Amazon today announced a new lineup of Fire TV devices with its first Amazon-built smart TVs, the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series and 4-Series smart TVs, and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. The devices aren’t going to be sold via the big retailers in South Africa, but parallel importers will likely have these items later on in the year.
“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,” says 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.”
Amazon Fire TV Omni Series: Alexa hands-free voice control with 4K Ultra HD, and Dolby Digital Plus—starting at $409.99
The Fire TV Omni Series features powerful smart home controls and far-field voice controls so users can talk to Alexa from across the room. It is available in 43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, and 75” model sizes, with 4K Ultra HD (UHD) resolution, as well as support for HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus. The 65” and 75” models feature a slim bezel that blends seamlessly into one’s home décor, as well as added support for Dolby Vision.
The Omni Series integrates the Fire TV experience and far-field voice technology directly into the TV, providing an all-in-one entertainment device for streaming, TV, music, and gaming. Hands-free Alexa voice controls are always available whether the TV is on or off or when using an HDMI input.
Ask Alexa to tune to a TV show and jump into the program, without needing to remember which channel name, streaming service, or input device to switch to. Users can also use voice to control playback, closed captions, and brightness, adjust volume, and switch inputs. In addition, set up a routine so when users say, “Alexa, kick off my day,” the Fire TV and smart lights turn on, and Alexa will share the weather, read one’s calendar, and tune to the news on live TV.
New Alexa features can make it more natural to find great content, without picking up the remote:
- “Alexa, what should I watch?”: Alexa Conversations for Fire TV allows users to ask Alexa for a recommendation just like one would a friend or movie expert. Alexa offers tailored TV show and movie recommendations from a user’s streaming apps like Prime Video, allowing them to refine searches by genre, actors, and award-winning movies, all from the comfort of their couch. “Alexa, what should I watch?” will launch in beta this year.
- “Alexa, Play Something” from Netflix: Exclusively available on Fire TV and debuting this Fall, Netflix is making it possible to find something a user might enjoy to watch. Netflix members love the “Play Something” feature today, and soon users can say, “Alexa, Play Something on Netflix” from the Fire TV home screen and Netflix will launch a show or movie they might enjoy.
- “Alexa, play TikTok”: Fire TV was the first to support TikTok videos on streaming media players in the UK, Germany and France, and soon, US and Canadian users will be able to access TikTok content via Fire TV. No more huddling around a cell phone to see the latest viral video—from the Fire TV, users can view and discover TikTok feeds and use AutoPlay, which will serve a continuous content feed without interruptions. Say, “Alexa, play TikTok” to get started.
If users are looking to stay in touch with friends and family, they can use Alexa Calling directly from the largest screen in the house – all without picking up a remote. To start video calling, they need to plug in a webcam. For the first time on any smart TV, Zoom video calling will also be available later this year on the Fire TV Omni Series.
Amazon Fire TV 4-Series: 4K smart TVs with brilliant picture quality at affordable prices—starting at $369.99
The Fire TV 4-Series combines 4K UHD resolution with HDR10 and HLG for beautiful picture quality on 4K TV shows and movies. The lineup includes 43”, 50”, and 55” model sizes, and features a fully-integrated Fire TV experience that is always 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 users can access by using the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max: 4K Ultra HD streaming media player with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Wi-Fi 6 support—$54.99
The Fire TV Stick 4K is the best-selling streaming media player in the United States, and the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max is more powerful than its successful predecessor. It includes many of the new Alexa voice features, 40% more power than Fire TV Stick 4K, a new quad-core 1.8GHz processer, and 2GB of RAM, so apps start faster and navigation is more fluid. It is the only streaming media device that supports Wi-Fi 6 under $179 for smoother streaming in 4K and cloud gaming with Amazon Luna.
The streaming stick supports 4K UHD, HDR, and HDR10+ streaming, as well as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It comes with the latest Alexa Voice Remote and is the company’s first streaming stick to offer Live View Picture-in-Picture.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max is Amazon’s first streaming media player to offer Wi-Fi 6 support and uses the latest MediatekMT7921LS Wi-Fi 6 Chipset, which means smoother 4K streaming and gaming when multiple Wi-Fi 6-connected devices are streaming.
Pricing and Availability
The Fire TV Omni Series will be available in 43” ($409.99), 50” ($509.99), and 55” ($559.99). The Fire TV Omni Series with Dolby Vision will be available in 65” ($829.99), and 75” ($1,099.99). The Fire TV 4-Series will be available in 43” ($369.99), 50” ($469.99), and 55” ($519.99). All TVs will be available next month in the United States, exclusively at Amazon and Best Buy.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max will be available in the United States for $54.99.