It’s like Christmas for Fire TV fans because Amazon has unloaded a bunch of info on new Fire TV products and features. While the main focus has been on the new hardware, like the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Amazon-built Fire TV Omni Smart TVs, there are also quite a few new software features coming to both the new hardware and existing devices. Here’s a breakdown of the features coming soon to Fire TVs. Read more ›
Amazon’s Fire TV interface is constantly striving to help you find something interesting to watch, but one thing that has always been missing is an easy way to determine if the content being recommended is free to you or if a purchase/subscription is required. That has finally changed because Amazon has added new, very obvious, indicators across the Fire TV interface that let you know which movies and TV shows can be viewed immediately, without needing to pay, subscribe, or install anything. Better yet, these indicators are aware of which apps you have installed, which services you’re subscribed to, and adjust accordingly. Read more ›
Zoom has just launched its first Fire TV App for video calls through your TV. The app is currently only compatible with the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube. That’s because Amazon added USB webcam support last year to the current Fire TV Cube but has not yet extended that support to any other Fire TV models. The zoom app for Fire TV allows you to start meetings, join meetings, see screen sharing, and other Zoom capabilities that you’d expect. Read more ›
Amazon is rolling out new software updates to Fire TVs and Firesticks that add a capability customers have been wanting for a very long time. It is finally possible to lower and raise the volume of Bluetooth audio devices, such as Bluetooth ear pods and Bluetooth soundbars, using the volume buttons on the Fire TV’s remote. Fire TV devices gained the ability to connect audio over Bluetooth in 2015, but the feature has been crippled by the inability to adjust the volume unless the Bluetooth device itself had built-in volume controls. That shortcoming is finally being addressed with the latest Fire TV software update. Read more ›
Amazon Fire TVs in the UK are getting a new ‘Live’ tab in their navigation menu. This new section of the Fire TV home launcher pulls in live programming from various sources and lists them on a single screen to make it easier to browse what’s airing live from different services. Read more ›
The Amazon Fire TV screensaver hasn’t changed much over the years, but it is now gaining a new option that a lot of people have been wanting for a long time. A new setting to display the date and time in the upper right corner of the screen has started appearing on select Fire TV devices. While it’s a pretty minor change, it’s a welcomed addition, especially for those who like to keep their TVs on all the time. Read more ›
One of the most interesting and useful new features of the redesigned Fire TV interface is something being referred to as App Peeking. It allows you to browse the movies, shows, and channels available within an app right from the Fire TV’s Home screen, without needing to launch the app. As part of my series of deep-dives into the new interface, here is everything you need to know about this new feature and how it works. Read more ›
Amazon has announced that select Fire TV models can now automatically display picture-in-picture (PIP) feeds of video doorbells and security cameras when an action occurs. When a Ring Video Doorbell is pressed, the Fire TV will bring up a live feed of the doorbell’s camera in the upper right corner of the screen without taking you away from what you’re watching. If you’d like, you can then say “Alexa, talk to [Ring doorbell device name]” to begin a two-way conversation between the Fire TV and the doorbell. To go full screen with the video feed, you can say “Alexa, show [Ring doorbell device name]” as usual. Read more ›
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and the 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick now support streaming music through Amazon Music HD at up to a 24 bit depth and a 192 kHz sample rate. Previously, the only Fire TV model that was capable of streaming the higher quality music was the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube. Read more ›
Last month, the two newest Fire TV models, the Fire TV Stick Lite and the 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick, gained a new option that allowes you to manually adjust the synchronization between the audio and video output. This is used to compensate for audio delays caused by TVs or AV equipment. Software updates are currently rolling out to multiple Fire TV models and its adding the sync feature to more devices. Read more ›
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