Fire TV Stick 4K
Stick to simplicity
$50 at Amazon
Pros
- Amazing value with great specs
- Hides behind TV for a clean setup
- Comes with Alexa Voice Remote
Cons
- No hands-free Alexa
- Older processor than Cube
The Fire TV Stick 4K is arguably the best value in streaming devices. You get 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, and an Alexa Voice Remote at a really compelling price.
All-New Fire TV Cube (2019)
Top-notch specs
$120 at Amazon
Pros
- New and improved processor
- New features like Local Voice Control and Dolby Vision
- Available in more countries
Cons
- Most expensive Fire TV streaming box
- No external storage support
The Fire TV Cube (2019) has upgraded internals from last year’s device for increased speed and performance. It also added some key features like Local Voice Control for on-device processing and Dolby Vision support.
Amazon makes some of the most popular streaming devices available, and they happen to be some of the most feature-rich as well. These two devices do a lot of the same things but are clearly for different use cases. Which use case will fit your viewing habits?
Side-by-side comparison
There are some pretty noticeable differences between the Fire TV Cube (2019) and the Fire TV Stick 4K, but there are also quite a few areas where there features overlap. Let’s take a look.
| Processor | Hexa-core | Quad-core |
| Beamforming Microphones | Yes | No |
| Amazon Alexa | Built-in + Alexa Voice Remote | On Alexa Voice Remote |
| Picture Quality | 4K UHD, HDR 10+ | 4K UHD, HDR 10+ |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Vision | Yes | Yes |
| CEC Control | Yes | No |
| Local Voice Control | Yes | No |
| Smart Home Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 + LE | 5.0 + LE |
| Internal Speaker | Yes | No |
| Music Streaming | Yes | Yes |
| Pair Multiple for Stereo Sound | Yes | No |
| Storage | 16 GB | 8 GB |
| RAM | 2 GB | 1.5 GB |
The Fire TV Cube (2019) has more storage, memory, and a faster processor than the Fire TV Stick 4K, plus an Echo experience with hands-free voice control. Will those differences be enough to sway you from one to the other?
Which Fire TV streamer should you get?
As you would expect, larger Fire TV Cube (2019) has better specs than the smaller and older Fire TV Stick 4K. It also should come as no surprise that these updated specs allow for an enhanced Alexa experience. For example, the Cube has something called Local Voice Control which takes advantage of a new processor to handle an increasing number of simple requests on-device (like navigating the Fire TV interface).
Its eight far-field microphones have been improved to be able to hear your voice commands better when the TV is in use (rather than being drowned out by the TV speakers). It can be used as a stand-alone Echo device to control your smart home, it can be paired with other Echos for a multi-room speaker system, and you can speak to it without needing to use your remote. All-in-all, a pretty useful streaming box.
However, as Android Central’s Phil Nickinson pointed out in a recent AC podcast, the smaller stick has several things going for it that we think should convince you to choose it over the more premium Cube.
For starters, the Fire TV Stick 4K is a less-conspicuous device that you can tuck behind your TV and forget it is even there for that uncluttered, minimalist look. Additionally (and most importantly), the Fire TV Stick 4K is cheap. For less than half the price of the All-New Fire TV Cube (2019), you get almost all of the same high-end specs, plus a chunk of change to spare. With that savings you can easily pick up an Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for hands-free Alexa support and TV control, and still have money left over to subscribe to a few Amazon Channels or rent or buy some TV shows and movies on Prime Video.
Fire TV Stick 4K
Stick to this one
All you need and nothing you don’t
$50 at Amazon
The Fire TV Stick 4K offers most of what you can get on the more premium Fire TV Cube at nearly a third of the price.
All-New Fire TV Cube (2019)
Updated internals
$120 at Amazon
It’s what’s inside that counts
The All-New Fire TV Cube (2019) features some pretty significant internal enhancements to make your streaming experience even better.
