The Fire TV ecosystem is now a little bigger in the UK with the arrival of Xiaomi's first units based on Amazon's platform. The F2 is available to order now in three sizes and at a special discounted price for the first week. Fire TV has been a slow burner away from Amazon's own hardware and lesser-known brands, but now it seems that might be starting to change.

But why now? There has been much discussion in the past over Google and its control over Android on the TV. The Android Compatibility Commitment effectively blocked hardware manufacturers from building any competing Android-based devices if they also wanted access to Google Play and the company's apps and services. It was reported back in 2020 as being an "open secret" that companies were effectively scared away from building Fire TV devices. The whole thing even prompted anti-trust investigations.

That aside, what about the new Xiaomi F2, then? On paper, it all sounds rather good. There's a choice of 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch TVs, with the smallest going for just £339 initially. For the price, these are pretty well-equipped TVs.

Resolution is, of course, 4K, and the F2 also supports HDR10. Connectivity is generous with four HDMI 2.1 ports as well as built-in Bluetooth and USB. The panel itself boasts 90% DCI-P3 color and a 6ms response time, so it sounds pretty good for console gaming. Albeit limited to 60 FPS on the latest generation.

The special sauce is Amazon's Fire TV platform instead of Google TV or some other proprietary solution. You do need an Amazon account to use all the features, like Alexa, but if you're buying a Fire TV at all we'll assume that isn't an issue. Inside is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which doesn't sound a lot, but it's plenty for installing your favorite media streaming services.

When the initial discount ends, prices will start at £399 for the 43-inch model, rising to £499 for the 55-inch. Which is still attractive given everything on offer.