Amazon has been offering full-fledged televisions under its own Fire TV brand for around two years – but only in North America. The devices are now also available for the German market. Amazon has retained the most important argument. The prices of the devices are also extremely attractive in this country.
The bad news first: Not every television that Amazon offers in the USA also ends up in the German shop. Ironically, the largest model, the Fire TV Omni QLED Series in 75 inches, will not be available here.
At launch, Amazon offers nine completely different devices. Amazon doesn’t really build any of them itself, but relies on licensed goods from established manufacturers. On request, the group did not want to reveal exactly what these are, for example the Chinese TCL group.
The so-called Fire TV 2 series starts with two devices. The entry-level class is available in 32 inches and HD resolution and 40 inches with Full HD. These two televisions are completely new and have not been available in the US before. The devices support HDR10, Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and Dolby Digital Audio. The price of the series starts at around 280 euros, Amazon reduced the price to 190 euros at the start.
You shouldn’t expect too much from the cheap devices. The first hands-on showed that Amazon’s main intention is to offer TVs for every room, where price is the priority and a particularly high picture quality was not necessarily the goal. Content can be played back perfectly on the devices, and the initial price is fair. At the regular price, the competition is fierce.
The Fire TV 4-Series offers the next better equipment and significantly more screen area in 43, 50 and 55 inches. Here, Amazon relies on 4K UHD resolution with HDR10 and HLG for all models. Both technologies help ensure that subtleties in series and film scenes are visible even in very bright and dark areas and are not lost in the picture.
Part of this series is an Alexa Voice Remote that lets you find, launch, and control content using voice commands. The smallest screen diagonal costs 500 euros, for 55 inches Amazon normally asks 700 euros. At the start, the prices are 350 or 450 euros.
It is not for nothing that the Series 4 has become a bestseller in the USA. The combination of good technology, a decent picture and the low prices – especially during sales periods – make this a good deal. The same applies here: a great deal with offers, a less easy decision at full price.
Amazon delivers the best picture – and most of the technology – in the Omni QLED series. That’s a total of four televisions, starting at 43 inches and up to a maximum of 65 inches. The 75-inch model from the Omni series, which Amazon offers in the USA, is not coming to the local market, as mentioned at the beginning.
The QLED series works with a 4K panel with full array local dimming of up to 80 areas and offers support for HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10 Adaptive. There are also sensors for automatic brightness control and for the presence of people. The latter is particularly important when the television is not being used for media playback.
The image quality of the Omni series was convincing at first glance, but the viewing angle is quite small compared to an OLED. If you sit directly in front of it, the picture is probably completely sufficient for most viewers.
It was particularly important for Amazon to point out the smart functions of the television. Because the Fire TV Omni is not just a television, it is also reminiscent of a kind of Echo Show, i.e. a smart home assistant with a display. Widgets such as calendars or shopping lists can be stored on the screen and various smart home functions can be controlled. You don’t need a remote control either, since the Omni series offers built-in microphones.
If you don’t need that, Amazon alternatively offers the display of a wide variety of background images, which the device can even generate using artificial intelligence if desired. If you want to see a comic-style castle on the surface of the moon, the TV will draw it on request. Fun, but not absolutely necessary – especially since the continuous display of images at full brightness naturally boosts power consumption.
On request, Amazon could not say what that means over the year. After all: If there is no person in the room, the screen switches off with the help of the sensor already mentioned.
The Fire TV Omni QLED Series starts at 600 euros for 43 inches and ends at 999 euros for 65 inches. At the market launch, Amazon is also reducing the price of these devices, so that the smallest model costs 450 euros and the largest television changes hands for 800 euros.
It can be assumed that Amazon will occasionally lower the offer prices on certain dates, such as Black Friday, Prime Day or Cyber Monday. This undoubtedly makes the TVs an interesting choice. Especially if you like the Fire TV interface and find it easy to navigate. Of course, all common streaming services are on board, as well as connections for receiving antenna, cable or satellite signals.
Fire TV 4 Series, 2 Series and 65-inch Fire TV Omni-QLED TVs will begin shipping April 12, with all other Omni-QLED sizes following June 1. Pre-orders are now possible.
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