Amazon's cheapest Fire TV Stick relaunches with ultra-slim redesign, Alexa+, and speedier performance

Aaron Brown
Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:24:31 +0000

This is the all-new Fire TV Stick HD, a refreshed version of the most affordable HDMI dongle built by Amazon.

With this new model, Amazon has dramatically slimmed down the design. With a depth of under 22mm, this is a seriously svelte device. In fact, it's 30% narrower than its predecessor, which should make it much easier to nestle amongst the other cables — HDMI cables, Ethernet — snaking around the back of your flatscreen.

That ludicrously lightweight design makes it an ideal travel companion, too.

So, if you want to make sure you're always able to watch the next episode of your current favourite show, sports fixtures, or blast your favourite playlist from the speakers connected to the telly, the new Fire TV Stick HD is an easy way to bring all of your apps to the big screen in any hotel room or holiday rental.

Be one of the first to own the new Fire TV Stick HD

Amazon's new Fire TV Stick HD is a reworked version of its most affordable streaming set-top box, with a 30% narrower design, faster performance, and support for the next-generation Alexa+. Trade-in an existing Fire TV Stick to unlock 20% off this new model ahead of its release on April 29. Amazon will still honour the price cut if your old device is broken

The compactness doesn't just extend to the hardware either. For the first time, Fire TV Stick HD can draw power directly from your television's USB port, dropping the need for a standalone plug and any extra cables trailing around the back of your media unit.

If you're concerned that Amazon might've sacrificed performance to achieve this slimline new appearance, Fire TV Stick HD arrives with a noticeable speed improvement compared to previous HD models. Expect 30% faster average speeds when launching apps, powering on, and bouncing between streaming services compared to the last-generation HD Fire TV Stick.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Virgin Media users gain trio of new TV channels

'Nightmare' Amazon rule change could break 2 million Kindle e-readers

British Freely TV box forced to increase prices ahead of next restock

Best VPN deals

Freely strikes deal with Roku to bring Freeview replacement to more TVs

iPhone Air review

Sky Glass Gen 2 review

As you'd expect, this new Fire TV Stick HD ships with the latest version of the FireOS software. Rebuilt from the ground-up to make it easier to find your new favourite show, video games, or live sports coverage, Amazon says to expect "cleaner layouts, smooth rounded corners, sophisticated colour gradients, and refined typography that just feels good to use."

FireOS supports thousands of apps from the biggest broadcasters, including the likes of BBC iPlayer, Netflix, ITVX, Prime Video, Channel 4, YouTube, Disney+, Apple TV, HBO Max, NOW, Paramount+, and of course, GB News. Amazon has also added support for Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, as well as its own cloud-based gaming service, Luna, for those who want to play games with a controller on the big screen without a dedicated console.

Like competitors like Roku and Apple TV, Amazon lets you set up multiple profiles for different family members and will track your progress in different shows, films, and documentaries across a wide variety of services. It'll also intelligently suggest new titles based on your viewing history.

The newly-launched Alexa+ is supported across its Fire TV Stick lineup, letting you tap into ChatGPT-like powers to naturally find new shows or movies to watch, manage and control your smart home devices, or deep-dive into virtually any general knowledge topic.

Fire TV Stick HD costs £39.99. It's available to preorder now, but won't start shipping until April 29, 2026.

Amazon offers a 20% discount across all of its devices when you trade in an existing model. It'll even offer that generous price cut if the device that you send back to its warehouse is broken.

In the coming months, Amazon has promised to add a new Adaptive Display setting to its second-generation Fire TV Stick HD, an accessibility feature that makes text, menus, and content easier to see and navigate on screen.

When turned on, the feature increases the size of smaller items like text and menus while scaling up larger items like content artwork, creating a more balanced browsing experience. You'll be able to choose from multiple size options to customize the experience.