Review Amazon Fire Stick With 4k & Dolby Atmos
Our Verdict
The Amazon Burn down Tv Stick 4K Max improves one of the Burn down Tv set Stick 4K's weaknesses: performance. Just that comes at a price.
For
- Excellent 4K HDR quality
- Fast perfomance
- Every app you need
- Live Boob tube and smart dwelling camera integration
Against
- Interface is stuffed with Amazon and ads
- Voice-search doesn't always work right
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max improves i of the Fire Goggle box Stick 4K's weaknesses: operation. Merely that comes at a price.
Pros
- +
Excellent 4K HDR quality
- +
Fast perfomance
- +
Every app you demand
- +
Live TV and smart home camera integration
Cons
- -
Interface is stuffed with Amazon and ads
- -
Phonation-search doesn't always piece of work correct
The Amazon Fire Idiot box Stick 4K Max is here, and I wish information technology were just the new Amazon Fire Tv Stick 4K. Don't get me wrong: it'southward a good streaming device. In fact, it's my favorite Fire Television receiver device Amazon's ever made, and information technology'due south going on our all-time streaming devices listing.
That said, its chief upgrade is in performance, and we're non sure how many need a faster Fire Television Stick. As this Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max review will evidence, our testing revealed that you lot won't always see the difference in the new processor. But when you exercise, y'all might be pretty happy it'south there.
- The best streaming services, ranked
- Amazon Burn down Tv set Cube vs. Fire TV Stick vs. Fire TV Stick 4K: What should y'all purchase?
We've got a number of minor differences to examine when it comes to the Fire Goggle box Stick 4K Max. It's still packed into the same familiar black dongle, only now its remote has a few new buttons (including one that'due south great for cord-cutters).
And so if y'all're wondering if this is a must-accept upgrade, or one to await on (or skip), let's break down how information technology compares to the field. And if you desire a full comparing, you can also check out our Burn down TV Stick 4K Max vs Burn down Telly Stick 4K guide.
Amazon Burn down TV Stick 4K Max specs
| Fire TV Stick 4K Max | |
|---|---|
| Starting price | $49.99 |
| Resolution | Up to 4K UHD at 60 fps |
| Processor | Quad-core 1.8GHz (750MHz GPU) |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi vi, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax |
| Dimensions | four.25 ten 1.18 10 0.55 inches |
| Colors | Black |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos, 7.1 surround audio, 2-channel stereo and HDMI audio pass through up to 5.one |
| Video | HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
| Remote | Alexa Phonation Remote w/ Live TV and App buttons |
Amazon Burn down Boob tube Stick 4K Max review: Price and availability
The Amazon Fire Television Stick 4K Max costs $55, a mere $5 higher than the $fifty Fire Tv Stick 4K, which is frequently put on sale well below that cost. Its primary competitors are besides $50: the Chromecast with Google Boob tube and the upcoming Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which we look to test soon.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max came out on October 7, 2021.
Amazon Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max review: Design
The Fire Telly Stick 4K Max looks exactly like the normal Amazon Fire Television receiver Stick 4K. A matte-black dongle measuring 4.25 x i.eighteen 10 0.55 inches, with and HDMI port to plug right into the dorsum of your TV, where information technology will likely hide, in that piddling nook for HDMI cords and streamers. If your Television set setup doesn't have the space for such a connection, Amazon includes a flexible HDMI adapter in the box in. Similarly, the Chromecast with Google Goggle box and Roku Streaming Stick 4K (both $50) sit down behind your TV.
Y'all power the Fire Tv Stick 4K Max via the microUSB port on the side of the device. That cable stick out from the top or bottom side of the stick, depending on how your Telly'due south HDMI port is oriented. If information technology sticks out from the summit, as it does mine, you should plan to put the Fire TV Stick 4K Max in the elevation-most HDMI port, and so that the USB cable isn't getting in the way of the below ports (reverse these instructions if your Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max's USB port is on the lesser side when plugged in).
Amazon Burn down TV Stick 4K Max review: Interface
Just like every Fire Telly device before it, the Burn down Boob tube Stick 4K Max features an interface that revolves around the Amazon ecosystem. Amazon Prime, of class, is key to maximizing the Burn Tv set Stick 4K Max, equally you probably know by now, and the menus will not stop suggesting things from Prime Video (and the Amazon-owned IMDb TV) to lookout. Just that's the name of the game at this point.
