Amazon’s largest Hearth TV replace but is lastly right here

At CES 2026, Amazon made three massive Hearth TV bulletins, together with its new Ember Artline TV sequence and a revamped Hearth TV cellular app that is coming quickly. However arguably the most important reveal was {that a} utterly redesigned Hearth TV consumer interface (UI) is on the way in which, constructed to make the platform quicker and simpler to make use of. Now, that new Hearth TV expertise is lastly right here.

Amazon has formally begun rolling out its new Hearth TV UI within the US, with the Hearth TV Stick 4K Plus, Hearth TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), and Hearth TV Omni Mini-LED Collection among the many first units to obtain the replace.

The largest change you may discover between the outdated and new Hearth TV UI is the format. The navigation bar that used to sit down in the course of your display, alongside along with your pinned apps, has been moved to the highest. Your pinned apps now dwell solely on the house display, and you’ll pin as much as 20 apps you often use, an enormous soar from the earlier restrict of six.

Within the redesigned navigation bar on the prime of the display, you may now discover eight choices: Menu, Search, Residence, and devoted tabs for Films, TV Exhibits, Sports activities, Information, and Dwell TV.

“We have redesigned the Hearth TV UI to be cleaner, quicker, and higher organized — serving to prospects spend much less time looking out and extra time watching,” Amazon defined in a blog post. “The brand new UI has a extra fashionable design with improved layouts, rounded corners, redesigned shade gradients, up to date typography, and extra optimized spacing.”

The brand new Hearth TV UI additionally improves efficiency

There’s additionally a brand new foremost menu and shortcut panel

Credit score: Amazon

Past the refreshed dwelling display and redesigned menus, one of many largest modifications on this replace is not one thing you may discover by simply taking a look at it — you may discover it if you begin utilizing it, and that is improved efficiency throughout the board.

Whereas rebuilding the UI, Amazon says it additionally rewrote a lot of Hearth TV’s underlying code to higher optimize the expertise and make all the things really feel quicker. Based on Amazon, the brand new interface delivers efficiency good points of as much as 20-30 %. To date, in my temporary time testing the brand new UI, it has been extremely easy.

Credit score: Amazon

Transferring again to the design, there are additionally two different key additions value noting. The primary is a brand new Menu, which you’ll entry both by urgent the Menu button in your distant or by choosing the three-line icon within the prime navigation bar. From there, you may discover fast entry to Films and TV, Video games, Arts & Images, the Appstore, your watchlist, Ambient Expertise, your Good Residence controls, and your Hearth TV Settings.

The second is a redesigned shortcut panel. Once you maintain down the Residence button in your distant, a brand new quick-access menu seems on the right-hand facet of the display. Amazon describes it as a approach to “provide you with fast entry to the most-used controls on Hearth TV,” together with audio and show settings, accessibility choices, and sensible dwelling machine administration, akin to Ring cameras.

Tips on how to replace to the brand new Hearth TV UI

Extra Hearth TV units will get the replace this spring

In case you have a Hearth TV Stick 4K Plus (previously Hearth TV Stick 4K), a Hearth TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), or a Hearth TV Omni Mini-LED Collection, you possibly can obtain the replace now for those who’re within the US without cost. Here is how:

1. Go to the Hearth TV dwelling display and navigate to Settings.

2. Choose My Hearth TV.

3. Select About.

4. Scroll down and choose Examine for Updates.

5. The replace will then start downloading. As soon as it is full, you may see an choice to restart your Hearth TV and set up the replace. After it is executed putting in, you may then be capable to begin utilizing the brand new Hearth TV UI.

Within the spring, Amazon says its new Hearth TV UI will roll out to extra international locations and units, just like the Hearth TV Stick 4K Choose, Hearth TV 2-Collection, Hearth TV 4-Collection, Hearth TV Omni QLED Collection, and the brand new Ember Artline TVs.

I’ve solely had a short while to check the brand new UI, however thus far I am having fun with it. Essentially the most spectacular side at this level is the efficiency. I am testing it on a Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, and the expertise is buttery easy. I have not encountered any lag or stutter whereas navigating the brand new menus, and all the things hundreds shortly. When it comes to design, I have not had any bother discovering something, and I do like what number of pinned apps you possibly can have on the house display now. I am going to have extra to say on the brand new UI as soon as I’ve had longer to check it, however total, my impressions are constructive.