Amazon-branded TVs are coming to the UK in April

In September 2021, Amazon launched two lines of own-brand TVs in the US and Canada offering an all-in-one device with Alexa and Fire TV.

Now the company is launching Series 4 and Omni QLED in the UK and Germany. But that’s not all, Amazon is also adding an even cheaper range that adds smaller screen sizes to provide options whatever your room size or budget.

Amazon Fire TV Series 2

The new entry-level Series 2 comes in 32- and 40-inch screen sizes, with the smaller costing £249.99. This has a 720p resolution, with the 40in offering a 1080p (Full HD) panel for £299.99. In many other ways, the TVs have the same features as the larger Series 4, including Alexa built-in and support for HDR10, HLG and Dolby Digital Audio.

The Fire TV interface is much like what you get on a Fire TV Stick and gives you access to Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Netflix and many other streaming services.

As a TV, you also get a built-in Freeview Play tuner for watching live TV.

Series 2 is available for pre-order on Amazon immediately. The TVs will officially go on sale on April 12.

fire tv series 4

The Series 4 has options for larger screen sizes: 43, 50, and 55 inches. These are all 4K and support HDR10, HLG and Dolby Digital Plus.
Again, you use Alexa via the included voice remote and get the full Fire TV interface, plus built-in Freeview Play for live TV.

The 43in model costs £429.99, the 50in £499.99 and the 55in £549.99. You can pre-order a Series 4 on Amazon right now.

Omni QLED TV Light

As in the US and Canada, the Omni QLED is the flagship model. It’s available in 43, 50, 55 and 65in and starts at £549.99. Unlike in the US, there’s no 75-inch option.

The Omni TVs have a 4K QLED panel for better picture quality (and HDR10+ support) have a more premium finish thanks to a metal frame and stand and have a few extra features too.
One is hands-free Alexa thanks to the same kind of “far-field” microphones you get in an Amazon Echo. But there is also a sensor panel with light and presence sensors.
These do a few things. For one thing, they allow Omni QLED TVs to support Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, which means the brightness and picture quality are adjusted according to the ambient lighting conditions in your room.

They also allow TVs to detect if someone is in the room and turn on or off what Amazon calls Ambient Experience. It’s actually a full-scale Echo Show interface that can display family photos from Amazon Photos, widgets showing the weather, your calendar, entertainment recommendations and more.

There’s also a free library of around 1,700 free gallery-quality artworks that, like with Samsung Ambient Mode TVs, turn your big screen into a picture frame. They include a selection of works by local artists in the UK from galleries in Wales and Scotland. Alexa can tell you more about each room: it’s not just a picture.

The collection also includes slow motion videos, much like Apple TV screensavers, and other “moving rooms” like a cozy fireplace. There is a single ‘dynamic’ piece of art that changes subtly depending on factors such as local weather, wind speed and time of day. Amazon says it plans to expand to include more dynamic pieces.

In the future, you’ll be able to generate your own artwork using AI by asking Alexa anything you can think of. Amazon demonstrated this by saying “Alexa, create a background showing the Northern Lights over Big Ben.” There is no specific date as to when this will be available, but a spokesperson said it should be within a year.

You can control when Ambient Experience is displayed using silent hours and set how long it should wait when you’re not watching something on your TV before it appears.

Of course, like a Fire TV, you can also ask Alexa (on any of those TVs) to bring up the front door camera, set a timer, play music, and whatever. ‘Alexa does normally.

Pre-order discounts

As it did in 2021, Amazon is offering ‘launch discounts’ meaning you can save up to £300 until April 11.

You can pre-order all models now on the Amazon website.

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