Amazon is doubling down on conversational AI and lifestyle TVs with two marquee moves: a browser-based Alexa+ chatbot to compete with ChatGPT on the web, and Ember Artline, a matte-finish QLED that challenges Samsung’s Frame. The company is also introducing a cleaner, faster Fire TV interface that will unify the experience across search, streaming and smart home.
Alexa.com Launches Alexa+ For The Browser
Alexa.com: you’ll get Amazon’s new assistant in a complete chat interface, right inside your browser. Imagine the flexibility you might seek from ChatGPT or Gemini, but spliced with Alexa’s power to command devices, maintain lists and act on your behalf. According to Amazon, the argument is simple: unlock all of Alexa+ at a touch, no Echo need apply.
In a more practical application, you can ask about a dinner recipe, store it in your recipe library and bring it up on an Echo Show when you’re cooking. It is capable of adding these items to your shopping list or throwing them directly into Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods carts. When you upload documents to Alexa+, it can pull dates out of them, generate calendar events or keep information for future reference (a pet’s vaccination history, a contractor’s estimate, etc.).
A chat window pops up next to a dedicated smart home panel where you can view cameras, unlock a door and adjust lights or thermostats without exiting apps. Recommendations also include entertainment, surfacing Fire TV content with direct deep links to watch.
Early access to Alexa.com is available via the web or the Alexa mobile app to Alexa+ Early Access members. Prime members are eligible for early access and nonmembers can sign up for Alexa+ at $19.99 a month, according to Amazon.
The web launch is a turning point: assistants break free from speakers or phones. Amazon’s bet is that by taking Alexa+ into the browser, users can shop and compare all in a place where they were already doing research or planning, then link that intent to its sprawling retail, streaming and smart home universe.
Fire TV UI Becomes Faster And More Personal
Fire TV is receiving a redesign that prioritizes speed and ease of use. Amazon says that the new UI is cleaner and has better organization, and it looks more contemporary thanks to rounded corners, new gradients, and more white space overall. The redesign is meant to make the time from picking up a remote and pressing play even faster.
Two quality-of-life changes stand out. First, you’re now able to pin 20 apps to the home screen, up from six — a change that should please streamers who rely on numerous services. Second, category tabs focused on movies, TV, sports and news surface titles from apps you already subscribe to (before the rest of it).
And long-pressing the Home button triggers a shortcut panel for frequently used settings. Amazon will launch the redesign first for Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series, followed by other Fire TV-powered sets from partners like Hisense, Insignia, Panasonic and TCL, as well as the Fire TV mobile app.
The tighter integration with Alexa.com is intentional. You can ask the web chatbot for suggestions and watch right on the big screen immediately — a logical maneuver, as streaming now represents more than 50% of U.S. TV usage, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge.
Ember Artline Targets The Samsung Frame TV Crowd
The new Ember Artline TV at Amazon takes a direct shot at The Frame, a wall-friendly look that turned Samsung’s model into the company’s best-seller. The set has a 4K QLED panel with a matte display to minimize reflections, and magnetic, swappable bezels available in 10 different colors like ash, black oak, fig, graphite, matte white, midnight blue, pale gold (pictured), silver teak and walnut.
Art mode is central. Customers can show photos from Amazon Photos or select any of 2,000 curated art pieces, and Alexa+ can suggest a piece based on photos taken in your room. Ambient device-like Omnisense tech turns off the ambient display when people enter and on when they leave, to balance aesthetics with power use.
On paper, Ember Artline is a Dolby Vision and HDR10+ compatible party, packs Wi-Fi 6 for better wireless connectivity, and sports far-field microphones for hands-free Alexa+. It is available in sizes from 55 to 65 inches and starts at $899, with one magnetic frame included. Along with the launch comes the aggregation of Amazon’s TV lineup into a unified brand: Amazon Ember.
The pitch is simple: if the buyers love artwork-first design, great, but smash that together with Alexa+ and Fire TV for a more capable living room hub. With Samsung’s years-long head start on premium lifestyle sets, analysts at outfits including Omdia have said how design-forward models can help sell upgrades; Amazon is betting a tighter value story will attract that crowd.
Why This Matters For AI, Streaming, And Smart Homes
Amazon’s moves bundle three vectors of change into a single strategy: conversational AI as an everyday utility, streaming as the central TV experience, and the TV set itself as décor. If Alexa.com can marry chatbot fluency with off-screen doings — shopping, scheduling, device-controlling — that starting point could sum up a good many of our quotidian duties.
The company still faces familiar obstacles: trust, privacy concerns and subscription fatigue. But by bolting together AI, commerce and entertainment into experiences that travel from the web to TV to your smart home, Amazon is setting a high bar for rivals — and ensuring that the next tap or voice query takes place within its empire.
