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Amazon Fire TV Stick review: One stick of entertainment!

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Amazon Fire TV Stick 3rd gen
Amazon Fire TV Stick 3rd gen
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For a few years, Amazon has been creating Fire TV streaming sticks, but the most of them have been subpar at best. The Amazon Fire TV Stick, for example, features smart functionality as well as an exceptional aesthetic. Your concerns will be answered if you read our Amazon Fire TV Stick review. Alexa Voice Remote with Power and Volume Buttons is included with the Amazon Fire TV. You get Brand-New Preset Buttons to quickly start your favourite programmes. Use the same remote to control the power and volume of your TV and soundbar. Dolby Atmos home theatre audio.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 3 is the first of Amazon’s video streaming devices to include the brand-new Fire TV Experience user interface. Its goal is to revolutionize the integration of streaming providers. This Amazon Fire TV Stick review will enlighten you about the device’s design, performance, software, remote, and other features.

Overall Review

Amazon Fire TV Stick
4.5
$39.99

Amazon Fire TV Stick offers Alexa voice and TV control with a wide range of streaming apps. It is a slender, black plastic rectangle with a male HDMI connector and a micro USB port. This stick's design is simple, but that's okay and not a problem because you can connect it to the back of your TV. 

The Alexa Voice Remote has a similar layout to the previous generation. Still, Amazon Fire TV Stick can output Dolby Atmos audio if your TV, soundbar, or surround sound system is capable of doing so. This Stick's MediaTek MT8695D SoC now features an IMG GE8300 GPU, a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB DDR4 RAM, with 8GB of internal storage. 

You may enjoy live TV, free TV, and music altogether. More than a million films and television programs are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock, and other platforms. You may watch your preferred live TV, news, and sports with a subscription to services like SLING TV, YouTube TV, and others.

From well-known ad-supported streaming services like Freevee, Tubi, Pluto TV, and others, you may watch more than 200,000 free movies and TV episodes. Play Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other music streaming services.

The Fire TV Stick 3rd Generation is thought to be excellent for the price and features it delivers, and it is 50% more potent than prior generations for fast streaming in Full HD.

Pros:
  • Remote offers Alexa voice and TV control
  • Wide range of streaming apps
  • Integrates well with Echo speakers
  • Strong app offering
  • Improved UI
  • Reliable, hassle-free performance
Cons:
  • The Lite model is cheaper.
  • SDR picture could be more subtle
  • Ethernet adapter not included
  • Only HD
  • Expensive
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
02/21/2024 06:06 am GMT

Design

Design

The Amazon Fire TV Stick has a basic appearance that resembles the previous 1080p version. It seems to be a tiny, rectangular black plastic device with dimensions of 86 x 30 x 13mm. This is tiny enough to be hidden behind a television set. On both ends, it contains a micro USB port and an HDMI connector.
Despite its modest price, the Amazon Fire TV Stick looks good thanks to its curved joystick. For the Alexa voice control, two Amazon Basics AAA batteries are included. It also connects to the TV through HDMI 2.0. It looks the same as the Fire TV Stick Lite or Fire TV Stick 4K. There isn’t much of a distinction.

This time, the responsiveness has improved.

It’s a good thing the Fire TV Stick 3rd Gen’s layout hasn’t changed because it works.
Other than their remote controllers, the only difference between the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite devices is that the Fire TV Stick can output Dolby Atmos audio if your TV, soundbar, or surround sound system is capable of it.

Performance

Amazon Fire TV Stick review: One stick of entertainment!

Based on how quickly it loads on the Fire TV Stick, the new Fire TV interface appears to be a little more resource-intensive than the previous one. Amazon has made significant internal modifications to the Fire TV Stick 3rd Generation. The MediaTek MT8695D SoC in this Stick now features a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, an IMG GE8300 GPU, 1GB DDR4 RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. Returning to the home screen after using any app also takes a few seconds. The third-generation Fire TV Stick performed substantially better while having the same processing power as the Fire TV Stick Lite.

According to Amazon, the Fire TV Stick 3rd Version is 50% more powerful than the previous generation for quick Full HD streaming. It is substantially faster and more intuitive than the previous generation Stick in terms of boot-up, app loading, and UI navigation. The overall responsiveness of the UI has substantially improved, which is a promising sign. The Fire TV Stick 3rd Gen includes Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and 22 MIMO connectivity options. Other major improvements on this Stick include HDR video playback (HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG) and Dolby Atoms compatibility. The Fire TV Stick 3rd Gen supports a range of audio codecs in addition as Dolby Atmos.

