Amazon Debuts New Fire TV with 4K Video & Alexa Voice Assistant

Thursday September 17, 2015 9:00 AM PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Amazon today announced the follow-up to last year's Fire TV streaming device, simply dubbed "The New Amazon Fire TV." The new $99 box is getting a handful of new features, including 4K ultra HD video streaming, the addition of the company's Alexa voice assistant into the operating system, and a processing boost of 75 percent over last year's model.

new fire tv
The introduction of Alexa will allow customers to play their music, check on the score of a sporting event, and see how the weather is outside, all while using their voice. Speaking into the Fire TV remote will bring the voice assistant up -- who made her debut in the Amazon Echo last fall -- and she will eventually become more acclimated to each customer's speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences.

In addition to 4K ultra HD streaming, the company promises higher quality basic HD video for everyone who doesn't have a television set that supports 4K settings. Amazon has also introduced expandable storage, allowing customers to increase the 8GB of on-device storage all the way up to 128GB for a variety of apps and games.
“The team has packed an incredible amount of technology and innovation into a tiny package,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “The new Fire TV includes 4K support, more processing power, Alexa integration, the largest selection, and exclusive features—for less than $100. The new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote brings voice search and Alexa integration for less than $50. These are powerful devices at incredible prices.”
Concerning games specifically, the company also announced an entirely new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition, which is essentially today's newly announced Fire TV bundled alongside the new Fire TV Gaming Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and Shovel Knight and Disney's Ducktales pre-installed. The new gaming controller includes voice commands and search like the traditional Fire TV remote, plus access to Alexa, up to 90 hours of battery life that use AA batteries, and an audio headphone jack.

fire tv gaming edition
With a launch date of October 5, both bundles of the new Fire TV can be pre-ordered beginning today, with the traditional Amazon Fire TV retailing at $99 and the Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition going for $139. The company also introduced a new bundle of the Fire TV Stick for $49 that now includes the voice remote, which will begin shipping on October 22.

Tag: Amazon
173 comments

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kcirtap00
55 months ago
This is what the new Apple TV should have been. At the price it should have been.
Rating: 20 Votes
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Corrode
55 months ago
By the time I own a 4K TV (at least a year or two off), I'm sure Apple will have a 4K version of their new Apple TV. I have no problem buying a 1080p Apple TV when it's release in October.
Rating: 16 Votes
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UndefinedxJoker
55 months ago

Before all the new ATV haters get too excited: It doesn't mention specific HDMI version support, and specifically says it's limited to "2160p up to 30fps."

So, no 4K at 60fps, and no HDR - both features of HMDI 2.0.

Most likely this does not support HDMI 2.0, and isn't "really" 4K in the sense of taking advantage of the features of a 4K tv other than only the resolution.


Oh stop apologizing for Apple. There is no excuse as to why they shouldn't have included 4K in what is supposed to be "the future of tv". They are stingy just like they have 16GB iPhone and have outdated iPads yet still charge full price for them.
Rating: 16 Votes
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Jeaz
55 months ago
On the tech side this sure beats the new Apple TV. Guess time will tell how the softwares and content match up.
Rating: 13 Votes
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oneMadRssn
55 months ago
Before all the new ATV haters get too excited: It doesn't mention specific HDMI version support, and specifically says it's limited to "2160p up to 30fps."

So, no 4K at 60fps, and no HDR - both features of HMDI 2.0.

Most likely this does not support HDMI 2.0, and isn't "really" 4K in the sense of taking advantage of the features of a 4K tv other than only the resolution.
Rating: 13 Votes
Avatar
oneMadRssn
55 months ago

Oh stop apologizing for Apple. There is no excuse as to why they shouldn't have included 4K in what is supposed to be "the future of tv". They are stingy just like they have 16GB iPhone and have outdated iPads yet still charge full price for them.


I'm not apologizing for anyone; I have nothing to apologize for.

There is more to 4K than just 2160p resolution. Had Amazon released a device that supported full HDMI 2.0 spec, with 2160p at 60fps, and one or more of the several competing HDR standards, then that would be a truly 4K-ready streaming device. It isn't though because it doesn't have those things.

I choose to spend my money at the company that releases complete products at the right time, rather than half-baked products just to brag about a lone spec number.
Rating: 10 Votes
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oneMadRssn
55 months ago

On the tech side this sure beats the new Apple TV. Guess time will tell how the softwares and content match up.


Software and content aside, though those are very very important, I don't think this beats the new ATV at all. They both have pluses and minuses.

ATV has a better GPU, offers more storage, has a simpler and more clever remote, supports HDMI-CEC.

FireTV supports a higher resolution, allows expandable storage, and has a first-party optional controller for more money.

I don't think one is clearly superior on the tech side of things. They are about even in most ways, and merely different in some others.
Rating: 10 Votes
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levitynyc
55 months ago
This just kills the new ATV and it's cheaper.

Sorry Apple, but you lose this round.
Rating: 10 Votes
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Chris Meyers
55 months ago

You'll also have to buy a new Fire TV when it supports 4K video - this one doesn't.

But you were fooled. I guess that's what Amazon marketing does, put in half-baked things, but tricks people into thinking they're the real deal.


OK I had to respond to this garbage because this is like the 4th time this nonsense has been uttered by this person. 1) IT IS infact 4K. FPS has absolutely nothing to do with resolution. 2) If you were streaming FILMS, which is what 99% of people with steamers do, then it wouldnt matter a whit with 60 fps, because almost every film ever made for the past 100 years is 24 FPS. And you absolutely WOULD NOT want a player that upconverts that to 60 hz because it would look like garbage. So to summarize, YES its 4K and yes if youre watching movies youd get no better experience with 60 fps
Rating: 10 Votes
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jdillings
55 months ago

OK I had to respond to this garbage because this is like the 4th time this nonsense has been uttered by this person. 1) IT IS infact 4K. FPS has absolutely nothing to do with resolution. 2) If you were streaming FILMS, which is what 99% of people with steamers do, then it wouldnt matter a whit with 60 fps, because almost every film ever made for the past 100 years is 24 FPS. And you absolutely WOULD NOT want a player that upconverts that to 60 hz because it would look like garbage. So to summarize, YES its 4K and yes if youre watching movies youd get no better experience with 60 fps


Finally someone who understands 24 fps.
Rating: 8 Votes
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