Editors' Note: There is a new model of the Fire TV Stick obtainable. See our assessment of the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. We first reviewed Amazon's third-generation Fire TV Stick late last 12 months. This year, it stealthily launched a revised model, updating the distant while protecting the media streamer itself the identical. It's still $39.99 and loaded with helpful features like Amazon Alexa voice control; the main variations are a brand new remote with a couple of additional buttons, and a new Fire Tv interface. The third-gen Fire TV Stick remains the most effective 1080p media streamer obtainable, and an excellent means to add good Tv functionality to older TVs, earning it our Editors’ Choice award. Physically, the third-era Fire TV Stick is identical to the Fire TV Stick Lite and the Fire TV Stick 4K, which, in turn, had been largely unchanged from earlier Fire Tv Sticks in design. It’s a easy 3.4-by-1.2-inch (HW) black plastic rectangle with an HDMI plug sticking out of 1 finish.

It’s fully unadorned, aside from an embossed Amazon logo on the top and a micro USB port on the aspect. The micro USB port connects to the included wall adapter for power, and can be utilized with Amazon’s optional $15 Ethernet adapter if you would like to use a wired community connection. A brief (only some inches) HDMI extender is included if there isn’t sufficient room on the back of your Tv to plug the Fire TV Stick instantly into an HDMI port. Internally, the third-gen Fire TV Stick seems to be nearly the exact same device as the Fire TV Stick Lite. Fire TV Stick, the same declare made about the Fire TV Stick Lite. The one difference between the 2 gadgets, apart from their remotes, is that the Fire TV Stick can output Dolby Atmos audio in case your Tv, soundbar, or surround sound system can handle it. The Fire TV Stick Lite can’t. The distant is the most important change on the new Fire Tv.

It’s the third era of Amazon’s Alexa voice distant, with a barely tweaked design and a bit more functionality. It’s nonetheless a skinny black wand with barely rounded ends, and is the exact same dimension and form as the earlier Alexa voice distant. It additionally nonetheless has the same distinguished circular navigation pad, Flixy streaming pinhole microphone for using Alexa (though the Alexa button is now a blue Alexa logo as an alternative of a black microphone), playback controls, and Tv energy and volume controls. Hulu, and Netflix. They let you soar straight into those apps, which is beneficial but not exactly important when the apps are straightforward to find on the home display screen. The microphone for Alexa and the Tv controls for adjusting volume are the most vital elements of the remote, and they carry over from the earlier mannequin. The Fire TV Stick Lite, by comparison, has the Alexa microphone but completely lacks Tv controls or devoted service buttons.

Amazon has made significant interface changes to its Fire Tv platform over time, but it surely stays a strong, function-crammed system, and the new Fire TV Stick enables you to do the identical issues as the earlier Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K, and the Fire TV Stick Lite. HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. Fire Tv also has 1000's of apps and companies protecting a large number of subjects, and you'll stream video games on it with Amazon Luna in case your connection is fast sufficient (we advocate getting a Luna Controller to go with it). For Flixy streaming media or mirroring screens from local units, the Fire Tv platform is a bit limited. You may stream from a Pc or cellular system with WiDi or MiraCast, however that’s about it. You won’t find Google Cast like on the Chromecast or Apple AirPlay like on Roku gadgets, which respectively make sharing what’s in your Android phone or iPhone easy and convenient.