Amazon updates Fire TV with Alexa and 4K video, Fire TV stick with voice remote; launches Fire TV Gaming Edition

Amazon today refreshed its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick with a slew of new features. At the same time, the company also launched the Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition.

The new Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are both available for preorder today for $100 and $50, and will start shipping on October 5 and October 22, respectively. The Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition is available for preorder starting today for $140 and will start shipping October 5, while the new game controller, which you can also preorder today, goes for $50 and will start shipping in October.

Amazon launched the first Fire TV last year, and said many times it has become the company’s #1 best-selling Amazon device category. The Fire TV Stick, which debuted soon after, became the company’s fastest-selling product ever. Yet in typical Amazon fashion, the company didn’t disclose sales numbers for either products.

The new Amazon Fire TV supports 4K Ultra HD video, while the new Fire TV Stick has support for Voice Remote, a feature included in the Fire TV itself. Amazon is keeping the original Fire TV Stick available for purchase at $40.

In terms of 4K support, Amazon is making some big claims: Fire TV is half the price of any other 4K Ultra HD streaming media player, and it provides access to more 4K Ultra HD movies than any other device. These include award-winning shows like Transparent, Better Call Saul, and Orphan Black, plus movies such as Captain Phillips, Men in Black 3, and Moneyball.

Other notable specifications include:

• Processors: MediaTek 64-bit quad-core and a dedicated GPU means 75 percent more processing power. Amazon claims the Fire TV has 5x the processing power of the latest generation Roku, 8x the processing power of Google’s Chromecast, and 4x the memory of the Roku and Chromecast.
• Wi-Fi: 802.11ac MIMO means faster throughput and longer range for better performance.
• Expandable microSD Storage: In addition to the 8GB of on-device storage, Fire TV now offers expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 128GB.
• Mayday Screen Sharing: 24×7, 365 days-a-year customer service for free. When you call customer service by phone, the Amazon expert can remotely connect to your Fire TV to help troubleshoot.
• Audio from Dolby: Surround sound via HDMI, plus Bluetooth headphone support.

Meanwhile, the new Fire TV Gaming Edition includes the all-new Fire TV, the new Fire TV Game Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and two games: Shovel Knight and Disney’s Ducktales.

Amazon today also released new tablets: a 7-inch $50 version and a kid-proof version for $100, and it refreshed the rest of its tablet lineup as well.