Amazon Fire TV is now an ACTUAL Amazon Fire OLED TV with Alexa; Fire TV Cube is the ultimate TV hub

Amazon Fire TV: now actual OLED and LED TVs

(Image credit: Amazon)

last updated 14 January 2020

IFA 2019 hasn't strictly speaking started yet but already Amazon has stolen the show by unveiling Amazon Fire TVs in the UK and Europe. By which I mean they are actual televisions, not a Fire TV Stick.

What can Alexa do?

That's the big news, at least for non-Americans – TVs with Amazon Fire OS in are very well established over there – but it's not all.

There's also a more powerful Fire TV Cube. There's also a Sonos Beam-rival soundbar from Anker which, I rather suspect, will sell like hot and delicious cakes, given Anker's enviable reputation for delivering quality goods at affordable prices.

And there's a pair of voice-controlled, premium OLED TVs with Fire TV and Alexa inside. But they're only going to be available in Germany and Austria.

'This marks the biggest announcement for Fire TV to date,' boomed Marc Whitten, Amazon's Vice President of Fire TV. 'With more than 20 new Fire TV products available across North America and Europe... we work to make customers' entertainment experience easier, more magical, and more enjoyable.'

Fire TV now has more than 37 million active users worldwide, according to Amazon. As you'd imagine, it's the most popular platform on which to watch Amazon Prime Video. As well as the Fire TVs from JVC, Grundig and Toshiba announced tonight, Amazon says it is 'working with top manufacturers like Skyworth, Arcelik, TPV, Compal, and others to deliver a broad lineup of Fire TV Edition smart TVs.' Brace yourselves…

JVC Televisions with Fire TV OS (2019): price and release date

In America Fire TV OS, like main rival Roku is well established as one of the operating systems of choice in a variety of televisions made by third parties. Now the UK is getting more of a taste, as Amazon unveils a range of Fire TV OS tellies from JVC.

Available at Amazon and Currys, the JVC LED Fire TVs boast 4K resolution, plus HDR10 and Dolby Vision for better colours and contrast. They come in 40-inch, 49-inch and 55-inch screen varieties. They will be the first Fire-powered TVs to be available in the UK.

• Find out how to pre-order JVC's Fire TV edition televisions. They will be available at Currys PC World and Amazon.co.uk from £349. Release dates are TBC

Amazon Fire TV Cube (2019): release date and price

The 2019 Amazon Fire Cube is also coming to the UK

This less celebrated streamer/Alexa speaker combo has been upgraded to a six-core processor that's 'twice as powerful' as the previous model. As well as meaning faster operation, this also allows for support for Dolby Vision HDR at up to 60FPS as well as all the usual 4K, HDR10 and surround sound processing, including Dolby Atmos.

Popular TV-related voice commands are now triggered on the Cube itself rather than having to go to the Alexa cloud and back, further speeding up operation – up to 4 times as fast as the previous generation, is the claim.

The mics have been improved so the Cube can hear your instructions better over the noise of the TV.

Control isn't just via voice, however. Fire TV Cube also supports multi-directional infrared remote control, HDMI CEC to control attached consoles, set-top boxes and more, and 'cloud-based artificial intelligence to control compatible TVs, sound bars, A/V receivers, cable & satellite boxes'.

• Pre-order the new Amazon Fire TV Cube for £110. It ships October 10, with an IR extender cable and Ethernet adapter

But wait! This is the BEST Amazon Fire TV Cube deal there is

Amazon OLED Fire TV: price and release date

Made by Grundig, this is available in 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes and with thee option of Fire TV OS only or Fire TV and Alexa voice control.

The latter models will give you access to all Alexa's usual tricks but also the ability to turn the power on and off, change channels and adjust volume via voice, thanks to far-field mics built in to the TV.

These are the first OLED TVs with Fire TV built in.

Amazon is also positioning the TV as a smart home controller, as you can view your smart cameras on it as well as managing lighting, security systems, heating and more. The TV also 'lights up to show you who is at the front door,' apparently

• Grundig OLED Fire TV Edition Hands-Free costs from €1,300 with Alexa control built in, or €1,200 without Alexa. At launch these will only be available in Germany and Austria. Sorry, UK.

• There will also be Grundig Fire TV edition LED TVs available in 32-inch, 40-inch, 43-inch, 49-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. Availability and pricing details to follow. British customers again

• Toshiba's latest 65-inch Fire TV set with Dolby Vision launches in October in the USA only, at $599.

Anker Nebula Fire TV soundbar: price and release date

Anker Nebula boasts Fire TV pass-through, Alexa voice control and 'room-filling sound'

Anker's groovily-named Nebula boasts 4K and Dolby Vision support via pass-through, and Alexa control like a Sonos Beam.

• Pre-order Anker Nebula now for £180

• You can pre-order Nebula for $230 in the USA. It ships November 21

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."