Amazon debuts its latest Fire TVs, including a new Omni QLED model
At Amazon’s annual hardware event, it announced a fleet of new Fire TVs, including an Omni QLED model, as well as new 2 and 4-series televisions that are all available to preorder starting today and will ship next month. These TVs feature what the company calls omnisense presence detection. It will allow the TV to wake up when it detects that you walk into the room. You can also talk to Alexa Plus through the TV — no remote needed.
Alexa Plus is a smarter experience for the big screen than the previous iteration. Amazon claims it can give you suggestions tailored to your taste, even finding specific scenes within movies based on your query.
The new QLED is 60 percent brighter than Amazon’s previous Omni QLED models. It’s available starting at $479.99 for the 50-inch, going up to 75 inches. Amazon claims that it has “nearly double” the local dimming zones compared to previous models, although the amount will likely differ depending on the size.
The Fire TV 4 will be available in 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch configurations, starting at $329.99 (this will likely be popular as a holiday gift). The Fire TV 2 is its least expensive tier, starting at $159.99 for the 32-inch version. There will also be a 40-inch version.
Amazon’s Fire TV operating system powers TVs from various manufacturers, but the Omni series is its own flagship TV with a higher-end design, better specs, and a higher price.
Last year, Amazon released its first Mini LED Fire TV, signaling that it wants a place in the living rooms of cinephiles and gamers alike. It featured up to 1,344 dimming zones (depending on the size), plus a 144Hz refresh rate, and could reach up to 1,400 nits at peak brightness.