Amazon plans to sell its own smart television with its Fire TV capabilities built in, TechCrunch reported Wednesday, and it has chosen an unlikely partner in the endeavor. Rather than sell its TVs online, Amazon will bring them to Best Buy stores so that customers can see them in person before they purchase.
The exclusive partners will sell 10 models of HD TVs starting this summer, including displays from Toshiba and Best Buy's Insignia brand. The Insignia brand will also drop its Roku compatibility, The Wall Street Journal reported, although Best Buy will still continue to sell Roku products. While Amazon's Fire TV stick can be set up to work with any television, "the direct integration of Alexa" is an added benefit of these new TV sets, TechCrunch explained.
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"The physical integration between the software and the hardware" is a new feature to their partnership, said Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly. "The two companies are retailers but they're also product companies."
Read more about the partnership at The Wall Street Journal.