There was a time when a 43-inch 4K smart TV at this price would have sounded like a pricing error. The Insignia 43″ Class F50 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV is on sale for $99.99, which is a full $100 off its usual $199.99 comp value. For less than a hundred bucks, you’re getting a full 4K panel, built-in Fire TV streaming, and a size that works in bedrooms, dorms, offices, or as a secondary screen in the living room.
This model gives you a 43-inch 4K UHD (2160p) LED display, so your streaming shows, movies, and games get a big bump in sharpness over a 1080p set. At this size, 4K really does make menus and text look cleaner, and it helps higher-quality content from services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ stand out.
Because this is a Fire TV set, you don’t need an external streaming stick. The interface is built in, so you can log in to your apps, use the voice remote to search, and get recommendations on the home screen. Setup is straightforward: connect Wi-Fi, sign in, and you are watching. You also get HDMI inputs for consoles and devices, along with support for the usual smart TV features like app updates and over-the-air channels if you plug in an antenna.
Budget 4K TVs used to mean obvious tradeoffs everywhere. At under $100, you expect to give something up. Here, though, the basics are covered: you get 4K resolution, a usable smart platform, and a very practical 43-inch size that fits in most spaces without dominating the room.
The real story is the price. $99.99 for a 43-inch 4K smart TV is kind of wild. That’s in the same ballpark as a midrange streaming box or a pair of decent headphones. If you’ve been putting off upgrading an old 1080p set, or you need a TV for a guest room, kids’ room, garage, or office, this makes that decision almost frictionless.
If you want a no-nonsense 4K TV that covers the essentials and does it for less than the cost of a weekend out, this Insignia 43″ F50 Series 4K Fire TV at $99.99 is hard to argue with. You get 4K resolution, built-in Fire TV streaming, and a versatile 43-inch size, all for a price that would have sounded impossible a few years ago.
Amazon has unveiled a new Alexa lineup featuring the Echo Show 16, Echo Time smart clock, and Alexa Photo Frame. Two speakers join them: an upgraded Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub and the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which lets Alexa+ see its surroundings. Both are available now for $99.99 and $249.99, respectively.
The Echo Dot does more than play music
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.