If you are a Sling TV subscriber with an Amazon Fire TV, you will now see an all-new UI. While the new experience has been rolling out to subscribers over the past month, all Fire TV users will see it on their devices starting today.
Last month, we got an early look of what will ultimately be a redesigned Sling TV app across all major platforms, which focuses on simpler navigation, better personalization, an improved grid guide, and easier access to your content. Following the launch on Fire TV, it will come to Roku devices later this summer, and others like Apple TV and Android TV to follow.
You can read our full review here.
Currently, Sling TV is offering new users $25 OFF their first month of service, meaning you can stream it for just $10 for your first month, perfect for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or to try the new app.
When you first open the new Sling TV Fire TV app, you’ll be taken to “Home”, which has been renamed from “My TV”. Immediately, you’ll notice that everything just pops just a bit more. The new app has much more vibrant images representing shows, with top and trending channels now appearing prominently at the top.
My favorite change to the overall interface is the more intuitive way to navigate around the app. In the old Sling TV app, there were tabs across the top with access to “Guide”, “Sports”, “On-Demand”, and “Search.” In the new app, however, navigation shifts to the left side of the screen, with the addition of a “DVR” button in place of “Sports.”
This subtle addition of the “DVR” button is a game-changer. Previously, you had to scroll to a “My DVR” section on the home screen to access your recordings, now it is just one click away.
When we asked Sling TV users in February for their most requested feature, they told us that they wanted a new “Grid Guide.” Some of the elements they brought in from their improved guide on Apple TV from last year, like the ability to quickly mark a channel as a favorite.
Just like the entire interface as a whole, the new “Grid Guide” is also much more readable from a distance. The new “Grid Guide” adds in a few additional features, like the ability to see the description of what’s airing on a channel while scrolling and quicker access to categories like “A-Z”, “Favorites”, “Recents”, and “Sports” along the top. Previously, there was a “Filter” pop-up to access some of these categories.