Polaroids 4K 50" TV is The Cheapest Way to Get an UHD Television Under £1000, It's Missing The POP Though

While most 4K TVs seem to be getting bigger and bigger, Polaroid's new set is focused on shrinking something down: price. At just $999.99 for the 50-inch set, it's one of the least expensive ways you can get in on 4K, though its low cost only gets you so far. After seeing TVs like Sony's wedge sets, the colours on Polaroid's 4K TV come off with a distinct lack of pop. The set also showed some color strobing when fading to black, and there was a small amount of jagged, noisy pixels that appeared along certain fine lines when in motion.

The set's bigger issue is in its viewing angles, which will keep viewers sitting right in front of it. Though they don't dip off completely, even while watching from the arm of a couch that's centered in front of a TV, you'd probably be far enough off to see a dimmer, grayer image. The set also doesn't have any smart TV features — that certainly isn't something to expect at its low price, but it's worth remembering that you'll probably end up investing more money in a media box to put beneath it. Polaroid's new TV will certainly be an entry point to 4K when it launches this spring, but it's far from the cinematic viewing experience that interested buyers might be dreaming of.