Amazon Ember QLED review: Future Black Friday bargain

Amazon has renamed its range of own-brand TVs to make identification easier, giving them the name 'Ember'. That started with the Ember Artline (with anti-reflective display), but it's now been applied to Amazon's other TVs.

On review here is what was originally launched as the Fire TV Omni QLED, announced in 2025, but now called the Amazon Ember QLED instead. It's the same TV, it just has a new name so you know to differentiate it from non-Amazon Fire TV models.

As part of a wider refresh, updating the 2023 Omni QLED, the Ember QLED is flanked by the Ember 4 Series below it and the Ember Mini-LED above. That puts this TV in its place, better than the 4 Series, but not as capable as the Mini-LED, with pricing reflecting that position.

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Price & Availability

The Ember QLED was announced in September 2025, but took some time to go on general sale. It is available in 50-, 55- and 65-inch sizes in the UK, while the US and Germany get a 75-inch size too.

As is always the case with Amazon devices, there are significant discounts during sales periods – and the Ember QLED has already been discounted several times, with a 55-inch model on review here as low as £449.99 / $489.99 / €549.99.

It's advised to buy during these discount periods, as it changes the position of this TV from "a little expensive" to "good value".

Here are the RRPs for the different sizes:

Amazon Ember QLED: What's new?

• 60% brighter
• 40% faster processor
• More dimming zones

This Ember QLED is a second-gen model, so there are a number of differences compared to the 2023 model that I reviewed previously. Firstly, Amazon now claims that this model is 60% brighter, while it also has more dimming zones.

A word of caution here: there are no dimming zones on the 50-inch model, so if you want the best performance, go for the 55-inch or larger. For those bigger models there are now double the number of local dimming zones over the first-gen model, designed to boost contrast and reduce light bleed.

There's a new processor, too, with Amazon saying that this model is 40% faster, avoiding some of the slow navigation problems of the previous model. It also steps up to Wi-Fi 6 for even faster connectivity.

Finally, the Ember QLED gets the Ambient Experience that's on some Fire TV Sticks and most of the new line-up of televisions. There's an OmniSense sensor to detect when someone is in the room to support those Ambient features.

Design

• Metal feet
• Wide stand
• Frameless design

From the front the Ember QLED looks like many other TVs in this segment: there's a frameless design, with a narrow band around the screen, while there's a slightly thicker bar across the bottom of the TV.

In the centre is a sensor block, which houses the microphones and mute switch for Alexa, which on this model offers hands-free voice control if you want it.

There are a pair of metal feet that are slightly more premium – as often these legs are plastic. But they have a wide stance, so if you're interested in the 65-inch model, you'll need to make sure you have a stand big enough to place it on.

Around the back of the TV the design is totally different to the old version. It's more streamlined and less blocky than the old model, with a smoother finish. Should anyone see the back of your TV then it looks less ugly, but the way it is curved is really designed to give a more seamless look if it's wall-mounted.

The included remote is a standard Amazon TV one, the same as you get on Amazon's cheapest TV, the Ember 2 Series, as well as on the top model, the Ember Mini-LED.

Picture Quality

• 4K resolution
• Full array local dimming
• Dolby Vision and HDR10+

Amazon's focus for the Ember QLED is to boost the quality, to better compete with the best rival TVs under £/$1000. This is a full-array LED television with Quantum Dot, meaning that the illumination is directly behind the screen, with Quantum Dot to boost the colour output from the panel.

In this model Amazon has boosted the brightness for better performance in brighter rooms, while also enhancing the HDR with increased contrast. Doubling the number of dimming zones helps here, but it highlights the limitation of this TV's tech against its big rival – Mini-LED.

While Amazon positions its own Mini-LED model above the Ember QLED in terms of price, there's no avoiding that TVs like the TCL C7K, based on a Mini-LED display, outperform the Ember QLED – and can be found cheaper. That's why the qualifier for this Amazon TV has to be that it's on discount.

With all that said, there's a meaningful upgrade in the performance of the Ember QLED. It doesn't have Mini-LED's ability to cut through reflections with huge brightness, but it is a colourful and capable set, with enough in the settings to tweak to improve the performance.

Key to this is using those dimming zones: I found that local dimming was off by default, but switching it on will instantly bring more contrast for better results. I tested it against some really dark content – Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3, for example, which is almost entirely dark, where tweaking the local dimming made things much more visible.

The results, however, will vary by content: some dark scenes will look like they are artificially brightened, so find a balance that works for you.

The good news is that Filmmaker Mode (FMM) – often my starting point for assessing a TV – is very watchable on this telly. While it's a warmer tone, I didn't find it to be too dark, which is often the drawback of FMM.

Equally, Amazon continues to support a full range of HDR formats, so you'll get Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG here. Dolby Vision offers a lot of picture modes, so can be tweaked to your brightness preference. The results aren't as impactful as better Mini-LED models, and there's not the precise handling of black that OLED offers, but it's a very watchable TV in all conditions.

There are plenty of settings to tweak the picture to your liking, including the adjustment of motion control, which seems set to 10 across most of the picture modes. Dropping this back to around 5 will reduce the worst of the soap opera effect, while avoiding the judder that can come on long camera pans with 24fps movie content.

