Every year at about this time a flood of emails come in asking about new streaming players for the Christmas shopping season. This year I decided to post about them to address the hundreds of emails and messages we get every year.
So, will we get a new Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, or Android TV for Christmas? The answer is almost certainly. The only question is what will be released.
Apple TV
Will we be getting an Apple TV this year? Sadly, probably not. It has only been a year since Apple released the Apple TV 4K in September 2017. Recently Apple has gone 2 years between streaming players, so we do not expect a new Apple TV until sometime in 2019 at the earliest.
Fire TV
Right now, Amazon has started to put the Fire TV 3 and Fire TV stick on sale in a way that is consistent with a new Fire TV coming out this year. Typically, about a month before the announcement of a new Fire TV, Amazon will start to clear stock of the current model. Right now, the Fire TV 3 is marked as being out of stock until September 22. That is also typical of Amazon to put some far-out date and before that date happens they release a new Fire TV, replacing the current model.
So, what can we expect? Typically, Amazon has had two Fire TV models. For the last few months, there has been three with the launch of the Fire TV Cube. Now it is possible Amazon will have three versions of the Fire TV. It is also possible Amazon will replace the Fire TV 3 and Fire TV Stick with a single new device.
For now, we can say it looks very likely a new Fire TV will be announced in the next two months or so.
Roku
Roku has also started to clear out stock of their Roku players. Recently the Roku Ultra saw a price drop to $89 at Amazon and Walmart. The Roku Stick and Roku Stick+ have both been at all time lows of $39.99 and $54.
Roku has also released a new or updated line of streaming players every fall for the last few years. So, it is looking very likely that a new or at least slightly updated line of Roku players is coming later this fall.
Android TV
We can confirm that several Android TV devices are in the works including an Android TV-powered soundbar and a new Android TV set-top box. Sadly, though no word on any new or updated versions of the Mi box or Nvidia Shield, the two flagship Android TV players.
Keep an eye out for more Android TV–powered TVs next January at CES. We expect to see more Android TV–powered Sony TVs and maybe a few other TV manufacturers joining in on the Android TV smart TVs.
What new streaming player are you most excited about? Leave us a comment and let us know.
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