The priciest member of the streaming family gets a big upgrade
Amazon has pulled back the curtain on a third-gen Fire TV Cube and an all-new premium remote, as part of the company’s annual hardware event in Seattle.
The new $139.99 / £139.99 Fire TV Cube, despite not being updated since 2019, was a relatively surprising addition to the list of streaming device announcements, with headline upgrades including a new octa-core 2.0 GHz processor that makes it, Amazon says, 20% more powerful than the second-gen model.
This includes boosting app launch speeds and delivering a more fluid experience – things that are also bolstered by a new HDMI input port, Wi-Fi 6E support and something Amazon is calling Super Resolution Upscaling.
Let’s start with that upscaling. Amazon indicates the latest flagship Fire TV device can now enhance picture quality by converting HD content into 4K, whether it’s a movie originally made in HD or some of your old family photos.
This, we expect, will be made even more seamless thanks to the 6E support, which should help steer your streaming away from interference (should you own a compatible router). There’s also a new Ethernet port in the rear, in case you don’t trust your wireless coverage.
See also: New Echo Dot 5th-gen 2022 range announced
If that isn’t enough ports for you, the addition of the HDMI input has the potential to change how you interact with the device, we think. It means you can connect nearby players, cable boxes and the likes and use Alexa to control them, instead of having to manually change things over.
Even better, once the Fire TV Cube releases on 25 October, you can perform this control from the new Alexa Voice Remote Pro.
You can pre-order the 2022 Fire TV Cube now.
Alexa Voice Remote Pro
So, as we’ve alluded to, Amazon also has a fancy new $34.99 remote for you to pair with your Fire TV devices – including the new third-gen Cube detailed above.
The device will launch on 16 November in the US, providing features like Remote Finder and Customizable Buttons, as well as a bit of neat bit of backlighting to aid use in the dark.
These are fairly self-explanatory, obviously, but they should prove fairly handy.
Remote Finder can help locate the device when lost, with an option selected in the Fire TV app or through an Alexa request signaling the remote’s built-in speaker to emit a ringtone.
Customizable Buttons, meanwhile, will let you jump into your favorite channels or apps a bit more easily, as well as kick Alexa Routines into action at the touch of a button.
