The last few months, I’ve felt like I’m living in a cyberpunk movie. Each night, when I get ready to wind down, I reach for the remote to turn on a TV I got for free. When I hit the power button, a 55-inch screen lights up, but so does a smaller display beneath it. Widgets fill the secondary screen alongside a rotating ad that you can’t dismiss.
Before I can even navigate to the Netflix app, I hear something. “Hello, hello friends!” A smiling woman appears on the screen wearing a gray dress, her brown hair neatly styled into gentle waves. It’s the host of the TV’s built-in news segment, which uses the AI likeness of actress Alison Fiori to deliver today’s top stories on a loop.
This is the future of TV, according to Telly, a company that offers a free TV in exchange for the privilege of constantly blaring ads in your face. It puts the ads in a 10-inch-wide “smart” display that sits just below a built-in sound bar and runs the entire length of the TV. The screen stays on at all times — while you watch shows, movies, YouTube videos, and play video games. Even when you turn off the TV with a tap of the remote’s power button, the secondary screen remains illuminated. It will only turn off if you hold the power button for three seconds.
Despite my attempts to tune out the lower display, video ads and moving widgets draw my eyes in. Along with displaying the date, time, and current weather conditions, it shows a constant stream of headlines in a news ticker, plus stock prices and even links to news stories from outlets like Fox News, which you can click into and read on the top screen. You can remove or add widgets, but there’s no way to get rid of the ad on the right side that refreshes every so often. Under Telly’s terms of service, you can’t cover up the display. Even if you tried, it just wouldn’t be practical, since you need the secondary screen to navigate to different apps and control inputs. There are settings you can use to decrease the brightness of the secondary display’s backlight, but I found that turning it down to “0” doesn’t make much of a difference.
Some of the ads shown on the bottom screen prompt you to scan a QR code, or will show a prompt to press a button on your remote to move it up to the top display for more information. The ads often appear as videos, which can draw your eyes away from what’s on the screen even more. There is no sound for video ads, but Telly will still display small subtitles that are hard to read if you’re far away from the TV. I’ve seen a range of ads on the little screen, such as some from Sunglasses Hut and Old Navy, as well as location-specific commercials from a nearby crematorium and car dealerships. I saw these no matter what I was watching — whether it was 90 Day Fiancé, Carême, or Law & Order reruns. The ads just kept rolling.
To reserve a Telly, you must agree to use the device as the main TV in your home, constantly keep it connected to the internet, and regularly watch it. If the company finds that you violate these rules, Telly will ask you to return the TV (and charge a $500 fee if you don’t send it back). I’m not sure how strictly Telly tracks the usage of its TVs. At one point, I left my TV unplugged for three weeks while away from home and received no warning from Telly.
“We’re not here to micromanage short-term dips but to ensure Telly continues to be a great fit over time,” Dallas Lawrence, Telly’s chief strategy officer, told The Verge. “And if it ever stops being the right match, we’ll pick it up at no cost.”
The first time my TV arrived, the FedEx delivery driver marveled at its size. But he was immediately suspicious when I said it was a free TV. Just minutes after wheeling it up my driveway, he returned to my door after doing some research on his phone, saying he heard the TV might take my data. “I know,” I said, “That’s basically part of the deal.”
When I finally got the TV out of its massive box, lugged it onto my stand, and turned it on, I realized the screen was completely cracked. I was more disappointed by having to repackage the entire thing than by having to wait a little longer to use it. Besides the physical labor involved, the return process was fairly simple. I emailed Telly, filled out a return form, and my new TV was on its way.
Once I actually got to use the TV, I found that the picture quality on Telly’s 4K HDR display is decent, though some low-light scenes can appear grainy. The six-driver soundbar has great audio, and the TV has customizable RGB backlighting. Telly runs a custom version of Android that’s preloaded with only a few apps you might recognize, like Spotify and Zoom, so you’ll need to use the included Google TV dongle to gain access to Netflix, Disney Plus, Max, and other streaming apps.
The TV defaults to Telly’s home screen each time you turn it on. That’s where you’ll find the lovely Telly Today news segment, which resets every time you turn off the TV or navigate away from the home screen — meaning you have to hear all the same news stories, in the same order. Fiori often goes over celebrity news, showcases the latest trailers, and shares lighthearted viral videos, like a dog showing a piglet how to use its doggy door.
Lawrence confirmed to The Verge that Telly cast Fiori “specifically for this role.” He added, “We work closely with Allison to shape the experience, blending her on-screen presence with cutting-edge AI technology.” During my time with the TV, I found that a secondary host, which appears to be the AI likeness of a comedian named Vinny Fasline, shows up to highlight viral posts from around the internet or do trivia.
In between these segments, Telly shows a series of ads, which you can conveniently mute by pressing the Telly remote’s “A” button. The mix of ads isn’t always relevant or fresh – I once watched three of the same ads in Spanish (which I don’t speak) in a row.
The TV also comes with a built-in camera with a privacy shutter and a microphone. The company’s terms of service state that it “may collect information about the audio and video content you watch, the channels you view, and the duration of your viewing sessions,” as well as detect the “physical presence of you and any other individuals using the TV at any given time.” This isn’t exactly comforting, and I found myself becoming paranoid that my viewing habits, conversations, and even footage from the built-in camera would somehow get directly in front of Telly employees.
Telly only opens the privacy shutter on its camera when you select an app that uses it, like Zoom. While trying out the built-in video conferencing app, I found that Telly’s camera is probably about as good as the webcam on my 2020 MacBook Air — meaning it’s a bit grainy but not distractingly so. I barely got to test Telly’s microphone, though; it cut off just moments after I started testing it. When I tried again at a later date, Telly’s microphone just emitted a buzzing sound.
In addition to holding meetings, you can use Zoom to set up watch parties with people on other devices, whether it’s another Telly TV, smartphone, or laptop. You can use the feature to watch a show or movie on the upper screen, while seeing a video feed of your friends or family members on the secondary display. This is pretty neat, but checking out Zoom quickly made me realize how unwieldy it can be to navigate between Telly’s dual screens. It took me several minutes — and lots of button mashing — to select the “Leave Call” button on the opposite display. Oh, and Telly still displays ads on the bottom screen while you’re in meetings, too.
Telly also uses its camera for a preloaded fitness app, called Gofa, which uses Xbox Kinect-style motion tracking during workouts, along with a set of random games, like Flappy Bird and Wheel of Fortune. Some games, like Whack-a-Mole, use the TV’s camera as you, well, furiously whack moles as they appear on your screen. Most of these games are pretty corny, but I don’t really mind them as a big Kinect fan back in the day.
Another interesting use case for the secondary display is having it function as a playback bar while using the Live One music streaming app, allowing you to continue using the upper display. Unfortunately, you can’t do the same with the Spotify app, as it occupies the entire main screen once you link your account and start playing music.
All of these features point to big ideas for the future of Telly, and I commend the company for trying something far different than your typical TV experience. It’s great that you can get a completely free TV with a bunch of features out of the box, like a soundbar, RGB lighting, and a camera. But the continuous ads and software snags made me realize: TVs are worth paying for.
