It’s indeed tough to pick a smart TV for home when there are plenty of options in the market. Though the TVs are getting smarter, they don’t perform as per claims and expectations, and that’s where it gets tricky to pick the right TV.
Aiwa is known for premium audio products in India and the Japanese consumer electronics brand is now looking to diversify its portfolio in the country with the launch of its 'Magnifiq' TV series.
The 'Magnifiq' series starts at Rs 29,990 and goes up to Rs 139,990 and includes 43-inch (FHD and UHD), 50-inch (4K UHD), 55-inch (4K UHD) and 65-inch (4K UHD) variants.
Among them, the 55-inch and 65-inch models come with a built-in soundbar designed with Aiwa Authentic Signature Sound technology for “optimal audio preference.”
Priced at Rs 48,990, the ultra HD smart TV comes with smart features, OTT support and a host of features. I reviewed the 55-inch Magnifiq 4K UHD recently and I’ll talk about how the smart TV fares overall in this review.
Aiwa Magnifiq 4K UHD: Display and Build Quality
The Magnifiq series, especially the 50-inch and above variants are indeed priced aggressively but the build quality doesn’t justify its ‘premium’ tag. You may not like the polycarbonate rear; it doesn’t feel solid enough for a TV of this price range.
That said, the TV looks beautiful from the front with thin bezels and a built-in soundbar placed at the chin area which gives it a premium look.
You get two stands in the box to place the TV on a table but sadly there is no wall mount bracket and you will have to purchase that separately. There are all the ports for connection and placed neatly at the back.
The display is indeed great for 4K TV; it’s quite bright and offers great viewing angles as well, thanks to Aiwa's Amphitheatre View Technology gives you a viewing experience even at a 178-degree angle. There is what Aiwa calls a Crysta Vision Technology (CVT) that combines the processor and AI for the viewing experience.
Aiwa Magnifiq 4K UHD: Performance
There is pretty much everything you can expect for the latest smart TV; The Magnifiq 4K UHD has great brightness and contrast, but most importantly, the colours do appear great (with the 3840x2160 resolution).
You can also play around with the settings to tune the colours and contrast to your own liking. Besides, the sound output is quite cinematic and loud, it’s just that due to some reason, the sound gets locked and you’re unable to increase or decrease it. I’m not too sure an update would fix that.
Aiwa’s MagnifiQ comes with built-in Google Assistant so it gets easy to use voice commands instead of the remote control.
Talking about the remote control, it’s quite handy with dedicated buttons for Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime Video, etc., which is convenient and you don’t have to scroll or navigate too much to open an app.
The ‘Dolby VisIon’ feature does enhance the video quality, especially if you’re watching HD content on streaming platforms such as Netflix. However, at times I feel all the tech and the ‘AI’ is not able to deliver the kind of quality you expect from a 4K UHD smart TV.
The Magnifiq 4K UHD is powered by Android 11 and the interface is quite neat which makes the navigation between streaming platforms a lot easier.
What’s irritating is the TV takes a lot of time to come to life once you switch it on. That said, there isn’t much lag while going from one streaming platform to another and it loads the content quickly.
I really enjoyed watching Cricket (T20 World Cup) and the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 on the MagnifiQ and it was quite convenient to not add any external soundbar for the enhanced sound experience.
Aiwa Magnifiq 4K UHD: Verdict
It’s really tricky to pick a decent smart TV these days, especially when you have a budget of around Rs 50,000-60,000. Aiwa faces stiff competition from Xiaomi, OnePlus, and the likes. However, in the given price range, Aiwa Magnifiq 4K UHD gives a fine experience and like other smart TVs, there are some noticeable downsides, but it does make up for that with additional features here and there.
