The first round of Amazon Fire TV Edition smart TVs hit shelves last year and were met with a tepid response. It’s not that people hated the dovetailing of their streaming video player and their traditional ‘dumb’ TV - far from it, I’m sure - it’s just that reviewers and buyers alike didn’t particularly love the panels Amazon’s smart OS made its way onto.
That said, Amazon is giving it another shot in 2018. This time, using Best Buy as the conduit to consumers.
The two announced a partnership on Wednesday that will bring 10 new Amazon Fire TV Edition smart TVs to Best Buy in 2018 from manufacturers like Toshiba and Insignia. The TVs will include both 4K and HD models and will be available starting this summer.
“These Fire Edition smart TVs by Insignia and Toshiba deliver beautiful visuals and all the movies and TV shows you love, with an experience that gets better every day with Alexa,” adds Jeff Bezos in a press release. “We could not have a better partner in this endeavor.”
‘Couldn’t I just buy an Amazon Fire TV?’
You could. Just like you could buy a Roku Streaming Stick+ instead of one of the many excellent Roku TVs. But doing so is an extra cost, and the operating systems - both in the case of Roku and Amazon - are generally just as good if not better on the TV.
Amazon Fire TV’s strong suit is, of course, the addition of Alexa that enables smart home control functionality and all of the intelligence Amazon has built into its smart assistant. There’s a dedicated section of the home screen for Amazon Prime TV Shows and Movies, plus a nifty remote that can call up Alexa on demand.
If you’re confused to hear that Amazon and Best Buy are working together on something, it’s because the deal with Best Buy is one that benefits both parties.
Best Buy will have the exclusive rights to sell select TVs that appeal to its price-conscious consumers and in return Amazon will give Best Buy a dedicated section on its online storefront. Plus Amazon now has a physical space to demo its TVs. Seems like a win-win here.
Now all we need is an OLED Fire TV and we’ll be all set.
- Speaking of smart TVs, here are the best smart TVs in 2018
