In 2014, we introduced the first Fire TV device to the world, changing the way our customers search for and discover streaming content. When Fire TV launched, our mission was to make our customersâ streaming experiences as seamless as possible, by removing complexity while focusing on innovative tools that would allow for personalized streaming.
Today, weâre excited to share with you the next step in the evolution of Fire TV, which harnesses the power of AI. Weâll get to that in just a moment. But, first we thought it would be fun to revisit our past, and share some of our favorite Fire TV moments from the past decade.
The introduction of Fire TV
In 2014, we launched Fire TV with an effort to change the way customers interact with their TVs and digital content. We even included a mic button on the remote, which allowed for customers to use their voice to control their TV and search for content. Shortly after the launch of Fire TV, we integrated Alexa into the Fire TV experience, allowing customers to control their Alexa-enabled devices right from their remotes.
Making Fire TV more accessible for all customers
In an effort to ensure all of our customers could seamlessly enjoy their favorite content, we introduced Text Banner, an assistive technology feature that consolidates on-screen text in a fixed location. In addition, Fire TV introduced the first-ever streaming media player in the U.S. to support ASHA (Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids) protocol through our partnership with hearing aid company, Starkey. We also became the first streaming media player family to enable customers to stream sound directly to a hearing implant sound processor through our work with Cochlear, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions.
Fire TV goes beyond the stick
Building off the popularity of our Fire TV product, we expanded our lineup to more devices in order to fill our customersâ needs as the streaming experience evolved. In 2017, we introduced Element Fire TV Edition, which allowed the Fire TV operating system to be integrated natively into third-party TVs. In 2018, we introduced our first streaming media player with hands-free voice control, Fire TV Cube. And, in 2021 we debuted our own line of smart TVs with Fire TV 4-Series and Fire TV Omni Series.
Evolving the Fire TV experience with the help of AI
Today, weâre excited to announce Fire TV offers a new way to search that combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Fire TVâs extensive entertainment content and app library. You can now ask Alexa for TV show and movie recommendations using natural language and receive a personalized list, including choices from your Prime Video or other streaming subscription libraries, so you know which ones you are entitled to. If you want to learn more about this exciting new feature, you can learn more about this incredible new feature here.
Itâs been a wonderful first ten years, and we canât wait to see what the next ten years will bring to our Fire TV customers.
