Amazon-branded TVs could hit U.S. market in October

By Trevor Mogg Published September 3, 2021

Amazon is preparing to launch its own TVs as early as October, a report has claimed.

Specs are scant, but sources with knowledge of the matter told Insider the Amazon-branded TVs will feature screen sizes of between 55 and 75 inches and be compatible with Alexa, its digital voice assistant. There’s no word on if they’ll incorporate Amazon’s Fire TV software, nor any information on how much they’ll cost.

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One of the televisions will reportedly be built by TCL, while another will be developed by Amazon itself, sources told Insider. It’s not clear if the Amazon-built TV will be part of the range expected to launch next month.

The report said work on Amazon’s TV project has been going on for almost two years and involved cooperation between the company’s Amazon Devices and Lab126 units, the latter being the company’s California-based R&D division that came up with Amazon products such as the Kindle e-reader and Fire tablet.

If Amazon does launch its own TVs, it’ll be hoping the new products gain the kind of popularity achieved by its smart speakers, e-readers, and tablets and avoid the calamitous outcome suffered by its poorly received Fire smartphone.

The e-commerce giant wouldn’t be entering the television market completely cold, either. At the end of 2020, it launched 50- and 55-inch 4K LED TVs in India under its AmazonBasics brand, with its Fire TV software already installed. It also has a deal with Best Buy to sell Toshiba and Insignia-branded TVs with its Fire software already installed.

But the U.S. television market is highly competitive and launching Amazon-branded TVs would pit the company against industry powerhouses such as Samsung, LG. and Sony.

Digital Trends has reached out to Amazon for comment on Thursday’s report and we will update this article when we hear back.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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