Amazon is taking another swing at the living room, introducing a brand new Fire TV box that adds 4K streaming. It's also announced a new Fire TV Stick that supports voice commands.
The new Fire TV looks just like its predecessor (and the stick does too, in fact), but Amazon has packed in some new hardware including a faster processor – 75% faster, it claims – all of which should give Apple reason to be concerned.
Of course, you'll need a 4K TV if you want to enjoy 4K movies or TV shows, along with a broadband speed of 15Mbps or higher. The good news is that with both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on the box, you'll have access to a fair bit of 4K content out of the gate.
As well as the 8GB of onboard storage, the Fire TV now offers expandable storage via microSD card slot, enabling you boost it up to 128GB.
Burn baby burn
The controller has also been given some improvements which will enable it to last longer on two AAA batteries; it's also a tad faster.
There's a new game controller too, which now works over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth for better latency, and includes a built-in mic for voice controls.
As for the TV Stick, beyond voice commands it's the same affair – you won't be getting a 4K upgrade here – but it will cost just £45/$50. As for the Fire TV, that's going to set you back £80/$99, which is a good price for access to 4K content.
Both are available to pre-order today, with the Fire TV shipping on October 5 and the Stick rolling out on October 22.
