Amazon’s Fire TV update with all-new homescreen is now live

Amazon announced Thursday that its new Fire TV software update is rolling out to devices. It has a completely redesigned home screen and features like separate user profiles, so the recommendations on what to watch are different for each person in your family.

The software was first announced in September and debuted on the Fire TV Stick Lite and the third generation Fire TV Stick in December, but now everyone who owns the Amazon Fire TV Cube (1st and 2nd generation) and the 3rd generation Fire TV, the Fire TV Stick 4K will be able to use the new features. Amazon says it’s updating smart TVs and the second-generation Fire TV Stick later this year.

According to an analyst note from Deutsche Bank in August, the new features could help it compete more aggressively against Roku, which still holds a 50% market share of connected TV streaming hours globally with strong opportunities. growth.

Up to six people can create different profiles with the new software. So if you watch a lot of comedy shows, Amazon may recommend other comedies that you will like. But if your spouse watches a lot of drama, he will receive recommendations for more of this type of content. Currently, with just one profile, Amazon simply recommends more based on what has been viewed, regardless of who is viewing.

Personalization also extends to the Home screen, where you can pin specific apps to the top for quick access. Maybe you often use Netflix, YouTube TV, and Disney +, for example. You can put new, smaller icons for the ones at the top. Recommendations for the content you watch in the services are displayed below.

There’s also a new “Live” tab that shows you a channel guide so it’s easier to jump straight to live TV, if you’re paying for a streaming service like Sling or YouTube TV. Amazon told CNBC in September that it designed this to make it a more familiar experience for people switching from cable to streaming.

The update also includes deeper integration with Alexa voice assistant, so you can say “Alexa is going to live TV” and it will launch the live TV service you pay for.

Finally, there is a new “Find” section that makes it easier to find something to look at. It shows movies, on-demand TV shows, live TV, your watchlist and more.

You can update your Fire TV by opening settings and selecting “My Fire TV”, then “About” and choosing “Check for system updates.”