What’s in a name? Apparently so, according to Amazon. The company has just announced another change to its TV FireV devices, which means that they are once again. The family now includes the $35 Fire TV Stick HD, the $40 Fire TV Stick 4K Select, the $50 Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, the $60 Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the $140 Fire TV Cube.
That was painful to write out and probably painful to read (my apologies). Two of those devices were previously “refurbished” last year, so if you’re confused, you’re not alone. What’s a Shopper Shopper to do when trying to decide what’s the best (and budget-friendly) option to upgrade your old TV so you can watch it? Hunting wives And ask Alexa about tomorrow’s weather?
I’ll make your decision really easy: just get the Fire TV Stick 4K max. Indeed, if you are looking for the best streaming device, period, we recommend turning to Google for that. But if you’ve decided Amazon’s Fire TV is where you want to spend your money, 4K max is the best option of the bunch. Not only is it stuck without being subject to a “rebrand” for some time, but it also has the best balance of features and price for any Fire TV device.
The Fire TV Stick 4k Max gives you 4K streaming capabilities with Dolby Vision and all HDR intact, Dolby Atmos Audio and support for Amazon Luna and Xbox Game Pass. (It’s got some recent retro gaming chops, too, as our Jeff Dunn explained earlier.) Despite the lack of an onboard Ethernet port present on the Fire TV Cube, the 4K max has the same Wi-Fi support with 16GB of memory.
Compared to other dongles in the Fire TV range, things get more confusing. The $60 4K max and the $50 4k Plus actually have the same stick, but the latter has less storage, only Wi-Fi capabilities for TVs away from the Fire TV Ambient TV when you are not actively watching. Go down to the $40 4K option and you miss out on Dolby Vision and extra memory, and you’ll have to settle for Wi-Fi 5.
If you’re going to make all those compromises to save a few dollars, then you should just get the ENTS-Level-Fered TV Stick HD. The big thing here is that it only supports 1080p streaming, but that will be fine for some people. We consider it the best budget streaming tool on the market right now, and people just looking to make a cheap, basic upgrade to your 3 35 well used (or, Pro tip: expect sales and wait for one is less than $20).
The $140 Fire TV Cube case isn’t the strongest, but one I’ll admit may be appealing to some users. It adds to the integration of an Ethernet port, hands-free Alexa controls (meaning you don’t have to press the remote button to use the Virtual Assistant, you can just talk) and you can control your other entertainment devices like cable console and game console. It finally gives you more control over other things in your entertainment Ecosystem and Alexa all in one device.
That means Amazon has three solid streaming devices with very clear value propositions: The $35 Stick HD, the $60 4K max and the $140 Cube. The budget, mid-tier and high-end models are covered and most people will find something that fits their budget and needs with these three. The two sticks sandwiched in between do nothing but confuse consumers. If you look at the comparison chart of all Fire TV streaming devices, you can start to wonder, do I really need Wi-Fi 6e 6e with Wi-Fi 6? Will one gigabyte of gigabytes make a difference? I can live without the voice of the Alexa Remote It was raised?
You don’t have to ask yourself these questions; You have better things to do. There are three suitable TV streaming devices considered, and I took it one step further and said that most people should just get the Fire TV Stick 4K max when it goes on sale on Black Friday for about $35. You will spend less and get a better product.
