Amazon have refreshed their range of Fire TV and Tablet devices to fight off the competition from rivals.
Fire TV
The new Fire TV box boasts 4K support and a new Quad Core processor that claims to be 75% more powerful than the last box.
Amazon have improved the processing of streams in both the Fire TV and the new Fire TV Stick, adding High Efficiency Video Coding to help those who have slower internet connections as well as helping bring the 4K stream to homes.
With Micro SD support to add storage and a Gaming edition (US only) that comes bundled with free games and a special joypad, it’s clear Amazon are gunning for the new Apple TV, announced last week.
The Fire TV Stick now comes with voice support in the remote and Alexa, Amazon’s answer to Siri, Cortana and Google Now.
The prices are £79.99 for the standard edition, but unlike the US, there doesn’t seem to be a gaming edition and £44.99 for the Fire TV Stick.
Fire Tablets
Meanwhile the new Fire HD 8 and 10 inch tablets and a new kids version have launched alongside the boxes, as has a cheaper Fire Tablet to capture the growing lower end of the market.
The lower end Fire Tablet boasts a 1024 x 600 IPS display with 171 ppi, not the greatest but certainly competitive for the £49.99 price point, alongside a 2mp camera and 720p video recording.
The 8-inch tablet’s resolution is 1280 x 800 and comes with an IPS display.
It has a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8135 processor with 1GB of RAM.  There are 8GB and 16GB storage options but these can be boosted with microSD cards up to 128GB.
Amazon have added to the sound quality with new Dolby Atmos stereo speakers which will work well with its wealth of video content through Amazon Prime Video and the many other apps that the tablets support.
It’s not going to worry other tablets with its cameras, though, only managing a 1.3MP front camera and a 5MP rear camera, though the rear is capable of recording 1080p video.
There are a choice of colours for the 8 inch model and prices start at £129.99 for the 8GB model.  We’ll need to wait for Amazon to release UK prices to see how favourably they translate.
In addition to the 8 inch model, the new flagship Fire HD 10 is Amazon’s first attempt at a 10 inch tablet (actually measuring 10.1 inches).
The display is still 1280 x 800 resolution IPS display and it’s powered by the same processor as the 8 inch with the same 1GB of RAM available. 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage are available, alongside support for MicroSD.
The 10 inch model has a keyboard accessory being made available in October which should help Amazon try to compete against those using their tablets for office tasks.
The larger Fire HD 10 is priced at £169.99 with the keyboard case coming in at £99 and an additional power pack for £19.99.
The new tablets support an all-new Amazon Underground feature, a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over $10,000 in apps, games and even in-app items are actually free – including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs and more
Both tablets will be available in the US on 30th September and while the prices are great, they’re not quite as good as those in the US. Â Somewhere along the line Amazon have raised the prices for the UK market.
