Konka shows off WebOS-based smart TVs ahead of CES 2021

Konka may not be one of the household TV brands here in the U.S., but the Chinese company has plans to change that in 2021. In a briefing ahead of CES 2021, Konka revealed its 2021 U.S. TV lineup to Digital Trends — and it includes one of the first non-LG models to sport LG’s WebOS smart TV software. Though LG has it’s hands full with announcing its latest QNED TVs.

The Konka U4 Series WebOS TV, which is scheduled to be available in March/April, comes in 43-, 50-, 58- 65-, and 75-inch 4K models. The U4 Series is powered by a Quad-Core Video Engine with support for HDR Pro, and includes a game mode for low latency and input lag. You can connect a set of wireless headphones or a speaker via Bluetooth 5.0, and LG’s ThinQ and Alexa can be accessed with an included Voice Control Remote

Konka tells us that over time, its WebOS software will be updated to offer the same feature set that can be found on WebOS models from LG.

The U4 Series employs Konka’s ZeroBezel design, which gives the TVs a virtually edge-to-edge screen. Konka also plans to use WebOS on its H2 Series models, but the company didn’t provide any details on these TVs.

Licensing LG’s popular WebOS interface gives Konka a bit of an edge when it comes to the budget segment of the TV market. At the moment, these models — which range in price from $200 to $1,000 — are dominated by the Roku TV platform used by TCL, Toshiba, and Hisense. Amazon’s Fire TV Edition and Android TV models are also popular, but until this year, only smart TVs from LG used WebOS.

Having WebOS on other brands’ TVs is a smart move for LG, too. As much as webOS has been praised for its responsiveness and ease of use, it lags other platforms in terms of app support. The more WebOS TVs there are, the more developers will respond by creating new apps and services.

Q7 Android TV-based models

Konka is also planning the release of three new Android TV-based models, and some of these are going to come in screen sizes that have traditionally only been available on very expensive, high-end TVs.

Its Q7 Pro Series is a line of 4K QLED Android TVs scheduled to be available in April/May and will come in 55-, 65-, and 75-inch models. Konka promises these TVs will reproduce over 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, the current benchmark for digital cinema. Other Q7 Pro Series features include Konka’s XC3 Quad-Core+ Ultra HD Engine, HDR, Game Mode, and access to a full set of video calibration menus. Like the U4, you can connect Bluetooth 5.0 headphones or speakers, and the included Voice Control Remote lets you access the built-in Google Assistant.

The Q7 Pro gets an upgraded version of Konka’s ZeroBezel design (ZeroBezel Pro) that uses chamfered metal edges instead of plastic. Rounding out the feature set are 4 HDMI inputs, Dual-Band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, built-in Chromecast, and a CameraView capability that displays video from KonkaSmart video doorbells and cameras.

U5 Android TV-based models

The U5 Series 4K Android TVs are scheduled to be available in April/May and will include 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, and a very large 82-inch model. While the U5 Series isn’t a QLED TV — no quantum dots have been used to augment the backlight’s color accuracy —  it shares most of the Q7 Pro’s other features such as Konka’s XC3 Quad-Core+ Ultra HD Engine, HDR, Game Mode, and access to a full set of video calibration menus. You can connect Bluetooth 5.0 headphones or speakers, and once again, the included Voice Control Remote lets you access the built-in Google Assistant.

Four HDMI inputs, Dual-Band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, built-in Chromecast, and the CameraView capability for KonkaSmart video doorbells and cameras are also on the U5. The 50-, 55-, and 65-inch models get Konka’s standard ZeroBezel design while the 75- and 82-inch models use the ZeroBezel Pro construction.

H3 Android TV-based models

At the most budget-friendly end of the lineup, the H3 Series Android TV is scheduled to be available in April/May and will include 32- and 43-inch models. These are both Full HD (1080p) models with Voice Control Remotes and the ZeroBezel design. They have three HDMI inputs, and like the other Konka Android TV series, there is a game mode, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 compatibility, built-in Google Assistant, and built-in Chromecast.

Konka hasn’t released pricing info for its 2021 line of U.S. TVs yet, but we’ll update this post as soon as we hear what they’ll cost and where you can buy them.