
Amazon simplifies its Fire TV lineup and unveils a new 4K stick
Amazon has cut its Fire TV streaming player lineup from five devices to four, unveiled a thinner and faster Fire TV Stick 4K, redesigned its remote and added Alexa+ upgrades to its TV interface and mobile app.
Amazon cuts its Fire TV lineup to four devices
Amazon announced on September 30, 2026 that it is simplifying its Fire TV lineup, cutting its streaming players from five to four. What remains is three sticks and one cube: the Fire TV Stick HD, the Fire TV Stick 4K, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Fire TV Cube. It also drops the "Select," "Plus" and "Max" labels used for its 4K dongles.
The Fire TV Stick HD launched earlier this year at $35, while the Fire TV Cube was last updated in 2022 and launched at $140.
A thinner, faster Fire TV Stick 4K
The centerpiece is a new Fire TV Stick 4K. Amazon says it is roughly 20 to 40 percent faster than "a similarly priced 4K stick from another leading brand": it turns on faster, launches apps over 35 percent faster and starts content nearly 20 percent faster. Amazon says it also tested it against three top-selling 4K smart TVs, though the methodology was not published.
The stick is slimmer, resembling the HD model launched in April, and can draw power straight from a TV's USB port. Inside are 8GB of storage and a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 and LE. It plays 2160p, 1080p and 720p at up to 60 frames per second, runs Amazon's Vega operating system and ships with Alexa+ and the new Fire TV experience.
It is available from today in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the UK, Germany and France at $60, dropping to $30 during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days next week. It comes with the new Fire TV Remote, sold separately for $15, and ships in the US from late October.
A redesigned remote and an Alexa+ upgrade
Amazon also showed a redesigned Fire TV Remote with a curved, weighted bottom and a flat top edge, so users can tell by touch which side faces the TV. The home button has a metal surface, and the other buttons have distinct shapes. A customizable star button, previously limited to the premium controller, moves to the standard remote. A premium Fire TV Remote Plus, with an aluminum housing and backlit buttons, arrives early next year and replaces the Alexa Voice Remote Pro.
On software, Fire TV users in the US will get new Alexa+ experiences on the TV interface and mobile app from November. The assistant gains reasoning capabilities and a new hub with personalized prompt suggestions drawn from viewing history; Amazon says it can pull from subscriptions and current affairs. Fire TV also integrates live content from over 40 apps, while a Games Hub gathers cloud gaming from Xbox, Luna and NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Most updates reach the US later this year and other markets early next year.
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