The inclusion of 4K support makes the new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K a brilliant option for all your streaming needs – although a lack of equity across different platforms means that Amazon hasn’t quite achieved perfection yet.
Pros
- Supports 4K streaming
- Speedy user interface
- Fantastic variety of content
- Amazon Alexa voice assistance
Cons
- UI biased towards Amazon
- Performance varies between apps
TODAY'S BEST DEALS
$29 at Amazon
$29 at Amazon
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is the third version of Amazon's popular
streaming device. The biggest difference between this stick and the ones
that came before it is that this one has been updated to support 4K
viewing.
Having said that, this version of the Fire TV Stick is similar to the
second-gen Fire TV Stick in many many ways. It boasts an 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip
and a 1.7GHz quad-core processor – but buying one of the 4K-enabled
streamers we’re reviewing here still won’t break the bank at under $50.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K also comes with Amazon’s Alexa built-in voice
assistant. There's a huge range of content to select from the many apps on
offer, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and many more. With lots of
streaming options on offer, we can’t help but ask: who really needs a smart
TV?
This version of the Fire TV Stick addresses issues we had with the
previous Fire TV Stick. However, a couple of small, niggling problems
remain that made our experience with this streamer less-than-perfect –
although it wasn’t far off.
Since the Fire TV Stick 4K was released, Amazon has pushed further into
TVs after it unveiled a number of new Fire TV Edition sets, as well as a
second-generation Amazon Fire TV Cube, which is an updated version of
its Alexa-enabled hands-free streaming media player, adding Dolby Vision
and a few other new features to the mix. We've also seen an update to
the basic HD Fire TV Stick (2020) with HDR, and a the highly affordable
Fire TV Stick Lite.
What's more, you can now even hook up your Amazon Echo speakers with
Fire TV devices, to create an immersive home theater system – totally
wireless, and all controllable with voice assistant Alexa.
Price and availability
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is available to buy for $49.99 / £49.99,
which works out at around AU$68 based on current conversion rates –
however, it's not yet available to buy in Australia and there's so far
no word on when Amazon will begin selling it in this territory.
Compared to the non-4K version of the Fire TV Stick, you’re looking at
a price increase of around $10 / £10, which we think is very
reasonable considering the increased quality of content you’ll be
getting with support for 4K, Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+ and Dolby
Atmos.
Similar products, including Google's Chromecast Ultra, retail for
around $69, so the Fire TV Stick 4K is a good option if you’re looking
to spend under $50 - still, it’s worth bearing in mind that you will
need to buy subscriptions to use many of the apps like Netflix and
Prime Video, which can soon add up.
Design
If you’ve used the previous Amazon Fire TV Stick before, you’ll notice
that the new version hasn’t changed very much in terms of
design.
Measuring 99mm x 30mm x 14mm, the Fire TV Stick 4K is as unobtrusive
and compact as ever, designed to plug directly into the HDMI 2.2 port
on your TV. The stick itself is a little bit wider than a standard
HDMI cable, so Amazon has included a male-to-female HDMI extender
cable in case you have trouble fitting it in.
Amazon says the extender cable can also be used to improve the WiFi
connection and remote control performance.
The outside of the Fire TV Stick 4K is largely the same as the
previous model, only now it features the Amazon arrow logo without any
text. On the inside, you have an 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip and a 1.7GHz
quad-core processor like before, but now of course, the Fire TV Stick
has support for 4K, as well as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
On the side of the Fire TV Stick 4K you’ll find a micro-USB port to
connect the power adaptor.
Now on to the remote; the biggest change here is that it now includes
volume buttons and a power button. The inability to change the volume
using the the previous model’s remote was a particular sticking point
for many users, who found it annoying to constantly switch between it
and their TV’s remote, or asking Alexa to change the volume.
The remote therefore can now be used to change the volume on your TV,
AV receiver, or soundbar, which is far more convenient.
Like it’s predecessor, you’ll still find a microphone button at the
top of the remote, which can be used to summon Alexa without having to
say “Alexa” before every command you make.
Features and performance
Setting up the Fire TV Stick 4K is absolutely seamless, thanks to the
simple user interface and responsive remote control. During setup, the
Fire TV Stick needs to be plugged into the mains as well as the HDMI
port on your TV - all the cables and adaptors you’ll need come in the
box.
Once you’ve plugged the Fire TV Stick into your TV, you're then
prompted to set up the remote – you’ll be walked through the entire
process by your TV so you don’t need to worry about leafing through
manuals.
Like its predecessor, the Fire TV Stick 4K user interface is extremely
easy to navigate, even for those who haven't even used a streaming
device before. Recently accessed shows and apps can be found on the
home screen, or you can scroll up and across to find different content
and apps.
US Fire TV customers will also find a recently added tab on their
device's interface; called 'Live TV', it collates all your live
channels into one place.
As well as being easy to use, the UI is very responsive and quick to
load, and there’s a fantastic selection of streaming apps to choose
from. To test how easy it is to sign up to a new service, we tried
setting up an account with Disney Life through the Fire TV Stick 4K.
The whole process was extremely simple, with the option to link your
new account to an existing social media account like Facebook –
although the experience will vary between different apps, it’s
encouraging that we didn’t run into any issues while setting up
accounts with the platforms we don’t already subscribe to.
Using the remote to control the Fire TV Stick 4K is similarly
effortless, and the Alexa-powered voice search functionality is quick
and accurate when you’re using apps like Netflix or Amazon Prime
Video.
However, voice search doesn’t work with every app on the service – UK
viewers will notice that you can’t use it with BBC iPlayer, which
means you have to manually type search terms within the app.
Furthermore, you won’t be able to use your voice to skip to the next
episode on many apps that otherwise support voice control, which is
slightly annoying.
Another issue we found with voice search is that when you make a
request that the Fire TV Stick 4K is unable to support, whatever
content you are playing disappears, and you have to then select it
again from within the app or Fire TV homepage to start it up.
That being said, the voice search is generally very good, and you can
even use voice commands to turn your TV on, control your smart
devices, and view live camera feeds from compatible smart security
cameras on your TV, which is really useful.
In general, the search functionality is better than the previous
model, as you can now search for shows by actor and specifically for
4K content, as well as searching for show titles directly. Amazon’s
own content is predictably prioritized above other results from
platforms, which could be irritating if you're primarily a Netflix
user, for example.
Overall, the selection of apps available is extremely good, and you
should be able to find most streaming platforms you can think of –
although UK viewers won’t be able to find Now TV, and US viewers won't
be able to stream on Walmart's Vudu, which is currently a large source
of Dolby Vision content. Still, there's such a huge variety of
content, so you probably won’t miss the odd niche app unless you are a
diehard fan.
If you want to take your Fire TV Stick 4K abroad – and its portability
makes it a great traveling companion – you may want to install a VPN
to unlock content from your home country.
Final verdict
Overall, we're impressed with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. The
interface is super responsive, quick to load, and it’s set out in an
intuitive way.
Navigating through the different apps, shows, and movies is simple,
with recently accessed content displayed on the home screen, however,
you may find search results overly skewed towards Amazon’s own content
if you’re used to using different streaming platforms.
Speaking of, the lack of consistency across different streaming
platforms is an issue that affected the previous model of the Amazon
Fire TV Stick. Hopefully future updates will provide more parity
across the different platforms so that the experience is as
streamlined as possible no matter where you watch your content but,
for now, it's something we think most folks can look past.
TODAY'S BEST DEALS
$29 at Amazon