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Amazon is overhauling the Fire TV interface in an effort to reduce the time viewers spend searching for streaming content.
Along with the new UI, the tech giant is also releasing the Ember Artline, a “lifestyle TV” designed to showcase artwork and photos.
The twin announcements were made Monday as CES ramps up in Las Vegas. The main exhibits start Tuesday, but Monday’s docket is full of panel conversations and corporate events.
In a blog post, Amazon said the Fire TV revamp aims to be “cleaner, faster, and better organized, helping customers spend less time searching and more time watching.” It cited research from Nielsen subsidiary Gracenote indicating that U.S. streaming viewers spend an average of 12 minutes searching for something to watch, up from 10 1/2 minutes in 2023.
With the new Fire TV, it is “faster and easier to find movies, TV shows, sports, news, and live content,” the blog post said, giving the example of a user browsing movies. In that use case, titles from all apps the viewer uses are displayed. Amazon’s own research found as much of a 20% to 30% boost in search speed with the new interface.
The number of apps Fire TV users can pin to the home screen is increasing from six to 20.
The Ember Artline is a 4K QLED TV whose matte screen is just an inch-and-a-half thick and is designed to display art and photos with reduced glare.
The set also has far-field microphones enabling voice commands, and also has an “ambient experience” that turns on and off when people enter or leave the room. More than 2,000 pieces of free art are provided with the Ember Artline, with an AI feature helping owners get help from the set itself, with recommendations for artwork that will match a given room’s style and decor.
English (US) ·