Amazon Fire TV

Review by eFreeware

If you already own a Fire TV device, the Amazon Fire TV app is the companion piece that turns your phone into the second half of the setup. Amazon Mobile LLC built it for people who want to browse, search and start playback without hunting for the physical remote, and it is free to install with no ads and no in-app purchases attached. With more than 50 million installs and a 4.6 average across 628,691 ratings, it is clearly a familiar sight on Android phones.

What you get is a mix of control and discovery. The app lets you look through titles, receive recommendations, search across the services you use and keep a watchlist in shape, then push what you pick to the television. A mobile keyboard and voice search cover the typing side, and the same app is used when setting up a new Fire TV device.

Discovery that travels with you

The browsing side is where the app does the most work. You can look through movies and shows, and the recommendations are personalized rather than a generic chart, which matters if your household watches across several services. Searching spans those services from one place, so you are not opening each one in turn to find out where a title lives.

The watchlist is the part I would expect to get the most use. Amazon describes building and adjusting it in the moment, which suggests you can add something the instant you hear about it and sort out the details later. That is a small thing, but it is the difference between remembering a recommendation and losing it by the time you sit down.

Because the app works on a phone, this side of it is not tied to the couch. You can browse and shortlist while you are out, then start playback once you are back on the same network as the TV.

Text entry and voice search on the phone

Anyone who has typed a long title with a television remote knows the appeal of doing it on a phone instead. The app uses the mobile keyboard for text entry.

Voice search is the other half of that. Instead of spelling out a title, you speak it and let the app handle the lookup. Between the two, the fiddly parts of finding something on a TV are moved to a device that is better at accepting input.

The recent update adds settings for the remote portion, covering multi-tile swipe and a choice between classic and natural scrolling. Those are the details that decide whether a touch remote feels natural in your hand, and it is good to see them exposed rather than fixed.

Setting up a new Fire TV

Setup is the other job the app takes on. Amazon positions it as a way to get new Fire TV devices running quickly, which is the sort of task that is tedious on a TV interface and much less so on a phone. If you are adding a second television or replacing an old device, doing the initial work from the app is likely to be the smoother path.

This is also where the app's value compounds for a household rather than an individual. One phone can be the tool you reach for when a device needs configuring, and then stay useful afterward for browsing and launching.

What it needs before it does anything

The requirements are worth reading before you install, because they shape what the app can do for you. You need an Amazon account, and to launch content to a television the phone has to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the Fire TV. The app is a companion for the room you are in.

Amazon adds that certain features need a Fire TV device that supports them. The app is not a substitute for the device itself.

It costs nothing, and no advertising interrupts it. The app is built around Amazon's own ecosystem.

Suited to Fire TV households

The clearest fit is a household that already runs Fire TV hardware. If that is you, the app slots in as a second remote, a better keyboard and a place to plan what to watch. It is the kind of utility you install once and keep, and the install numbers suggest plenty of people have done exactly that.

It also suits anyone who shares a television with other people. Browsing and shortlisting on your own phone, then launching to the screen everyone is watching, avoids the awkward pass-the-remote phase of choosing something.

A companion app worth having if you own the hardware

It has been on Android since November 2014, and the latest update in October 2026 focused on remote settings, bug fixes and performance work, which is the sort of maintenance a control app needs to stay out of your way.

The recommendation is straightforward for one group: if you own a Fire TV device and an Amazon account, install it. The combination of cross-service search, a phone keyboard, voice input and the ability to push titles to the screen covers the annoying parts of using a television interface, and it costs nothing to try.

For everyone else, the app describes a specific role. It controls and complements Fire TV hardware.

What's new

• New remote settings: multi-tile swipe, classic or natural scrolling • Bug fixes and performance improvements