Amazon is kicking off 2026 with a bang at CES in Las Vegas, unveiling a sweeping update to its Fire TV platform—the first major redesign in five years. The new Fire TV user interface, rolling out in February to devices like the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), and the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series (US first), promises to be up to 30% faster, with a cleaner look and more intuitive navigation.
This isn’t just a fresh coat of paint. Amazon says it’s rebuilt the underlying code for the Fire TV OS, yielding a snappier, more responsive experience. The new UI features a modern design, seamless animations, improved layouts, and smarter color schemes. One of the biggest upgrades: users can now pin up to 20 apps to the home screen, a massive jump from the previous limit of six, letting binge-watchers and app-hoppers keep all their favorites front and center.
Alexa+ Goes Beyond Voice, and Fire TV Gets Smarter
Another headline-grabber is the deeper integration of Amazon’s revamped AI assistant, Alexa+, which now powers recommendations and can jump to movie scenes, add titles to your watchlist, and control smart home devices—all from the Fire TV interface. Alexa+ is also expanding beyond voice into web browsers via Alexa.com, a feature now open to all Early Access customers. Since its launch nine months ago, Alexa+ has scaled to tens of millions of users, who are now engaging twice as much in conversations, making three times more purchases, and requesting recipes five times more often.
The Fire TV mobile app isn’t being left behind, either. It’s been updated to align with the new interface, bringing content discovery, watchlist management, and remote playback control to users’ phones.
New Products: Ember Artline TV and Ring Security Lineup
Alongside the Fire TV update, Amazon debuted the Ember Artline, its first “lifestyle” television, designed to blend home decor with smart entertainment. And for those eyeing better security, a new line of Ring Sensors built on Amazon Sidewalk offers always-on protection without Wi-Fi range limits or the need for hubs, thanks to three integrated layers: Security, Safety, and Control.
Amazon’s big push this year clearly aims to keep Fire TV competitive with rivals like Google TV. With a speedier, more personalized interface and a smarter, more deeply integrated Alexa+, Amazon is hoping to help users spend more time watching and less time searching.
