Amazon has significantly upped its Fire TV game with today's announcement of the Omni QLED Series 4K TVs. The new TVs, which will be available in 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes, pack features normally found on more expensive TVs, like Quantum Dots and full-array local dimming, and also come with a new Fire experience. allows illustrations and photos to be displayed when the device is not in use.
The quantum dots in the Omni QLED arrays will display an enhanced color gamut with high dynamic range (HDR) sources, while the full-array local-dimming backlight (up to 96 zones on the 75-inch model) should result in a deeper depth, more detail, and even blacks, a shortcoming of previous TVs in the company's Fire TV Omni series.
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Amazon's new TVs also support Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, both of which work to bring out more detail in dark HDR images when viewed in normal lighting conditions.
The Fire TV Ambient experience appears to be Amazon's variation of "gallery" modes found on TVs like Samsung's The Frame and models from other brands that allow the TV to display artwork and personal photos when you're not watching a TV. video. A gallery of 1500 images will be available, with collections from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and the Art Institute of Chicago.
In addition to art and photos, Alexa widgets can be added to the screen to display news, weather, notes, calendars, sports scores, and more.
In line with Amazon's green initiatives announced at today's press event, the new Omni QLED TVs feature occupancy and ambient light sensors that turn the Fire TV Ambient experience on and off based on whether someone is in the room. or not.
Like the company's previous Omni Fire TVs and its Fire TV Cube, which also just got a major overhaul, hands-free voice control from Alexa lets you control many of the TV's functions, including raising or lowering the volume and seek, while What Should I The clock function offers personalized viewing suggestions. Omni Fire TV QLED models can also be used as a smart home hub, with voice commands available to initiate Alexa routines for home control.
Amazon's Omni Fire QLED TVs are available for pre-order from the company today for €799 (65-inch) and €1,099 (75-inch).
Analysis: Amazon really wants Fire TV to be the digital home of your smart home
While Amazon's performance improvements on its latest lineup of Fire TVs make them somewhat more competitive with the best 4K TVs (while also adding mini-LED backlighting to boost brightness and better handle video detail), the screen). and Hisense's offering on its latest outfits would have been a bonus), the company's real goal here is to put Alexa at the center of your home.
Echo speakers and Show devices (which the company says are used as TVs, with up to 70% of owners tapping them to watch video) scattered around the house are one way to chain us to the world of Alexa, but big-screen TVs like the new Omni QLED models are where the real action is, with features like What Should I Watch, which allow Amazon AI to forge a personal relationship with family members and learn about their preferences. Alexa widgets with information like calendars and notes add to Amazon's data collection, putting the company in a similar position to Apple and Google when it comes to being an option for personal and organizational communication.
Beyond that, the new Omni QLED 4K Fire TVs are a nice surprise and show that Amazon is serious about upgrading the quality of its TVs, which have been mostly entry-level budget offerings until now. With more improvements, Amazon could potentially own the budget TV space, which it intends to do, I'm sure.