The recently redesigned Fire Television interface is splashier than ever, and now breaks itself out into three main tabs. Dwelling house has recommended apps and content, Find is where y'all search and Alive is a home to the best cable Television receiver alternative apps, such as Hulu and YouTube Tv. To get the nigh out of the OS, bank check out our setup and mastery guide on learning how to apply the Burn Stick.
You'll also see a lot of ads, with the rows of sponsored content that show upwards every four to eight rows in the home screen and the splashy banners at the top of the screen. And while ads are seemingly the status-quo for nearly all streaming devices (salve for the super-pricey Apple TV 4K), the Burn Television world seems to take many more than. Yes, Chromecast with Google Goggle box is suggesting content everywhere, and Roku's ads are in its sidebar and screen savers, only neither feels as omnipresent.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Functioning
The Max in the Fire Idiot box Stick 4K Max is about its performance and speed, which I noticed, though not by that much. The changes happen under the plastic shell of a hood, with a new quad-cadre 1.8GHz MT8696 processor and a 750MHz GPU (upgraded from the quad-core 1.7GHz processor and 650MHz GPU in the Burn Television set Stick). Amazon'south also added Wi-Fi 6, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax support, though I didn't take a Wi-Fi half dozen router to test it with (if you lot do, expect improved streaming speeds).
Apps, movies and shows all launch pretty chop-chop on the Fire Tv Stick Max 4K in my testing, especially when you're moving from app to app, and back and forth. I saw the near notable differences against the regular Fire Tv set Stick 4K when I'd reboot it and other streaming sticks.
From a restarted state, Disney Plus loaded in 8.87 seconds on the Burn down Tv set Stick 4K Max, notably shorter than the Fire TV Stick 4K's 13.47-2d time. I didn't fifty-fifty need my stopwatch to see the deviation, as the "Disney+" logo stuttered in its animation on the Burn TV Stick 4K, but loaded smoothly on the Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max. The Chromecast with Google TV loaded the app in 9.07 seconds.
Similarly, Netflix loaded in 1.38 seconds on the Burn down TV Stick 4K Max (and 1.58 seconds on the Chromecast with Google Television set), but it took twenty seconds to load on the Fire TV Stick 4K.
Those time differences disappeared when I loaded up the Black Widow picture show in the Disney Plus app. All three sticks loaded it in effectually viii-9 seconds.
Amazon Burn down Television set Stick 4K Max review: Audio and video
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max produces fantabulous flick and audio, which I noticed as I rewatched Midsommar, a movie every bit beautifully shot as its story is traumatizing. All of the colors of Dani'southward blossom wearing apparel, and its many petals, rendered strong and crisp on my LG 55-inch OLED Tv.
This is owed in part to the Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max offering the same high-quality video and audio standards as the Burn down Idiot box Stick 4K. That's HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for rich visuals, and Dolby Atmos for immersive sound, with back up for 7.1 surround sound, 2-channel stereo and up to 5.1 via HDMI audio pass through. The Chromecast with Google Boob tube has those same video standards, too as Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K doesn't have Atmos, but it does support multiple sound standards over HDMI (digital stereo, DTS Digital Surround and Dolby-encoded audio via pass-through).
Amazon Burn Tv set Stick 4K Max review: Search
Amazon'due south search works well, except for the odd times that Alexa gets too pushy. Amazon combs through more than 100 different services when you search, and so when I entered "Vin Diesel fuel" it presented me with rows of titles that made sense, starting with Vin Diesel movies from my subscriptions (he'southward been in a handful of movies on Disney Plus). The next row, "Movies and Television set" shows titles from all other services.
Simply when I started to hunt for Fast & Furious movies, I was a niggling annoyed. At the search prompt window, the text on screen says you can blazon in your query or search past holding down the Alexa button on your remote. I'd only recommend the sometime, as the latter would automatically take me to the search event information technology thought was nigh right: Netflix's Fast & Furious Spy Racers, an animated serial about "teen commuter Tony Toretto" and his friends. I tried this again to make sure I'd not fabricated a mistake. Information technology kept throwing me to that app, foregoing the search results screen I'd see when I typed that "Fast & Furious" query in.
