Amazon Fire TV Omni vs. 4-series: What's the difference, and which should you buy?

Amazon's Fire TV devices have been around for over half a decade in the form of set-top boxes and streaming sticks, as well as built-in third-party Fire TV Edition sets, so what makes these new devices special? 

Well, they're the first TV sets, made directly by Amazon's in-house team, that offer the complete Fire TV experience in one device. There are many similarities between the two series, so let's take a deeper look at the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series vs. the Fire TV 4-Series to see what is different, and which set might be right for your home.

Amazon Fire TV Omni vs. Fire TV 4-Series: How they compare

First, let's begin our comparison by taking a look at their key specifications. As you can see, the two series share a lot of Amazon DNA.

Amazon Fire TV Omni vs. Fire TV 4-Series: Similarities

These TV series siblings have far more in common with each other than what separates them, so let's start our comparison with their similarities.

To begin with, both the Omni and 4-Series come with the latest Fire TV experience baked right in, with no peripherals required to start streaming the best of Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, or whatever your favorite subscription service is. They both also come with a ton of free content that can be accessed from the "free" tile on the home screen, including Prime Video and IMDBtv content, as well as options from other services.

Both TV series comes with the Alexa Voice Remote, which gives you push-button access to Alexa to control your TV, request content, or even control your smart home devices. And unlike previous Amazon remotes, this model has shortcut buttons to Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, and Hulu.

While some additional sizes are available for the Omni Series, both versions are available in 43, 50, and 55-inch configurations. Both also offer the same basic video and audio performance, including 4K UHD pictures, support for HDR 10 and HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus with passthrough of Dolby-encoded audio.

Amazon Fire TV Omni vs. Fire TV 4-Series: Differences

While each Amazon Fire TV series will be among the best Alexa devices you can buy, there are a few reasons why you might want to shell out the extra money for the Omni Series over the 4-Series.

The first and arguably most important reason is how you access Alexa. With the Omni Series, you have two ways to use Amazon's personal voice assistant to control your TV, audio, and smart home experience: With your voice, or via the remote control. 

The Omni Series has built-in microphones that allow you to issue queries and commands to Alexa from anywhere in the room with just your voice. Of course, there is a physical switch to disable those microphones if you don't want them always on. You can also use the Alexa Voice Remote for those times when you don't want to shout commands from across the house.

The Omni Series also allows you to connect compatible webcams for two-way video calling with Alexa Communications, which is not available on the 4-Series. Finally, the Omni Series comes in two larger sizes — 65 and 75-inch models — supporting Dolby Vision for a more cinematic viewing experience.

Of course, the Omni Series's premium features come at a cost. For each of their shared configurations, the Omni Series costs approximately $40 more than the 4-Series. Additionally, the largest Omni Series set costs over $1,000, whereas the most expensive 4-Series device costs just over $500.

Amazon Fire TV Omni vs. Fire TV 4-Series: Which should you buy?

If you've ever used a smart TV like a Roku or one of Amazon's other Fire TV devices, then chances are you'll feel right at home with either of these sets. While both offer great value, we give the nod here to the Omni Series since it has a higher ceiling. 

With hands-free Alexa access, you can operate your Amazon Fire TV from nearly anywhere in the room with just your voice, including initiating or accepting video calls, provided you've got a compatible camera installed. The 4-Series is great, but it doesn't really distinguish itself from the third-party vendors with similar offerings. It is a more affordable series, however, and thus may appeal to more customers for that reason alone.