Are you confused between Firestick devices – Fire TV Stick, Firestick 4K, and Firestick TV Cube? You must read this one!
Amazon has taken the streaming experience to the next level by providing some of the best Firestick devices, including Fire TV Stick, Firestick 4K, and Fire TV Cube.
Watching TV is not limited to streaming your favorite movies and TV shows.
With the help of these devices, you can download your favorite content, control your modern home using Alexa (you might have heard about her!), and enjoy games as well.
Choosing the best one is always hard. And if it’s from these three, you would definitely need a helping hand!
You might find many similarities between Fire TV Stick, Firestick 4K, and Fire TV Cube, but there are some significant differences between them.
That’s why I tried and tested each of them and prepared this up-to-date comparison guide just for you!
Fire TV Stick vs. Firestick 4K vs. Fire TV Cube – Which’s Better?
The 2nd Generation Fire TV Stick was released in 2016, and since then, it is one of the most used streaming devices around the globe.
Amazon released the upgraded version of this TV stick named Firestick 4K or Fire TV Stick 4K in 2018.
Both of these devices have taken over the market globally, offering the best streaming experience on smart TVs.
In 2018, Amazon released the 1st Generation of Fire TV Cube. And just after a year, they’ve launched the upgraded version of Fire TV Cube.
I’ve compared all three gadgets on several parameters to help you pick the right one.
Now that you have the basics let’s start with the comparison!
Size and Design
The first thing you would notice in any device is its design and size. Let’s see if there’s any difference between these three!
The Fire TV Stick and Firestick 4K feature a slim rectangle shape that fits into the HDMI port on your TV.
They also offer an HDMI extender if you can’t reach the default port on your TV.
Among these two variants, Fire TV Stick is the smallest, having small 3.3 x 1.0 inches of size.
Firestick 4K features a similar design with a bigger size with 3.9 x 1.2 inches of a size that looks like a dongle.
Unlike Fire TV sticks, Fire TV Cube is what it says: a square box of 3.4 inches.
It is basically a black cube with a line of LED lights on the top. It has four buttons on the top of the box, including volume buttons and a key to wake up Alexa.
For the new members in the Amazon family, Fire TV Stick 4K is the best option as you just need to ‘plug and play!’
You won’t even notice it’s there!
Even though all three devices are small in size, it mostly depends on the space you have near your Television.
If you have ample space, I would say go for Fire TV Cube; if not, Firesticks will do their best.
Connectivity
Fire TV Sticks has two ports – one HDMI port and one USB charging port. It is more than enough to get you started, but it is kind of its limitation, though!
Where Firesticks come with only two ports, Fire TV Cube features four ports – an HDMI port, a micro USB port, a power port, and an infrared port.
You also get an IR extender cable and an Ethernet adapter when you buy Fire Cube.
For wireless connectivity, these devices are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0.
REMEMBER – You need to attach the device to a power source all the time.
Content and Resolution
The biggest concern of every Firestick user would be this:
How much content I’ll be able to watch? How will the image quality be? Does it vary between different models?
I will try to find answers to these questions in the following segment.
You can access primary broadcast services like Prime Video (obviously!), Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus, and many more on any of these Fire devices.
Moreover, Amazon offers 500,00 movies and TV shows!
Isn’t it great?
But…
Please remember that you need to subscribe to some of the services to access the content.
Some Firestick users are disappointed because Amazon prioritizes its own content over others.
But don’t worry!
You can access the free content by jailbreaking the device and install third-party apps to stream content for FREE.
Click Here to see how to jailbreak your Fire TV device.
IMPORTANT – Please use a reliable VPN before streaming copyrighted content from such sources as it might cause legal trouble for you.
One of the best things I love about Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube is that you can use these devices to see Alexa-compatible camera screens.
When it comes to image quality, Fire TV Stick 4K and Cube feature high-quality streaming.
Please don’t forget that in order to stream 4K content, you need to have a 4K supported TV. If you don’t, all those high-resolution images will be compressed, and you won’t have the same experience as you do with a smart TV.
The same rule applies to HDR. The latest Fire devices support HDR10 for enhanced color contrast and fantastic visuals. But again, if you have the old variant of Television, you won’t have this luxury.
You Might Also Like To Read – Best Browsers for FireStick You Should Try in 2023
Storage
For a device space, you won’t need to work hard to choose from Fire TV Sticks. Both variants contain the same storage capacity of 8 GB.
Many Firestick users complain about the limited storage. You won’t have to suffer from the same issue with Fire TV Cube as it has almost double the storage of 16 GB.
But according to me, that’s also not enough for heavy users. I hope they upgrade this in the near future.
If you want more, you can increase the storage by adding an external storage device. To do so, you need to buy it separately, and I don’t think you should spend on it if not required.
Talking about the RAM, Fire TV Cube is the best option with 2 GB memory. But, having a built-in Echo Dot, it’s a bit tough on the device.
Firestick 4K isn’t behind in the race with 1.5 GB RAM. It offers good performance compared to its previous version.
