Amazon's Alexa comes to the living room with new Fire TV Stick

Amazon Fire TV
It is the second Amazon device in the UK to feature Alexa after the Echo Credit: Amazon

Amazon has unveiled a new version of its Fire TV Stick in the UK, bringing the company's voice-controlled assistant Alexa to the television screen.

It is the first time that a Fire TV device has been compatible with Alexa in the UK, broadening the reach of Amazon’s artificial intelligence assistant beyond the Echo speaker.

The new version of the £40 Fire TV Stick, which plugs into a TV's HDMI port and can stream shows from Netflix, iPlayer, Prime Video and others, comes with a microphone-enabled remote.

Holding down the microphone button on the remote and speaking into it activates the Alexa assistant, which can respond to queries about the weather and transport, be used to set alarms, play music and control smart home devices such as lights and thermostats.

Amazon Fire TV remote
You activate Alexa by speaking into the remote Credit: Amazon

British consumers were first introduced to Alexa in last year's release of the Echo, Amazon’s cylindrical speaker, which has been a surprise success.

However, Amazon plans to make the technology near-ubiquitous by including it in other devices and gadgets made by other manufacturers.

Alexa has already been included on the Fire TV in the US but the new version of the Stick is the first Fire TV device on sale in Britain to feature it.  The Fire TV box, a more expensive device that can play 4K video, comes with the voice remote but in the UK is not at present compatible with Alexa.

The version of Alexa on the Fire TV is essentially identical to using it on the Echo, but the TV screen means its voice responses can be accompanied by images. Asking Alexa for the weather on Fire TV will not only elicit a spoken answer but a five-day forecast on the TV, while asking for information about your commute will show traffic information on the screen.

As well as the Alexa assistant, users can use their voice to search for shows, and pause, rewind and fast forward what they are watching.

Amazon said the new version of the Fire TV Stick is also 30pc faster and has a better Wi-Fi connection. It replaces the previous version, which was the bestselling single product on Amazon last year. It will be released on April 6.

 

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