Amazon Is Making Alexa+ Free on These TVs.
It’s 2026, which means every tech company needs its own AI service—often, of course, a subscription. For Amazon, that’s Alexa+, officially launched earlier this year . Its capabilities are comparable to other intelligent AI platforms, such as Gemini: you can ask Alexa+ more complex questions and queries than regular Alexa, but you can still use it to control your smart home. However, Alexa+ is mostly available for a fee: if you have Prime, you get Alexa+; if not, you need to pay $19.99. That’s a pretty steep price for Amazon users without a Prime subscription.
Now, things are changing, depending on your TV. On Wednesday, Amazon announced a new initiative to offer Alexa+ for free on compatible Fire TV devices. The company claims that millions of customers already use Alexa+ on their Fire TVs, and while it doesn’t specify, I’d guess the vast majority of them are Prime members. It appears Amazon is trying to fill a gap in its user base by offering Alexa+ to Fire TV users without a Prime subscription.
What does Alexa+ look like on Fire TV?
Amazon claims that Alexa+ provides a “more intelligent and interactive voice experience” than the original Alexa. Alexa+ understands context better than its predecessor, meaning it should be able to answer more detailed and complex questions. Amazon also claims that the assistant remembers your preferences and makes more relevant recommendations.
According to Amazon, Fire TV users interact with the bot almost twice as often as they interact with Alexa. Amazon believes this is because Alexa+ understands questions better. The company claims its latest AI assistant can return results from “tens of millions” of movies, TV shows, and sports programs, without having to manually scroll through them. For example, Amazon recommends asking Alexa+ something like, “Recommend me a top-rated thriller.” If these results don’t quite meet your expectations, the company suggests searching for “something newer” or “with a female lead.” Alexa wasn’t designed for these kinds of conversations, but Amazon says Alexa+’s contextual awareness makes it possible.
While Alexa+ focuses on entertainment, it’s also a smart home assistant. You can ask Alexa+ to transfer a show or movie to another Fire TV in your home, access live streams from security cameras, run scenes and schedules, control individual smart devices, check the weather, and set timers.
Which Fire TV devices are compatible with the free version of Alexa+?
According to Amazon, not all Fire TVs are eligible for free Alexa+ activation. At the time of announcement, free Alexa+ will only be automatically available for current-generation Fire TV devices, including the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, Amazon Ember smart TVs, and other smart TVs with built-in Alexa+ (such as those from Hisense and Panasonic). However, Amazon hints that it may add support for more devices over time. The full list, according to Amazon’s help page, is as follows :
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Panasonic W95
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Panasonic Z85A
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Panasonic Z95A
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Panasonic Z95B
Amazon claims you don’t need to activate anything or download an app: your TV will soon support Alexa+ natively. However, if you want to use Alexa+ on other Amazon products, you’ll need to either subscribe to the platform or sign up for Prime.