of smart TVs, Vu also jumped into the fray with its smart TV lineup consisting of three TVs – 43-inch, 49-inch and the 55-inch top-end variant. The three 4K UHD TVs come with an A+ Grade IPS panel with 3840x2160 pixel resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. All three are powered by a quad-core processor coupled with 2.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
The displays also support dynamic contrast, high bright mode, smooth motion control and wide viewing angle among other features. Vu also claims that the new TVs are about sound as it is the display. To provide an immersive experience, all three 4K UHD TVs come with a built-in soundbar with Dolby and DTS support for an immersive viewing experience.
Xiaomi's TV lineup
The 4A lineup, on the other hand, starts with a 32-inch HD resolution (1366x768 pixel) display while the 43-inch Mi TV 4A goes only up to full-HD resolution (1920x1080). The two TVs also bring with them impressive specs – a 1.5GHz quad-core Amlogic T962 Cortex-A53 processor coupled with Mali-T450 GPU.
The smart TVs also sport 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage along with Wi-Fi (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 4.0, and 20W speakers that support DTS audio.
Price
Both the TV lineups come with competitive price tags. However, it's Xiaomi – and for an obvious reason – which comes out looking better. As opposed to the 4K Vu TVs priced at Rs 36,999, 46,999 and Rs 55,999, Mi TV 4A starts at 13,999 for the 32-inch HD ready variant and goes up to Rs 22,999 for the 43-inch TV.
The smart TV promise
The lineups, though differing greatly in price, come with the same smart TV promise. While Vu's Smart TVs run official Android 7.0 Smart OS which comes with Google Play Store, Google Eco-System, Google Movies, Music and also support Google Chromecast allowing you to cast movies and shows from your Android, iOS, Mac, Windows or Chromebook to the TV, Xiaomi's TVs come running their own PatchWall OS.
The OS is also based on Android and uses "deep learning AI for "making intelligent content recommendations" tailored for individuals. It not only promises support for connecting myriad devices with the TV, but also promises seamless transition between the TV's smart apps, set-top-box, and other devices connected to it.
However, Xiaomi's smart TV promise falls short as it does not yet support Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, unlike Vu which supports these two giant streaming content platform.
Which one should you go for?
If the price is not a concern, Vu's 4K IPS panels backed by Android 7.0 Smart OS mark themselves out as a better option. The OS, along with the better displays, give the TV an insurmountable lead in terms of technology and content support.
However, for buyers looking for a much cheaper deal, Xiaomi's 1080p 43-inch TV at a price of 22,999 is a really good deal.
But there's a catch. For the price, Xiaomi's 1080p Mi TV 4A also comes very close to Vu's own 1080p smart TV, which is currently available on Flipkart for as low as 26,999. The TV also comes with support for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and flaunts an IPS panel that displays better colours as compared to the Mi TV's S-VA panel.