Amazon is getting far more aggressive with its platform and mimicking one of its biggest rivals in the streaming world. The company announced today an update to the Fire TV Cube along with new Amazon Fire TV OS powered Televisions and like Roku a sounder that will work to make any TV a Fire TV with an integrated sound bar.
At $119.99, the all-new Fire TV Cube media player features far-field voice control built directly into the device and is now available for pre-order in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.
“Fire TV Cube was the first hands-free streaming media player powered by Alexa, and since launching last year we have gathered a wealth of feedback from customers about how they use voice in the living room,” said Marc Whitten, Vice President of Amazon Fire TV. “Over the past year, we have continued to expand and advance the Fire TV Cube experience based on this feedback with dozens of new features including Multi-Room Music, Follow-Up Mode, and Alexa Communications. These key learnings carried over and guided the development of the second-generation Fire TV Cube, and we are excited to introduce this new-and-improved experience to customers around the world.”
With Fire TV, you can watch favorites from Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, HBO, SHOWTIME®, CBS, and more—plus stream for free from Tubi, IMDb TV, Pluto TV, and others. Plus, tune to live TV channels with cable or satellite boxes from providers like Comcast, DISH, AT&T TV/AT&T U-verse, and more. Fire TV gives you access to tens of thousands of channels, apps, and Alexa skills, as well as over 500,000 TV episodes and movies with thousands of titles in 4K Ultra HD. The vast Fire TV catalog combined with powerful voice control makes it easier than ever to enjoy TV, simply say “Alexa, watch Stranger Things on Netflix” and your compatible TV will turn on, open Netflix and pick up playback right where you left off.
All-new Fire TV Cube
The Fastest, Most Powerful Fire TV Ever
Featuring an ultra-powerful hexa-core processor, and more than twice as powerful as the first generation Fire TV Cube, the all-new Fire TV Cube delivers a fast, fluid experience, with instant access to Dolby Vision and 4K Ultra HD content at up to 60 frames per second. You will enjoy the brilliant color of Dolby Vision and HDR, and HDR 10+, as well as the audio clarity of Dolby Atmos on the all-new Fire TV Cube. In addition, Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) comes with Local Voice Control, which is a new on-device processing feature that lets you more quickly execute some of the most frequent voice commands. For example, “Alexa, scroll right,” “Alexa, go home,” “Alexa, select number one,” and more, are up to 4 times as fast as before.
Easy Control of All Your Entertainment
Hands-free voice control means convenience, and on the first-generation Fire TV Cube, customers use voice to control their experience more than 8 times as frequently as on other Fire TV devices. The all-new Fire TV Cube features cutting edge far-field voice recognition with eight microphones and advanced beamforming technology that combines signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, content currently playing, and even competing speech to make sure Alexa clearly hears your request when placed next to your TV. When combined with the powerful new processor, you can easily search and navigate content using just your voice, whether it’s through your cable or satellite boxes; streaming apps like YouTube and PlayStation Vue; or HBO, SHOWTIME®, and STARZ through Prime Video Channels. From across the room, just say, “Alexa, switch to channel 31” or “Alexa, tune to NBC,” and Alexa will respond to your request.
In addition, Fire TV Cube uses multi-directional infrared technology, cloud based protocols, and HDMI CEC, that when combined with Alexa, let you control your compatible TV, soundbar, A/V receiver, cable or satellite box, as well as other smart home devices. With the built-in speaker, Fire TV Cube lets you dim the lights, check the weather, listen to the news and more—even with the TV off. Since launching last year, nearly 80 percent of customers are using Fire TV Cube for home automation requests and there are tens of thousands of Alexa routines used every week.
Always Getting Smarter
The Alexa service is always getting smarter with new features, device control capabilities, and hands-free voice functionality added regularly, meaning like the first generation device, the all-new Fire TV Cube is going to get even better over time. Since launching last year, Fire TV Cube has improved the Alexa experience and added a number of key enhancements including support for Multi-Room Music, Alexa Communication features, Follow-Up Mode, Alexa Voice Browsing, and more. In addition, more than 50 apps globally currently support enhanced in-app voice controls on Fire TV Cube, giving you more ways to use your voice while navigating through content.
Expansion of Fire TV Edition smart TVs
Over the past year, Amazon and Best Buy have sold millions of Insignia and Toshiba Fire TV Edition smart TVs. Customers continue to show enthusiasm for Fire TV Edition smart TVs in the United States and Canada with an average rating of more than 4 stars, and 2x as many Fire TV Edition smart TVs sold this Prime Day compared to last year over the same two-day period. The first Toshiba – Fire TV Edition with Dolby Vision launched in June and today, Amazon and Best Buy are excited to announce the first 65-inch Toshiba – Fire TV Edition smart TV with Dolby Vision, which will be available for customers in the United States next month.
