Amazon’s Fire TV Cube now lets you video chat on your TV

Amazon is making it easier for Fire TV owners to stay in touch with friends and families this holiday season.

What you need to know

• Amazon’s Fire TV Cube will soon support two-way video calling.
• The feature will be enabled with a software update that will begin rolling out over the coming weeks.
• Amazon has also announced that Fire TV owners can now receive doorbell camera notifications on their Fire TV screen.

Amazon today announced three new features that will soon be available on its Fire TV devices, including two-way video calling support on the Fire TV Cube (2019).

If you own a Fire TV Cube (2019), you can now make and receive hands-free Alexa video calls from your TV to other Alexa devices with a screen, including another Fire TV Cube, Echo Show, or the Alexa app on a smartphone or tablet. To get started, however, you will need a third-party webcam that supports at least 720p resolution at 30fps. Once you have connected a webcam, you will be able to make video calls using the remote or just your voice with Alexa.

Fire TV Cube owners can now have two-way video calls with any Alexa device with a screen (mobile, Fire Tablets, Echo Show, etc). Use the remote or the following utterances to make hands-free video calls:

• “Alexa, call Julie’s Echo”

When a call is active, you can then say:

• “Alexa, video on”
• “Alexa, answer”
• “Alexa, end call”

The feature will soon be available with a new software update to Fire TV Cube (2019) owners in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.

Amazon has also announced that Fire TV owners can now view Ring doorbell camera notifications on their Fire TV screen when the doorbell rings. To watch the security camera video on your screen, you can say, “Alexa, show me (Ring device name),” or “Alexa, talk to (Ring device name). Strangely, however, the feature won’t be available on the Fire TV Cube (2019).

Additionally, Alexa can now provide weather and other generation information on Fire TV devices on a partial screen overlay over full-screen video playback or the Fire TV browse screen background. Unlike the other two new features, this one will be available on all Fire TV devices, except for the 1st Gen Fire TV Stick and 1st Gen Fire TV.

Fire TV Stick 4K

$30 at Amazon

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K is among the most affordable 4K streaming devices you can buy. It includes support for HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, as well as Dolby Vision content. You also get an Alexa voice remote and Dolby Atmos support.