Panasonic is teaming up with Amazon Fire TV for new smart TVs

Now things happen

01-12-2024 – 21:22

LAS VEGAS / AV: Panasonic launched its new Z95A and Z93A models this week, and at CES 2024 we got a demo of the new models with the Amazon Fire TV operating system.

For many years Panasonic TV has used its MyHomeScreen user interface in its TV models. It was reliable and easy to use, but it lagged behind Google TV, Samsung's Tizen, and LG's webOS in terms of some features.

It was time for a change, but Panasonic didn't turn to Google like “everyone else,” instead partnering with Amazon to use its Fire TV platform. It's an interesting move that could bring a breath of fresh air to the world of television.

Panasonic with Fire TV

As we all know, software can be resource intensive to develop and, not least, to update with new features. Panasonic's big strength is picture and sound quality. And with Amazon's experience on the software side, there could be an interesting synergistic effect.

We got a small demo of the system at Panasonic's booth at CES 2024, and the new system looks fast and smooth. The TVs also have a new remote with shortcut buttons for the Alexa voice assistant, among other things.

The collaboration means Panasonic displays have access to the Fire TV platform, which has a personalized user interface with a rich set of apps, streaming services, live TV programming and personalized recommendations. Not to mention voice control via Alexa.

The move to Fire TV begins with the top-of-the-line OLED Z95A and Z93A models, but Panasonic announced at CES that it plans to expand use of Amazon's system to more models later this year.

“We are very excited to announce with Panasonic that their new smart TVs will include Fire TV starting in 2024,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV at Amazon. “This means customers around the world will enjoy all the benefits of Fire TV’s personal streaming experience and access to Alexa, along with Panasonic’s premium smart TVs.”