PROS
- Backlight
- TV controls
- Remote finder
- Customisable buttons
CONS
- Expensive
- Has to be purchase separately
- Disappointing headphone button
Along with releasing the all-new 3rd-Gen Fire TV Cube, Amazon has made several significant announcements. One is a new premium remote, the Alexa Voice Remote Pro. It’s exciting to see that Amazon has added two highly-requested features, a remote finder and a backlight. And, if you purchase the new Fire TV Cube with a new Alexa voice remote pro, you will receive the new, premium remote. However, right now, the pro remote does not ship with any other Fire TV devices. So, if you want it, you must purchase it separately.
Table of Contents
Alexa Voice Remote Pro - What's New?
It feels like Amazon is listening to their users. The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro comes with several new features that many of us have requested for a long time.
Backlighting
NVIDIA implemented this technology a few years back with the release of the Shield TV. So, although not new to some of us, it’s the first time we see this type of technology in any Fire TV device. Thanks to the remote’s motion detection sensor, its buttons will now light up when you pick it up. So if you have found yourself watching TV late at night, having the remote respond by lighting up is helpful!
Remote Finder
I don’t know about you, but the times in my home when the remote mysteriously disappears are constant. With the new remote finder feature that has been added to the Alexa Voice Remote Pro, hunting for the remote will be a thing of the past. Again, this is not new technology, as already seen in Roku’s Voice Remote.
You can activate the new finder feature in one of two ways. Either by pressing a button on your Fire TV mobile phone app or, if you own an Echo/Alexa device, say to Alexa, “Alexa, find my remote”.
The Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s built-in speaker will start beeping, helping you quickly find it in the room.
Customisable Buttons
2021 saw the addition of shortcut buttons to Fire TV remotes. So, although shortcut buttons are not a new feature, we were limited by what they could do. For example, in the US version of the remote, Amazon added four shortcut buttons for quick access to Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. Great if these are your go-to apps, but if not, these buttons go unused at the bottom of the remote.
Although these buttons still exist on the new Alexa Voice Remote Pro, Amazon has added two new customisable buttons. These buttons allow the user to personalise the remote by programming them to create one-touch shortcuts. These shortcuts can be to favourite apps, channels, and any action Alexa can perform.
For example, you will now be able to program a button to have Alexa switch your smart lights on or off. You can even program a button to start an entire Alexa routine for a selection of actions that take place all at once.
Even more Buttons
The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro also has a dedicated headphone button. Selecting this button will take you directly to the Bluetooth menu on the Fire TV, where you can pair (or unpair) compatible Bluetooth headphones. However, I feel Amazon has missed a trick here. Other companies, such as Roku’s Voice Remote, have Private Listening mode (that lets you route the TV’s audio to your earphones via the Roku mobile app). Now would have been a great time for Amazon to implement a new feature like this with its first pro remote. Hopefully, we will see this feature in future remote releases.
Amazon has also added a button (cog icon) that will take you directly to the settings. And channel buttons allow you to move up or down between live channels.
It feels like Amazon is listening to their users. The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro comes with several new features that many of us have requested for a long time.
Backlighting
NVIDIA implemented this technology a few years back with the release of the Shield TV. So, although not new to some of us, it’s the first time we see this type of technology in any Fire TV device. Thanks to the remote’s motion detection sensor, its buttons will now light up when you pick it up. So if you have found yourself watching TV late at night, having the remote respond by lighting up is helpful!
Remote Finder
I don’t know about you, but the times in my home when the remote mysteriously disappears are constant. With the new remote finder feature that has been added to the Alexa Voice Remote Pro, hunting for the remote will be a thing of the past. Again, this is not new technology, as already seen in Roku’s Voice Remote.
You can activate the new finder feature in one of two ways. Either by pressing a button on your Fire TV mobile phone app or, if you own an Echo/Alexa device, say to Alexa, “Alexa, find my remote”.
The Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s built-in speaker will start beeping, helping you quickly find it in the room.
Customisable Buttons
2021 saw the addition of shortcut buttons to Fire TV remotes. So, although shortcut buttons are not a new feature, we were limited by what they could do. For example, in the US version of the remote, Amazon added four shortcut buttons for quick access to Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. Great if these are your go-to apps, but if not, these buttons go unused at the bottom of the remote.
Although these buttons still exist on the new Alexa Voice Remote Pro, Amazon has added two new customisable buttons. These buttons allow the user to personalise the remote by programming them to create one-touch shortcuts. These shortcuts can be to favourite apps, channels, and any action Alexa can perform.
For example, you will now be able to program a button to have Alexa switch your smart lights on or off. You can even program a button to start an entire Alexa routine for a selection of actions that take place all at once.
Even more Buttons
The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro also has a dedicated headphone button. Selecting this button will take you directly to the Bluetooth menu on the Fire TV, where you can pair (or unpair) compatible Bluetooth headphones. However, I feel Amazon has missed a trick here. Other companies, such as Roku’s Voice Remote, have Private Listening mode (that lets you route the TV’s audio to your earphones via the Roku mobile app). Now would have been a great time for Amazon to implement a new feature like this with its first pro remote. Hopefully, we will see this feature in future remote releases.
Amazon has also added a button (cog icon) that will take you directly to the settings. And channel buttons allow you to move up or down between live channels.
Wrapping Up
The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro will be released in the US on November 16, 2022, costing $34.99. The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro is compatible with most Fire TV devices, except for the 1st/2nd generation Fire TV boxes and the 1st generation Fire TV Stick.
