To kick off fall, Amazon recently announced two major updates for Fire TV. First, the company unveiled its new Fire TV Stick 4K, which replaces both the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and 4K Plus and serves as its new entry-level 4K streaming stick. It’s smaller than ever, can be powered directly from your TV’s USB port, and, more controversially, runs Vega OS instead of Fire OS.
Additionally, Amazon recently made a second major announcement that was arguably overshadowed by the launch of the new Fire TV Stick 4K: It’s working on its next major Fire TV update.
Earlier this year, Amazon launched its biggest Fire TV update ever, featuring a redesigned Fire TV experience on Fire Sticks and Fire TVs with the goal of making the user interface more organized and easier to navigate, while improving performance across its devices.
Now, the company has unveiled its next major Fire TV update, set to roll out later this year, which further refines the user interface with new Alexa+ features, improved entertainment hubs, a new Amazon Music app, and more.
Here’s what to expect when this update starts rolling out later this year and becomes available for free on Fire TV Sticks and Fire TVs.
Alexa+ is getting its own hub
Amazon is also making Alexa+ smarter
The biggest change Amazon is highlighting in its next big Fire TV update is a new Alexa+ hub, which you’ll be able to use to see prompt suggestions and follow your conversations with Alexa+ in real time. Amazon launched Alexa+ on Fire TV devices for free earlier this year, but it was only through voice prompts. This new experience lets you interact with Alexa+ more directly, see it fetch results in real time, and get suggestions for what to ask.
When you open the new Alexa+ hub, you’ll immediately see a bunch of prompts you can choose from, or you can press the microphone button on your remote to ask your own question.
If you have an Echo device or use the Alexa app, you’ll also be able to view past conversations you’ve had with Alexa+ through the hub on your Fire TV and pick up where you left off.
Amazon showed me a demo of how Alexa+ works, and it really reminded me of Gemini on Google TV. You can hop into the hub, ask Alexa+ questions, such as what trending shows you should watch, and interact with the results in real time to quickly jump into whatever interests you most.
Crucially, Amazon is also making Alexa+ smarter with its new update. The company says Alexa+ now has improved reasoning and can draw on real-world context better, such as award shows, trending movies, and events. It can also access your watch history and streaming subscriptions to offer smarter, more personalized suggestions.
Live TV and gaming improvements
The Amazon Music app is also being redesigned
Beyond the new Alexa+ hub, Amazon is also working on several improvements to its entertainment hubs, namely the Live tab and Games hub.
In the Live tab, Amazon says it has now integrated live content from over 40 streaming services, such as YouTube TV, Peacock, Sling, and DirecTV, so that you can instantly see more live content that is available, such as football or hockey games, without having to open any apps to find them. More of that live content is also making its way to the home screen, so if you watch a lot of sports, for example, you’ll see more live game recommendations right on the home screen to start streaming. Alexa+ will also be able to surface game schedules and how to watch them, so you know exactly when and where to tune in.
The Games hub is also being redesigned, so instead of just featuring the cloud gaming apps available on Fire TV, such as Xbox and Nvidia GeForce Now, it will also start showcasing games you can stream through those apps. In other words, instead of browsing each app individually, when you open the Games hub, you’ll see a bunch of different games you can play, such as Doom, Skyrim, or Halo, and when you select a game, it will take you right to the app where you can play it.
A new Amazon Music app is also coming to Fire TV later this year, and Amazon says it has a redesigned, more modern, organized interface that makes it easier to browse music, podcasts, performances, and your playlists.
Fire TV mobile app changes
Alexa+ is coming to the Fire TV app
Finally, the last major part of Amazon’s next big Fire TV update coming this year is a series of changes to its Fire TV mobile app.
Earlier this year, Amazon launched a redesigned version of its Fire TV mobile app that lets you search for shows and movies, add them to your watchlist, and start playing them on your Fire TV device right from your phone, while still serving as a backup remote.
Later this year, Amazon is making additional changes to the app similar to what it’s doing on Fire TV by adding Alexa+ directly to it. You’ll be able to ask Alexa+ for content recommendations or help to find a specific show or movie, then add it directly to your watchlist so you can easily find it on your Fire TV. Amazon is also making it possible to send Alexa+ an article about movies or shows to watch, and it can surface those titles in the app and add them to your watchlist.
When are all these changes coming?
Amazon says all these updates, including its new Alexa+ hub, will begin rolling out later this year, starting with Fire TV users in the US on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), Fire TV Cube, Ember TVs, and smart TVs with Fire TV built in.
More devices, such as the new Fire TV Stick 4K, and more countries will get these features early next year. As for the Fire TV mobile app update, that’s launching in the US before the end of the year and will expand globally next year.
