Amazon is enhancing its Fire TV lineup with the addition of more premium models including the new Omni QLED series 4K TVs, which offer a new Fire TV Ambient Experience that displays digital artwork when not in use, similar to Samsung’s iconic The Frame TV.
The new Omni QLED TVs were introduced alongside a new streaming device known as the Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Generation).
First up are the new Omni QLED TVs, which come in a choice of 65- and 75-inches and offer many features typically found in higher priced TVs, including quantum dots and full-array local dimming, with up to 96 dimming zones on the larger model. The enhanced technology should ensure that viewers are treated to deeper blacks with better detail than earlier editions of the Fire TV Omni series.
Other supported features include Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, which help to show greater detail in dark HDR pictures.
As for the Fire TV Ambient Experience, this is Amazon’s attempt at a “gallery mode” that was first pioneered by Samsung’s The Frame and has since been adopted by many other models, such as LG’s G2 series OLED TVs. With this, users can display artworks or personal photos when the TV isn’t being used. Amazon said there will be a gallery of 1,500 images at launch, including collections from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and The Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to showing art, users can also add Alexa Widgets to the screen that show the news, weather, notes, sports scores and more. What’s more, there are sensors fitted onto the TV to detect both the user’s presence and ambient light, which enable the Experience to be switched on or off automatically, if the user so desires.
Of course, Amazon Alexa voice controls are a big feature too. Hands-free Alexa voice control makes it possible to switch the TV on, adjust the volume and access many other functions without the need for a remote control. Users can even call up a What Should I Watch feature that provides personalized viewing suggestions. Further, the TVs can act as a smart home hub, enabling other smart home devices to be activated through Alexa.
Best of all, perhaps, is that the TVs are priced very reasonably at $799 and $1,099 for the 65-inch and 75-inch versions respectively, and are available for pre-order now.
As for the new Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Generation), this looks to be a very capable streaming device with features including 4K HDR playback and support for Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Atmos. Added to that is enhanced connectivity thanks to WiFi 6E support, and the inclusion of an Etherent port which should ensure greater bandwidth when streaming 4K content.
The 3rd generation Fire TV Cube also gets a second HDMI port for input rather than output. What this means is that it’s possible to connect a games console like the PS5 or Xbox Series X, and access this through the built-in, Alexa-based voice controls.
All in all it looks like a decent upgrade to the Fire TV Cube (2nd Generation) though it will come at an increased cost, with a price tag of $129.99 in the U.S. and £139.99 in the U.K. That’s around $20 to £30 more expensive than the earlier Fire TV Cube model cost at launch.
