Amazon has unveiled its new Fire TV interface, which comes with a number of upgrades to help you binge-watch yourself stupid.
This is the biggest change to the Fire TV UI since it debuted in 2014, with Amazon doing away with the side-scrolling categories and main navigation on the left-hand side, in favour of content being organised under categories at the top of the screen.
There’s also less categories to choose from, which might seem like a step backwards but should make it easier to navigate the mountains of content on offer.
As Amazon told Slashgear, the new layout provides a bigger viewing space when browsing, allowing you to “preview new TV shows like Amazon’s Originals, movies, apps, and games”.
The new viewing space can also be scrolled from side to side, making it easier to navigate to other headline titles.
You’ll also get new moving images when you preview shows, rather than a still shot, which should help you decide whether something’s worth watching more quickly, according to Amazon.
What’s more, the so-called ‘hero’ shows and films that take up the prominent spots in each category will change regularly, depending on what users have been watching.
Alongside the new layout, Amazon has also added a new ‘Your Movies’ section, aimed at making it easier to understand which is paid content and which is free.
The section will bring together content from all the services you subscribe to, including Netflix and Hulu. And when a user clicks on a specific film or show, Amazon automatically defaults to the free version.
That means when choosing a film to watch, Amazon will check first whether any of your subscribed services offer the film for free, displaying those before showing paid options.
Elsewhere, there’s more details for each piece of content, including actor information pulled from IMDB, along with a newly updated and customisable “My Apps & Games” section.
And finally, Alexa has been integrated more heavily into the UI, allowing you to simply ask the virtual assistant to “Play Bosch,” for example.
This will make Alexa automatically find the free option, load the relevant app, and start playing the content, offering suggestions if none of your subscribed services offer the particular show or film you’re looking for.
Alexa can also be used for navigation by using commands such as “skip ahead a minute”, whether that’s for music or streaming.
The new UI update is expected to arrive on set-top boxes by the end of the year, first on the new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, before hitting the last generation Fire TV.
According to Slashgear’s report, Amazon has confirmed that all its Fire TV products will receive the update eventually, though no dates were provided.
