Sales of smart speakers in Russia break records every year, which means that people are gradually getting used to technology.
At the same time, their many functions are growing. Yandex Station, for example, started out as an ordinary speaker that skillfully played music and joked, and has now turned into a multihub capable of unlocking the door, calling home and turning on a movie.
Thanks to the success release of a TV with support for full functionality Stations became the logical evolution of Alice.
Yes, Yandex TV Station and Yandex TV Station Pro are always ready to answer your voice and act as a complete replacement for a smart speaker.
But with a small asterisk. Below we tell you whether full voice control works so well (although there is a remote control), what the lineup looks like, what the difference is with the return of smart TV with Alice, and what comes first: the screen or the speaker.
I mean, such a device
The assistant works in any state of the TV – even turned off
With Yandex TV Station you buy a smart speaker and a TV at the same time. This is a device that is constantly active in the background, even with the display turned off.
TV Station is always ready to hear your voice and answer.
Like any other Yandex Station, there is a physical switch for the microphone so that you can always turn it off if you wish. With this possibility of communication with the voice station and the remote control buttons through the sides.
Alice supports all skills and control of a smart home (though without Zegbee support – a hub is needed for this).
It is also a full-fledged smart TV with access to applications, streaming services, TV channels and connectors for connecting external devices such as consoles.
Full TV with all ports
While watching, you can go to Alice, and she appears in a soft office with an answer and a graph depending on the context. The content will not stop playing.
The operation indicator is a small module under the lower screen size. It pulsates, glows and flashes its signature purple color while processing requests to Alice, as in any Station. It also has built-in thin microphones, specially designed for noisy conditions, allowing you to recognize even a whisper.
You can completely turn off yourself and the TV station too. To do this, you need to hold down the power button on the remote control and select “Turn off”.
Physical Characteristics: Size but slim appearance.
The lineup is simple, like iPhones
Yandex TV Stations are smaller and larger Yandex TV Stations Pro
Yandex launched four TVs under two branches: the basic Yandex TV Station and the more expensive Yandex TV Station Pro.
They all run YaOS X (based on Android 11), have 4K Ultra HD resolution with HDR support and 60 frames per second, are always ready for voice control, use the “find the remote” feature and control smart home devices.
The set of ports is the same: one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.1, one HDMI 2, LAN for the Internet and an optical connector.
Two ports can be displayed on the front panel
The Alice logo on the front is almost invisible, the frames are not record-breaking, but thin.
At the bottom there is a module with microphones and an Alice indicator
The main differences are size, matrix type and sound.
U Yandex TV Stations Diagonals measuring 43″ and 50″. The 450-nit glossy screen features local dimming technology for true blacks, and the four speakers are rated at 34W—4W more powerful than the Station 2.
U Yandex TV Stations Pro Diagonals measuring 55″ and 65″. The anti-glare matte screen with a brightness of 550 nits is made using QLED technology, 6 speakers are designed for a power of 44 W – 14 W more powerful than in Station 2. This TV also has a thin body with a thickness of only 4 cm, and comes with a bracket so that you can hang “like a picture.”
Everything is laconic and clear, reminiscent of the line of flagships from Apple a couple of years ago: two names, each with two models; the higher, the larger the screen.
Yandex recently released a TV. But the new ones are smarter
The 2022 smart TV is cheaper and significantly inferior in capabilities.
These models were not the first for the company. In the fall of 2022, the name Yandex Smart TV with Alice went on sale.
Yandex’s smart TV with Alice, which now occupies the position of the launch product in the line, considers itself an excellent matrix, worthy of front-end manufacturing, running on a frail computer. Voice control only works through the remote control; to control the smart home, you need to turn on the station (and over a wire).
Between this product I would say zero generation, and TV Stations have many fundamental differences. So that you don’t get confused, first I will observe the emergence of a new model (TV Station), and then the one that came out in 2022 (Smart TV):
As you can see, TV stations are superior in every way to Yandex’s first attempt to enter the world of televisions.
This is also reflected in the design and trim levels.
Don’t get confused in the configuration and assembly
Unpacking is done so as not to get lost. Boxes with elements are numbered and labeled: “everything for legs”, “here you will need a second person”, “screws”, “wall mount” and so on.
There is one difference in the configuration of the seat and the “Pro”.
The TV base station is only compatible with VESA mounts, and if you want to hang it on the wall, you must purchase it separately.
But the Pro TV stand contains its supports not only VESA, but also a custom thin mount for floor mounting on the wall, and such a special bracket is already included in the kit – along with a stencil and a pencil to make it easier to think about the placement.
