Amazon Announces New Fire TVs Smart TVs and Fire TV Stick 4K Select

Amazon announced today new Fire TV smart TVs and a Fire TV Stick with 4K capabilities that is $10 cheaper than the previous model. The latter is also the first Fire TV device to run Amazon’s new Linux-based Vega OS instead of the Android-based Fire TV OS.

Amazon said today that there are now almost 300 million Fire TV devices on the market, and its new Fire TV lineup is ready for Alexa+, just like its new Echo smart displays and speakers. The company also announced a new Alexa Home Theater experience that will allow users to connect up to five Echo speakers to create a surround sound experience on its latest Fire TV devices

Fire TV 4K Select

Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick model costs just $40, which is $10 cheaper than the previous model, and it’s running Vega OS, which Amazon didn’t really show today. While Amazon promised “the fastest 4K stick under $40,” the company did have to cut some corners to reach this price point.

While the Fire TV 4K Select comes with a 1.7 GHz quad-core CPU 8GB of internal storage, just like the previous Android-based model, RAM has been reduced to just 1GB. The device also dropped support Dolby Vision HDR and Wi-Fi 6.

New Fire TV smart TVs

Amazon’s latest Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series smart TVs start at $159.99, and they come with ultra-thin metal bezels and a 30% faster quad-core processor. They also support a new Dialogue Boost feature and Amazon’s Omnisense technology that automatically turns them on when you enter the room. The entry-level Fire TV 2-Series is limited to HD screens, however, while the mid-range 4-Series models offer 4K resolution support.

The premium Omni QLED Series, which is available from 50″ to 75″ and starts at $479.99, features sleeker designs, 60% brighter displays, and better performance. The new TVs will also automatically adjust the display colors based on the room’s lighting.

All of Amazon’s new smart TVs are available for pre-order and will start shipping next month. Customers will also get access to Alexa+ out of the box if they have Amazon Prime or agree to pay $19.99/month.

New Fire TV and Alexa+ features

Amazon’s next-gen assistant will let users ask for what they want to see using natural language prompts, but it doesn’t stop there. The assistant can also answer questions about a specific scene, search for scenes across thousands of Prime Video movies (support for TV is coming soon), share behind-the-scenes trivia, and more. For sports fans, Alexa+ can also provide live sports updates and recap previous matches.

Amazon is also updating the Fire TV experience with a unified watchlist for shows and movies coming from different streaming services, similar to how the Apple TV app works. The Continue Watching row will also let users easily pick up where they left off right from the Fire TV home screen.