bassethound
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Alexa is coming to existing Amazon Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks in the UK and Germany
Ever since the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot officially launched in the UK and Germany, it was expected that Fire TV owners in those countries would eventually get access to Alexa on their devices, just like Fire TV owners in the US. Now that the Fire TV Stick 2 with Alexa has been officially announced for the UK and Germany, Amazon has confirmed that Alexa will also be added to all existing Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models in those countries.
Amazon has unfortunately not said exactly when Alexa will be added to existing Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks in the UK and Germany, but at least now we know the voice assistant is definitely on its way to older devices. Based on Amazon’s past feature releases, I would guess 2nd-gen Fire TVs overseas will receive Alexa first, followed by 1st-gen Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks soon after. Devices without a voice remote will be able to access Alexa through the Fire TV remote app for mobile devices.
When Alexa’s debut on Fire TV devices was revealed with the announcement of the 2nd-gen Fire TV in the US, we were similarly told Alexa would also be coming to all 1st-gen Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks in the US. Before the Fire TV 2 was released, a trusted source within Amazon told me 1st-gen devices would receive Alexa and Fire OS 5 in October 2015, within weeks of the Fire TV 2’s release. While that was initially the plan, numerous issues with Fire OS 5’s launch delayed Alexa’s arrival on 1st-gen devices until February 2016.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I would guess the plan is to release Alexa to existing Fire TV devices in April, but of course, that would change if issues with Alexa on 2nd-gen Fire TV Sticks overseas arise after the devices reach customers. Since Amazon released both Alexa and Fire OS 5 simultaneously in the US, I would guess that Alexa and the new Fire TV interface will also be released simultaneously to existing devices in the UK and Germany. So I suspect, if all goes well, all devices in the US, UK, and Germany will have Alexa and the new Fire TV interface by May.
Ever since the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot officially launched in the UK and Germany, it was expected that Fire TV owners in those countries would eventually get access to Alexa on their devices, just like Fire TV owners in the US. Now that the Fire TV Stick 2 with Alexa has been officially announced for the UK and Germany, Amazon has confirmed that Alexa will also be added to all existing Fire TV and Fire TV Stick models in those countries.
Amazon has unfortunately not said exactly when Alexa will be added to existing Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks in the UK and Germany, but at least now we know the voice assistant is definitely on its way to older devices. Based on Amazon’s past feature releases, I would guess 2nd-gen Fire TVs overseas will receive Alexa first, followed by 1st-gen Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks soon after. Devices without a voice remote will be able to access Alexa through the Fire TV remote app for mobile devices.
When Alexa’s debut on Fire TV devices was revealed with the announcement of the 2nd-gen Fire TV in the US, we were similarly told Alexa would also be coming to all 1st-gen Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks in the US. Before the Fire TV 2 was released, a trusted source within Amazon told me 1st-gen devices would receive Alexa and Fire OS 5 in October 2015, within weeks of the Fire TV 2’s release. While that was initially the plan, numerous issues with Fire OS 5’s launch delayed Alexa’s arrival on 1st-gen devices until February 2016.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I would guess the plan is to release Alexa to existing Fire TV devices in April, but of course, that would change if issues with Alexa on 2nd-gen Fire TV Sticks overseas arise after the devices reach customers. Since Amazon released both Alexa and Fire OS 5 simultaneously in the US, I would guess that Alexa and the new Fire TV interface will also be released simultaneously to existing devices in the UK and Germany. So I suspect, if all goes well, all devices in the US, UK, and Germany will have Alexa and the new Fire TV interface by May.
