If you’re looking to add smart TV functionality to a not-so-smart TV, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick has been one of the best options available for some time. On Wednesday, the company announced a new, improved version of the popular streaming stick, and it’s keeping a key feature: the $40 price tag.
“We are proud that our customers have made Amazon Fire TV the #1 streaming media player in the U.S. With more than 120,000 reviews and a 4.2 star rating, they’ve also made the Fire TV Stick the most reviewed product ever on Amazon,” Amazon Fire TV vice president Marc Whitten said in a statement. “Today, we are excited to make it even better. The new Amazon Fire TV Stick has been completely redesigned with incredible performance, powerful voice search and the included Alexa-powered remote to deliver instant access to a vast selection of movies, TV shows, games and Alexa skills at just $40.”
The new Fire TV Stick features a quad-core processor and 802.11ac MIMO Wi-Fi, the combination of which should generally make streaming a faster, more streamlined experience. The Fire TV Stick includes 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, which should be more than enough to load the streamer up with every app you’ll need. Resolution is still limited to 1080p, so potential buyers looking for 4K will still need to opt for the Fire TV, the Stick’s bigger, more full-featured sibling.
Amazon says the updated Fire TV Stick offers the most accurate voice search of any streaming stick, with its Alexa-powered search working across more than 90 apps and channels. Customers can currently use phrases like “find suspense thrillers” or “launch Hulu,” and if the company’s recent pace is any indication, customers can expect new voice features to be added at a decent clip.
In order to further entice customers to pick up the updated streaming stick, Amazon is offering a free bundle of services worth $65 for early buyers. Those who activate the stick by October 31 will receive one free month of Sling TV, two months of Hulu’s Limited Commercials plan, and a $10 credit for Amazon video.
The updated Fire TV Stick is available for pre-order today and will begin shipping to customers on October 20. For more information or to pre-order, see the Amazon website.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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