Amazon Ember Artline Review: A Stylish Art Television

Bulky televisions that overwhelm your living room might soon be a thing of the past. The new Amazon Ember Artline is a svelte, stylish, well-designed art television that’s priced for adoption by the masses at $1,099 for the 65-inch model. TVs in the Ember line—Amazon’s new era of what were previously called Fire TVs—mount against a wall, blending into your decor in more ways than one. One feature lets you match the artwork color to the decor in your room. Another involves asking Alexa+ to generate and display AI art images. And, when you turn off the lights and head to bed, the Ember Artline can also put itself to sleep, waking up and showcasing artwork again when you walk into the room the next day.

These powerful features make the Ember Artline more versatile than the Samsung Frame Pro, even if the QLED display tech of Amazon’s new art television is a bit outdated. The Artline is also $800 cheaper than the Frame Pro. If you like the idea of displaying artwork all day (when you are not watching Netflix, of course), and you’re OK with said artwork not being ultra-realistic, this is a top pick.

At 60.2 pounds for the 65-inch model, the Ember Artline is not exactly lightweight. The 55-inch model is 42.5 pounds and costs $899, but I’d say the bigger size is worth the extra $200. Those extra inches help make every photograph and artwork pop, even if you might need a buddy to help with the install due to the weight. For what it’s worth, I was able to handle the installation alone, with the help of a YouTube video. Once I had all of the tools needed for mounting—a stud finder, an electric drill, and some drill bits—the process took only about 20 minutes.

This model sits mostly flush against the wall. There are two plates you drill into the wall that hold the edges in place using magnets on the TV. However, it still sticks out a bit, unlike the Samsung Frame Pro and other televisions I’ve previously mounted (including some Amazon Fire TV models), all of which lay flat.

It looks downright beautiful with the included bezel frame that snaps into place easily. You can pick from 10 bezel colors when you order the Ember Artline. Extra frames cost a reasonable $85 ($75 for the 55-inch model) compared to $199 for an extra Samsung frame.

The Amazon Fire OS is arguably easier to set up and use than Google TV–powered televisions like the TCL NXTVISION. Once I logged in using my Amazon account, the Artline got to work, adding my apps and my login information, automatically and unprompted. (You can use the Artline without Amazon Prime; the TV only requires a free Amazo