It’s finally official — Amazon is now in the smart TV business with two lines of products — the Fire TV Omni Series and 4-Series.
The Omni Series starts at $409.99 and offers smart home controls, including voice controls that can be heard from far away. It is available in 43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, and 75” model sizes, with 4K Ultra HD resolution, as well as support for HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus. The 65” and 75” models are made slimmer for the aesthetically-conscious consumer and include added support for Dolby Vision.
The 4-Series starts at #369.99 and combines 4K UHD resolution with HDR10 and HLG to improve image quality while watching. The lineup includes 43”, 50”, and 55” model sizes, and features a fully integrated Fire TV experience that promises to constantly update, adding new features, smart home capabilities, and more. The Fire TV 4-Series supports many of the same Alexa experiences as the Fire TV Omni Series, which you can access by using the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.
“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,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president, 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 also has smart home features like Live View Picture-in-Picture, which allows you to check your smart cameras without interrupting your TV viewing, and shows your Ring video doorbell view when someone is at the door. Later this year, the all-new smart home dashboard will allow you to view and control connected devices throughout the home. You can check if a device is on or off, control the device and its smart home group by voice, and view a new row on Fire TV that is specifically dedicated to your smart cameras. If you are using the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote, a simple press of the Alexa button will slide out a shortcut panel at the bottom of the screen, where you can access smart home controls, communications, weather, news, and more.
Speaking of Alexa, Amazon is pushing its voice controls with Alexa with this set of products, bringing enhanced, quality of life features to the Fire TV platform. Not only will Alexa find your favorite shows or movies without making you navigate menus, it can also control video playback, add closed captions, adjust brightness, manage TV or soundbar volume, switch inputs, and more.
According to Daniel Rausch, Amazon VP of Entertainment Devices and Services, Alexa is key to the Fire TV experience.
“So we’re proud to share that content providers are adding new voice capabilities to help customers get more out of their own streaming experiences. Netflix was one of the first to bet big on voice when they added Alexa capabilities to their app on Fire TV,” he said. “Exclusively available on Fire TV and debuting this Fall, Netflix is making it easier to find something to watch. Netflix members love the ‘Play Something’ feature today and soon you can simply say, ‘Alexa, Play Something from Netflix’ from the Fire TV home screen and Netflix will launch a show or movie you might enjoy.”
Rausch said going forward, the plan is to even come up with ways to deliver short-form content. “Soon on Fire TV, you’ll be able to watch TikTok content on the biggest screen in your house,” he said.
All TVs will be available starting next month in the US exclusively through Amazon and Best Buy. Amazon also announced its New Fire 4K Max streaming stick, which promises to be its “most powerful streaming player ever.”