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Amazon Reveals Fire TV Set-Top Box, Game Controller

Will Greenwald
 & Will Greenwald Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

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Amazon today launched its own streaming media hub to compete with the Roku, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast. The Amazon Fire TV is a new, Android-powered media hub with an emphasis on performance.

The Amazon Fire TV starts shipping today for $99.

Amazon brings its online content ecosystem directly to the Fire TV, using an interface built over Android that's very similar to the menu system on the Kindle Fire tablets. It registers and aggregates all movies, television, and music purchased through Amazon. The interface will also display viewing options for different movies and shows across multiple services, with Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus at launch and more content partners planned in the future.

Voice search integrates directly into the Fire TV's interface, with a microphone built into the included Bluetooth remote. The search feature works by title, actor, and even subject, displaying all options available directly from Amazon.

The Fire TV offers a second-screen experience via the "X-Ray" feature, which synchronizes media played on the Fire TV with a networked Kindle Fire tablet to display additional information about the movie or television show.

The Fire TV also supports a wide variety of apps and services, including Netflix, Pandora, and ESPN. Amazon did not specifically say the Fire TV is Android-based, but its emphasis on an open ecosystem indicates that, like the Kindle Fire tablets, the Fire TV builds on an Android system with its own extensive interface design and features.

The new FreeTime feature on the Fire TV gives children their own menu system. Parents can whitelist content for FreeTime to curate what movies and shows their kids can watch, as well as set up time limits for FreeTime use. Besides kid-friendly movies and shows to rent or purchase, the Fire TV offers the FreeTime Unlimited service, an Amazon Prime Instant Video-like experience designed specifically for children.

Amazon emphasized speed with the Fire TV, claiming its quad-core CPU with 2GB of RAM and dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi with MIMO offers a much faster experience than the Roku 3 or Apple TV. Fire TV introduces a new "ASAP" feature that predicts content you will want to watch and pre-loads it for instant playback.

While it does not add a dedicated game system, the Fire TV does incorporate a gaming ecosystem. Users will be able to play games with the included Bluetooth remote, an upcoming smartphone and tablet control app, or the optional $39.99 Fire Game Controller, a dual analog stick gamepad for the Fire TV. Initial titles include Minecraft, Asphalt 8, and Disney Pixar's Monsters University endless runner. Amazon Game Studios will also produce its own first-party titles for the Fire TV and Kindle Fire tablets. The company showed off game footage of a combination third-person/tower defense sci-fi shooter Sev Zero, along with teaser videos for several other upcoming titles.

Amazon Studios will continue to produce shows exclusive on Amazon Instant Video, viewable on the Fire TV. Alpha House will return for a second season, joined by new shows The After, Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent, and Bosch.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

The Technology I Use

Where to start? I have a standard IT-issued Lenovo Thinkpad for writing and editing, supplemented with an iPad Air and an 8Bitdo Retro Keyboard when I want to write on the go. I also have a Lenovo Legion Go as a platform for running Portrait Displays’ Calman software and controlling the Klein K-10A colorimeter, Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester I use for testing TVs. 

For gaming, I use a Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, and a GeForce 5080-equipped MSI gaming laptop. I like collecting retro games as well, and have an Analogue Pocket and a ton of classic consoles and portables. Photography is another interest, and I use a Sony A7 IV when I’m shooting products and events, and a Fujifilm X-Pro3 for my own attempts at visual creativity. And for reading and writing, I’ve become partial to the Kobo Sage for books and the ReMarkable 2 with Type Folio.

When it comes to phones and tablets, I’m pretty platform-agnostic. I use a Google Pixel 8 for my phone and an iPad Air for a tablet. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are all totally fine, but I need a Windows PC. MacOS just isn’t for me.

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