Looks Like Amazon Has a New Fire TV Box on the Way

Amazon’s Fire TV box has now been out of stock for at least two weeks. And all signs point toward the current version never returning.

Since at least the middle of the month, customers looking to buy the $99 Fire TV box have been greeted by a vague out-of-stock message: “We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock,” as Variety reported earlier. It’s not uncommon for Amazon to go out of stock on its own products. But it is rare when it’s more than a year after the product launched and the company says it’s not sure if the product will ever be back.

The most logical explanation is that Amazon has a new box on the way, and that’s what industry observers believe. What’s unclear is whether Amazon is planning a minor revamp or a significant upgrade, as Apple is expected to show off with a new Apple TV box next week.

An Amazon rep didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Fire TV box costs $99 — or at least it did when Amazon was selling it. Amazon introduced the box in the spring of 2014 as an alternative to Apple TV and Roku, which all stream movies and shows from the Internet onto TVs. Amazon later introduced a $34 Fire TV stick, which plugs into a USB port on a TV, similar to Google’s Chromecast device. Amazon continues to market the low-priced Fire TV stick aggressively, including in a sponsorship of the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via