Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite review: Capable streamer, cheap price

Roku is the biggest title in streaming components, with many distinct streamers out there proper now, and even much more TVs and soundbars. Amazon has been gunning for Roku’s slice of the pie at any time because the to start with Fireplace Television set appeared. The $thirty Amazon Fireplace Television set Lite is the company’s most economical streamer, an reply to the $30 Roku Convey and as you’d hope its biggest advantage more than Roku is the Alexa voice assistant.

Amazon also has a $40 Fireplace Stick but I would argue that the Fireplace Stick Television set Lite is the better offer. The most important distinction is that the much more pricey Stick has a distinct distant with power, quantity and mute buttons to regulate your Television set. If you are only making use of this streamer on a cheap Television set in any case, it is really well worth preserving the dollars, unless you genuinely want Television set regulate.

So is the $thirty Fireplace Television set Lite better than the $thirty Roku Convey? They mainly have the exact variety of apps, now that Fireplace Television set has Peacock, so the significant variations are in the menu devices and voice assist. The Lite’s designed-in accessibility to Alexa is a huge advantage if you like speaking alternatively of typing when you look for for demonstrates and start apps. In the conclude, I liked the Fireplace Television set Lite a bit better, although the Roku Convey is nonetheless an exceptional choice as well. If your Television set has an HDMI port, the Fireplace Television set Stick Lite is a good way to equip it with a prosperity of streaming for not much dollars.

What is it?

The Fireplace Television set Lite is a USB stick-sized machine which plugs into a spare HDMI port on your Television set. For thirty bucks it delivers a large amount of capabilities, together with that focused voice distant that lets integration with the Alexa voice assistant. There is certainly also dozens of supported streaming services among its 1000’s of out there apps.

The distant has not physically altered much because the to start with Fireplace Television set and I didn’t like the really feel as much as the Roku distant or the new Google Television set remote. Amazon’s clicker also lacks the shortcuts to Netflix or other often-applied solutions, but it does include things like a new are living Television set button. 

Urgent that new bottom button brings up a grid-design are living Television set guide populated by default with “channels” of cost-free demonstrates from Pluto Television set and Starz. Unusually Amazon’s individual IMDb Television set is not aspect of the are living Television set grid, even even though it has its individual method grid as soon as you open the app. If you happen to subscribe to YouTube Television set, you are going to also see demonstrates and channels from that assistance in the guide, although it didn’t work with Sling Television set (subscribers will have to use the Sling app as common).

The stick itself will come with a power adapter which Amazon strongly recommends you use. While you could use the USB ports on your machine to power it I uncovered it could cause the device could behave strangely. For case in point, Dolby Atmos content wouldn’t work at all when plugged into a Television set USB port, despite the machine declaring “Dolby Atmos” — the seem came out as five.one.

One particular aspect on the Lite’s aspect listing looks a minimal out of place: HDR compatibility. This is the to start with machine we have noticed to present HDR but not 4K resolution, and it raises the problem of what type of Television set it is really intended for. There are hundreds of 4K HDR TVs out there but, based mostly on a look for of the Most effective Invest in web site, there are only 4 1080p TVs that can do HDR. For most persons with 4K HDR TVs, we would endorse acquiring a streamer that can actually do 4K alternatively of a 1080p streamer like the Lite.

A lot of streaming apps

Like other streaming products the number of solutions that Amazon Fireplace Television set supports is strengthening all the time. It can accessibility nearly all of the significant streaming apps, including Amazon Key Movie ($9 at Amazon), Peacock, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Sling Television set, Crackle, Pluto Television set, Tubi Television set, Amazon Songs, Pandora, Spotify and quite a few, quite a few much more. 

What it is really like to use

The healthy enhance of capabilities, tightly built-in voice instructions and its relative pace will make for a successful mix. In normal opening apps was fast, and only navigating the property web site tiles could give a extremely occasional sluggish-down, but very little that spoiled the experience. 

Utilizing the Fireplace Television set Stick Lite distant is effortless, and Alexa queries with the microphone button ended up much more responsive and related than making use of the Echo as a go-in between. Only as soon as in a whilst did I would like for a mute button, and that was commonly during the autoplay movies that accompany the tiles on the property web site.

I appreciated staying ready to use possibly the distant or an Alexa speaker for voice instructions, but making use of an Echo speaker didn’t work with each and every app I attempted. Asking for “Umbrella Academy” on Netflix failed, for case in point, and I just bought a “examine your competencies” concept (there is no official Netflix skill in the Alexa app). 

Utilizing the distant alternatively of a speaker was much more thriving, but even that wasn’t infallible. Provided that YouTube Television set is now tightly built-in I hoped that voice look for would work better than it does. For occasion I requested for “Fight Bots on YouTube Television set” and all I bought ended up YouTube and Amazon “obtain” hyperlinks. Amazon Key video worked effectively with Alexa voice, however.

In contrast, Roku could not have the exact strong voice capabilities, but text and voice queries by using the Roku distant are typically much more targeted toward the cost-free/provided systems relatively than simply just pointing to “obtain now” hyperlinks.  

Picture and seem top quality ended up also extremely very good, but the absence of an audio format regulate over and above “Most effective Accessible” could guide to some odd issues. For case in point, The Legend of Korra on Netflix making use of the Lite only gave me stereo seem (even though it really should be able of five.one), whereas the new Fireplace Stick did give me the predicted five.one. Other systems, together with Jack Ryan on Amazon, ended up performed in Atmos on the Lite so it wasn’t very likely a components capacity issue. More very likely a Netflix a person, and when I attained out to Amazon for clarification, a spokesperson confirmed the machine supports each five.one and seven.one. 

There are two distinct colleges of believed when it will come to how streaming products organize their information. App-centric menus like Roku and Apple Television set just display you a grid of apps, so you are not able to actually look through for a little something to check out without having clicking by way of to each app. Amazon Fireplace Television set and Google Television set get a much more information-focused tactic, surfacing loads of titles on the property web site itself. 

If you like to graze for information, the Fireplace Television set may be much more attractive, although the “are living tiles” autoplay video can be jarring. If you know what you want already, or at least what app you want to check out, Roku is possibly a better choice, in aspect for the reason that Amazon’s look for success skew intensely toward its individual information (often at more price). 

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Ought to you obtain it?

If you want an ultracheap, able streamer and are embedded with Alexa and the Amazon universe, this item will make a large amount of perception. You could or could not miss out on the Television set regulate functions but the Are living Television set Guide button is a serious reward for cord-cutters in specific. At $thirty it is really a worthy streamer and a good stocking filler.

If, on the other hand, you have the 2019 Fireplace Stick, there’s completely no cause for you to obtain possibly of the 2020 versions. Dolby Atmos and/or Dolby Eyesight are unusual increase-ons for 1080p products, and if you have a first rate 4K Television set then you really should get a serious 4K streamer — it is really just a different $twenty.

First released Oct. eight 2020, up to date June 2021 with addition of Peacock.