WTF is the Amazon Fire TV Cube?

WELCOME TO THE CUBE

You once had to get off of your backside to change TV channels. Imagine! Now, you tell tiny remotes what you want to watch. But if even that is too much effort, there’s Amazon’s Fire TV Cube ($120), due for release on 21 June in the US (and likely shortly thereafter elsewhere).

OLD SCHOOL, NEW SCHOOL

There’s a remote in the box for Luddites, and a speaker for interacting with the Cube when your telly’s off. Mostly, though, you’ll bellow at the thing to have it switch shows and inputs, adjust the volume, and interact with Alexa.

THE VOICE

So via the power of your voice alone, you’ll be able to watch Preacher, peruse sports scores and weather forecasts, turn up the heating, and gorge on trailers for movies playing at nearby cinemas.

THIRD DIMENSION

Although the last of those is probably redundant, because with a Cube attached to your telly, you may never need to leave the sofa again.

SMART BOX

What’s more, many apps including Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access, SHOWTIME, NBC, and others have integrated even further with Alexa, which will allow you to browse, search, and change channels within supported apps. The Cube is getting smarter all the time.