Your Fire TV Stick gets an unmissable upgrade next month from Amazon

Anyone with a recent Amazon Fire TV Stick popped in the back of their television will be able to treat themselves to a new and improved remote control next month. The online retailer has just announced the launch of its Alexa Voice Remote Pro which offers numerous improvements over what usually ships inside the packaging. For a start, there are now backlit keys which makes trying to spot the volume button or hitting the channel list far easier at night.

The premium accessory also gets an in-built Remote Finder alarm which can be activated when it disappears down the side of the sofa.

Should the worse happen and you can’t track it down, users simply have to shout “Alexa, find my remote” or use the dedicated Remote Finder button in the Fire TV app, and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s built-in speaker will emit an audible ring to attract your attention. This siren is something that devices from firms such as Sky have had for a while so it’s nice to see Amazon now adding it.

Another bonus of the Pro remote are two new customisable buttons which Amazon says will make getting to favourite content and Alexa commands quicker and easier.

Owners will be able to can personalise their remote by programming these buttons to create one-touch shortcuts to favourite apps, channels, and anything Alexa can do.

For example, it’s possible to choose to program a button to have Alexa dim the lights, check the weather, or start an Alexa Routine for movie night.

Of course, you still get dedicated buttons for the most popular streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video and there’s a dedicated headphone button that gives quick access to the Bluetooth menu where favourite audio device can be paired.

If all that sounds enticing then Alexa Voice Remote Pro will arrive in November although at £34.99 it’s certainly not cheap.

It is compatible with most Fire TV streaming media players, Amazon Fire TV smart TVs, and Smart TVs with Fire TV built-in.

Along with that Alexa Voice Remote Pro, Amazon is also launching a new Fire TV Cube. This set-top box has had a design refresh and also gets more power under its shell. In fact, there’s a new octa-core chipset that Amazon says is roughly 20 percent faster than the previous generation.

Not only will that make scrolling and lauching apps feel faster but this new chipset also enables the so-called Super Resolution Upscaling, which converts High Definition (HD) pictures into razor-sharp 4K Ultra HD for better detail, contrast and clarity.

On the rear of the device are USB and HDMI input ports which offer more ways to plug in external devices such as USB drives and webcams for video calls

Amazon has also added a HDMI input, so you can plug games consoles and set-top boxes into the Fire TV Cube. This means you’ll have the same number of HDMI ports as you did before you plugged in the Fire TV Cube – handy if you’re struggling to juggle multiple gadgets at the back of your telly

“The all-new Fire TV Cube is a big step forward for Fire TV—it’s the fastest, most powerful, and most versatile streaming media player we’ve ever made,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “This Fire TV Cube’s powerful processing and Wi-Fi 6E support deliver an incredibly smooth streaming experience, and HDMI input means you can instantly extend the simplicity of Fire TV and hands-free Alexa control to your home entertainment system.”