Amazon unveils new Fire TV interface

Amazon is rolling out a redesigned Fire TV user interface alongside a newly updated Fire TV mobile app and the Amazon Ember Artline lifestyle TV.

Altogether, these new interfaces are designed to speed content discovery and deliver new AI-powered features, supported by Amazon's Alexa+ service.

The company, in an announcement, said the changes follow increased use of Alexa+ and cited recent Gracenote research showing U.S. customers spend 12 minutes on average searching for what to watch, up from 10.5 minutes in 2023; the company said customers are talking to Alexa+ more than 2.5 times as often as they did with the original Alexa.

The new Fire TV UI uses updated layouts, rounded corners, new color gradients and typography, and rebuilt underlying code that the company said yields up to 20–30% gains in speed in some cases.

The redesign raises the number of apps users can pin to the home screen from six to 20 and will be delivered as a free software update.

Alexa+, Amazon’s generative AI assistant on Fire TV, is available across the experience and can take natural requests to find content, add titles to a watchlist, create AI-generated screensavers, control smart home devices and jump to specific movie scenes on Prime Video.

The update also adds a shortcut panel accessed by long-pressing the Home button for quick access to audio and display settings, Ring cameras and smart home controls.

The Fire TV mobile app is redesigned to browse content, manage watchlists and play titles on the TV, and will be available to download for free.

The Amazon Ember Artline is a 4K QLED lifestyle TV with Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Wi‑Fi 6 and a 1.5-inch design with a matte screen; it includes far-field microphones, Omnisense motion control for the Ambient Experience, integration with Amazon Photos, and more than 2,000 pieces of free art.

The Artline offers an AI feature that uses up to four photos of a room to recommend art, and customers can choose one of 10 adjustable magnetic frames including Walnut, Ash and Teak; the 55”–65” models start at $899.

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The company said the new Fire TV UI and mobile app will begin rolling out starting in February on the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series in the U.S., with expansion to more countries and devices later this spring.

The company said customers can sign up starting today to receive an email when the Amazon Ember Artline goes on sale later this spring in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK.

The Recap

• Fire TV UI redesigned to make browsing faster and cleaner.
• Amazon Ember Artline is a 4K QLED TV with matte screen.
• New UI and app roll out starting in February.