Fire TV Stick 4K Vs Fire TV

4K Fire TV Stick - Top Performance In a Tiny Package

Fire TV Now Number One Top Selling Streamer

Like it or not, the Fire TV is now the number one selling media streamer. Having surpassed both Roku and Apple TV in the overall number of user accounts. And their 4K Streaming Stick probably had a lot to do with it.

While we still love Roku, for their long list of Free Channels and great software. Along with the powerful Apple TV 4K, and Nvidia SHIELD for their amazing performance. Now many are choosing an Amazon Fire TV for their go-to media streamer.

At only $50, the new 4K Fire TV Stick is capable of some great performance with popular streaming apps like Kodi and other Android apps. This makes it hard to ignore.

Amazon's current 4K Fire TV Stick is a game changer. Because not only is it affordable, unlike past models this Fire TV offers snappy performance which lets it keep up with other Android media streamers that even cost more.

Here is how the 4K Fire TV Stick compares with their other current standalone model the Fire TV Alexa Cube.

Hardware and Specs

The new 4K Fire TV uses the MediaTek MT8695 chipset. This was designed for streaming sticks with onboard smart capabilities such as voice control. The CPU uses a 12nm process technology running on 4 cores at 1.7 GHz. It comes with an Imagination’s PowerVR GE8300 GPU along with a newly designed media decoding engine, and display pipeline. It also features an integrated MediaTek’s MT7668 comm chip which offers full 802.11ac with 2×2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 support.

The New 4K Stick is 80% Faster Than the Model It Replaced

Here is where the 4K Fire TV Rocks compared to many other media streamers. It can fully decode H.265 Main 10 Profile Level 5.1 with HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision, H.264 High Profile Level 4, as well as VP9 Profile 2 with HDR10.

Unlike any other Fire TV including the Cube, the 4K Fire TV Stick can support MPEG2, MPEG4, and VP8 video @ 30FPS up to 1080p. For audio, it supports Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC), Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, MP3, FLAC, plus more.

Amazon's new Stick also comes with 1.5 GB of DDR4 RAM which is 50% more than the model it replaced. And the remote is fully Alexa voice command ready so it can launch and control movies and TV shows. It also has built-in power, volume, and mute buttons that can now control your TV, sound bar, or an audio receiver.

Amazon's Current 4K Streaming Stick is the Best Fire TV Ever!

Amazon set the bar pretty high and their Fire TV Stick 4K is currently the only streaming device to fully support HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos all together.

So when it comes to both hardware along with price, the 4K Fire TV Stick now walks away from the Fire TV Cube which was virtually unchanged hardware wise from the prior model it replaced. Except for the addition of Alexa, which the Cube now includes on board.

If you absolutely have to have Alexa, buying the 4K Fire TV Stick along with a 3rd Gen Echo Dot which can sometimes be found on sale for $30 is the best way to go. Better yet often Amazon has the bundle on sale for $70. Compared to buying the much slower Fire TV 4K Cube for $120, the 4K Streaming Stick is now the much better deal.

Amazon's 4K Fire TV Stick Is Now The Best Ever

While an Amazon Fire TV was never our first choice when it comes to Android media streamers. The specs of their current 4K streamer and the great feedback we keep hearing are impressive and made us take another look.

If you need an inexpensive, highly capable media streamer for another TV at a great price, you may give their 4K Fire TV another look.

While it would never fully replace our Roku Ultra or Nvidia SHIELD, both which have a nicer user interface. You can't argue with the specs, price, and performance of Amazon's 4K Dongle. While maybe not at the head of the table, their new 4K Fire TV Streaming Stick has definitely now earned itself a place at the grownups table.