Vizio abandons tablet remote, sticks with Google

Vizio returns with a new slate of P-Series and M-Series 4K TVs.

The company sought to upend how people think of TVs last year with its P-Series TVs that used an Android tablet as a remote. This year, however, Vizio is dialing things down, bringing back a traditional remote, although the new TVs still have Google Chromecast baked in.

The P-Series TVs will be available with 55in, 65in and 75in displays, which will cost $1,300, $2,000, and $3,500 respectively. The M-Series has a little more variety by including 50 and 75in models, with prices starting at $800 to $3,000, respectively. The main difference between the two series, according to the Verge, is that the M-Series only has a maximum of 32 dimming zones compared to the P-Series' 128 dimming zones. The former also has a refresh rate of 120Hz compared to the latter's 240Hz.

Other than that, the two have Ultra Color Spectrum, Dolby Vision and HDR10 support, among other features. Most importantly, though, is that they are both much more conventional smart TVs without the tablet remote.

The combination of Vizio's futuristic vision of TV and an ability to offer affordable 4K TVs makes it an appealing company. So appealing, in fact, that China's LeEco tried to acquire Vizio. That deal was settled for $2 billion, but it recently fell apart as LeEco dealt with a severe cash crunch. Now Vizio is marching ahead. It's a little less daring for the time being, but those TVs are still a great deal.