Lab tested: Amazon's first own-brand budget TVs

Amazon has been selling TVs for years, but until now the company has never emblazoned its own name on one. It will be looking to repeat the success of previous own-brand devices, including its Fire TV sticks and Fire tablets 

In many ways, own-brand TVs were the logical next step for Amazon. The Amazon Fire TV stick is one of the most popular TV streamers on the market, and the company has put all of the functionality of its Fire TV stick behind the screens of its debut TVs. It's a tough market, but Amazon took on the iPad with its Fire tablets, so it's no stranger to an uphill battle. 

We tested one model from each range in our labs, so you can see how they match up to their main rivals, LG and Samsung, as well as other brands making cheaper models, such as Hisense.

• Fire TV Omni QLED Series: mid to high-end 4K models with QLED displays
• Fire TV 4-Series: entry-level 4K models in a wider range of sizes
• Fire TV 2-Series: small, entry-level HD models

Best TVs for 2024: see which models aced our lab tests

Amazon Fire TV Omni-series

At the top of the pile is the 4K Omni Series with its QLED display. This means it has quantum dots in addition to liquid crystals in the screen, which can improve colour vibrancy. Samsung is best known for these displays, but many brands use quantum dots in some form. 

It's a full-array backlit TV, so the bulbs that illuminate the colour producing layer sit behind the screen rather than around the edge (known as edge lit). This tends to mean better contrast and more control over how the screen is lit. 

Full-array backlights are a high-end feature and so are the HDR formats the Amazon Omni range supports. There's the usual HDR10 and HLG, plus HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ, the two advanced formats that adjust contrast to suit each scene – and based on the ambient light in your room.

All of these features did pay off to a degree and the Omni was our favourite of Amazon's TVs. What we liked most though was the sound, which was something Amazon had been quieter about when it revealed the TV back in 2023.

To see how the Omni compares to other similarly priced TVs and for our all-important overall verdict, check our Amazon Fire TV Omni-series review.

What size TV should you buy? Find out which size is best for your room, then see our favourites

Amazon Fire TV 4-series

Unlike the Omni, the Fire TV 4-Series are LCD only. There are no quantum dots and they lose out on the advanced HDR formats. You still get HDR10 and HLG, but these can't adapt contrast to suit each scene.

That's not the end of the world, though, and we have tested plenty of TVs that make the most of these basic formats.

Many of the distinctive features of the Omni fall by the wayside. There's no microphone built into the TV, so you'll always need the remote on hand to use Alexa. The Fire TV Ambient Experience is also missing, so you won't be able to have widgets or art displaying when you're not watching the TV.

It's an entry-level range, but there's nothing wrong with that necessarily. Not everyone needs a PVR or features that makes games play more smoothly. If the 4-series does a good job displaying images at all resolutions sounds rich and immersive then it will be a winner, particularly as the range is made up of some of the cheapest 4K TVs around.

Check our Amazon Fire TV 4-series review to see if its worth the money, or if you need to look to more established brands for true quality.

The best TVs under £300, £500 and £1,000 – TVs don't get much cheaper, so see which ones did best in our labs.

Amazon Fire TV 2-series

Last up is the 2-Series range – made up of HD TVs. They still support HDR, which is generally only used with 4K content, and the same voice control capabilities as the 4-Series – so you're going to need to keep the remote handy.

As with all HD TVs, these are fairly basic and are designed more as secondary TV for a kitchen or bedroom.

The only difference between these TVs, other than size, is their resolution. The 32-inch set is HD-ready, while the 40-inch one is Full HD and should look that bit sharper as a result.

We put the larger 40-inch models through its paces and, given the typical low quality of HD TVs it had a real chance to set itself apart and become to go-to option for anyone looking for a second TV.

Read our Amazon Fire TV 2-series review to see if Amazon's most basic model is the pick of the HD TVs on offer.

Take a look at our top TV deals to save on an excellent older model

Amazon TV drawbacks

There's an issue that affects all of Amazon's TVs and that's the operating system. It's rare to find a interface that's tricky to use, but Amazon managed it and it's something we hope gets overhauled when these TVs are updated.

Setting the TVs up was fine, but getting your channels in order is fiddly. If you like to set favourites and move them around so your favourites appear first, then you'll need to aside too much time as you can't group channels, only move them one by one. Frustrating design decisions like this occur across the TVs menus.

There's no text to explain what different picture settings do, there's no enough information in the electronic programme guide that only shows four channels at a time and the remote is cramped, with small buttons that are tough to distinguish.

These problems aren't deal-breakers, the ease of use of a TV will always be secondary to the picture and sound quality, but it is frustrating.

Other budget TV options

As with its tablets, Amazon is aiming at the cheaper end of the market with its TVs, so what similarly priced models are available from other brands?

The 55-inch Omni-series is £590, as of March 2024, reduced from £749. This lower price, which may be temporary, is cheaper than QLEDs from Samsung, such as the QE55Q80C will set you back around £720.

Fire 4-series TVs are Amazon's cheapest 4K sets ranging from £299 for the 43-inch set to £419 for the 55-inch, which we tested. Again, these prices are discounted and could temporary. All the TVs in the range have between 22 and 30% off. 

£419 is for a 55-inch 4K TV is very low and only a handful of TVs are available for less. Most of these are made by Hisense, another brand that does its best to undercut the likes of LG and Samsung. The Hisense 55A6KTUK is the cheapest 55-inch 4K TV we've tested from 2023 and it's currently priced at around £330. 

Two LG TVs are currently available for less than £400, too: the LG 55UR78006LK and the LG 55UR80006LJ.

Check out our expert reviews using the links above. Alternatively, if you want to buy now, see the latest deals below.

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