- Amazon has announced a significant refresh to the Fire TV interface
- It will include new streaming channels and will head to older devices too
- The company had also revealed a faster, slimmer Fire TV Stick HD
Amazon has revealed it is refreshing its Fire TV platform with a new look and new streaming channels. It also reveals a new Amazon Fire TV Stick HD.
The update, which will be coming to all older Fire TV devices such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, will see a new layout with a focus on getting users to their content easier. Categories have been introduced so customers can quickly access their preferred movies, TV shows, news and sports. Amazon also claims the update will make Fire TV 30% faster.
The update will also introduce Fire TV channels, a new feature that brings in free, ad-supported streaming channels covering a wide range of genres such as news, comedy, cooking and travel to name a few. These ‘FAST’ channels are becoming increasingly popular across some of the best TVs, with both LG (with LG Channels) and Samsung (included in Tizen) including the feature.
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The Fire TV update is free and will begin rolling out to customers internationally at the end of the month, so it will vary depending on region and device as to when you’ll see the new UI.
Amazon also revealed a new version of its Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. Amazon says it’s 30% narrower than the previous generation’s model, making it easier to fit alongside devices in other HDMI ports.
It will run off Direct Power through a TV’s USB port, eliminating the need for a bulkier, external power adaptor. Amazon also says the new Stick will be 30% faster than the previous generation, too.
The new Stick HD will also receive an Adaptive Display accessibility feature that will make text and menus easier to see on screen. It will enhance smaller items such as text while simultaneously scaling up larger things like artwork.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD will launch for £39.99 (US and Australia prices TBC), with pre-orders live at Amazon UK.
A Fire TV refresh
Fire TV is featured in a wide range of devices, so it’s great to see that it’s getting an update in 2026. In my time using the smart TV platform, I’ve sometimes found it can be clunky, slow to navigate and slow to respond to commands. If this new update does indeed up the speed by 30%, that could make a huge difference.
The inclusion of FAST channels (free, ad-support streaming channels) is a welcome one, as it gives users more content they can watch without extra fees.
While I haven’t seen the new Fire TV interface in-person yet, from the image above, I can see that large banner ads will still likely be a feature. This is now common across most smart TV interfaces and continues to be a bit of a frustration. I’ll reserve full judgement however until I use it myself.
It will take a lot for Fire TV to de-throne the top smart TV platforms such as LG’s webOS, Roku and Samsung’s latest Tizen iteration (though I’m yet to test the 2026 version yet), but hopefully this refresh will do just the trick.
As for the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD, it’s again nice to see an update to the HD models, as the 4K now has three different varieties available. It looks like the upgraded model will be the same price as the previous HD Stick (£39.99 in the UK) and it’s likely to receive discounts during big sale events during Prime Day and Black Friday.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
