Amazon just gave Fire TV a much-needed makeover. The company has announced a redesigned user interface, a revamped mobile app, and a brand-new lifestyle TV called the Amazon Ember Artline. The star of the show is the new interface, so let’s see what improvements you can expect from this update.
Fire TV’s new UI is faster, cleaner, and makes sense
If you’ve ever spent an embarrassing amount of time scrolling through Fire TV to find something to watch, you’re not alone. A research from Gracenote found that U.S. customers spend an average of 12 minutes searching for content, up from 10.5 minutes in 2023. Amazon clearly noticed, and the new UI is designed to fix that issue.
The redesign brings a cleaner layout, rounded corners, updated typography, and better spacing. Amazon also rebuilt the underlying code, resulting in speed improvements of up to 20–30%, which is a meaningful upgrade.
Content browsing is now unified, meaning that when you browse movies, you’ll see titles from all your subscriptions in one place, rather than having to jump between apps. You can also pin up to 20 apps on your home screen. I love the new long-press Home button action that opens a shortcut panel, providing quick access to Fire TV settings, connected Ring cameras, and smart home controls.
Alexa+ is baked into the Fire TV and gets more features. You can ask it to find something to watch, add titles to your watchlist, jump to a specific movie scene, or pull up your vacation photos on the big screen.
The mobile app has also been upgraded from a basic backup remote to a full browsing experience. You can now discover content, manage your watchlist, and control playback, all from your phone.
The Amazon Ember Artline is Fire TV’s fanciest hardware yet
Alongside the software updates, Amazon announced the Amazon Ember Artline, a 4K QLED lifestyle TV with a matte screen, 1.5-inch slim design, and a built-in AI feature that recommends art based on photos of your room.
The concept is similar to the Samsung Frame TV lineup. It’s not just supposed to be a TV but act as an art piece when you are not actively watching content on it. It starts at $899 and is expected to start delivery in the spring.
What this means for you
For existing Fire TV users, this is a free upgrade that should enhance your daily streaming experience. Less time searching, faster loading, and a smarter Alexa mean more time watching what you want.
The new Fire TV UI rolls out first on select Fire TV Stick and Omni devices in the US, with broader availability coming later this spring.