Amazon adds Alexa to all its Fire TV products as it launches new Fire TV Stick
A software update will bring the virtual assistant to all Fire TV products, alongside the new Stick which ships with Alexa.
Amazon’s line of Fire TV products is about to get a lot smarter thanks to a software update that will bring its voice assistant Alexa to the devices for the first time in the UK.
So, if you have any Fire TV or Fire TV Stick devices you’ll now be able to use the AI-powered assistant from within the Fire TV interface – not just to pull up TV shows but to manage your smart home and ask questions.
The announcement comes alongside a new version of the Fire TV Stick, a £40 model that comes with Alexa built in as well as a new processor and wifi components that Amazon says makes it 30% faster than the previous version.
Until now, Alexa’s domain had been the Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers.
The software update enables Fire TV users to speak to Alexa via the smartphone app, or with a Voice Remote if they have one.
For those new to Fire TV, it’s Amazon’s line of streaming devices from which users can access Prime Video and the likes of Netflix, BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. The smaller Fire TV Stick is a memory stick-like device that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port.
Amazon has said the software update to bring Alexa to those older Fire devices will start rolling out in the “coming weeks”.
The move was announced on the same day that Google Home, the tech giant’s answer to Amazon Echo, went on sale in the UK.
