What you need to know
- Amazon launches a new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, a premium streaming stick with support for Wi-Fi 6E.
- A new Fire TV Stick 4K is also available and costs less than $50.
- The launch event also brings a new Fire TV sound bar next to the generative AI-powered FireTV experience.
A wide range of Fire TV products were introduced today at Amazon's 2023 Devices & Services Event. Along with the nifty upgrades from the predecessor models, new Fire TV models also got the enhanced conversational voice search with generative AI, the latter of which is bring used to upgrade Alexa with new capabilities and experiences on Echo devices. However, for Fire TV, the experience is focused on search.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max
First and foremost is the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, a second-gen streaming media player incorporating Amazon's Fire TV Ambient Experience. This was an exclusive for the Fire TV Omni QLED Series and promises to transform your TV into an always-smart display, Amazon notes in a shared press release.
The Ambient Experience can be triggered through Alexa or from the Shortcuts menu. It promises to give blank TV screens a fresh look "with helpful information and beautiful artwork."
Ambient Experience will provide glanceable information for various smart-home-related tasks and reminders, allowing users to quickly and easily access the personalized content they need. Additionally, it can also turn your TVs into an in-home art gallery without any monthly subscription. These galleries can include hundreds of images from various artists across the world.
Another exciting aspect is that users can also create AI Art with the help of voice commands. It is also a free feature that will roll out to U.S. consumers by the year's end.
Aside from the Fire TV Ambient Experience, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max equips a 2.0GHz quad-core processor that supports Wi-Fi 6E, although, consumers need Wi-Fi 6E-compatible routers at their homes to take advantage of lower latency, faster speeds, and less interface on the streaming device
Alongside 4K Ultra HD, the stick supports Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos audio. The device uses 16GB of built-in storage — a significant bump from the predecessor model.
Fire TV Stick 4K
Amazon's budget-friendly streaming device, the Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd-gen), comes under $50 and offers support for Wi-Fi 6. It uses a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, promising to showcase more than 30% performance improvement over the previous generation. The standard 4K Stick also supports Dolby Atmos audio, Dolby Vision, HDR, HLG, and HDR10+.
Fire TV Soundbar
The new soundbar from Amazon retails at $119.99 and claims to provide bold sound in a compact design, measuring 24 inches. Amazon says setting up the FireTV soundbar is easy, and it is a two-channel device that supports DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio. The soundbar is compatible with all FireTV devices, and when it is not in use, users can connect their phones, tablets, or any streaming device through Bluetooth.
New search experience
Next to the product announcements, Amazon also revealed Fire TV Experience updates, which now involve generative AI paired with available Fire TV content. It promises enhanced search, browsing, and recommendations for the content available on the streaming stick. Customers can now discover content in a "natural, contextual, and conversational way."
Users can ask questions about TV shows or movies. In addition, consumers can ask "Alexa to find content based on specific actors, directors, scenes, genres, or entitlements, such as "action movies with car chases," "comedies for rainy day inside," or "animated movies that are free to me." It was even demonstrated that a user can find a show based on an actor whose name they don't remember from another show. And users can also ask Alexa to showcase content recommendations according to their mood.
The aforementioned generative AI-powered voice search alongside a new "Continue Watching" row will roll out to U.S. consumers later this year. The latter will put your recently watched content front and center on Fire TV, aiming to make it easy for consumers to find and stream their favorite content.
Availability
The Fire TV soundbar is available for consumers starting today. The Fire TV Stick 4K and 4K Max are available for pre-order starting today, while the latter is priced at $59.99. They can be pre-ordered via Amazon.com.
