Amazon has been making and selling its ‘Fire TVs’ for quite some time now. For the uninitiated, these are TVs that have the Amazon Fire OS built-in and are not to be confused with Amazon’s Fire TV Stick video streamers that allow you to bring the Fire TV OS to whichever TV you like.
These Fire TVs tend to sit at the budget end of the market, competing with sets from the likes of established budget brands TCL and Hisense. Recently, however, Amazon has introduced a new QLED line of Fire TVs that sit alongside higher-end lifestyle models such as Samsung’s The Frame.
So, what should you know about Amazon’s Fire TVs? What features do they offer and what differentiates the models? Which Fire TV set, if any, would be best for you? We haven’t reviewed any Fire TVs, but there is a great deal we can draw from their specs.
Amazon Fire TVs are divided into three core ranges – the Fire TV 4-Series, the Fire TV Omni, and the Fire TV Omni QLED. These lines scale up in terms of price, features, picture quality and Amazon integration.
What do Amazon Fire TVs offer?
Amazon Fire TVs all pack in Amazon’s Fire TV OS, so you can stream whatever you like as well as access a suite of other Amazon features, such as Alexa integration.
Fire TVs are budget-focused sets aimed at providing good value without giving up too many modern features. If you need a set for a guest room, or you’re just looking to upgrade to a smart TV, a Fire TV could be just the ticket.
If you are already an Amazon Prime member, the Fire TV OS will be familiar. The platform promises "all your favorites in one place". That includes streaming apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and YouTube TV, plus free live TV channels, basic video games, and Alexa skills. The Omni QLED Series can even double as a smart home dashboard.
Alexa Home Theater is another interesting feature. It automatically gives you the option to pair your Fire TV to compatible Echo speakers during setup, making it easier to get an Alexa-based home cinema experience up and running.
The Omni and Omni QLED TVs also have built-in far-field microphones for hands-free Alexa operation, while the QLED Series takes things a step further by introducing Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive and HDR10+ Gaming, adaptive brightness, and full-array local dimming on top of The Frame-like functionality and displayable Alexa widgets.
All of Amazon’s Fire TVs support 4K, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus. The 4-Series and Omni Series have LED panels. As for connectivity, Amazon’s Fire TVs feature four HDMI ports (one of which has HDMI 2.1 eARC), a USB-A port, an ethernet port, an optical out, and a dedicated port for the infrared extender alongside wi-fi.
While most of these TVs have these features in common, it’s always worth double-checking the specification of the specific model you are looking to buy.
Should you buy a Fire TV 4-Series?
- Sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch
- Display type: LED
- Resolution: 4K
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- HDR: HDR10, HLG
- Audio: Dolby Digital Plus
- HDMI: 2.1
The Fire TV 4-Series is Amazon’s most basic line of TVs. Still, all of them offer 4K, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus alongside Amazon smarts and Alexa Voice Remote support for all your various streaming needs.
The 4-Series comes with an LED panel, and you can choose between 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch sets. These will run you $300, $350, and $430, respectively, at the time of writing. While none of these TVs break the bank, there are many other competitive sets at similar prices.
For example, you can grab a 50-inch 4K/HDR TCL Roku smart TV for $300, or a 55-inch Hisense 4K/HDR smart TV for $310, at the time of writing, so while Amazon positions its Fire TVs as low-cost and high-value, you can generally find bigger sets with similar specification for similar prices as the 4-Series Fire TVs.
If you are a gamer, while the 4-Series does have an HDMI 2.1 port and can do 4K/60Hz, you won’t be getting VRR, ALLM, or 4K/120Hz support, so we suggest checking out more gamer-focused sets if playing games is what you mostly plan to do on your new TV.
In general, if you like Amazon and want a modern, decently sized TV you can use without fuss that won’t cost an arm and a leg, the 4-Series looks to be a reasonable choice. But if you are looking to get the biggest bang for your buck out of a budget TV, we recommend checking out other options.
Should you buy a Fire TV Omni Series?
- Sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch
- Display type: LED
- Resolution: 4K
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- HDR: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision
- Audio: Dolby Digital Plus
- HDMI: 2.1
A step up from the 4-Series is Amazon’s Fire TV Omni Series which comes in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch sizes for $330, $400, $510, $700 and $840 respectively at the time of writing. In general, you will be paying between $30 and $80 more for the Omni Series over the equivalent 4-Series set.
