The new Amazon Fire TV is here, and it's smaller and cheaper than ever. In fact, it looks more like a Google Chromecast than it does previous editions of the set-top box.
Amazon announced the new streaming device during a secretive press event at its Seattle, Washington headquarters at which TechRadar was in attendance. It'll cost just $69 or £69 when it launches later this year.
That price will get you 4K, HDR video playback at 60 frames per second with Dolby Atmos audio, and an Amazon Alexa voice remote included in the box.
Fire TV Stick size, set-top box performance
Amazon has clearly managed to miniaturize its existing Fire TV set-top box so well that the need for a Fire TV Stick is all but nil at this point. The new Fire TV appears to be smaller than even the remote that's included in the box.
Inside, the new Fire TV uses 802.11ac Wi-Fi – or Ethernet via a microUSB adapter – to stream video at up to 2160p resolution at 60fps, all powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of local storage. This latest device streams 4K HDR video using the latest HDR10 standard, naturally requiring compatible TVs to do so.
Amazon hasn't revealed who's providing such a tiny powerful chip. The most recent model before today's announcement is equipped with a MediaTek processor paired with an ARM Mali GPU, for reference.
Finally, the new Fire TV will have access to Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, not to mention the tens of thousands of Alex skills that have been developed in the past year or so.
That means the Fire TV will be able to double as a smart camera hub, able to interact with and see through to a wide variety of Wi-Fi cameras from Arlo, Ring, Nest and Logitech. Luckily, all Fire TVs and second-generation Fire TV Sticks will gain this feature when it launches at an undisclosed time (hopefully this year).
The new Amazon Fire TV starts shipping on October 25 for $69 or £69 (about AU$87).
- These are the best TVs to use with your new Fire TV
