If you own an Amazon Fire TV device, whether that be the Fire TV or the Fire TV stick, Amazon is updating the software on both to version 5.0.5.1 which brings in a focus on giving users quicker access to applications. Also in this latest software update, it seems Amazon has been aware of the amount of sideloaded apps that users have been putting onto their devices and wants to make the experience of finding them that much easier than it apparently has been prior to this update. While sideloading apps may be easy for some but difficult for others, it sounds as if finding them on the device is not as simple as navigating through the apps which are downloaded straight from the app store on either product.
Essentially, getting to all of your applications can now be done through a simple double tap of the home button on the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick remote. With the most recent software update Amazon has initiated this as a quick shortcut, however you can still go about accessing all of your installed applications through the standard method that has always been available. This is of course does not go for the third-party apps which have been sideloaded onto the device.
The good news is that as mentioned above, the software update that Amazon is now pushing out to those devices includes a new and much easier way of finding the apps which users hae manualy installed from other outside sources. If you enter into the recent apps menu, there should be a new visible option for “manually installed applications.” You may not have a lot of third-party apps which have been sideloaded, but all that could be all the more reason why getting to sideloaded apps in a simpler way is such a nice inclusion for many users, as they only have one and getting to it prior to this update could always have been a hassle. Since Amazon is currently rolling the software update out as of today, various users likely already have it, but if it hasn’t shown up on your device yet, not to worry, as it shouldn’t be long before you get the notification to install it.