I didn’t think I would ever be a big fan of the Amazon Fire TV line, nor did I think I would use voice controls often. I was wrong on both accounts, and it’s thanks to the introduction of Alexa+ on my Fire TV Omni QLED. I didn’t plan on using that TV for much outside of a review, but it’s slowly become a major part of my house. I have my PS5 plugged into that TV just because I wanted it out of the living room. It’s not a fancy 120hz TV, so I leave performance on the table with it, but that’s perfectly fine. For a spare room TV, it’s great, and the Alexa+ is icing on the cake.
By leaving the microphone on, I can walk into the room, ask Alexa to turn on the TV and change to HDMI 4, and in doing so, the receiver turns on, the TV turns on, and by the time I sit down with my PS5 controller, I’m at the home screen. It’s great, and I didn’t realize how useful the voice features are when you’re not just turning on a TV.
If you ever get stuck on a moment in a video game, you can simply ask Alexa what to do or where to go, and you’ll get the information. Obviously, it’s a dubious area where AI is scraping websites and robbing places of page clicks, but in a pinch, it works great. If I had technology like this when I was a kid, I wouldn’t have shut up about it.
Quiz
Fire TV Stick history
Trivia challenge
From its 2014 debut to 4K streaming dominance — how well do you really know Amazon’s Fire TV Stick?
HistoryHardwareStreamingFeaturesAmazon
In what year did Amazon first release the original Fire TV Stick?
Correct! Amazon launched the original Fire TV Stick in November 2014, initially as an invitation-only product before making it widely available. It was designed as a budget-friendly alternative to the full Fire TV box released earlier that same year.
Not quite. Amazon launched the Fire TV Stick in November 2014, following the debut of the larger Fire TV set-top box earlier that year. It quickly became one of the best-selling streaming devices on the market.
Which port does the Fire TV Stick plug into on your television?
Correct! The Fire TV Stick connects directly into an HDMI port on your TV, making it incredibly simple to set up. A separate USB cable is also included to provide power to the device.
Not quite. The Fire TV Stick uses an HDMI connection to plug directly into your television. This design keeps the device compact and ensures compatibility with virtually any modern TV.
Which Fire TV Stick model was the first to support 4K Ultra HD streaming?
Correct! The Fire TV Stick 4K, released in October 2018, was the first stick-form-factor Fire TV device to support 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. It was a significant upgrade over the standard stick lineup.
Not quite. The Fire TV Stick 4K, launched in 2018, was the first in the stick lineup to offer 4K Ultra HD support along with HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos audio. Earlier stick models were capped at 1080p Full HD.
What is the name of Amazon’s voice assistant built into the Fire TV Stick remote?
Correct! Amazon’s own voice assistant, Alexa, is integrated into the Fire TV Stick remote, allowing users to search for content, control smart home devices, check the weather, and more using just their voice.
Not quite. Amazon built its own voice assistant, Alexa, into the Fire TV Stick remote. Alexa lets you search for content hands-free, control compatible smart home devices, and access a wide range of skills beyond just streaming.
What is the name of Amazon’s own free streaming service that comes pre-installed on Fire TV Sticks?
Correct! Amazon Freevee (previously known as IMDb TV) is Amazon’s free, ad-supported streaming service that comes pre-loaded on Fire TV devices. It offers a wide library of movies and TV shows at no subscription cost.
Not quite. Amazon Freevee, formerly called IMDb TV, is Amazon’s free ad-supported streaming service that comes built into Fire TV Sticks. While Prime Video requires a subscription, Freevee is completely free to watch with ads.
Which budget-focused Fire TV Stick model was introduced in 2020, featuring a simplified remote without TV controls?
Correct! The Fire TV Stick Lite launched in 2020 as Amazon’s most affordable streaming stick. Its remote omits the dedicated TV power and volume buttons found on standard Fire TV remotes, keeping costs down for budget-conscious buyers.
Not quite. Amazon introduced the Fire TV Stick Lite in 2020 as its entry-level streaming stick. The Lite version’s remote drops the TV control buttons to reduce the price, making it an attractive option for first-time streamers.
Before being rebranded, what was the original name of the Fire TV Stick’s operating system?
Correct! The Fire TV Stick runs Fire OS, Amazon’s own operating system that is based on Android but heavily customised with Amazon’s own apps, services, and interface. It has been the backbone of all Fire TV devices since launch.
Not quite. Fire TV Sticks have always run Fire OS, Amazon’s forked version of Android that replaces Google’s services with Amazon’s own ecosystem. Despite its Android roots, Fire OS looks and behaves quite differently from standard Android TV.
Which connectivity standard did the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (1st Gen, 2021) introduce to the Fire TV Stick lineup for the first time?
Correct! The Fire TV Stick 4K Max launched in 2021 as the first Fire TV Stick to support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), offering faster and more reliable wireless connectivity compared to previous models. It also featured a more powerful processor than the standard 4K stick.
Not quite. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max, released in 2021, made history as the first Fire TV Stick to include Wi-Fi 6 support. This newer wireless standard delivers improved speeds and better performance in homes with many connected devices.
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Alexa+ works great in my situation
It solves a big problem
Something I complained about after getting a universal remote is that it didn’t have voice controls. This meant my universal remote couldn’t truly be universal since I had to keep my Apple TV 4K remote handy just to speed things up a bit. Things like searching on YouTube or typing in passwords are much easier with voice controls. Fortunately, Alexa+ solves that problem, which is why I had no hesitation about upgrading my living room TV to a Fire TV Mini-LED.
There are obviously some downsides here, and it’s that I have to interact with the Fire TV UI instead of my Apple TV, and I have to keep my TV connected to Wi-Fi all the time instead of keeping it off. These are things I had to grapple with, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. I kept my TV offline at first because it worked fine without updates, and I used an Apple TV 4K anyway, so I only needed the screen. Unfortunately, Alexa+ doesn’t work if you keep your TV offline, even to change inputs, so I have to keep it connected to Wi-Fi.
Perhaps the bigger issue here is leaving a microphone on all the time. Hands-free Alexa means you need to leave that toggle on the bottom of your Fire TV on, so the microphone can hear you. This means your TV can accidentally pick up on your conversation and think you’re talking to it when you’re not, and that’s obviously annoying. In practice, I find that it’s an overblown issue, and the bigger concern more people would have is that the microphone is always listening. This is a major privacy concern, and I totally understand why somebody wouldn’t want to have that microphone listening like that. For me, it’s worth the trade-off, and since my phone is listening to me all the time, what’s the problem with my TV doing it? I know that’s not a good answer, but this is a fight that I lost years ago.
It helps that there are good Fire TVs too
Alexa+ isn’t the only reason to buy one
The Fire TV name means a lot of things these days. There are millions of Fire TV sticks, but there are also a wide selection of actual Fire TV televisions. I now have three Fire TVs in my house, and they all vary wildly in quality. At the low end, I have a 720p Fire TV that I picked up for my Xbox 360. It works fine, and I only use it for that console. I have the Omni QLED in my spare room that performs a lot better than I expected, even if it’s a tad pricier than I’d want it to be.
My Mini-LED Fire TV is on the lower end of Mini-LED displays, it’s still a big step up from the Omni QLEDs of the world. I’ve only had it for a little while, but I’ve been impressed with it. I picked it up as part of a Prime deal for $1,000, and for a 75-inch TV, that’s a great price. Yes, there are better TVs, but there are also worse ones — and they don’t all come with Alexa+. We’ll see how I’m feeling a year from now, but so far, so good.
