Fire TV Edition
At Amazon I founded the Fire TV Edition apps team and drove the program from early concept through domestic and international launch. The idea: put the full Fire TV experience — apps, Alexa, live TV — directly into the television, so the TV itself was the Fire TV. No stick, no box, no input-hunting.
The program launched at CES 2017 with the first Fire TV Edition 4K TVs, scaled through an exclusive multi-year partnership with Best Buy (Toshiba and Insignia sets, 2018), and expanded internationally — the UK, Germany, Austria, India — plus soundbars, Fire TV Edition for Auto, and operator partnerships. By CES 2020, Fire TV had passed 40 million active users with 50+ Fire TV Edition models in more than 10 countries.
Timeline
- Jan 2017 — Announced at CES: the first TVs with Fire TV OS built in (Seiki, Westinghouse, Element), with an Alexa Voice Remote in the box.
- May–Jun 2017 — Pre-orders open ($449–$899); the first Fire TV Edition TVs ship June 14.
- Apr 2018 — Amazon and Best Buy announce an exclusive multi-year partnership: 10+ Toshiba and Insignia Fire TV Edition models, launching summer 2018 in the US and later in Canada. The first Toshiba 4K sets go on sale June 22, 2018.
- Sep 2018 — Fire TV Recast OTA DVR announced; its live and recorded content integrates directly into the Fire TV Edition TV interface.
- Sep 2019 — International expansion: JVC Fire TV Edition TVs launch in the UK via Dixons Carphone/Currys, alongside the first Fire TV Edition soundbar (Anker Nebula). At IFA Berlin, Grundig launches a full range for Germany and Austria — including the world’s first hands-free Fire TV Edition OLED.
- Dec 2019 — India launch with Onida (32" HD at ₹12,999 / 43" FHD at ₹21,999), on sale December 20.
- Jan 2020 — CES 2020: Fire TV Edition for Auto (BMW, Fiat Chrysler), Fire TV Edition for Operators (Verizon, Tata Sky), more soundbar partners. 40M+ Fire TV active users; 150+ Fire TV Edition models projected by end of 2020.
What made it different
- Integrated tuner, unified home screen. Live over-the-air channels sat in the same UI as streaming apps — a Recents row, an on-screen guide mixing broadcast and streaming, universal search across channels and apps.
- Alexa Voice Remote. Push-to-talk voice search and input control (“switch to HDMI 2”) — no input numbers.
- Input tiles. Game consoles, Blu-ray players, and cable boxes appeared as launchable tiles on the home screen.
- Licensed-platform model. Amazon supplied the OS and software; partners built and sold the hardware — our answer to Roku TV and Android TV.
Press
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