Amazon has just announced the Fire TV Cube, a hands-free, 4K Ultra HD streaming media player with Alexa, and the fastest and most powerful Fire TV ever — for just £109.99. Fire TV Cube is the first Fire TV in the United Kingdom to feature far-field voice control built directly into the device and is now available for pre-order.
“We believe voice is the most natural user interface and will fundamentally change the way people interact with technology,” said Eric Saarnio, Head of Amazon Devices EU. “Amazon Fire TV Cube uses the Alexa voice service, which will make it easier for customers to control their entertainment experience and watch the TV and movies that matter most to them, hands-free. As the first far-field Fire TV in the United Kingdom, we’re excited to be delivering easier and quicker ways for our customers to use their device.”
With Fire TV, you can watch favourites from the Netflix, YouTube, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and more. Fire TV gives you access to tens of thousands of apps, Alexa skills, and channels, as well as over 200,000 TV episodes and movies with thousands of titles in 4K Ultra HD. The vast Fire TV catalogue combined with powerful voice control makes it easier than ever to enjoy TV, simply say “Alexa, watch The Crown on Netflix” and your compatible TV will turn on, open Netflix and pick up playback right where you left off.
The Fastest, Most Powerful TV Ever
Featuring an ultra-powerful hexa-core processor, the Fire TV Cube delivers a fast, fluid experience, with access to Dolby Vision and 4K Ultra HD content at up to 60 fps. Being the fastest and most powerful Fire TV ever, Fire TV Cube supports the brilliant colours of HDR including Dolby Vision and HDR 10+, as well as the Audio clarity of Dolby Atmos. In addition, Fire TV Cube comes with Local Voice Control, which is a new on-device processing feature that lets you execute some of the most frequent voice commands like “Alexa, scroll right,” or “Alexa, go home,” quicker.
Easy Control of All Your Entertainment
Fire TV Cube features cutting edge far-field voice recognition with eight microphones and advanced beamforming technology that combines signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, content currently playing, and even competing speech to make sure Alexa clearly hears your request when placed next to your TV. When combined with the powerful new processor, you can easily search, play and navigate content using just your voice. At launch, streaming apps like Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, My5, and more, will support enhanced in-app voice controls. From across the room, just say, “Alexa, play The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “Alexa, pause”; or “Alexa, fast forward 2 minutes,” and Alexa will respond to your request. Enhanced in-app voice control for ITV Hub, All 4, and Hayu will follow later this year.
In addition, Fire TV Cube uses multi-directional infrared technology, cloud-based protocols and HDMI CEC, that when combined with Alexa, let you control your compatible TV, soundbar, A/V receiver, and other compatible smart home devices. You can also tune to live TV channels with satellite boxes from providers like Sky. With the built-in speaker, Fire TV Cube lets you check the weather, listen to the news, and more—even with the TV off.
Always Getting Smarter
The Alexa service is always getting smarter with new features, device control capabilities, and hands-free voice functionality added regularly, meaning Fire TV Cube is going to get even better over time. Many Alexa responses are optimised for the big screen and accompanied with visual information, allowing you to view your compatible smart home camera feeds, watch video flash briefings, view sports scores, see extended weather forecasts, and watch trailers for movies playing in nearby theatres. Fire TV Cube also supports Alexa features such as Multi-Room Music, Alexa Communication features, Follow-Up Mode, Alexa Voice Browsing, and more.
Pricing and Availability
The Fire TV Cube is available for pre-order at www.amazon.co.uk/firetvcube for £109.99. It ships with an IR extender cable and Ethernet adapter beginning on 10th October 2019. Customers can also pre-order Fire TV Cube and Ring Video Doorbell 2 together for just £218.99 – a saving of £70.