Toshiba is adding to its lineup of affordable 4K TVs with the launch of its 58-inch UA2B television that can be bought at Currys for just £399.99.
The Toshiba UA2B is a direct-lit LED television that comes equipped with a Freeview HD tuner and also runs the Android TV platform. Performance-wise it looks pretty tasty for such an affordable box, with 300 individual LED dimming zones and support for the Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range formats. It also comes with Toshiba’s proprietary TRU Picture Engine that’s able to upscale non-4K content to a higher resolution.
On the connectivity front there are four HDMI ports, plus two USBs and Bluetooth.
The combination of Android TV and Freeview Play meanwhile will ensure that viewers have plenty of content options. They can access Google Play plus apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, together with on-demand services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5. Freeview also provides access to more than 700 box sets of classic UK TV series to choose from, as well as 70+ subscription-free channels. The TV has Chromecast built-in too, so viewers can cast any unsupported services to it.
The partnership with Toshiba is another win for the fast-growing Freeview Play platform, which has also been integrated with Amazon’s latest Fire TVs and the new Humax AURA set-top box.
Those who prefer hands-free control are covered too, thanks to an embedded microphone in the remote that allows you to speak to Google Assistant instead of manually pushing buttons. Voice controls can be used to search for content, stop and start programmes and open video games, among other things.
Audio quality should be good too, thanks to the built-in Onkyo sound system that comes in the shape of a 2x10 watt speaker setup.
“We are extremely excited to expand Toshiba’s Android TV offering with the UA2B, offering our customers access to a huge range of entertainment from the extensive Google Play Store, as well as featuring smart capabilities using Google Assistant that allow people to enjoy more of their favourite big screen moments,” said Bart Kuijten, Commercial Director of Vestel UK Ltd., which owns the Toshiba TV brand in the U.K.
Toshiba previously added to its 4K HDR TV lineup with the launch of its UK4B model in August that features Amazon Alexa built-in and runs a Linux-based operating system instead of Android.
The company said the Toshiba UA2B will soon be made available in other sizes besides 58-inches, but it didn’t provide any more details on when that might happen.
