Amazon launches a faster Fire TV Stick 4K and expands Alexa+ features

[EasternAnvil]

Amazon has launched a new Fire TV Stick 4K, and it is already on sale in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It runs Amazon's Vega operating system and supports Wi-Fi 6, the AV1 video codec and HDR10 and HDR10+. It outputs 4K at up to 60 frames per second. The US price is $59.99, with local pricing in other markets

Amazon claims it starts up 20 to 40 percent faster than similarly priced rivals, with apps launching more than 35 percent faster and content starting to play nearly 20 percent faster. It did not name the competing devices, so those numbers are hard to check. The new stick is also slimmer and supports Direct Power, so it can draw power from a compatible TV's USB port rather than needing a separate plug. Independent tests will tell us more

The other half of the announcement is about Alexa+, Amazon's AI powered assistant. On Fire TV, it will use your viewing history, subscriptions and what is available to make more contextual recommendations. You will be able to carry on conversations across devices and share recommendations through the mobile app, which can also look at images to suggest related shows

There is a catch for UK users. The new Alexa+ features roll out in the US in November on selected devices, but UK customers will not get them until early 2027. So the hardware is here now, but the AI features will take a while to follow. That has become a familiar pattern with Amazon's AI launches. Frustrating, but hardly surprising

Vega is Amazon's own operating system replacing the Android based Fire OS, which could affect app support. Has anyone tried a Vega based Fire TV device yet? And would you trust Alexa+ to pick what you watch?

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