Death of Fire TV: Why Amazon just made a dramatic change to its Smart TVs

Aaron Brown
Fri, 01 May 2026 08:07:53 +0000

Amazon has dropped the Fire TV branding from its Smart TVs.

The Fire TV name has been around since the first-generation Fire TV Stick was released back in November 2014, offering an affordable way to bring streamers, catch-up services, apps, and games to any television via the HDMI port on the back of your telly. In September 2021, Amazon launched its first Smart TV with the same software experience taken from its bestselling Fire TV Stick lineup baked into the flatscreen.

How police work out if YOU are one of millions watching on a dodgy Fire TV Stick

Dubbed Fire TV Omni Series and Fire TV 4-Series, these were the first all-in-one televisions created by teams at Amazon. While the lineup has expanded in the half a decade since then, Amazon's Fire TV brand has been consistent across the set-top boxes, the televisions, and the operating system that powers both.

But that's all changed. With the arrival of its latest Smart TV — that transforms into a painting when it's not in use — Amazon introduced a new name: Ember.

Amazon's £949 Ember Artline was the first television to use that branding, but it's now rolled out across every model. The Seattle-based retailer has unified all of its custom-designed Smart TVs under the Ember brand.

Crucially, Amazon Ember only replaces Fire TV when referring to physical televisions designed and built by Amazon. In other words, what used to be called Fire TV Smart TVs are now just Amazon Ember TVs.

A spokesperson for Amazon told GB News: "Fire TV has evolved beyond hardware into an experience built into a wide range of TVs and streaming media players—some of these are made by Amazon, while others are made by third-party brands.

"Amazon Ember is the new brand for the smart TVs designed by Amazon — all Amazon smart TVs will carry the Amazon Ember brand, and all existing models available for purchase have been renamed to carry the new branding as well."

Save £200 on Amazon Ember QLED Series

Save £220 on the 50-inch Amazon Ember QLED Series, which boasts picture standards like Dolby Vision and HDR10+ Adaptive. Under the bonnet, this all-in-one flatscreen uses the same Fire TV operating system as the bestselling Fire TV Stick, which offers easy access to your favourite streaming and catch-up services, apps, and video games. Use hands-free Alexa to change channels, control smart home gadgets around your home, and see live previews from your Ring video doorbell, and more

Those Ember TVs are still powered by Fire TV OS, so that tried-and-tested interface is still alive and well. And if you don't want to upgrade to a new flatscreen, you can still buy a Fire TV Stick from Amazon. That doesn't change.

Amazon believes the shake-up will avoid confusion. It also sticks with the very mild pyromania experienced by Amazon's Marketing Team — Kindle, Fire TV, and now, Ember.

To avoid confusion, Ember will only be used for Smart TVs built by Amazon. There is a swathe of other manufacturers — TCL, Toshiba, and Hisense, for example — who all use the Fire TV software experience on their hardware. These Smart TVs will still use the Fire TV brand to denote the operating system.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Will Google copy this unique feature from British startup Nothing?

Best VPN deals

Virgin Media treats all broadband users to FREE upgrade

Microsoft is finally letting you stop Windows 11 updates

iPhone Air review

STOP using passwords, GCHQ issues stark new security advice

Ember will only apply to those created by the hardware teams at Amazon. With the rebrand now complete, the complete lineup of Amazon's Smart TV lineup is as follows:

Amazon Ember 2-Series (FHD)

Amazon Ember 4-Series (4K)

Amazon Ember QLED Series

Amazon Ember Mini-LED Series

Amazon Ember Artline

The shake-up to the Amazon Ember lineup comes soon after the US retailer started to roll-out a monumental upgrade to FireOS is now available to Fire TV Stick owners worldwide. Announced back in January, Amazon says the latest version of its software could boost performance by up to 30%.

That'll make jumping back into a boxset, switching between apps, and playing games much faster – without the need to upgrade to newer hardware. To achieve this impressive boost in performance, software teams at Amazon completely reworked the underlying code for the FireOS software, rebuilding it from the ground up.

It's not only faster, but the new FireOS has also been redesigned to be cleaner, more minimalist, and better organised. For long-term viewers, the new look is far from unrecognisable, but it's a little more refined. The artwork for individual shows, documentaries, sports fixtures, and blockbusters occupies more space on the main menu.

In a post on its website about the newly-released software, Amazon has called it the "biggest update ever".

Describing the new look for the user interface, Amazon promises: "You'll notice the sleek new look right away — cleaner layouts, smooth rounded corners, sophisticated colour gradients, and refined typography that just feels good to use. But it's not just about looks. Up to 30% faster with more fluid navigation means finding your next watch is effortless, and your content stays front and centre where it belongs."

With the World Cup on the horizon, Fire TV viewers will be able to keep up to speed with their team via a dedicated football hub that'll provide details on how to watch the next match.