Two panels can be removed for wall mounting
Cable management threads
This mount can be moved left or right to access the rear ports and rotate easily. The kit includes an adapter cable that allows you to output one USB port and one HDMI port to the bottom for easy access.
The wiring base has two wide legs with a secret compartment for routing the power cable. And although they themselves are massive, from the front side the finished structures look light.
Both models also have cable routing on the back. This helps to avoid clutter and keep the interior “clean”. I rarely see such separate respect on television.
Having connected “in the stream”, we added nice screensavers.
TV Stations are based on Android TV 11, packaged in a proprietary shell, which is Yandex cryptocurrency YaOS X.
This initial setup is fully animated and resembles the PlayStation 5 activation.
The menu looks clean, everything looks clear.
From the fine settings, everything that touches the images gets slightly warmer. The balance of other settings is adjusted by presets, and there is no low latency mode for smooth mouse operation.
But everything else with the image is in order: the sliders for contrast, brightness, saturation, sharpness, and so on can be precisely adjusted to suit you, the backlight is reduced, there is the possibility of noise reduction and a smart “smoother” for the MEMC frame rate.
Applications include YouTube, browser, Kinopoisk, games, and other online cinemas. There is also support for APK files – you know what to do with it.
The system has built-in screensavers in a natural-abstract style. They look carefully, highly detailed and in general in the sense of including a mix of living things and factions of the world.
There is a remote control, but everything is designed to be controlled without it.
Yandex claims that Station TV was designed to allow you to interact exclusively by voice. For this purpose, four front microphones are used, designed for different conditions.
by voice, for example, shows personal recommendations, opens the “will watch” list, launches the application, makes a quick search for the desired film, even if it is not on Kinopoisk, and turns on the TV channel.
The commands even know how to change the HDMI input and change accounts, which was not the case on the previous generation Yandex Smart TV.
It’s good that some of the team voices have been shortened. For example, to navigate through the buttons you can use “below”, “back”, “right”, “next” and without calling them by name.
For those who still do not intend to talk with the audience, a remote control is included. If lost, you can say “Alice, find the remote control,” and it will start making a sound and the panel will pulsate. I wouldn’t be surprised if, despite the many cool features, this is what ends up being the case for some successful sales pitches.
The sound is better than Station 2, but worse than Station Max
5.1 sound comes out from the rear
The corresponding lines feature in-house developed speakers with 5.1 support.
Yandex TV Station produces a sound power of 34 W. This is 4 or almost a whole Station light more than in Yandex Station 2. Four speakers focus on bass and mids, which corresponds to the tasks of recording dialogues and soundtracks.
Yandex TV Station About calculating power up to 44 W. This is 21 less than in Max Station, the only Yandex device with brighter sound. There are already six speakers with the same emphasis on speech and music, but with a greater margin of scene breadth and sound.
Compared to Station 2, the sound is noticeably louder and wider. In this version, he lags behind Station Max wholeheartedly. However, it is logical that the volumetric illumination is lower and the power is 25% lower. “Max”.
It seems like a new device, but everything is familiar
Essentially, Yandex TV Station chooses a speaker, a voice assistant and a TV in one, not the best user functionality of all three elements.
The headsets provide external audio and the ability to instantly play music on demand.
Full-fledged Alice is presented with all commands from a timer, conversation mode, route calculation to meditation and the ability to communicate in a whisper. You can also control a smart home if you have a hub.
Well, a full-fledged TV with ports and a large diagonal is no different from a regular one.
Yes, there is no OLED, the sound power does not reach Station Max, and to connect to a smart home you will still need a hub.
You can fully unfold without a remote control, but it is included in the kit. Supports remote search
But such a synthesis of two devices can be used in several aspects at once.
The TV operates entirely on voice control, and the remote control included “for old people” has the ability to mechanically turn off the microphone.
Cute screensavers come with the “airy” design of your own device.
At any time, you can change the connector by voice, turn on the application, or view a small dynamic coolness widget or build a route if you call an assistant.
The prices for the models are as follows:
▪ Yandex TV Station 43″ 44,990 33,990 rubles
▪ Yandex TV Station 50″ 49,990 39,005 rubles
▪ Yandex TV Station Pro 55″ 74,990 74,260 rubles
▪ Yandex TV Station Pro 65″ 99,990 91,210 rubles.
While I was looking for links, I came across all models except the oldest discounts up to 25% directly on Yandex Market. But the size of the discounts is constantly changing, so if you see a slightly different price, that’s normal.
Finally, I note that, yes, all the characteristics are not flagship, but decent. As, in fact, the cost is a strong middle price segment that meets the standards of both quality and sound.
📸 All photos in the article:
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