The Omni Series has the same specification and features as the 4-Series, with the addition of a built-in far-field microphone for hands-free voice control that lets your Omni Series TV double as an Alexa-enabled smart speaker. You also get Dolby Vision support on the 65-inch and 75-inch Omni Series TVs.
When it comes to budget competitors, you are looking at similar sizes and features for similar prices, while you will be paying a little extra for the Omni Series’ robust Alexa integration via a built-in mic as well as that Dolby Vision support on the 65-inch and 75-inch models.
The situation for gamers on the Omni Series is the same as the 4-Series: it offers 4K/60Hz and HDMI 2.1 but eschews gamer-focused features such as VRR, ALLM, or 4K/120Hz. Casual gamers will be perfectly happy hooking up their PS5 to an Omni Series and playing without major issues; but for the hardcore gamer who cares about the best performance and fastest response times, once again we would probably look elsewhere.
If you are looking for an Amazon ecosystem set that can keep up with 4K/HDR content and doesn’t cost you thousands, then the Fire TV Omni Series likely won’t be a bad buy. Again, though, if you want the most competitive slew of features for the money, we would check out other options before taking the plunge.
Should you buy a Fire TV Omni QLED Series?
- Sizes: 65-inch, 75-inch
- Display type: QLED
- Resolution: 4K
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- HDR: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+
- Audio: Dolby Digital Plus
- HDMI: 2.1
The new Fire TV Omni QLED Series is Amazon’s flagship Fire TV line. It costs the most, as you would expect, but it also offers up the most features, by far. The Omni QLED Series is limited to just 65-inch and 75-inch models that go for $800 and $1100, respectively. While they haven’t been released just yet, you can pre-order now.
The Omni QLED Series brings the same features to the table as the Omni Series plus a host of upgrades and additions, such as that QLED display, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive and HDR10+ Gaming, adaptive brightness, full-array local dimming, and new Amazon functionality. The only real difference between the 65-inch and 75-inch Omni QLED TVs other than panel size comes down to the 65-inch coming with 80 dimming zones while the 75-inch set packs in 96 zones.
Amazon looks to be positioning the Omni QLED Series as a competitor to more expensive QLED sets such as Samsung’s The Frame TV which doubles as an art piece when you aren’t watching content on it. The QLED Series has many of the same features, allowing you to display artwork, photos, or a host of Echo Show-style widgets on your TV.
Considering the suite of image quality upgrades, particularly in the world of brightness, contrast, and HDR, we would expect the Omni QLED Series to have a major boost in image quality over the Omni Series and 4-Series Fire TV. But only a full review will let us know for sure – for which, watch this space.
For gamers, the situation is better here than it is across all of Amazon’s other Fire TVs: 4K/60Hz support and not 4K/120Hz, but you will get VRR and ALLM. HDR10+ Gaming is nice to have, too, on top of the Omni QLED Series' other gaming-focused features. These are the features you want on your TV as a gamer, so we're happy to see Amazon's latest Fire TV looks to be improving things in that regard.
In general, the Omni QLED Series is Amazon’s most interesting Fire TV yet. The Frame-like functionality is a nice feature, while the apparent upgrades to image quality over other sets are a bonus. However, you can pick up a 65-inch QLED TCL Roku TV with 4K/HDR support alongside features like VRR and ALLM for $550. And that makes it tough to call Amazon’s Omni QLED line a must-buy for anybody looking for a deal on a new TV.
So, should you buy a Fire TV? Are they worth it?
Amazon's Fire TVs show a lot of promise, and should be worthy vehicles for Amazon's excellent Fire TV platform.
The Omni QLED Series hasn’t yet been released, but the 4-Series and Omni Series have gone down rather well on Amazon, with the 4-Series accumulating more than 23,000 reviews at an average rating of 4.6/5 and the Omni Series earning more than 18,000 reviews at the same average rating.
The caveat? If you’re a gamer on a budget, you might want to pick up a more gamer-focused set, such as this 4K/120Hz 65-inch Toshiba for $500.
And, of course, these are budget TVs, so don’t expect the premium picture quality offered by higher-priced models. We won't be at all surprised if Fire TVs represent good value in the picture department for their price, but they are unlikely to match the quality offered by, say, LG, Samsung and Sony’s premium, higher-priced propositions.
If you aren’t an Amazon fan, you might be better off with a budget set from another brand that doesn’t bother with Alexa support. Check out our list of the best cheap TVs around. You will find some of the best cheap TV deals currently live below, too.
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