Amazon has announced that its range of Fire TVs are coming to the U.K. Until now, they have been exclusive to the U.S., so U.K. consumers are getting a new and competitively priced TV option if they’re considering upgrading their living room box.
Amazon said the entry-level Fire TV series 2 starts at just £249.99 for the 720p, 32-inch model, though it’s currently available for a discounted price tag of just £169. There’s also a 40-inch model that offers 1080p resolution, and both sets offer HDR 10, HLG and Dolby Digital Audio.
For those who want something a bit more capable, the Fire TV series 4 is available in 43-, 50- and 55-inch sizes, with prices starting at £249.99 for the smallest option, currently discounted to just £169. These models are a bit snazzier, featuring 4K QLED displays.
Amazon’s premium TV offering is the Fire TV Omni, which comes with some of the very best smart TV features, with up to 80 local dimming zones, HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision IQ. They come with an Alexa voice remote, meaning they also offer hands-free control, and they feature the Fire TV Ambient Experience that displays gallery artworks when the TV is in standby. The Fire TV Omni comes in 43-, 50-, 55- and 65-inch sizes. Prices start at £549.99 for the 43-inch model, though it can temporarily be had for just £349.
The second bit of news from Amazon is that its cloud-hosted gaming service Amazon Luna is making its way across the pond too. Powered by Amazon Web Services, Amazon Luna is a competitor to the likes of Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now, and offers a decent selection of games ranging from retro classics to Ubisoft AAA titles.
A core Luna+ subscription is £8.99 per month, though there are cheaper options available. Users can also take advantage of a 7-day free trial. Note that if you already subscribe to Amazon Prime, you’ll also be able to access a limited selection of Luna titles without paying extra. For Prime users, Amazon offers a small catalogue of games that rotates regularly, so the disadvantage is that it might suddenly remove whatever game you happen to be playing.
Amazon sells a dedicated Luna games controller that’s compatible with Smart TVs including its Fire TVs, as well as tablets, Chromebooks, PCs, laptops, MacBooks and smartphones. The controller is pretty expensive though, at £59.99. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need a Luna controller, as Luna is also compatible with the Xbox One controller, DualShock 4 Playstation controller, the Razer Kishi or just a keyboard and mouse.
