Amazon to Launch Fire TV Edition Smart TVs

• Amazon announced Fire TV Edition smart TVs in partnership with Toshiba and Insignia.
• These smart TVs will be built on Amazon’s own OS (Fire TV OS).
• There are more than 10 models to choose from at launch, available at Best Buy’s online and Amazon stores. Stocks will also be available at Best Buy brick and mortar stores.

E-commerce giant Amazon announced a lineup of more than ten smart TVs in partnership with Toshiba and Insignia today. The Fire TV lineup is set to launch this summer and will be made available through Best Buy’s online store, Amazon.com and Best Buy’s physical stores.

Image Courtesy of NDTV

Amazon seeks to cash in on the latest development in the battle for consumers’ living rooms. Google has already launched Android TV with its Google voice assistant. Amazon launched its first TV with Fire TV OS in 2017 via a partnership with Element. This time around Amazon is partnering with Best Buy, one of America’s largest retail store chains.

Amazon and Best Buy have a long working history together and this new partnership solidifies the relationship between both brands. The Fire Edition TVs by Insignia and Toshiba are designed to work seamlessly with Amazon’s own voice assistant Alexa.

Future models have also been planned for later this year. American customers will be able to purchase the TVs in the summer. Canadian customers will also be able to buy the TVs later this year, but there has been no confirmed date yet. International variants of the TVs for other countries are yet to be announced.

The TVs include Fire TV OS integration that can allow streaming through other services like Netflix or Hulu alongside the proprietary Prime Video by Amazon. HDMI ports are available on the TVs to allow users to connect gaming consoles. The highlight feature of the Smart TVs is, of course, the Alexa integration. Users will be able to control their smart homes including doorbells, lighting systems and other technologies supported by Alexa.

Alexa will receive continuous updates to add more commands and functionality to the voice assistant to make the TVs more feature rich over time. Technical details of the TVs have not been disclosed fully and we will get more information in the summer at launch.