STG News
Amazon has just released info on their new Fire TV devices and a local experience for customers in New Zealand, including their most powerful streaming stick yet, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and our full HD streaming media device, Fire TV Stick.
Both devices come with Alexa, thanks to the included Alexa Voice Remote, with dedicated power and volume buttons to control your compatible TV.
“With more than 150 million Fire TV devices sold worldwide, we’re delighted to make Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Stick available to even more customers in New Zealand” said Patrick Walker, country manager for Amazon Devices, Australia and New Zealand. “Access to quality local content is important to Kiwis, and we’re thrilled to offer this, thanks to the partners that have come onboard. Plus, with Alexa, Kiwi customers can easily find their favourite shows, movies, and apps, control their smart home, and much more, using just their voice.”
Fire TV Stick 4K Max features a quad-core 1.8GHz processor and 2GB of RAM, which means apps can start quickly and navigation is fluid. It’s the first Fire TV streaming stick to offer Wi-Fi 6 support, which means smoother streaming in 4K when multiple Wi-Fi 6-connected devices are in use.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max is also the first 4K Fire TV device in New Zealand and supports 4K UHD, HDR, and HDR10+ streaming, as well as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It offers Live View Picture-in-Picture, which allows you to check your compatible smart cameras without interrupting your TV viewing, and shows your Ring video doorbell view when someone is at the door.
With a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor and streaming in up to 1080p Full HD at 60fps with HDR compatibility, Fire TV Stick is powerful and fast. The dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi supports 5 GHz networks for more stable streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Fire TV Stick also features Dolby Atmos support for immersive sound with compatible content and speakers.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Stick will feature the latest Fire TV experience, which offers a personalised user interface (UI). It also features a simplified Main Menu bar, and the ability to pin your favourite apps for quick access. Features like App Peeks let you explore content from popular apps within the UI itself, while Find allows you to discover content by categories like TV Shows, Movies, and Kids & Family. With User Profiles, Fire TV will deliver a personalised experience for up to six members of a household, providing individual content recommendations, viewing history, watch lists, preferred settings, and more.
Fire TV gives you access to thousands of apps, Alexa skills, and channels, as well as thousands of movies and TV episodes. Enjoy favourites from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, TVNZ+, ThreeNow, Neon NZ, Sky Sport Now, Spark Sport, and more. Listen to songs, playlists, live radio stations, and podcasts through services like Spotify and Amazon Music. Subscriptions may be required for certain services.
Alexa is available on Fire TV devices for Kiwi customers thanks to the included Alexa Voice Remote. Alexa Voice Remote comes with dedicated power, volume, and mute buttons, along with the ability to use voice commands to find and control content. Simply say “Alexa, open Netflix” or “Alexa, go to Library” to browse shows. Power on your compatible TV and AV equipment—all with a single remote.
Dedicated buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Apps, and Internet make it even quicker to get to the content you want to watch. Prime Video features additional voice functionality allowing customers to begin watching a show by simply saying “Alexa, play The Rings of Power on Prime Video.” Navigating the show or movie you’re watching is easy, simply say fast-forward, rewind, pause or play next episode.
With Alexa on Fire TV, customers can check the weather or their calendar and Alexa will respond with visual search results. Customers can also ask Alexa to control lights, smart plugs, and other compatible smart home devices, and to show Live View Picture-in-Picture camera feeds without interrupting their TV viewing. Alexa is always getting smarter, meaning Alexa on Fire TV will continue to receive updates even after purchase, with new Alexa skills, features, and apps added regularly.
When Amazon launched Echo Show 15, their vision was to deliver a device that could also be like a kitchen TV, only much smarter. A majority of households with Echo Show 15 already use it to watch videos, and soon, they are offering Fire TV on Echo Show 15.
With this free update, existing Echo Show 15 customers across New Zealand will be able to access more of their favourite streaming services via Fire TV. For example, this will enable you to find and watch thousands of movies and TV episodes from providers like Netflix, Prime Video, and more.
Customers will be able to easily find a show by simply saying, “Alexa, play Luxe Listings Sydney.” Or, with the new Fire TV widget, view shortcuts to recently streamed apps, recently watched content, and your personal watchlist.
Both devices are available to purchase from today at all leading consumer electronics retailers.