[12][13][14] The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connected high-definition television.

[21][22][23][24] The first Fire TV was made available for purchase in the US on the same day of the April 2014 announcement for US$99 and was launched with a video game called Sev Zero.

According to Amazon, the Fire TV was designed to outpace competitors like the Apple TV and Roku in performance: the 0.72-inch-thick box featured a 1.7 GHz quad-core CPU (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064), 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, along with a MIMO dual-band radio for 1080p streaming over 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and a 10/100 Ethernet connection and USB 2.0 port.

[8] Amazon released a second-generation Fire TV, codenamed "Sloane",[25] after the film love interest of Ferris Bueller,[27] in late 2015.

On October 20, 2016, Amazon released the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, codenamed "Tank".

[25][41] Other than the new remote, the updates include MediaTek MT8127D Quad-core ARM 1.3 GHz processor with a Mali-450 MP4 GPU, and support for the H.265 (HEVC) codec.

[42][non-primary source needed] In January 2019, the second-generation Fire TV Stick was re-issued with the updated remote from the 4K model.

Both models include similar internal hardware as the Fire TV Stick 4K, except for a maximum output resolution of 1080p and only 1 GB of RAM.

[54] Among the downsides: Content stored on a Recast cannot be viewed using other major streaming devices, such as Roku, Apple TV, or Chromecast, limiting its appeal;[54] it also never gained the ability to skip commercials during playback.

The devices support various Amazon-owned services, including Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, Amazon Freevee, MX Player, Amazon Music and Amazon Luna, as well as other major third-party services, including Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV, Curiosity Stream, Mubi, Dekkoo, Ameba TV, YuppTV, Chorki, Eros Now, the Apple TV app, ZEE5, SonyLIV, Crunchyroll, Crackle, DAZN, Dailymotion, Peacock, Hulu, Hotstar, Disney+, Tubi, Vimeo, Max, Discovery+, Joyn, Philo, Paramount+, JioCinema, Pluto TV, FuboTV, WOW Presents Plus, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Tidal, Audacy, BBC Sounds, Qello, Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, Xbox Cloud Gaming, AirConsole and others via Amazon Appstore.

[63] Dan Seifert from The Verge reviewed Fire TV on April 4, 2014, giving it an 8.8/10 rating and largely praising its functionality and future potential.

"[83] GeekWire editor Andy Liu's review is headlined "Amazon's Fire TV sets a new bar for streaming boxes.

"[84] Ars Technica praised the device for specifications that surpassed competitors, good build quality, and a microphone that works very well if you use Amazon content.