Amazon Fire TV takes on Roku and Samsung with new free TV tab
Thousands of free movies and shows
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TheAmazonFire TV interface is doubling down on free TV streaming, with a new, dedicated tab for all the content on Fire TV youdon’thave to pay for.
Titled simply ‘Free’, the new tab sits on the Fire TV’s navigation bar, collating together the freely available programming in one handy place. While only available in the US so far, we expect it to roll out to the UK and elsewhere in the coming months too.
In ablog post, senior product marketing manager Michael Polin wrote that, “The new Free tab offers customers a single destination to a curated selection from thousands of free movies, TV shows, news, and more.”
Free apps include IMDb TV, Tubi, Pluto TV, Crackle, and The CW – as well as Twitch, Red Bull, PBS and PBS Kids – for a total of over 20,000 titles to enjoy.
There’s also a free News app for keeping up with the events of the day, as well as a row dedicated to free content available onAmazon Prime Videoand other streaming services that you already pay for, such as Netflix orHulu– or the more recently-addedDisney Plus.
Fight fire with fire
The Fire TV platform powers a number of streaming devices, such as theFire TV Stick,Fire TV Stick 4K,Fire TV Cube, and television sets that come with the OS built-in.
It’s a smooth and zippysmart TVplatform, and for years now has made a great argument for replacing your TV’soperating systemwith a cheap streaming stick rather than upgrading to a new set entirely.
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The move towards free streaming, though, seems very much in the style of other major players in the streaming and smart TV industries.Roku streaming deviceshave offered a similar tab for some time now, while the quickly-expandingSamsung TV Plusenables anySamsung TVowners to access up to 120 free TV channels (depending on their nation of residence).
ViaThe Verge
Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.
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