What you need to know
- Amazon has announced that Xiaomi and Hisense now offer smart TVs with Fire TV built-in.
- Xiaomi's Fire TV is coming to France, Italy, UK, Germany, and Spain.
- The 50-inch Hisense U6HF is available now from Amazon, with a larger size coming later this year.
Late in 2021, Amazon released its first two lineups of smart TVs with a built-in Fire TV interface. Since then, we've seen updated versions of the popular Toshiba and Insignia released. Now, two more companies are joining the fray in various regions across the globe.
The all-new Xiaomi TV F2 series is coming to various markets, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK. Not only does this release mark the first time that a Fire TV set has been available in France and Italy, but it is also the first Xiaomi TV to launch in the UK and the first Fire TV device made by Xiaomi. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though Xiaomi is ready to enter the U.S. market just yet, as the TV F2 won't be available here in the States.
The TV F2 is available in three different size options and supports 4K, HDMI 2.1, and HDR10. The inclusion of HDMI 2.1 might have made this an insta-buy for those looking at the best PS5 TVs, but the refresh rate is limited to just 60Hz regardless of which size you get.
Moving onto Hisense, there's only one size available — 50-inches — for the time being. The Hisense U6HF lineup will end up seeing a 58-inch version added, but according to the press release, that won't be arriving until "early fall."
With the U6HF, you'll be presented with Hisense's excellent Quantum ULED technology, which provides "more brilliant and accurate colors than a regular LED TV." Peak brightness maxes out around 600 nits, spread across a total of 32 local dimming zones.
Other features of the U6HF include support for Dolby Vision HDR10+, along with Motion Rate 240. Like Xiaomi's TV F2, the U6HF is limited to a native refresh rate of 60Hz, but Motion Rate 240 should still provide a smooth next-gen gaming experience.
Hisense makes some of the best Android TVs on the market, combining excellent picture quality with the Android TV interface. And now, Hisense is hoping to continue that success for those who are more interested in the best Amazon Fire TV built-in TVs.
In addition to downloading many of your favorite streaming applications, the U6HF also offers some useful smart home features. These include the likes of Live View Picture-in-Picture, integration with Amazon Alexa, and interaction with your favorite smart home devices.
Previously, Xiaomi relied on Google's Android TV. Part of that has to do with the partnership agreement between these third-party TV makers and Google. But it now seems that Google is loosening up those agreements, allowing companies like Xiaomi and Hisense to release options with Fire TV built-in. Hisense also offers Roku OS TVs.
The Hisense U6HF is available today from Amazon, priced at just $539.99, with the 58-inch model coming later this year for $599.99.
