The Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick interface hasn’t changed much since we first saw it over 2 years ago when the original Fire TV was released in April of 2014. There have been small refinements to the interface here and there, but it’s due for a bigger refresh and it looks like it’s happening soon. After noticing that the new Fire TV Stick 2’s product page was notably lacking images of the device’s interface, I did some digging and found a note on Amazon’s developer portal that states the Fire TV image guidelines have been updated “for [an] upcoming Fire TV UI refresh.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t any images of the new interface, but the new guidelines give us a small hint at some of the changes. The guidelines are intended for app developers, so they focus on app presentation. For starters, app icons will no longer be 512 x 512 pixel squares like they are now. The new interface will feature 1280 x 720 rectangular app icons that will have elements like “ratings or download icons” overlaid on top of the icon. App screenshot guidelines haven’t changed much, apart from Amazon now requiring them to be 1080p in size, instead of 720p like before.
Where things get more interesting is the new requirement for apps to all have background images that will be used as a backdrop for a new “mini-detail page.” The detail page will have Ui elements on the left and bottom.
The final addition to the new image guidelines is the addition of an optional “featured content logo” and “featured content background” for developers to include. These will be used, along with video trailers for apps, to highlight certain apps somewhere in the new Fire Tv interface. It sounds like this will be similar to the app banner ads seen in the existing interface.
While we only know about the changes coming to app presentation, it seems like they’re significant enough to imply the rest of the Fire TV interface will be refreshed as well. The new guidelines do note that the interface will still use a “dark background,” so it will probably still be similar in parts to the existing Fire TV interface. No word on when this new interface will arrive, but the new Fire TV Stick doesn’t ship until October 20th, so hopefully we’ll see it in time for the new hardware’s arrival.
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I really wish they would give us an Apple/Roku interface.
Looks like I’ll be busy making a new skin for Kodi soon then.
Huh? Isn’t this just for the main FTV GUI?
I’m a skinner and made a Kodi skin based on the current Fire TV UI.
Good Man! This was my first thought. I really hoped you were going to make a nice skin like you did with the current UI. (Which I am very grateful for :-)
The new interface looks like it will be YUUGGE!
It looks like you can see glimpses of it in the product video.
Check out the 23sec and 34sec marks. Sort of looks like Android TV…
Whoa, good catch. At the 37ish mark, it totally looks like Android TV.
Unless there is good reason, some real improvement, I am against change just for the sake of change. I have older family members using the fire tv that are going to turn it on one day and not know what to do.
I agree. Kind of like Apps that change icons for no reason or like the change from iOS 6 to iOS 7 putting everything in the opposite spot that it used to be for no good reason. Too bad you don’t get the “option” to change the interface or keep the old one.