Software

Software

We’ll go into the software in the Amazon Fire TV Stick review as well. The third-generation Fire TV Stick runs Fire OS 7 and can be configured to install popular streaming apps directly from the setup page. There are user-friendly apps such as MXPlayer, TVFPlay, YuppTV, YouTube, YouTube Kids, and others. You may simultaneously watch live TV, free TV, and listen to music. Over a million films and television episodes are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock, and other platforms. You may watch your favourite live TV, news, and sports with a subscription to services such as SLING TV, YouTube TV, and others.
More than 200,000 free movies and TV episodes may be found on well-known ad-supported streaming services like Freevee, Tubi, Pluto TV, and several others.

Remote

Remote

The Alexa Voice Remote and two AAA alkaline batteries are included in the set. The remote and Fire TV Stick instantly connect, and the setup is straightforward. The on-screen pairing instructions are helpful. The power button is situated on top of the buttons on the remote. It is followed by the Voice, Navigation, and Select buttons. Lower down are the controls for Back, Home, Menu, Rewind, Play/Pause, and Forward. For your compatible TV, you still get independent volume and mute controls. Additionally, HDMI-CEC is supported, enabling the Alexa Voice Remote to operate your TV.

Streamer

Streamer

The third-generation Amazon Fire TV Stick is still the finest option for connecting your 1080p TV to streaming video. In addition to Amazon Alexa, you get a slew of streaming apps and services for $39.99. A native 4K image on a 4K TV just looks better than an upconverted 1080p image, so if you have a 4K TV and want to add streaming and a voice assistant to it, the Fire TV Stick 4K or the Chromecast With Google TV should be carefully considered. However, if you want to stay using an older TV and merely want to give it a facelift, the third-generation Fire TV Stick is a good alternative.

Set up of Amazon Fire TV Stick

Set up of Amazon Fire TV Stick

The Alexa Voice Remote and two AAA alkaline batteries are included in the set. The remote and Fire TV Stick instantly connect, and the setup is straightforward. The on-screen pairing instructions are helpful. The power button is situated on top of the buttons on the remote. It is followed by the Voice, Navigation, and Select buttons. Lower down are the controls for Back, Home, Menu, Rewind, Play/Pause, and Forward. For your compatible TV, you still get independent volume and mute controls. Additionally, HDMI-CEC is supported, enabling the Alexa Voice Remote to operate your TV.

Pair your remote

You must pair the remote after completing the setup. This is a straightforward process. If you have a separate Fire TV device, connect it in before turning on your TV and inserting the included batteries into your remote. If Fire TV does not recognize and connect your remote right away, press and hold the Home button for around 10 seconds and search for an on-screen instruction.

Use your remote

You can control your Fire TV with your Alexa Voice Remote. You can also simply discover, start, and control any TV or movie by asking Alexa. Alexa may be reached by using a hands-free device or by pressing a button on your voice-activated remote.

Guidelines

After plugging in and turning on your Fire TV device, as well as connecting your remote, follow the on-screen directions to connect to Wi-Fi, download the most recent software update, and setup any additional equipment control for devices you want to link. After you’ve established everything, you can start exploring the hundreds of thousands of available channels, Alexa skills, apps, movies, and TV series.

Does Firestick 3rd Gen work with any TV?

This Fire Stick can use any television with an accessible HDMI connection and a nearby power outlet for the USB power adapter. Take advantage of your favourite shows and movies from Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Peacock, STARZ, SHOWTIME, Paramount+, and more.

Which Firestick is better 3rd Gen or 4K?

The middle-of-the-road option is the Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen), also frequently referred to as the “Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote.” For the highest definition video, choose the Ultra HD-capable Fire TV Stick 4K, while the bare-bones Fire TV Stick Lite might work. 

Does Firestick 3rd Gen have Bluetooth?

A Stick is shorter than the 4K version but has a 1.7GHz quad-core processor. For pairing Bluetooth speakers, headphones, or game controllers, Bluetooth 5.0 and BLE are built-in, and there are the usual 8GB of internal storage for any app library.

Conclusion

The third version of the original Amazon Fire TV Stick delivers the type of dependable performance expected from the stick family. It gives consumers with a true answer to picking what to watch next at the last minute, thanks to its brand-new interface and integration of all the necessary apps. Excellent HDR viewing and sound quality are difficult to find. The issue is that there is more available and it is only a little more expensive. The 4K version of the Fire Stick, which performs somewhat better with the same content and also provides all of the 4K future-proofing, can be purchased for only a few pounds or dollars more. Despite being a robust model, the third-generation model is now fairly uncomfortable.

I hope my Amazon Fire TV Stick review has helped you make a purchase decision.

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