Amazon To Announce Two New 4K HDR Fire TV Streaming Devices

Amazon is said to be working on two new Fire TV streaming devices. One of the new Amazon Fire TV devices seems to look a lot like Google’s Chromecast Ultras, while the other appears to look like a cube-shaped version of the Echo Dot.

Information on Amazon’s upcoming new Fire TV streaming devices were first reported by AFTVNews. The site even shared a photo of the two devices side-by-side. One of the new Fire TV devices comes with a dongle-like design that’s very reminiscent of the Chromecast Ultra, albeit having a square-shaped body.

It will have an HDMI plug and will have microUSB port for power. Leaked benchmarks reveal that this device is said to be powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU along with a Mali 450 MP GPU and 2GB of RAM. Although not really seen in the leaked benchmarks, the device is presumed to have 8GB of internal storage.

It is believed that this Fire TV dongle will be the mid-tier model sitting between the existing Fire TV Stick and the new top-tier model. Speaking of the new top-tier model, that version of the Fire TV will look like a cube-shaped set-top box. What’s most interesting about this model is that it’s rumored to feature voice recognition technology with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

The new top-tier Fire TV set-top box is said to have far-field microphones, a built-in speaker and an LED light. Basically, the device seems to look like a beefier version of Amazon’s Echo Dot smart speaker. Like the Echo Dot, the new Fire TV set-top box will allow users to have hands-free Alexa interaction and control. It’s also said to feature an IR emitter, which means that users will be able to control it with other IR remote controllers.

The cube-shaped Fire TV device will also come with its own voice remote. Pressing the microphone button will trigger Alexa and users can then interact with the digital assistant. The included remote isn’t actually required to interact with Alexa, but users have the option to use it.

As with the Amazon Echo Dot, this new Fire TV device has the same physical buttons on top for manually triggering Alexa, muting the microphone and for adjusting the built-in speakers’ volume.

Unfortunately, not much else is known about this new Fire TV model. However, it’s being speculated that it may feature more ports and functionalities like an Ethernet port and expandable storage.

Both of the new Fire TV devices are believed to come with 4K and HDR streaming support at 60fps and HDMI-CEC. The new mid-tier streaming dongle is expected to be announced some time later this month and may be released in October. No exact pricing was given, but it may cost somewhere between $60 and $80.

As for the new flagship Amazon Fire TV, it is scheduled to be announced at a later date, as pointed out by Engadget. The leaker said that it may be released this year, but it’s also possible that it could be pushed back into early 2018. Seeing as it will function as a set-top box and a smart speaker, the new cube-shaped Fire TV is believed to cost more than $100.