Amazon might not sell televisions with its own name in the US, but the company is one of the most important players in the TV industry. Its Fire TV sticks and set-top boxes have sold remarkably well over the years, and many smart TVs from other companies (like Toshiba) have the Fire TV operating system built-in. To further capitalize on the TV market, Amazon is now working on a complete TV product of its own, according to a new report.
Amazon is reportedly close to releasing a line of smart TVs under the company’s own brand (via Business Insider), which could arrive in the United States as soon as October. The project has been in the works for almost two years, suffering multiple delays due to “logistical bottlenecks.” The finished TVs should be in the range of 55 to 75 inches.
The report is light on details about the TV’s functionality, but it mentions that the TVs will be “Alexa-powered.” This isn’t unique, as Alexa is included on everything running Fire TV OS, and it can even be installed on some other smart TV platforms (like webOS and Tizen TV). Interestingly, Amazon isn’t even manufacturing the TV itself, at least initially. Business Insider reports that TCL will build the TV, which also manufactures TVs for Samsung and Alcatel.
It remains to be seen how Amazon will differentiate its own TV from the sea of competitors. The extended development timeline suggests unique hardware or software, but no details about those aspects have been reported yet. Even if it’s just another Fire TV device, Amazon probably won’t have a hard time selling it. Every sale event on Amazon’s online store (such as the yearly ‘Prime Day’ sales) heavily promotes the company’s Echo and Fire devices.
It’s worth mentioning that while Amazon doesn’t offer TVs under its own brand name in the US, the company does offer TVs under the AmazonBasics brand in some markets like India.
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