Verdict
An fantabulous streamer and the upright Fire video Stick yet , the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max offer plenty of entertainment options , the tops - helpful Alexa and howling pullulate performance . Prime customers are best placed to reap the best performance though , and the interface could be more popular in the content it swear out up .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Fire TV Stick 4 K Max is the Modern top - end streaming selection from Amazon , offering add feature compared to the received Fire TV Stick 4 K streamer .
These newfangled upgrades admit Wi - Fi 6 connectivity , a rapid central processing unit , additional storage and a shiny new Live Picture - in - Picture feature . You also get all of the same benefits as the old Fire TV Stick 4K.
But are those features enough to free an raise ? I ’ve spent the last few weeks with the unexampled cyclosis stick , so here are my thinking .
Design
At first blush the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max resemble every other Fire TV Stick of recent time . It ’s black , orthogonal in shape , with the Amazon logotype on it and a HDMI porthole attach at one of its ends . There ’s no need for any optical collection when it ’s going to spend the bulk of its living hiding behind the TV .
It ’s chunkier than former Fire goggle box Sticks , but the added girth is n’t an issue since the includedHDMIextender extricate it from any cabling proceeds . I ’d also say keep an university extension cable nigh by for office unless you require to use a USB port as most do n’t have the juice to power the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max .
The Alexa remote control come with more button and a dash of colour . There ’s the standard circular D - tablet for navigation , book and playback release , and the Alexa voice button mutant more obvious stigmatisation . There ’s also the accession of Prime Video ( of course ) , Netflix , Disney+andAmazon Musichot keys . The 4 K Max also supports the Alexa Voice Remote Pro that ’s usable separately for £ 34.99 .
With the stock Alexa remote , it ’s potential to control a TV ’s major power and book or any connected sound system . There is the alternative of using your telecasting ’s own remote control to assure the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max or else , but then you ’d recede out on some of the Alexa - specific functionality .
The plus of a button for accessing live TV does make for a busier layout than before , but I do like how the remote feel in the hand . It ’s lightweight , and the snappy button presses and layout pass water for a simplistic experience .
Interface and Apps
The Fire TV 4 K Max comes with theall - newfangled Fire TV Experiencethat launched in 2020 and there will be some who bemoan the level of Amazon - centric content – and they ’d be correct to do so in my opinion . The carousel is mostly Prime Video and Freevee - centric with the odd nod to other apps to highlight / raise late content .
I had to immerse through batch of rows before recommendations for iPlayer and Netflix appear , and their emplacement seems to change with regularity . As a revamp of the previous port , it ’s more visually interesting – if broken up with more ads – and a benefit of the reorder is that access to apps is quicker than before but there is a passel of content to look through . The Entertainment OS onSky Streamdoes a much better job at curating content for the user , and it ’s more popular in the avail it highlight .
The ‘ Watch List ’ had been jumping around the user interface but has now settled back on the home page in the form of My Stuff ( which has a bookmark logo ) . Like Sky ’s Playlist , Google ’s Watchlist or Roku ’s Save inclination , you may contribute mental object from other apps by searching for the title first and add it .
Dive to the top of the UI to the group of lame with a “ + ” sign and it ’s from there that you may customise the app row that appears on the place filmdom , view other downloaded apps , or retrieve more in the App depot . Select the apps you need in one of the bundle sections and you may conveniently download them all at once .
There ’s a vast number of apps withNetflix , Disney+ , Now , discovery+,Apple TV+ , Starz Play and YouTube for video , along with the main UK catch - up / on - requirement apps . Sport extend BT Sport , UFC , NFL , Eurosport , Box Nation , F1 TV and WWE , while for music there’sSpotify , Tidal , BBC Sounds , DeezerandROXi . Whatever angle you come at the Fire TV from – news , fitness , kids – there ’s wad to fill up on .
Other icons towards the top of the abode covert includes your visibility ( Fire TV allows for up to six ) and Find – which show a breakdown of the categories and genres , with list of recommendations and sheer subject .
The Live tab is an EPG in the vein of Samsung’sTV Plus , although there are a fewer figure of live and on - requirement channels . There ’s the Red Bull Channel , My5 , 5USA , 5Star , 5Action , 5USA , with the option of add together Prime Video channel such as the Eurosport histrion . Despite the appearance of iPlayer , All 4 and ITV Hub apps , they ’re not directly integrated into the Fire TV EPG .
If , like me , you ’re frequently surprised when you shoot down on a rubric and a dawdler out of the blue play , the automobile - gaming feature can be turned off in the options . Other Amazon - centred features include Live Picture - in - icon where you could check your smart camera without stopping what you are watching ( the first Fire TV Stick to get this characteristic ) ; integration with Ring doorbell , Echo speakers and Hive thermostat .
