You can get a free 4K TV if you don't mind watching non-stop ads
Telly is giving away a dual-screen 55-inch 4K set that costs around $1,000 at retail
I can’t stand adverts, which is why I pay for services like YouTube Premium and haven’t watched terrestrial television for a number of years. However, one company is giving a 55-inch 4K TV if you’re willing to have continuous ads running on a secondary screen. Consider me intrigued.
Telly, a start-up created by Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Poszin, is taking reservations for 500,000 units that will begin shipping to consumers this summer. If you’re interested, you best sign-up fast.
“Telly is the biggest innovation in television since color,” said Ilya Pozin, founder and CEO of Telly in a press release. “Telly is a revolutionary step forward for both consumers and advertisers. For too long, consumers have not been an equal part of the advertising value exchange.
“Companies are making billions of dollars from ads served on televisions, yet consumers have historically had to pay for both the TV and the content they watch. All of that changes today. When I co-founded Pluto TV, we created an entirely new model that offered amazing TV content to viewers for free. Now, with Telly, we are providing the actual television for free as well.”
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Telly’s free 4K TV
🆕 A new startup is giving away a 55-inch 4K TV, but there’s a catch
🤔 It uses a unique dual-screen form factor
📺 The bottom screen displays additional information and adds new functionality
😒 However, part of it is reserved for adverts
The Telly uses a unique dual-screen form factor that is joined together by a premium, five-driver soundbar that will deliver “immersive sound”. The top screen shows your regular programming, while the bottom screen provides additional information and functionality like video calling, instant news, sports updates, as well as never-ending ads.
The Telly also includes its own camera, microphone array, and sensors, allowing you to use a voice assistant and play motion-controlled fitness apps. Whether these games will be fun to play is another story, as we’ve seen that hands-free gaming isn’t exactly easy to do – hey, Kinect.
It’s unclear what specs the Telly 4K 55-inch TV will include aside from the aforementioned features above. It’s unlikely to be an OLED panel, for example, and it may not let you play PS5 120fps games if it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1 ports.
However, the fact you can receive a 4K television for the price of some fairly intrusive ads running on a second screen will appeal, especially as the set is expected to cost $1,000 at retail.
If Telly’s features all work as advertised, and the second screen isn’t too distracting when you’re watching your favorite programs, it could be a success. It’s certainly taking a different approach from other manufacturers, which continue to fine-tune picture quality above everything else.
Remember, only 500,000 units are being given away for free, so reserve your free Telly now if you’re interested.