Amazon will soon be pushing out an update to its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick streamers that'll make the devices a bit more desirable, especially to frequent travelers and those living outside of the US.
As part of the free, over-the-air update, Fire TV owners will be able to attach a USB hard drive to Amazon's set-top box for added storage should the internal 8GB not be enough. It'll also deliver captive portal support for both the set-top box and HDMI stick meaning users will be able to connect to Wi-Fi that requires web authentication like in a hotel room or on some college campuses.
Amazon is further adding support for wireless Bluetooth headphones to Fire TV to enable private listening. Similar to the Roku 3's popular feature, users will be able to watch their favorite shows or movies after hours without disturbing others.
Rounding out the update are a new series of shortcuts, hidden PIN entry and the ability to browse and search Prime playlists.
Amazon's Fire TV Stick, meanwhile, is expanding to Austria, Germany and the UK. Pre-orders are now open with units shipping out starting April 15.
Amazon launched its Fire TV set-top box last April. Priced in line with the competition at $99, the box is powered by a quad-core processor alongside 2GB of RAM and plenty of connectivity options. The company's HDMI dongle arrived in October at a cheaper price point of $39. The two devices essentially do the same thing although the speedier hardware in the box will equate to an overall smoother experience.
The update for both devices will be available in the coming weeks.