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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.
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.
The tried-and-tested operating system keeps the same Fire TV branding, as do Amazon's bestselling lineup of set-top boxes, but any Smart TVs designed and built by the teams at Amazon will be rebranded to Ember
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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.
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.
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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.
Out of the box, the new Fire TV Stick HD ships with the latest version of the FireOS software, bringing large high-quality imagery from your favourite shows and films, with a slew of categories to quickly find what you're looking for | AMAZON PRESS OFFICE 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.