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Amazon announces its first self-made TVs as well as a Fire TV Stick 4K Max
- Confirming previous rumors, Amazon has announced it will launch its own Fire TV Omni and 4-Series smart televisions.
- It also announced a new streaming device, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
- The new TVs and the new streaming stick will go on sale in October.
Amazon is doubling down on its streaming TV business. Today, the retailer confirmed previous rumors that it will sell its own branded smart televisions with its Fire TV OS installed. One is a premium TV lineup, the Fire TV Omni series, while the other is a budget-themed model line, the 4-Series.
The Omni series will include hands-free access to Alexa voice commands. In other words, you won’t need a remote to use voice features with this TV. In fact, the Fire TV Omni series will include support for special Alexa commands later this year. It will allow owners to say “Alexa, what should I watch?”, and the TV will then show series and movie recommendations.
Related: The best cheap 4K TVs you can buy
The Omni TVs will also support Live View Picture-in-Picture, so you can, for example, see live camera feeds on your smart doorbell. It will also support Alexa Calling, and later this year the Fire TV Omni series will add Zoom call support.
The TVs will be available in many display sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch models. All will support 4K Ultra HD resolution and HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus support. The 65-inch and 75-inch models have a smaller bezel size, and they also add support for the Dolby Vision HDR standard.
You can pre-order all the Fire TV Omni models now, with shipments scheduled to begin on October 27. Prices range from $409.99 to $1099.99 for the 75-inch model.
Other new Amazon hardware announcements
Amazon also announced the budget-themed Fire TV 4-series today. These smart TVs support Alexa voice commands via its remote control. They also support 4K resolutions with HDR10 and HLG support. They come in 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch models, with prices ranging from $369.99 to $519.99. The TVs also begin shipping on October 27, with pre-orders now available.
In addition to its own Fire TV Omni and 4-Series, Amazon announced that Pioneer will release Fire TV OS-based smart televisions this fall. Toshiba also plans to release hands-free Alexa voice-supported Fire OS smart televisions starting in the spring of 2022.
The newest member of the Fire TV streaming device family was also announced today, for people who own high-end TVs that don’t have that OS. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max uses a MediaTek MT7921LS 1.8GHz processor, along with 2GB of RAM, that helps it perform 40% faster than the current Fire TV Stick 4K. That means loading and launching apps should be much faster. It supports 4K resolution of course, along with HDR, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. It also supports Live View Picture-in-Picture and voice commands via its remote. Finally, it’s the first Amazon Fire TV device to support Wi-Fi 6, which means faster download speeds and connections with Wi-Fi 6 wireless routers. It’s available for pre-order for $54.99, and ships on October 7. You can also bundle it with Amazon’s Luna streaming game controller for $99.99.