Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite Review

Editors' Note: There's a brand new model of the Fire TV Stick out there. See our evaluation of the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. The $39.Ninety nine Amazon Fire TV Stick is among the best 1080p media streamers you can buy, at $10 less than some of our favourite 4K fashions from Amazon and Google. If you wish to pay even much less, Amazon additionally gives the 1080p Fire TV Stick Lite for $29.99. It seems and works just like the standard Fire TV Stick, but its distant lacks any Tv controls. It's a straightforward, affordable manner to add streaming media and Alexa voice management to older TVs, though for those who plan to make use of it often, you would possibly need to spend the additional $10 to step up to the mannequin that also can control your Tv, which is why the regular Fire TV Stick stays our Editors' Choice. Amazon has left the bodily design of the Fire TV Stick unchanged for years, and the Fire TV Stick Lite shares in that homogenous styling.



It’s a easy black plastic rectangle with an HDMI plug on one finish, measuring 3.4 inches long and 1.2 inches vast. A micro USB port sits on the facet for use with the included USB cable and wall adapter (or Amazon’s optional $15 Ethernet adapter if you'd like to use a wired community connection as a substitute of Wi-Fi). A short HDMI extender dongle is included if space on the back of your Tv is simply too tight to plug the stick immediately into an HDMI port. Internally, the Fire TV Stick Lite is practically similar to the usual Fire TV Stick. In accordance with Amazon, it’s also 50% more highly effective than the 2019 Fire TV Stick. The one compromise here is that it only helps Dolby-encoded audio move-through somewhat than Dolby Atmos audio output like the usual Fire TV Stick has. So in the event you upgraded your sound system extra recently than your Tv, you would possibly need to spend the additional $10 for Dolby Atmos.



The Alexa Voice Remote Lite is the principle cause the Fire TV Stick Lite is $10 less than the Fire TV Stick. It has the identical form as the wand included with the earlier Fire TV Stick and the Fire TV Stick 4K, a thin black rectangle with barely rounded ends. It’s also an Alexa voice remote, with a pinhole microphone near the top for utilizing Amazon's voice assistant. Its major compromise (and what makes it the Fire TV Stick Lite) is the lack of extra Tv controls. Other Fire Tv remotes allow you to adjust the volume and power of your Tv with out reaching for a separate controller, which isn't an possibility here. The remote does get some additional buttons in the Fire TV Stick Lite's newest iteration, though: 4 controls sit beneath the playback controls, together with devoted buttons for Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Amazon updated its Fire Tv interface since we last looked at a hearth Tv device.



The brand new house display is a little more Amazon-centric, shrinking down the app list a bit and including more content material options (with Prime Video and IMDB Tv solutions normally stacked close to the top) on the screen at once. It’s extra colorful than the previous interface design, but it feels busier, as effectively. Hulu, Netflix, Flixy Official Twitch, and YouTube. The Fire Tv ecosystem is huge, with hundreds of smaller and more targeted apps as effectively; you’ll in all probability be capable of finding one thing that appeals to you, no matter your pastime is or where you live. Join the Lab Report to receive PCMag's latest product opinions, shopping for advice, and insights. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox! Screen mirroring can be out there on the Fire Tv, but only by way of Miracast or WiDi. You won’t find the comfort of Apple AirPlay or Google Cast here like you will on Roku (AirPlay) and Chromecast (Google Cast) devices.



You need to use the Alexa voice assistant by pressing and holding the microphone button on the distant, and talking into it. Alexa continues to be very useful, with various useful features. For instance, you'll be able to ask Alexa for general info like weather reports and sports activities scores, and check your schedule and e-mail. The related information will present up on your Tv, as well as spoken by way of Alexa’s voice. For content looking out, you can ask Alexa to search for Tv shows and Flixy Official movies throughout most major streaming providers (not just Amazon’s). You can even ask for music from Amazon Music, radio from iHeartRadio, and audiobooks from Audible. If you want to browse the totally different companies your self, you can simply ask Alexa to open them. Alexa can control suitable smart home units from a massive listing that includes all main brands of light bulbs, locks, thermostats, and many more. You can even straight deliver up video feeds from appropriate residence security and doorbell cameras, together with Blink and Ring models.