Software and security updates are important for devices as we all know, except that not all manufacturers are that generous with them beyond the standard two years. A lot of OEMs however have started improving on this especially since consumers are more likely to stick with their devices rather than upgrade every other year. Amazon may now be the most generous of the lot as they are offering at least four years of security updates to its Fire TV devices from 2016 and onwards.
Without much fanfare, they announced that they will be offering four years of software security update for almost all of its Fire TV devices. The only ones not getting this deal are the first-generation Fire TV and Fire TV Stick that launched back in 2014 and 2015. But all other devices including the 2016 Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Recast, Fire TV smart TVs, and even those from third-party manufacturers like Toshiba, TCL, and Insignia, are eligible for at least four years of updates.
The even better news is that it may even be beyond that. The “countdown” for the update starts “after the device is last available for purchase”. So on paper, at least all of these devices are guaranteed software security updates “at least through” 2025 but there’s the possibility that they can go beyond that. So if you’re not planning on buying a new Fire TV device in the next four years or so, you are assured that your device will have updated software.
Google only has a standard two-year guarantee of major software updates and then extending security updates a year or so later. Samsung last year announced that they are extending it to four years, at least for the security updates. Amazon doing four years and beyond will be good news especially as smart TVs and smart TV platforms can definitely last beyond four years without needing to upgrade to the newest model, unlike with smartphones that may have users change theirs more often.
Amazon Fire TV devices may have an underlying Android platform underneath but Amazon has complete control of the Fire TV platform. So it’s easier for them to push updates four years and beyond as long as they don’t need to upgrade the Android parts of it.
