Amazon today announced that it’s bolstering the high end of its Fire TV Omni Series line of televisions with new sizes and entry into new international markets, while also bringing new sets to the more affordable side of the equation. And the news comes as the company also announced that it’s sold more than 200 million Fire TV devices worldwide. For context, that number was around 150 million in January 2022.
First up: The — heretofore available in 65- and 75-inch sizes — gains options at 43, 50 and 55 inches. They’re up for preorder at Amazon starting today (at $449, $529, and $599, respectively), and will be available at Best Buy on May 11. These are fundamentally the same as what we reviewed previously, Amazon says, only with fewer local dimming zones because of the smaller size.
So you should expect a decent QLED set, but also one that makes full use of the new Fire TV “Ambient Experience,” which allows the TV to sense when someone is in the room and adjust itself accordingly. That’s less about attitude and more about turning itself into something more useful than a blank screen, with things like calendar entries and reminders, sticky notes for family members, or an art gallery with more than 1,700 free works from institutions like the National Gallery of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.
On the even less expensive side of things, Amazon is debuting the new Fire TV 2-Series. These are low-end sets available in just two sizes — 32 inches at 720p for $199, and 40 inches at 1080p for $249. They’re available now from Amazon.
And perhaps the bigger news is that the Omni QLED Series, new Fire TV 2-Series, and the existing 4-Series all are headed outside of the U.S. and will be available for the first time in the U.K., Germany, and Mexico.
“We continue to hear from customers that most smart TVs just aren’t all that smart—and they’re turning to Fire TV to deliver a truly intelligent and intuitive TV experience. With over 200 million streaming players and smart TVs sold globally, our relentless focus on making TVs actually smart is resonating with customers around the world. In fact, televisions are the fastest-growing segment in the Fire TV business,” Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services, said in a press release. “When customers love something, we double down. We’re excited to not only bring our Fire TV Ambient Experience to more rooms of the home with multiple new screen sizes of the Omni QLED Series, but also to enable customers to get a Fire TV smart TV for as low as [$200] with the new 2-Series. We can’t wait to hear what customers think.”
