Amazon’s revised Fire TV Stick 4K is finally doing away with that ancient Micro USB port and the confusing “select” name. Even better, you won’t need a wire at all. The new streaming stick takes its power directly from your TV—finally.
The best way to think about the new $60 Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is as a quality of life improvement. That comes with a new Fire TV Remote (that now may keep you from trying to chuck it through your screen in disgust). The improved remote uses the same wheel-shaped selection button, but its new sloped sides make it more ergonomic compared to the previous design. The home button now has a metallic finish to make it easier to press based on feel alone. Amazon is also selling its new remote separately for $15, and it should start shipping in October.
Amazon claims its new streaming stick is faster than either a native Smart TV or other competing streaming stick options, though it doesn’t say which brands it’s actually comparing itself to. The stick itself runs on a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor and comes packed with a maximum of 8GB of internal storage. Otherwise, it supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Bluetooth Low Energy for connectivity.
The online retail giant is also ditching the confusing “Select” and “Plus” 4K sticks, now simplifying the streaming selection down to four products. There’s still a Fire TV Stick HD, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and Fire TV Cube set-top box that now sit alongside the new Fire TV Stick 4K. While the base 4K stick supports the HDR10 and HDR10+ formats, you’ll have to spend at least $85 for the 4K Max stick to get Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. The higher-end stick also has slightly faster Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
The new Fire TV sticks are all based on the same Vega OS and use the same updated UI that Amazon introduced back in June. That includes the intrusive full-screen homescreen ads on wake-up and the banner ads that scroll across the screen as you consider your various streaming apps.
If you were already tired of the ads, then you may not be so keen on the new Alexa+ AI features that will be infiltrating your streaming sticks. The AI features will allow you to ask your TV for recommendations on what to watch next or ask questions about who starred in which show or film. You’ll be able to scroll through your conversation with Alexa in case you forget what the hell you were doing as you talked to your TV.
The Alexa+ features should roll out to users starting in November for all those folk using a 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Fire TV Cube, Ember TV, and other TVs from makers like Panasonic with Fire TV built in. If you want to avoid any intrusive AI features, the Fire TV Stick 4K may be your best bet.
