To do an Amazon Firestick review, we inevitably end up comparing the regular streaming stick with the 4K version of istelf. Both devices are great, but is the 4K version worth the extra $$$? Want to win one of three Apple TV 4Ks that we're giving out? CHECK OUT THE DETAILS HERE:
A few notes on the Amazon Fire Stick and the Fire Stick 4K:
Fire TV Stick price - $35 (
Fire TV Stick 4K price - $50 (
Yes, I know I said they were $30 and $40 in the video, but I underestimated just how short that promotion was going to be. Still a budget pick for either, since both are still $50 or less!
The stick itself is about 4” long, and comes with an HDMI extender if you don’t have 4” of space for the stick to jut out.
Both can hook into an ethernet adapter, so it’s not necessarily wifi only (although that’s certainly the easiest way to connect).
It’s plenty fast, no real lag like you’d get with an ultra-cheap device like the old Roku Express.
Either option gets you the Alexa voice remote. This lets you do voice searching, but not dictation. So you'll still have to hunt and peck out email addresses and passwords unless you download the companion phone app. Voice dictation is amazing on the Apple TV, and I dearly hope it will come soon on the Fire TV system.
Video quality is obviously where the biggest differences come in. The Fire TV Stick does full HD (720p and 1080p) at 60 fps.
The Fire TV Stick 4K does 4K UHD, HDR, 60 fps, Dolby Atmos surround sound ... you get the idea.
Both run on the same platform, of course. We’ll do a full review of the Fire TV interface at some point, but for now, I’ll just say that it’s pretty slick! It feels a bit like the Apple TV interface, except this one runs on the Android platform. I slightly prefer the Apple TV interface, but you have to pay 3x the price for that one.
Maybe my only real complaint with the entire system is the heavy emphasis the interface gives to Amazon content. This is understandable and forgivable, of course, but since I’m not an Amazon partisan, I prefer the brand-agnostic Roku in this way.
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