With Amazon Fire TV, you have a wealth of entertainment options at your disposal. Essentially acting as the gateway to your favourite TV shows, movies, music and games, simply slotting the Fire TV Stick or Fire TV Cube into your HDMI port will let you join the action and turn your standard box into a smart TV.
And while this allows you to take advantage of one of Fire TV’s biggest benefits, the portability, those getting started with the streaming platform also need to know about the top apps available. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best services for you to take a look at once you’ve got your hands on Amazon Fire TV, but be sure to check back as we update our list with more options.
Netflix
A real must-have option here, and perhaps where those with a Netflix subscription will turn first. And who can blame you, with the platform offering up over 100,000 hours of eyeball-melting viewing potential and 50,000 TV shows and movies. Netflix memberships aren’t dirt cheap - and that’s especially true if you’re looking to watch Netflix in 4K or HDR - but this is still the kingpin of the streaming game for a reason.
YouTube
Whether it’s drunkenly showing your friends funny dog videos or getting yourself into a never-ending cyclone of sports highlights, YouTube is always there for you. And now it can be beamed right onto your TV through the Fire TV app.
But it’s not all fun and games. Though an official YouTube app did once exist on the Amazon Fire App Store, that’s no longer the case, we suspect due to usual Google/Amazon pettiness. There’s plenty of workaround options from third parties, but one of the best ways to do this is downloading Firefox and using the browser to hit up those videos. If you need a more in-depth guide on this, jump over and learn how to watch YouTube on Amazon Fire TV.
Spotify
It’s not all about watching things, you know. A nice option for those who want to fill their front room with the sound of music, or maybe even those who would prefer to use their TV’s speaker system over the investment of a smart speaker, the official Spotify app is on hand to help out. However, just be aware that you’ll need a Spotify Premium membership in order to take advantage of its Fire TV delights; this isn’t like using it on the web or on your smartphone.
Ted TV
Losing yourself in a raft of TED Talks is now even easier, thanks to the Amazon Fire TV app. The media organisation, for those who aren’t aware, stands for ‘Technology, Entertainment, Design’, and brings intellectual talks on education, business, science, tech and creativity right to your TV. They’re not too time consuming, typically 15-20 minutes long, and are a great way of breaking up your binging on other platforms. In fact, we've already picked out six of the best Ted Talks about the smart home to get you started.
Twitch
You can play plenty of games on Fire TV — such as Minecraft Pocket Edition, The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Grand Theft Auto — but you can also tap into the world of gaming live streams right from your TV and see how the elite players do it. And not just that, but Twitch also plays host to live events from the likes of Xbox and Sony, meaning there’s no better place to look if you’re interested in gaming.
Downloader
Above, we’ve covered off some of the more standard apps to get your experience rolling. But the fun doesn’t begin and there, and Downloader is the essential tool for side-loading Fire TV apps onto your screen that aren’t available on the Amazon storefront. This lets you directly download APK files from the internet and then install them on your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, meaning you can range much farther than you would with standard apps available through Amazon itself.
Kodi
This isn’t available on the Amazon App Store due to its potential for piracy, but, as we’ve just mentioned, you can take advantage of platforms like this through side-loading apps like Downloader. And once you do, you’ll have a wide-ranging access to entertainment.
The benefit of Kodi is that essentially puts your Fire TV on steroids, allowing you to manage your library of services and customise them at your will. And we say customise because, as it's open source, there are seemingly plug-ins and add-ons you can tap into and add add to Kodi. Of course, the onus is on you to use the app responsibly, and this is a great option for those who want to move past the basics.
Plex
Similar to Kodi, Plex is one of the premier options for those who want to stream saved media around their home. However, one of the differences is that it’s still available through the Amazon app front, making installation less of a faff, and you can even access your content remotely if you’re willing to pay for a Plex Pass.
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