When I tried Alexa-based searching again, this time with the discussion "Halloween" (to run across how many of the Michael Myers movies are streaming online), it gave me the regular results window, as information technology should take. 1 oddity, which we constitute in our Burn down Goggle box Stick 4K review, is that Alexa thinks "4K movies" ways "four grand movies," something nosotros wish the digital assistant could translate properly, especially since 4K is in this device's proper noun.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Remote
The Amazon Alexa Voice Remote is pretty standard at first chroma. A circular directional pad with a select button in the middle, card buttons for Home, Back and Options, Boob tube power and volume buttons and navigation via fast forwards, rewind and play/suspension buttons. Oh, and the bluish Alexa button, which allows you to open up and command applications, by clicking downwards and speaking the name of an application, or request Alexa to rewind or fast forwards.
Annoyingly, the Burn down Telly 4K Max remote'due south been infected with the branded app button disease (Roku may have been patient cypher) that ever more similar advertisements for brands than helpful tools for customers. The buttons are dedicated to Prime Video (of grade), Disney Plus, Netflix and Hulu. We'd dear them to exist programmable, like you find in the 2 buttons in the higher-end Roku Ultra, merely this just seems to be the industry standard for streaming devices priced around $50.
Cord-cutters shouldn't overlook the Live TV push button, fifty-fifty though it but defaults to the free linear programming on the IMDB app. Digging around in the Settings, I found that I could connect my Sling TV account'south channels to the Alive TV grid of channels (Settings > Live Telly > Sync Sources > select your source), and then I could only hibernate the IMDB channels (Settings > Live TV > Manage Channels), and plough the Live TV button into a Sling button.
That said, Roku remotes have a Sling Telly button, which cuts through the demand to us Amazon's interface. I'd prefer that, as the IMDB channels didn't seem to offer me much, sort of the same freebies you observe in Pluto Television.
Amazon Fire Tv set Stick 4K Max review: Content and apps
The Amazon Fire TV platform has been nearly flawless when it comes to having every app available, just hiccuping notably for the starting time year of Peacock. But now that Comcast's streaming service is in Amazon's streaming app library it's hard to argue with the support. Amazon doesn't publish how many apps there are in its store, but the site 42matters claims at that place are more than 12,700 apps at this point.
Those with smart-home cameras will also be happy to hear that at that place'due south a new Alive View Picture show-in-Picture mode then y'all tin can cheque what's going on with your video doorbell or domicile security camera without stopping the movie or show you're watching. I was non able to test this feature, as I don't have any such cameras. The Chromecast with Google TV has an option to watch your Nest Cam feed on your Television receiver, simply not in motion picture-in-picture.
The Burn Goggle box Stick's library includes all of the best streaming services and the best cablevision TV alternative apps are at that place, and that's including YouTube TV (which is currently knocked out of the Roku store, and only plant subconscious away in the YouTube app). Across that, you've also got Plex, Spotify and many more.
Amazon's fifty-fifty added gaming support from its Luna platform. We will update this review with the user experience on the Fire Tv Stick Max in the coming weeks.
If you lot're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem, the Fire Goggle box Stick 4K Max will be all the more valuable. All of your Amazon subscriptions, Amazon Channels, Amazon Music content and purchased films and shows are all easily found in the device.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Bottom line
If yous're considering the Amazon Burn down TV Stick 4K Max, you're likely aware that it's not but a streaming device, but a portal into the Amazon ecosystem. While I wish it wasn't pushing that globe so difficult, information technology doesn't end y'all from being able to use the Fire Boob tube Stick 4K Max to actually watch things.
Is live TV integration enough to spend $5 more when you could become the less ad-heavy Chromecast with Google TV for $fifty? We've notwithstanding to exam the upcoming $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K, but we expect information technology to be a great competitor, especially since its interface is cleaner and less bogged downward with ads.
As this Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review has shown, the functioning improvements in the new Burn down stick are either slight or profound. But for those who appreciate everything about the Burn down Goggle box Stick, but just wish information technology were a little flake faster? It's time to take your streaming to the Max.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k-max
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