October could see the debut of Amazon-branded TVs, which could be another step in Amazon’s move to push deeper into the world of TVs, from making shows to designing hardware.
That's going by a report by Insider, citing insider information, which said that come October we could be seeing TVs with Fire TV software built into them being sold exclusively through Amazon.
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However, Amazon wouldn't actually make these rumored TV, which are tipped to range between 55 inches and 75 inches in screen size. Rather, the retail giant will reportedlywork with other TV makers like TCL. We’ve seen Amazon do this before with AmazonBasics TVs, though these have only been sold in India.
With the reported move, Amazon is tipped to bring its own in-house design TVs to the U.S. for the first time. What’s not clear is whether Amazon will aim to provide lower-end TVs or produce higher-end devices for U.S. consumers. Currently, Amazon’s TV efforts in the States so far have been centered around a partnership with Best Buy to make low-cost Toshiba and Insignia TV with Fire TV software, though these have not sported Amazon branding.
Given Amazon Fire Stick and other Fire TV devices aren’t exactly expensive, you might ask if there’s any need for a full Amazon TV, especially as most smart TVs have support for services like Amazon Prime Video. But having a TV that contains Alexa and Fire TV software in one package may be very appealing to U.S. consumers; not everyone wants to spend big one for one of our picks for the best OLED TVs.
And Amazon's vast tech and business clout could see it strike savvy manufacturing deals to produce TVs that are surprisingly good for reasonable prices. For example, Amazon could offer a mini-LED set to go up against the likes of Samsung, TCL and Hisense for under $900 or under $800.
Given Amazon’s hardware and TV ambitions are often kept firmly under wraps, we’ll have to wait and see if this information bears fruit. But come the fall, we could have a surprising new range of TVs to peruse.
