Over the years, the Amazon Fire TV Stick has brought smart features to millions of televisions around the world at a very low cost. With a premium new offering called the Fire TV Cube, Amazon aims to up the ante and sell more from its Fire TV stables.
The Fire TV Cube performs the same functions as the Fire TV Stick, but with the addition of a hands-free experience, improved connectivity, and increased processing capacity. It is shaped like a cube and connects to your TV through an HDMI cable, which you will need to purchase if you don’t already have one.
The main difference is that the Fire TV Cube is an Alexa computer in and of itself, capable of responding to queries as well as controlling the TV and other devices connected to it. The Fire TV Cube comes with a converter that allows it to link directly to the internet through an ethernet cable — synchronisation can be an issue on Echo devices when syncing audio from a TV to a separate speaker — as well as an IR Extender cable to power other, less smart, devices.
With the Fire TV Stick, you can use voice commands to scan for content or just ask Alexa questions by pressing the Mic button on top. However, this only worked when the stick was turned on. You can now walk into a room, ask Alexa to turn on the TV, and then watch Young Sheldon from Amazon Prime. It works well, and if the episode being played is one you’ve already seen, you can ask Alexa to change it or simply switch off the TV. This without even determining where you last left the remote.
Surprisingly, the Fire TV Cube has a better remote than the Fire TV Stick, even though it can be used completely hands-free. The updated remote has an Alexa button in place of the Mic button, as well as dedicated buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, Amazon Music, and all games. There is a forward and reverse button, which was previously controlled by the ring and pick keys.
If you don’t have a Full HD TV, the Fire TV Cube has a processor that can play 4K content in Dolby Vision HDR10+ at up to 60 frames per second and with Dolby Atmos. On a Full HD TV, I couldn’t tell much of a difference in video quality between this and the previous generation Fire TV Stick. Since there are no audio ports on the Cube, you must use Bluetooth to connect to a soundbar if necessary.
One good thing about the Fire TV Cube is that is a full-fledged Alexa device and does everything any other echo device will do. So if you ask a query it answers and even throws the text result on the screen for good measure. If you request a song it plays on the TV as the Cube does not have a great speaker. You can connect other Alexa enabled devices to this one and control like you would an Echo. In fact, look at this as the Echo for the house, but connected to a TV and a speaker for better audio quality.
The Fire TV Cube costs three times as much as the Fire TV Stick, so buy it only if you have high-end televisions at home and are willing to pay extra for Netflix 4K streaming. This is not intended to be a substitute for your Fire TV Stick. Yes, but only if you have high-end 4K televisions at home and haven’t yet purchased an Alexa system.
For such consumers, this is an excellent device that can serve as your smart entertainment centre, linking and monitoring far more than your television. Others may prefer the Fire TV Stick, which is one of the best smart options for content consumption.
