Looking to upgrade your TV setup for Thursday Night Football or your next binge watch? At its fall event today, Amazon refreshed its Fire TV lineup with more powerful media streamers and a generative AI update that should make for a more conversational back-and-forth with Alexa.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max
The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max offers some small upgrades, like bumping the quad-core processor from 1.8 GHz to 2.0GHz, and its networking support from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 6E. It also doubles storage to 16GB. Like its predecessor, there's still support for Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos audio. Pre-order it now for $59.99; it ships on Sept. 27.
Amazon also brings the Fire TV Ambient Experience from the Fire TV Omni QLED Series to its 4K Max dongle. It turns your TV into a smart display with information like calendars and reminders, at-a-glance views of smart home devices, and access to music-streaming services.
Similar to Samsung's The Frame TV (for a lot less cash), the Ambient Experience also provides access to more than 2,000 pieces of artwork. But this wouldn't be a tech event in 2023 without incorporating AI, and Amazon teased a feature rolling out by year's end that will let people ask Amazon to create art for them. (“Alexa, create an image of cherry blossoms in the snow.")
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Fire TV Stick 4K (Credit: Amazon)The new Fire TV Stick gets a Wi-Fi 6 upgrade. It still has a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, but Amazon says it should be 30% more powerful than the older model. There's Dolby Atmos audio with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, HLG, and HDR10+, as well as support for wireless connections to compatible Echo devices. It's available for preorder now for $49.99 and ships on Sept. 27.
'Alexa, Show Me Action Movies With Car Chases'
The promise of voice assistants has always been a conversational flow that feels like you're talking to a human. With Alexa (and Siri and the Google Assisstant, for that matter), Amazon has often fallen short on that goal, but the company today demoed an upgraded Fire TV experience that uses—what else?—generative AI to tap into Amazon's library of content and help you find what you need via natural language queries.
When this rolls out later this year, Amazon says Alexa should be able to understand "nuanced and open-ended questions about TV shows and movies." Examples include requests for “comedies for a rainy day inside,” or “animated movies that are free to me.”
Free MGM+ Video Streaming
Formerly known as Epix, MGM+ is a video streaming service that emerged from Amazon's $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM. In a bid to pick up viewers, Amazon is giving a six-month free subscription to anyone who buys a new Fire TV streaming media player or smart TV on Amazon or in stores. That includes the new 24-inch Fire TV Soundbar, which will set you back $119.99.
Also today, Amazon revealed a new Echo Show 8 smart display and upgrades to its kid-friendly Echo speaker and tablets.