Following the growth of Fire TV Edition smart TVs at Best Buy, Amazon is excited to announce breakthrough collaborations with Dixons Carphone, MediaMarktSaturn, and Grundig to bring the next generation of Fire TV Edition smart TVs to customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. With native language support, Fire TV Edition smart TVs are localized for European customers to give them a great user experience.
To support this global expansion, Amazon now works with a growing number of TV manufacturers who produce Fire TV Edition smart TVs. Skyworth, Arcelik, TPV, Compal, and others, can now build Fire TV Edition smart TVs for their customers with manufacturing and assembly capabilities around the world.
Fire TV Edition Smart TVs with Dixons Carphone
Amazon and Dixons Carphone, parent company of Currys PC World, have joined forces to launch JVC – Fire TV Edition Smart 4K Ultra HD HDR LED TVs, which are the first Fire TV Edition smart TVs in the United Kingdom—sold at Currys PC World and from Currys PC World as a third party seller on Amazon.co.uk. Available in three models—40”, 49” and 55”—each supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and provides an expanded contrast range and superior brightness, as well as over 8 million pixels for stunning clarity and vivid colors. Fire TV Edition smart TVs from JVC come with the Voice Remote with Alexa, which lets you control your entertainment, manage compatible smart home devices, switch inputs, and more using just your voice.
Fire TV Edition Smart TVs with MediaMarktSaturn
Amazon and IMTRON, a company of MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group managing the private label products of the CE retailers MediaMarkt and Saturn, announced plans for a lineup of Fire TV Edition smart TVs. The first models under the private label ok. will be available next year in Germany and Austria.
“We are very excited about collaborating with Amazon. Our aim is to offer high-quality products with the latest features at affordable prices,” explains Karsten Sommer, Managing Director IMTRON GmbH. “By integrating Fire TV into the smart TVs of our private label ok., we provide customers of MediaMarkt and Saturn with an incredible user experience. In addition, we are also making it easier for even more customers to control their smart home just by using their voice.”
Fire TV Edition Smart TVs with Grundig
Grundig and Amazon announced eleven Fire TV Edition smart TVs in Germany and Austria, including the world’s first Fire TV Edition with far-field voice control. The Grundig OLED – Fire TV Edition is available in four models—two with far-field voice control and two without—and is the first Fire TV Edition experience on an OLED TV. With eight built-in microphones and Alexa, the Grundig OLED – Fire TV Edition Hands-Free with Alexa gives you far-field voice control over your living room entertainment experience. Grundig and Amazon are also announcing the Grundig Vision 7 – Fire TV Edition with 4K Ultra HD and the Grundig Vision 6 – Fire TV Edition with Full HD, which also includes the Voice Remote with Alexa. With today’s news, the entire Grundig smart TV lineup will ship with the Fire TV experience built-in.
“Our new Grundig Fire TV Edition television range redefines how people think about their TV experience. Customers not only have access to all their favorite content through live broadcast and video-on-demand, but can also control their compatible smart home products and access thousands of apps, channels, and Alexa skills. We’re excited to be able to offer our customers the world’s first Fire TV Edition television with far-field voice control, making it even easier for users to control their television and elevate their smart TV experience,” said Mario Vogl, Grundig’s Northern Europe Regional Director and Managing Director Germany.
Introducing the First-Ever Fire TV Edition Soundbar
Building off the success of Fire TV Edition smart TVs in the United States and Canada, Amazon is introducing an entirely new category of products—Fire TV Edition soundbars. The Fire TV experience is integrated directly into the soundbar system, delivering a complete home cinema experience with expansive video streaming and superior sound, all in a single device. You can even add your Fire TV Edition soundbar to a multi-room music group in the Alexa mobile app, letting you stream from Amazon Music and others throughout your home.
Fire TV Edition Soundbar with Anker Innovations
The first expansion of Fire TV Edition beyond smart TVs is from Anker Innovations and Amazon, who have teamed up to launch the Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition, which turns any TV into a cinematic smart TV experience. Featuring support for 4K Ultra HD, a unified smart TV user interface, near-field Alexa voice control, Dolby Vision pass through, and more, the Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition gives you a cohesive entertainment experience with rich sounds that will fill any room. You can use the included Voice Remote with Alexa to easily navigate the Fire TV experience, turn your compatible TV on and off, and control soundbar functions like power, volume and mute. The Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition is launching in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
