Amazon Fire TVs are getting a whole new look with the release of a new Amazon Fire TV Stick HD, and it includes a fresh new design, and a bunch of new channels.
Best of all, you don’t need to invest in a whole new Fire TV stick to enjoy this, as older devices will be getting all these new freebies too.
A new UI for all Fire TV devices, new and old
The new Fire TV layout will look familiar to anyone who’s used an Amazon Fire TV stick in the past, but there are enough differences to make the new design stand out. The emphasis of this new UI is convenience and getting users to where they want to go faster than before. For instance, Fire TV has categories now, so it’ll be faster to get to the type of content you want to watch.
But it’s not just about rearranging cleverly. Amazon also claims the update will make Fire TV 30% faster than before, which will likely be a relief for anyone who found Fire TV to be quite sluggish before.
The biggest new additions are Fire TV channels. This new feature is Amazon’s way of adding “FAST” ( free, ad-supported streaming services) channels to Fire TV, and it brings Amazon’s TV service into line with what others have been offering for some time now.
This update is coming to all Fire TV sticks, so you don’t need to buy the new Fire TV stick to get it. It’ll be rolled out to everyone at the end of this month.
There’s a new Fire TV stick too
Oh yeah, there’s also a new Fire TV stick as well.
To some extent, you’ve seen one Fire TV stick, you’ve seen them all. But Amazon has added a few new tricks to its new stick to make it worth investing in.
For a start, it no longer needs a separate power cable to function, and it can now draw power directly from a USB port on your TV, cutting down on extra cables and clutter. Amazon also claims it’s 30% thinner than previous models, helping it to squeeze in besides other HDMI connected devices, and it’s supposedly 30% faster than previous models too.
Unfortunately, it’s not priced at $30, just to keep the trend of 30s going — but it’s pretty close. The new Amazon Fire Stick HD is priced at $35, and it will release on April 29.
