Amazon has partnered up with retailer Best Buy to sell a series of new smart TVs build on Amazon’s Fire TV operating system. The products will be available in the US and Canada starting this summer.
The press release reveals that more than ten new TV models from Insignia (Best Buy’s own brand) and Toshiba will become available in the next few months. The devices will be sold exclusively through Best Buy and Amazon.com and via the retailer’s chain of brick-and-mortar stores.
“Amazon and Best Buy have a long history of working together, and today we take our partnership to a new level.”
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
The new products incorporate Amazon’s Fire TV platform, without the need for an additional Fire TV Stick or 4K Fire TV. Customers will be able to choose between HD and 4K models.
American customers will be able to buy the new TVs first
Each of the new TVs will come with Alexa, the popular virtual assistant, built-in. The products will allow owners to access more than 190 different services and apps including Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video. For the time being, Amazon hasn’t revealed any details about pricing.
In the future, Best Buy may carry TVs based on Amazon’s Fire TV OS from other brands, including models that include direct access to Alexa. For the upcoming models, customers will have to press a microphone button on their remote, or add Amazon Echo speaker to their overall setup, to call up Alexa.
Amazon launched its first TV with Fire TV OS last year in collaboration with Element, but the new Best Buy partnership will make such products available to a wider audience.
Best Buy has also teamed up with other notable players in the smart TV space, like Samsung and LG. Additionally, the retailer has a partnership with Roku for Insignia TVs powered by the company’s own smart TV operating system.
