Amazon has announced a few new features that will be hitting the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick via an over-the-air update. The update to the two media streaming devices will be landing in the “coming weeks.” There are a few new features specifically coming to the Fire TV such as expandable USB storage support and private listening with headphones with Bluetooth headphones. Here is the full list of what users of each device can expect.
- Expandable USB storage on Amazon Fire TV—You can now use a connected USB mass storage device to expand your Fire TV storage for downloaded apps and games—this enables you to have more games downloaded for easy access.
- Connect to your hotel or dorm room Wi-Fi with captive portal support out of the box—Take your favorite movies, TV shows, games, and more with you away from home—Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are the first streaming media devices to enable you to connect to Wi-Fi that requires web authentication—this includes Wi-Fi at most major hotels, as well as some universities.
- Private listening on Fire TV—Enjoy favorite movies and TV shows after the kids go to sleep, without worrying about waking them up. Support for wireless Bluetooth headphones to Fire TV lets you listen to your movie, TV show, or music without bothering others in your household.
- Browse and search Prime Playlists—Prime members can now take advantage of hand-crafted Prime Music playlists directly from Fire TV and Fire TV Stick—there are hundreds of expertly curated Prime Playlists to choose from based on your mood, activity or even artist or decade of choice.
- Hidden PIN entry—With the new PIN entry screen that hides the numbers selected, you can now make sure your kids (or freeloading friends) can’t see your device PIN as you enter it on-screen to confirm a purchase on Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.
- New shortcuts—Quickly put your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to sleep or enable display mirroring by pressing and holding the Home button on your remote.
The captive portal support that allows you to connect to Wi-Fi networks that require web authentication is probably one of the biggest new features. That alone should boost sales to the travelers out there that spend a great deal of time at hotels.
Along with the new features, Amazon has also announced that the Fire TV Stick is now available for purchase in Germany and the UK.
Via Amazon