Performance
Streaming sticks do n’t necessarilyaddmuch to proceedings , but through various substance they can make thingsslightlyworse . The Fire TV 4 K Max , like any other cyclosis stick , is as serious as the equipment you have . in force TV , auditory sensation system and Wi - Fi will think of better public presentation . Not so good TV , sound system and Wi - Fi ; then ask it to be not so cracking .
Like theRoku Streaming Stick 4 K , Amazon ’s peg hasDolby Vision , HDR10 + , HDR10 andHLGto control the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max allows your television receiver the best chance of optimising what you ’re take in .
And video recording streaming look flawless , much like its Roku rival . West Side Story in Dolby Vision on Disney+ reckon fantastically colourful , with good detail and strong blacks on a65 - inch Sony OLED(although for sharpness and overall particular , the4 K Blu - raywins out ) .
The other saltation hall succession between the Jets and Sharks dazzles with the array of colours , the Dolby Vision sweetening accentuate the colour for a richer performance and precise brightness . The Queens lawn tennis tournament in 4 K HLG on iPlayer was a swelled step up from the HD watercourse , with punchier whites and , not astonishingly , greener grass . If you have a up to television receiver , the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max sure as shooting pull in the most of it .
An HD watercourse of Crazy Ex - Girlfriend on Netflix , performance was unlined , with no buffering issues , slowdown or any obtrusive ocular artefacts watching the show . Scanning through an episode and pressing play , the 4 M Max load and soften the flow swiftly , and visual fidelity looked place - on in term of colour and particular .
disastrous level hold up well in some of the darker scenes in serial three of Mr Robot ( Prime Video ) and The Witch ( Netflix ) , which is better than the Strong Leap - S1 banner manage . However , the Fire TV Stick was n’t flawless : there ’s some contraction of blacks in the setting of an question scene . The Fire TV Cube blow a estimable functioning in this regard .
On the audio front the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max delivers a full carrying into action than theRoku Streaming Stick 4K. Amazon ’s stick produced a more nuanced , detailed performance , and does n’t go as expectant on the bass . With the Roku , the freshwater bass take up to predominate proceedings . In my thought , theFire video Cubeoffers the sound basso performance of the circle .
With music , too , the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max edges ahead of the Roku , finding more lucidness at the top - death when mind to Tidal for a more dynamical functioning ( you also getAtmosand Tidal Master support for Tidal music ) . A disappointment is that this Fire TV Stick is only open of playing up to 16 - bit/192kHz ( same as the Fire TV Cube ) , which means it ca n’t natively play the 24 - bit subject matter from Amazon Music ’s Ultra HD tracks . In most cases , Ultra HD track toy in lossless 16 - bit FLAC .
The big acclivity over previous control stick is the speed of the UI . The Fire television receiver 4 K Max ’s excess processing capabilities are put to effective effect with navigation through the Alexa remote the streaming equivalent of the Enterprise charting the final frontier at warp speed . It makes theHD Fire boob tube Stickoperation sluggish by comparison . It ’s not as fast as the 3rd Gen Fire TV Cube but around its price bracket it ’s more than fast enough .
And then there ’s Alexa , who can understand even your most quieten queries and mumbles . Like other Fire TV Sticks , if you know what you ’re front for then it ’s speedy and more convenient to expect her . The Fire telecasting interface is always prompting with potential question , likely because it want to gobble up more information about your hunting wont .
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Should you buy it?
- : This is an obvious alternative for Prime customers , bring peck of amusement options to the tip of your finger , or at the beck and call of your interpreter with Alexa integration .
Unless you ’re interested in becoming a Prime client to get the most out of the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max , similar floor of performance on pass from Roku – as well as fewer ads .
Final Thoughts
The best Fire TV Stick yet ? perfectly , the difference of opinion between it and the Fire TV Stick 4 K is not huge , but for an additional £ 5 there’sWi - Fi 6 , a slightly faster central processing unit , more storage and the Live Picture - in - painting feature , which may be enough for some to plank the premium stick .
The Fire TV Stick 4 K Max is a slick , well - featured streamer with excellent lookup capabilities in Alexa . If we ’re talking performance , the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max butt on the Roku Streaming Stick 4 one thousand , specially with audio . In terms of the interface , the Roku is more political program agnostical whereas Amazon is , well , about Amazon – and quite a few advertizing , too . Its interface is not the most easy digestible either .
If you ’re a Prime client then there ’s no other stream stick deserving considering . If you ’re not a Prime customer , you ’ll require to have a think about the contention before you dive in .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every video waft we refresh thoroughly over an extended period of time . We employ industry - received test to equate features right . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , have money to refresh a Cartesian product .
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FAQs
No , you do n’t need a Wi - Fi 6 router for the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max ; but if you do have a Wi - Fi 6 router then you ’ll get faster pour performance .
It ’s a £ 5 price dispute and the Fire TV Stick 4 K Max supports Wi - Fi 6 .
