Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Amazon’s new Fire TV user interface looks pretty different, and pretty great

Amazon Fire TV with Alexa integration
Not that you necessarily needed an excuse to spend more time binge watching your favorite television shows on Amazon, but if you were in search of just one more reason to spend your weekend glued to your computer or television screen, here it is — Amazon has just unveiled its new Fire TV user interface, and it’ll make your viewing experience all the better (if that were even possible).

In the most significant change to the UI since Fire TV’s initial debut in April of 2014, the new user experience no longer features different categories in side-scrolling carousels in the primary navigation located on left side of your interface. Rather, you’ll now see everything at the very top of your screen, and you won’t have to choose from so many categories, either. Paradox of choice, you see.

Rather, Amazon told Slashgear, the new larger space allows users to “preview new TV shows like Amazon’s Originals, movies, apps, and games,” and can also be “scrolled from side to side to see other headline titles.”

Moreover, Amazon has learned from its users preferences, and discovered that Fire TV subscribers were much more inclined to watch a show if they could sample it first — not just look at a still image from the series. That means that the hero image of a show is actually a moving image — like a trailer. Ultimately, Amazon says, “hero contents will be shaped by what individual users have been watching.”

Amazon has also made it easier to determine which content is free to watch, and which you’ll have to pay for, by including a “Prime Video” flag for its own shows and movies that are included with your subscription. And if you navigate over to the “Your Movies” tab, you’ll find everything to which you have a subscription. That means all your Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon titles will be in one place, and Fire TV will always play the version that is free for you to view.

So go ahead, friends — figure out your queue for the holiday season. It’s fast approaching.

Buy on Amazon

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
When is the best time to buy a TV?
Samsung The Terrace outdoor TV.

Need a new TV? If you do, we have all kinds of great posts to help you find the best TV for you, as well as the best options for TVs under $1,000, under $500, and even TVs with specific operating systems like Roku and Google TV. But you're here because you want to make sure you don't lose the farm when buying one and to do that, you want to know: When exactly is the best time to buy a new TV?

If you believe the hype and marketing tactics from TV manufacturers and retailers, you’d think it’s always a great time to buy a TV. This, of course, isn't true. You can save significant money on a TV if you bide your time and strike when the deals are to be had. And while it's also a good idea to bookmark our regularly-updated best TV deals posts, a few key times during the year to be extra vigilant include: Springtime when the new TVs of the year start arriving, making for some good deals on last year's models; Amazon Prime Day, which typically lands in the mid-summer; Black Friday/Cyber Monday at the end of November; and the lead-up to Super Bowl because when's a better time to get a big new TV? We're going to get into all of those right now.
Follow the new TV release cycle

Read more
NFL Sunday Ticket price looks to push more viewers toward YouTube TV
NFL on YouTube TV.

We're still months away from the next NFL season, but we now have pricing information on the next incarnation of NFL Sunday Ticket, the subscription that lets you watch all out-of-market games. The package has left DirecTV's satellite service and will now be available on YouTube and YouTube TV starting in August.

The option to sign up will be available "over the next few days," according to the official YouTube blog. And there's a $100 discount if you sign up by June 6, 2023.

Read more
Amazon celebrates 200 million Fire TV devices by launching more
Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series TV.

Amazon today announced that it's bolstering the high end of its Fire TV Omni Series line of televisions with new sizes and entry into new international markets, while also bringing new sets to the more affordable side of the equation. And the news comes as the company also announced that it's sold more than 200 million Fire TV devices worldwide. For context, that number was around 150 million in January 2022.

First up: The — heretofore available in 65- and 75-inch sizes — gains options at 43, 50 and 55 inches. They're up for preorder at Amazon starting today (at $449, $529, and $599, respectively), and will be available at Best Buy on May 11. These are fundamentally the same as what we reviewed previously, Amazon says, only with fewer local dimming zones because of the smaller size.

Read more