Skip to main content

Amazon's first Fire Phone software update adds features that should have been there on day one

Amazon's first Fire Phone software update adds features that should have been there on day one

Share this story

It hasn't been that long since Amazon's first attempt at building a smartphone hit the market, but the company is already pushing out its first software update. Fire OS 3.5.1 doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does sound like it'll add a bit of polish to the brand-new OS. For starters, Amazon added a multitasking mode — double-tapping the home button now brings you to a "quick switch" menu to jump between apps or close them entirely. It's also now a bit easier to group together apps you use frequently thanks to "app grid collections" (a less confusing name might be app folders). You can also pin apps directly to the front of the ever-changing app carousel if you want to keep a few right near the top.

Amazon has also tweaked video sharing — users can now send high-resolution video through MMS and email. And while the Fire Phone's battery life was actually one of its stronger points, Amazon says that it'll now last longer thanks to "dozens of system updates." Of course, just about all of these features should have been included in the product on day one, but it's good to see Amazon working to get the device updated and start to add the refinement that's found in other smartphones.