Next month, Amazon will release the newest version of the Fire TV Stick, complete with an Alexa-powered remote for $39.99.
Amazon said the new Fire TV Stick is 30 percent faster than the original, and gives customers access to 7,000 channels, apps, and Alexa skills and more than 300,000 movies and TV episodes. Popular providers on Amazon Fire TV include Netflix, NBC, HBO, Fox, ESPN, Disney Channel, Prime Video and CBS All Access, among others.
The new Fire TV Stick boasts deep integration with Amazon’s popular digital assistant, Alexa, and voice search for 90 apps and channels. Customers can tell her “find suspense thrillers” or “launch Hulu” and Alexa will respond. When watching Amazon Video titles, viewers can say things to Alexa like “skip ahead 2 minutes” to bypass the opening credits or “rewind 30 seconds” to see the big plot twist again.
Outside of the viewing experience, the Fire TV Stick remote can put Alexa’s more than 3,000 skills to work, such as: checking local movie times, creating shopping lists, giving news and weather updates, ordering pizza and more, all through voice commends.
“The new Amazon Fire TV Stick has been completely redesigned with incredible performance, powerful voice search and the included Alexa-powered remote to deliver instant access to a vast selection of movies, TV shows, games and Alexa skills at just $39.99,” Marc Whitten, vice president of Amazon’s Fire TV division, said in a statement.
Amazon has made several updates to Fire TV after Alexa’s initial TV debut was a bit of a letdown. Earlier this month, Amazon expanded voice search and added customized recommendations from top providers like Netflix and HBO on the Fire TV main page, saving users from having to search through apps for suggestions on what to watch.
A previous update in May gave Amazon Fire TV owners the ability to open apps using voice commands without scrolling around the streaming box’s interface. The update also gave users the ability to ask Alexa to play specific shows and movies on Amazon Video.
Customers can pre-order the new Fire TV Stick now, and it will begin shipping to U.S. customers Oct. 20. Those purchase and activate their device by October 31 will get a free content package worth that includes a month of Sling TV, two months of Hulu, and a $10 Amazon Video credit.
