Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Amazon introduces new Fire TV Edition line of budget-priced TVs at CES

By Kris Wouk January 3, 2017

amazon fire tv edition tvs ces 2017 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

While Amazon and Roku have gone head to head with their streaming media players for years now, Roku had carved out its own territory with its Roku TV partnerships. Roku won’t be the only company integrating its platform into smart TVs anymore, however, as Amazon and its partners Seiki, Westinghouse, and Element on Tuesday announced a new line of affordable smart TVs by the name of Fire TV Edition.

“Teaming up with brands including Seiki, Westinghouse, and Element on a new range of smart TVs allows Amazon to deliver an experience that’s familiar and easy to use,” Amazon Fire TV vice president Marc Whitten said in a statement. “Fire TV Edition offers access to a great selection of streaming and over-the-air TV and movies, Alexa for easy voice search and content control, and the many other features and experiences customers have come to expect from the best-selling line of Amazon Fire TV products.”

The new Fire TV Edition TVs will include built-in support for over-the-air (OTA) live TV in addition to the streaming channels supported as part of Amazon’s Fire TV platform. These TVs will include a voice remote complete with Amazon’s Alexa, allowing for a voice-powered search of more than 100 different channels and apps.

So far, TVs have been announced in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch size classes, with all of the models supporting 4K Ultra HD resolution, though no models featuring high dynamic range (HDR) have been announced yet. The user interface should look familiar to anyone who has used Amazon’s streaming devices before, especially since the updated interface the company began rolling out in late 2016.

TV models from Seiki, Westinghouse, and Element will be on sale via Amazon beginning later in 2017, with retail prices being announced closer to the products’ launch. Seiki and Westinghouse will be demonstrating their respective Fire TV Edition models in Las Vegas at CES Unveiled.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Audio / Video

Amazon Fire TVs can stream directly to hearing implants

A man with a cochlear hearing implant listens to TV audio.

A select number of Amazon Fire TV devices now support audio streaming to hearing implants, thanks to a partnership between Amazon and Cochlear, the world's largest provider of hearing implants. It lets hearing implant users hear a variety of audio content. Depending on the Fire TV device, that includes streaming movies and shows from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, podcasts, audiobooks, Alexa voice feedback, system sounds, and audio from local TV networks.

The new feature uses a Bluetooth protocol known as Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA), along with special modifications for the specific needs of those who use implants. At the moment, hearing implant streaming is available on Fire TV Omni QLED Series, Fire TV Omni Series, Fire TV 4-Series, Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen), and Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) devices. It will work with Cochlear Nucleus 8, Nucleus 7, Nucleus Kanso 2, and Baha 6 Max sound processors.

Audio / Video

Amazon Echo Show 15 is getting the full Fire TV update today

Amazon Fire TV on Echo Show 15.

The line between the Amazon Echo Show 15 and a Fire TV is blurring, with the former getting the experience of the latter starting today with a software update.

It won't quite turn your Echo Show 15 into a Fire TV 15, per se. But it'll give it full access to the Amazon Appstore, and that means you should have all the apps available to essentially turn it into a wall-mounted streaming powerhouse (provided that everything's square when it comes to APIs and app updates, but we have a feeling Amazon and the developers will have that figured out in short order, if things aren't already working as expected).

Audio / Video

Fire TV Stick vs. Fire TV Stick 4K Max vs. Fire TV Cube: Which to buy?

Amazon Fire TV Cube

If you've been looking for a fast, cheap, and user-friendly way to experience the growing world of streaming media, an Amazon Fire TV product is an excellent option for all your Netflix-adjacent needs. With most of Amazon's hardware requiring nothing more than a Wi-Fi connection and a TV to plug into, you'll be able to get connected to all that content in no time at all.

Some Fire TV devices even give you the ability to interact with Alexa, making voice control over your TV as easy as saying, "Alexa, open Netflix." But there are several kinds of Fire TV devices, each with a different price, design, and features. Which Amazon Fire TV product is right for you? We'll take an in-depth look at the five current Amazon Fire TV models -- the Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and the Fire TV Cube -- so you can get a feel for what each one offers.
Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite
Alexa Voice Remote with TV controls Digital Trends