In these days of ubiquitous tech, having a way to stream your favorite content directly to your TV is a necessity, especially with all the top-notch content being put out by networks and streaming services. One of the most popular choices out there is the all-new Amazon Fire TV which gives viewers a 4K Ultra HD viewing experience, along with thousands of apps to choose from including favorites like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, SHOWTIME, Amazon Prime, and others that you may not be as familiar with. With the seemingly endless choices of music and video streaming, tech utilities, and even games, it can be hard to know where to start, though. That’s why we picked out eight apps that will help you make the most of your Fire TV and your streaming experience.
Sling TV
Sling TV lets you pick and choose which channels you want to subscribe to, which puts it at the forefront of the long-awaited a-la-carte streaming revolution. In addition to its substantial sports offerings — meaning you can still watch the big game without a cable subscription — it gives users the ability to pause and rewind live TV, not to mention a cloud-based DVR, so your personal life no longer has to conflict with your viewing habits.
Spotify
The widely popular streaming service offers up its 20 million song library to the Amazon Fire TV. Simply type in an artist, customize your own playlist, or browse its ‘Discovery’ option to bring your favorite music right into your living room. You can sweeten the deal with Spotify Connect, which lets you control your listening from your Android phone or tablet.
Vevo
Vevo is like YouTube, but exclusively for music videos, which lets you stay up-to-date on your favorite contemporary artists, as well as mine through hours of videos from years’ past. You can also create custom video playlists to help liven up your next house party or make your next deep-cleaning session a little bit more tolerable. As an added bonus, it has one of the best music discovery features out there, so you can find all sorts of new stuff while avoiding the inevitability of getting stuck in an endless loop of Billy Joel videos.
TuneIn Radio
TuneIn Radio offers more than 100,000 radio stations ranging from music to sports to talk radio and even podcasts. Along with scores of radio stations from across the country, its library also includes mainstays like NPR, BBC News, and TED Talks, and boasts a backlog of more than 2 million channels. You even have the option to favorite your most listened-to stations, DJs, radio shows, and even songs, putting what you love right at your fingertips.
NASA
With NASA’s Fire TV app you can check out hours of on-demand videos and view any of its thousands of hi-res images, live streaming content, mission updates, satellite tracking, Third Rock Radio webcasts, and much more. It’s basically a one-stop shop for all things happening at NASA, and you can have it beamed right to your living room.
Daily Burn
If getting (or staying) active is your thing, Daily Burn offers a new workout video every day of the year, not to mention its considerable on-demand library with workouts ranging from 15 minutes to over an hour. Designed for every skillset — from “I need start working out” to “mountains are for climbing!” — Daily Burn has on-screen prompts that act as a guide as you work through your workout and customizable fitness plans that are engineered to help you reach your goals.
Minecraft
The world’s most popular video game, Minecraft, is available to play directly from the Amazon Fire TV. A revolutionary way to play video games, Minecraft gives players a fully immersive digital sandbox that lets you explore, shape, and build its signature blocky world however you see fit. And with the Amazon Fire TV, you can do all this without a dedicated game console.
In addition to these apps, you can always check out Amazon.com to see the latest and best apps available for the all-new Amazon Fire TV, customizing your experience so you can get the most out of it.