Speed and Performance
The Fire TV Stick includes a Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor, where the Firestick 4K has a bit upgraded Quad-core processor with 1.7 GHz.
The UI of both the Fire TV Sticks is easy to navigate. With remote control, it becomes effortless!
Want more?
You can get rid of finding the buttons when you have Alexa, a virtual AI assistance that works on your voice commands.
To wake Alexa, you need to press the voice button on your remote, and then you can leave the rest on Alexa!
The interface of Fire TV Stick 4K is easy to understand, even for beginners. You can find the recently viewed content. You can see a huge list of media files on the home screen that you would love to stream.
I love the speed of Fire TV Cube. The latest version is even faster with new updates. It includes two processors – Hexa-core with Quad-core (2.2 GHz) and Dual-core (1.9 GHz).
Isn’t it great?
None likes to watch the content while buffering. Forget those days with Fire Cube with a strong Wi-Fi antenna to start streaming the high-quality media as soon as you select it.
You can also watch a live video from the connected camera.
As you might have guessed, the Fire TV Cube weighs with its fantastic features. Moreover, it enhances the way you use Alexa.
Audio Support and Voice Commands
With a Dolby Audio system in all Fire devices, you get an enjoyable experience.
The Fire TV Stick features the surround sound to 5.1, which is quite limited compared to Firestick 4K and Fire TV Cube that supports 7.1 surround sound.
You won’t see much difference if you use the regular speaker of your TV. But if you have an advanced system like a home-theater, you will definitely get a better sound effect with Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Cube than the 2ns Gen of Fire TV Stick.
When it comes to voice controls, Firesticks are a great choice.
Popularly known as Alexa, has become a family member of every house these days.
You can start using Alexa as soon as you finish setting up the device. Alexa in Firestick 4K lets you control volume and something more than your remote.
You can check the heat, ask for a sports score, traffic in your area, manage your shopping list, and whatnot!
And here comes the most exciting part!
Fire TV Cube goes beyond these features, and Alexa can work as a speaker as well!
That means that you can wake her up by saying her wake word and give it orders without pressing a button on the remote.
Isn’t it great?
If you’re a tech-savvy person, you can control your lights, thermostats, and other IT gadgets right from a small cube.
Simply put, if you already own Echo speakers, you can buy a Fire TV stick or Fire Stick 4K, but if you want an Alexa-enabled speaker, go for Fire TV Cube!
Remote Controls
There’s not much difference in the remote controllers of all three Fire devices.
However, they differ in some buttons as they differ in the services.
All three variants feature the same remote buttons like the standard navigation ring, Home, Menu, Play/Pause, Forward, Back, Rewind, and Select/OK buttons.
It includes the standard Power, Mute, Volume up and down keys as well.
The only difference between the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K is that the older Firestick didn’t have the volume control buttons on the remote.
The only downside about these Amazon devices is that you need to buy a new remote at the cost of $29.99 (with TV control buttons) or $27.99 (without TV control buttons) if you lost your original one or it stopped working.
I know it’s a bit pricy for a remote, but it is what it is!
If the price is too much for you, there are other third-party remotes available on Amazon.com. But I would recommend using the original one to keep up the performance of your device.
Using your tablet or phone is another great alternative to remote controllers. You can download the app from the Android, iOS, or Fire OS device, and your phone can be your remote.
But again, these apps don’t feature TV controls.
Price and Value
And here comes the most exciting part!
While there are numerous factors to count on, value for money remains the most important of all.
In my opinion, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t invest in the Fire TV Stick 4K.
You get the best features better than Fire TV Stick and q little less than Fire Cube at an affordable rate.
Fire TV Cube is definitely one of the best, but it’s a bit costly when it comes to price.
If you have a smart TV with an advanced house set up, Alexa in Fire TV Cube will be the best companion for you.
There’s a limited market for Fire Cube as many Firestick users already have Echo speakers or something similar to Alexa.
In the FireStick vs FireStick 4K vs Fire TV Cube battle, the $49.99 Firestick TV 4K acts as a midpoint that works the best for most users with a balance of affordable price and functionality.
Final Verdict
I hope you have got numerous ideas to pick the suitable Amazon Fire device for you.
I find Firestick 4K and Fire TV Cube on the same level. They both offer 4K high-resolution streaming with great features. They turn your TV into a whole new world of apps, games, live TV, and something extra with Alexa, of course.
What else do you want, right?
If you’re not tight on the budget, Fire TV Cube is your best shot with extra accessories that comes with it.
It is also a popular option for regular users with hands-free controls. Many people, including me, like the way we can control our smart houses using compatible devices.
But, overall, Fire TV Stick 4K seems the perfect choice for regular users. It does almost everything that Cube does except the hands-free control and intelligent home connections.
If you can manage this, Firestick 4K is worth a try!
If you don’t have an Amazon Fire device, buying Firestick 4K, or Cube will make sure you never get out of entertainment.
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