Taking a brief look at the evolution of modern technology helps, but it's also not the only reason we're seeing so many cheap options. A perfect example of this is Amazon's Fire TV lineup. Spanning media players and a host of cheap, ultra-budget TV sets, Fire TV is one of the most competitive in the space. They're almost always low-cost, even when there are no sales going on.
Amazon is now blocking access to apps that have been identified as providing pirated content, including those downloaded outside the tech giant's app store. "Piracy is illegal, and we've always worked to block it from our Appstore," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. "This builds on our ongoing efforts to support creators and protect customers, as piracy can also expose users to malware, viruses, and fraud."
Now let's set the expectations when it comes to this display. This isn't some expensive OLED TV which can go for multiple thousands of dollars. You can still get a picture that's fairly big, displays in high definition, and has a wide color gamut without having to take out a second mortgage on your home. This 1080p 43-inch TV has support for HDR 10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Audio which can further enhance your image and sound quality.
The Fire TV Stick HD is your entry point. It handles 1080p, and that's pretty much the whole story. It works fine for an older TV-the kind you put in the guest room or the garage. At $25, it's cheap, it's simple, and it's a little slow, both performance-wise and thanks to its aging Wi-Fi 5 chipset. If you have a 4K television, walk past this one and don't look back. If you insist on buying it, wait for a sale. They happen often.
Sure, the original name was confusing (is 4K better or worse than 4K Select?), but a mere name change in a lineup of four identical gadgets isn't enough. It assumes you're willing to do the mental gymnastics of recalling where other "Plus" products sit in their respective lineups, and what that might mean for this device's capabilities. It doesn't solve Amazon's biggest problem, which is that it still sells three 4K-ready sticks within $10 of each other.
You don't have to wait for Prime Big Deal Days to kick off on October 7 to start saving, as the Toshiba 55-Inch Class C350 LED Smart Fire 4K TV is already down to its lowest price ever at Amazon. The LED TV is just $200 (was $400), and several other sizes are also discounted ahead of the shopping event--including nice price cuts on the 75-inch and 65-inch variants.
At Amazon's annual hardware event, it announced a fleet of new Fire TVs, including an Omni QLED model, as well as new 2 and 4-series televisions. The QLED features an auto-adjusting screen for various lighting conditions, plus what the company calls omnisense presence detection. Amazon's Fire TV operating system powers TVs from various manufacturers, but the Omni series is its own flagship TV with a higher-end design, better specs, and a higher price.
