Amazon adds Alexa support to Fire TV stick
Amazon's Fire TV streaming-media stick has been upgraded to a quad-core processor and will have an Alexa remote, giving users the chance to control their TVs with their voices. However, the Fire Stick still cannot deliver 4K TV. The new version will be available from 20 October in the US at $39.99. While there has been no word about when it will be available in the UK, the price is expected to be around £34.99.
Amazon's new Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote Amazon

Amazon has improved its Fire TV Stick to make it faster and add support for Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant found in the Amazon Echo.

The new Amazon Fire TV streaming media stick has been upgraded from a dual-core processor to quad-core processor, and has support for faster Wi-Fi (802.11ac MIMO).

It will also come with an Alexa remote, so owners can use their voices to find content to watch from more than 7,000 HD channels. Though it is currently possible to buy a Fire Stick with standard voice control, the Alexa smart-capability improves upon this and learns about the owner’s voice to improve its accuracy. Read more: Amazon Echo arrives in the UK: what is it and how does it work?

However, the new Fire Stick can’t handle 4K streams still, being held back at Full HD 1080p visuals. Amazon’s Fire TV box has 4K, but the Stick is still lagging behind in terms of capability.

The new Fire TV Stick will be released in the US on October 20 for $39.99 (£30.74) and customers who activate the stick by October 31 will be able to access free content from Sling TV, Hulu and Amazon Video.

Eligible customers get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime when they buy the Fire TV Stick in order to watch Amazon’s original shows such as Mr. Robot and Transparent, but if you want long-term access to these series, customers will need to pay for an Amazon Prime subscription.

There has been no word yet of when the new Fire TV stick will be released in the UK, but it is expected to be around £34.99, the same price as the current Fire TV stick, which will ultiamtely drop in price.

There are rumours Google is going to announce a new 4K Chromecast at its event on October 4. The Chromecast works the same as the Fire Stick, with plenty of compatible apps, and come October 4, it might have a better spec for streaming TV as well as its own AI.