Amazon Is Debuting Its Own Line of Branded TVs within the US

Amazon debuted an all-new line of Fire TV gadgets on Thursday, a lineup which now contains the corporate’s first-ever branded TVs within the U.S.

The new choices, which can be out there solely at Best Buy and on Amazon starting in October, will embrace two traces of Amazon-built sensible TVs: the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series and the Fire TV 4-Series, each of which can make the most of Amazon’s proprietary Alexa far-field voice know-how and 4K Ultra HD image high quality. In addition to the TVs, Amazon additionally introduced an replace to its Fire TV Stick, the 4K Max, which boasts 40% extra energy than its predecessor and features a new quad-core 1.8GHz processor and 2GB of RAM to make apps launch quicker and the shopping expertise extra fluid.

Business Insider had beforehand reported on rumors that Amazon was launching a line of TVs within the U.S., a mission that sources near the corporate stated had been saved as “a closely guarded secret” for almost two years. Although Amazon has lengthy bought TVs made by different producers that come pre-loaded with its Fire TV software program, the brand new choices will mark the primary time Amazon will stamp its personal branding onto the backs of its gadgets—and the primary time that Amazon will put its personal line of TVs in direct competitors with these made by different producers, together with Samsung, LG, and Sony, which promote their merchandise in its on-line market.

“We’ve reimagined what a TV can do by building it with two of our most popular experiences at the core—the intelligent always-available power of far-field Alexa, and Fire TV’s content-forward approach to entertainment,” stated Daniel Rausch, the vice chairman of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “Our new Fire TV Omni Series smart TVs, with hands-free access to Alexa, make controlling your TV faster, simpler, and more natural.”

The Fire TV Omni Series, which options help for HDR10, HLG and Dolby Digital Plus, will begin at $410 and can be out there in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch mannequin sizes. The two largest fashions additionally reportedly function “a slim bezel that blends seamlessly into your home décor,” and also will embrace added help for Dolby Vision.

The Omni Series additionally contains neat sensible dwelling integrations, like stay picture-in-picture viewing that can allow you to watch your reveals uninterrupted when you test your sensible dwelling cameras. Amazon says that someday later this yr, it is going to even be rolling out an all-new sensible dwelling dashboard, which can mean you can view and regulate linked sensible gadgets all through your property.

For these on a price range, the Amazon Fire TV 4-Series affords 4K sensible TVs with extra inexpensive costs. Starting at $370, the lineup contains fashions at 43-, 50-, and 55-inch sizes, and affords lots of the identical sensible dwelling and Alexa capabilities that the Omni Series affords (although you’ll should entry them by way of the distant, because the 4-Series doesn’t supply Alexa integration into the TVs themselves).

Those Alexa voice controls themselves are additionally getting an replace, which can make content material choice simpler and extra dynamic. With the “Alexa, what should I watch?” command—which can launch in beta someday later this yr—viewers can be supplied a custom-made record of TV reveals and films, with the power to refine their search by style, actor and extra. Similarly, “Alexa, play something from Netflix” will launch a cherry-picked film or TV present choice from the favored streaming service for Fire TV customers (that function is slated to roll out someday this fall).

The full record of pricing and availability is under:

The Fire TV Omni Series can be out there in 43-inch ($410), 50-inch ($510), and 55-inch ($560) fashions. The Fire TV Omni Series with Dolby Vision can be out there in 65-inch ($830) and 75-inch ($1,100) fashions.

The Fire TV 4-Series can be out there in 43-inch ($370), 50-inch ($470), and 55-inch ($520) fashions.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max can be out there within the U.S. for $55.