Your Fire TV is about to look different
Fire TV devices are finally getting a revamped home screen, with easier navigation and faster performance. The update was announced in January and is now rolling out to TVs.
The current interface for Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs isn’t great. Finding what you want to watch can take a while, and menus are often slow to load, especially on the company’s lower-end Fire TV streaming sticks. At CES 2026, Amazon announced a new interface intended to address these issues, which is now starting to roll out to devices in the United States.
The new design features a “more modern design with improved layouts, rounded corners, redesigned color gradients, updated typography and more optimized spacing.” The top navigation bar is now divided into Home, Movies, TV, Live TV, Sports, and News. Features like Games, Appstore, and Universal Watchlist can now be found in the three-line hamburger menu.
Like most other smart TV interfaces, the focus is on streaming the movies and TV series you’re already watching, as well as new recommendations from your active streaming services. However, opening apps normally has also been improved: you can now pin 20 to your home screen, a huge improvement over the previous limit of six apps.
This update also introduces a Shortcuts panel, accessible by holding down the Home button on your remote. The panel includes options for audio and display settings, your connected Ring cameras, and other smart home controls. For some changes, it’s faster than opening Settings or issuing Alexa commands.
Amazon’s Linux-based ‘Vega OS’ finally comes to Fire TV 4K Select
Amazon is working on a new software platform for its Fire TVs and streaming sticks, designed to replace the current Android-based software. Today, the company revealed the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, and it’s the first device to feature the new “Vega” software.
Amazon also promised that the new design would be faster and more responsive. The company said in January: “The team rebuilt the underlying code to make the experience faster. In some cases, we are seeing up to 20-30% speed gains when using the new user interface.”
The update is currently rolling out to the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max 2nd Gen, Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series, and Ember Artline. Other devices will get it “this spring,” including the latest Fire TV 4K streaming players, Fire TV 2-Series/4-Series, Fire TV Omni QLED Series, and third-party smart TVs.
Source: TechCrunch, Amazon
