Amazon has made great strides toward capturing a good slice of the OTT set-top box space with Fire TV, but that slice may get a little bigger with a new, more powerful array of devices on the way.
On Monday, a report surfaced showing what appears to be two new models of Amazon's Fire TV device.
One device will come in a dongle form (much like Google's Chromecast), while the other will be delivered in a new cube form factor. Both devices will be capable of delivering 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) video at 60 fps, according to AFTVNews.
But the biggest news here involves additional features included in the new cube-shaped version of Fire TV. The report claims that the device will also be equipped with a speaker, far-field microphones (for capturing verbally spoken user commands issued to Alexa), and an LED indicator light, essentially turning this model of the Fire TV into a super-powered Echo device. The new device will, according to the site, become Amazon's "flagship" Fire TV device.
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The modified Fire TV-meets-Echo device seems like a natural progression since Amazon recently gave users the ability to control their Fire TV using Echo devices.
When contacted by Mashable about the new devices described in the report, Amazon declined to comment.
However, if this report turns out to be accurate, this new combination device could give Amazon an even tighter grip on the emerging smart home space with a solution that's actually incredibly practical for anyone already integrated into Amazon's content and commerce ecosystem.
Topics Amazon