I also didn't notice distracting backlight bleed on the Ember QLED. It's there when you're watching, noticeable in dark conditions, but it's pretty well controlled. The display finish on this model is glossy and that leads to some reflections, but generally there's ample brightness to stay visible in daylight conditions.

There's a downside for gamers and that's the lack of higher refresh rate support, which a lot of TVs at this price will offer. It sticks to 60fps, so although there are the HDMI ports to support games consoles, you won't get the 120fps support you might want.

Sound Quality

• 55/55in: 2x 10W speakers
• 65/75in: 2x 12W speakers
• No Dolby Atmos

The speakers differ across these models, with the smaller sizes getting a pair of 10W speakers and the larger getting a pair of 12W speakers. These are downfiring speakers located in the bottom of the TV, left and right of the centre sensor block.

This is a typical setup for speakers on this type of TV and there are no additional speakers aiming to expand the soundstage or create height: indeed, there's no support for Dolby Atmos on this TV, it stops at Dolby Digital Plus, which will give you up to 7.1 surround sound via an external device.

For enthusiasts who might want to pair the Ember QLED with one of the best soundbars that is Atmos-capable, that presents a problem, as the TV won't supply it. Quite bizarre, given Amazon Prime Video's top-tier subscription model supporting it. If you're a subscriber with such a setup then you're better off getting the Ember Mini-LED instead – as that model does support Atmos.

The performance of the speakers isn't too bad, however, with plenty of volume – although it gets a bit muddy during busy scenes, especially with a lot of bass. I found it perfectly good for typical TV watching, however, but if this is your main TV for movies, I'd recommend a soundbar.

User Interface

• Fire TV OS
• Alexa+
• Ambient Experience

While the name of this TV has changed to Ember, it still runs Amazon's Fire TV OS, which will be familiar to anyone who has used a Fire TV Stick. That means there's access to a full range of apps and streaming services, integrated into the user interface for quick access to the content you want to watch.

There will be an update coming to this TV, with a new version of Fire TV that's said to be faster. But as it is, this is definitely a faster TV to navigate than the earlier model it replaces. That is once you get through the setup, though, which can be a little slow –especially while the TV is downloading apps and updating itself.

There's a common downside to Fire TV OS, however, which is the adverts that are laced throughout. This isn't just for content, it's for products you might want to buy from Amazon, on top of the recommendations to subscriptions to channels through Prime Video and the like.

Some might find this intrusive and it is possible to switch off the worst offenders in the settings to disable autoplay video or audio (under "featured content" in the settings). But adverts in the user interface are now part and parcel of modern TVs and I think that Fire TV OS is generally a little more usable than Samsung's Tizen OS or LG's webOS that you'll find on some of the best TVs.

With Alexa+ now available more widely than just in the US, those in the UK will benefit from a more enhanced Alexa experience. That's offered as a hands-free option on this TV, as well as being accessible via the button on the remote.

Alexa+ here does everything that it does elsewhere, making for fast searching for content you want to watch, opening different apps, as well as general question-asking or controlling your smart home devices that you've set to work with Alexa.

There's a switch to turn off the hands-free experience if you don't want to use it, or if there's another Echo device in the room and you want to avoid the confusion.

Fire TV OS supports Freely in the UK and that's an attractive feature of this TV, as it means access to broadcast television without the need for an aerial – you just need to connect to Wi-Fi, with a boost to Wi-Fi 6 on this TV for a more stable connection. There's a regular tuner in place if you'd rather avoid streaming everything.

Finally, this TV offers Amazon's Ambient Experience. This is comprised of a number of aspects, including screen savers that will react when you walk into the room (including turning off when there's no one there), as well as options for on-screen widgets. It's similar to what you'll get from an Art TV (the big trend of 2026), meaning that if the screen is off, it can be a little more interesting than just a big black rectangle.

Amazon Ember QLED review: Verdict

The Amazon Ember QLED (or Omni QLED as it was known as until recently) puts in a good showing, offering a full range of smart TV features, good picture quality and reasonable sound.

There are some shortcomings, though. The QLED tech compared to more advanced Mini-LED isn't quite as top quality, while the lack of Dolby Atmos will also be a drawback for some – especially top-tier Prime Video subscribers.

Then there's the price: the recommended price for this TV is too high considering the competition, so I'd advise against buying it at full price. That shouldn't be too much of a challenge, though, as Amazon's regular discounts mean you can often get this TV with a third slashed off – at which point you're getting a lot of performance for the money.

Overall, this Amazon Ember TV will suit many as a main TV, especially those with a leaning towards Alexa, where it will integrate neatly with other connected devices.

Also Consider

The Amazon Ember QLED lands in mass market territory fluctuating between two important markers, where a TV like the TCL C7K would be a better performer for many at the recommended price, but at discount prices, the TCL P8K might be the better option, as it offers better support for gamers with a 144Hz display.

Alternatively, the Samsung Q8F would be the mass-market choice, but the Hisense E7Q Pro offers great performance for a lower price than this Amazon TV, making it the pick if price is everything.