Amazon Fire TV Expand Hands-Free Features via Paired Alexa Devices

Fire TV’s new update will let you use voice commands to navigate through on-screen menus and make selections.

By Tanishka Sodhi | Updated: 22 October 2020 15:50 IST

Amazon Fire TV Expand Hands-Free Features via Paired Alexa Devices

You can request Alexa to show visual experiences on Fire TV in the new update

Highlights

Amazon is expanding hands-free features for Fire TV sticks
The new ‘show me’ command that will help with visual experiences
The new features will be rolling out to Fire TV devices soon

Amazon Fire TV is getting more hands-free features with additional Alexa-enabled services. Through the new “Alexa, show me” command, you'll be able to do things like check the weather, view the calendar, and look at the traffic in a particular route on your TV. You can also use voice commands to navigate through on-screen menus and make selections too. These features will be rolling out to Fire TV devices in the coming weeks. The new features will work with any paired Alexa devices, with the exception of Echo Show and Echo Spot.

Amazon had introduced the ability to pair Alexa-enabled devices with Fire TVs a few years ago, that lets you perform functions like open apps, play movies, search for content, and control playback. Now, the company is expanding this functionality by adding more features.

After pairing the Alexa device with your Fire TV, you can request Alexa to show visual experiences on Fire TV in the new update by saying, “Alexa, show me…” before the request. For example, you can say, “Alexa, show me the weather,” or “Alexa, show me my shopping list.” Other visual experiences you can ask Alexa to show using this feature include traffic, smart home cameras, and calendars.

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Voice commands can also be used to navigate and select content hands-free. Once this feature has rolled out, you'll be able to ask Alexa to do things like search for genres, play a trailer, and open your watchlist. You can head back to the home screen by saying, “Alexa, go home.”

If you have a Fire TV Edition smart TV, you can also power your TV on and off, control the volume, and switch inputs using your Alexa device.

Earlier this year, Amazon had expanded Alexa voice control on Fire TV by adding support for Netflix, YouTube, Jio Cinema, and other apps. This feature was earlier limited to Prime Video only.

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