Category: Buying GuidesFire TV Stick 4K Review: Amazon Model
The Fire TV Stick 4K is a media streamer that Amazon was supposed to have released many years ago.
Smarter as compared to a Roku and much less expensive than an Apple TV, the latest $50 streaming device provides 4K HDR video in all possible formats at the same time while outperforming Amazon’s most costly Fire TV Cube ($120) and Third Generation Fire TV ($70), no more coming.
It even rectifies the weirdest mistakes of old Fire TV models by incorporating TV volume and power controls on its remote control.
Pros
Supports 4K Streaming
Speedy user interface
Fantastic variety of content
Amazon Alexa Voice Assistance
Cons
UI Biased towards Amazon
Performance varies between applications
Our Verdict
The addition of 4K support makes the new Fire TV Stick a brilliant option for all your streaming needs – although a lack of equity across different stages means that Amazon hasn’t quite achieved excellence yet.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Design and Voice Remote
If you have used the previous Amazon Fire TV Stick before, you’ll perceive that the latest version has not brought about many changes in terms of design.
Approximately 99mm x 30mm x 14mm, the Fire TV Stick 4K is as modest and compact as ever, designed to plug directly into the HDMI 2.2 port on your TV. The stick itself is quite wider than a normal HDMI cable, so Amazon has incorporated a male-to-female HDMI extender cable if you have difficulty putting it in.
Amazon says the extender cable can even be used to make better WiFi connection and performance of remote control.
The exterior of the Fire TV Stick 4K is mostly the same as compared to the previous model, but now it features the Amazon arrow logo with no text. The interior of the Fire TV Stick 4K comprises of 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip and a 1.7GHz quad-core processor just like the previous one, but now certainly, the Fire TV Stick has support for 4K, in addition to Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
On the side of the Fire TV Stick 4K, you’ll locate a micro-USB port to join the power adaptor.
Now on to the remote; the major modification here is that it now has volume buttons and a power button. The lack of ability to change the volume using the previous model’s remote was a fussy point for many users, who found it irritating to frequently switch between it and their TV’s remote, or request Alexa to change the volume.
The remote consequently can now be used to change the volume on your TV, AV receiver, or soundbar, which is extremely handy.
Like the previous model, you’ll still find a microphone button at the top of the remote, which can be used to call upon Alexa without having to say “Alexa” before each command you give.
Fire TV OS
The Fire TV experience is normally reliable across all Fire TV devices, from the non-4 K Fire TV Stick to the Fire TV Cube Fire Edition TV. The main menu is set in large rows of apps and media, mutually organized and suggested by Amazon. Suggestions are extremely Amazon-centric, but ample third-party apps and services are available, and the content search function aggregates across Amazon and a number of those third parties.
Apple and Google services are clearly not present on Fire TV, but almost every other big video name is there including Crackle, Crunchyroll, HBO Go, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Twitch, and Vudu. YouTube doesn’t have its own app, but appreciation and thanks to the Firefox and Silk Web browsers on Fire TV as they provide you with a similar experience through a YouTube shortcut that loads the web version of the service using a lean-back interface alike the Android TV and Roku apps.
Amazon Alexa
Using the remote to control the Fire TV Stick 4K is correspondingly unproblematic, and the Amazon Alexa-powered voice search functionality is speedy and precise when you’re using apps like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
Yet, voice search does not work with every app on the service – UK viewers will see that they cannot use it with BBC iPlayer, which implies you have to physically type search terms within the app. Additionally, you won’t be able to use your voice to go to the subsequent episode on many apps that even support voice control, which is a little irritating.
Another issue we discovered with voice search is that when you do any action that the Fire TV Stick 4K is not capable of supporting, no matter what content you are going through vanishes, and you have to then select it all over again from within the app or Fire TV homepage to begin it up.
But the voice search is normally extremely fine, and you can also use voice commands to turn your TV on, control your smart devices, and view live camera feeds from well-suited smart security cameras on your TV, which is actually helpful.
In broad-spectrum, the search functionality is enhanced than the previous model, as you can now look up shows by actor and particularly for 4K content, along with searching for show titles directly. Amazon’s personal content is unavoidably prioritized above other results from platforms, which could be frustrating if you’re principally a Netflix user, for example.
On the whole, the collection of apps accessible is tremendously good, and you should be able to find most streaming platforms you can imagine – while UK viewers won’t be able to find Now TV, and US viewers won’t be able to find Walmart’s Vudu, which is at present a big source of Dolby Vision content. Still, there’s such an enormous selection of content, so you most likely won’t miss the odd niche app except if you are a diehard fan.
The Best $50 4K Media Streamer
If you want Google Play Movies & TV support on your $50 4K media streamer, you’ll need to turn to the Roku Premiere or Premiere Plus and forget the voice assistant, TV volume control, and Dolby Vision support in the process.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is a practically perfect media streamer. It supports 4K with HDR10 and Dolby Vision, it features Alexa for voice control with support for a wide selection of smart home devices, its latest remote can manage your TV’s volume and power, and it can access an enormous collection of streaming media both from Amazon’s own libraries and nearly all most important third parties, all for just $50. It does not include an Ethernet adapter like the old Fire TV, but that’s the only swapping for the smaller size, more rapid performance, Dolby Vision support, and a $20 price tag. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is merely the best media hub you can go for under $50.
Final Verdict
Taken as a whole, we’re overwhelmed with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. The interface is fantastic, responsive, fast to load and planned in an insightful manner.
Navigating through a variety of apps, shows and movies is trouble-free, with lately accessed content showed on the home screen, however, you may find search results extremly twisted towards Amazon’s own content if you’re in the habit of using diverse streaming platforms.
Talking about, the absence of consistency across different streaming platforms is a problem that affected the old model of the Amazon Fire TV Stick. With a bit of luck, future updates will offer more correspondence across the different platforms so that the experience is as streamlined as possible no matter anywhere you watch your content. At the moment it’s something we believe many people can’t ignore.
