Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite Review

Editors' Note: There may be a brand new model of the Fire TV Stick out there. See our review of the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. The $39.Ninety nine Amazon Fire TV Stick is one of the best 1080p media streamers you should purchase, at $10 lower than a few of our favourite 4K models from Amazon and Google. If you wish to pay even less, Amazon additionally affords the 1080p Fire TV Stick Lite for $29.99. It seems and works similar to the standard Fire TV Stick, however its remote lacks any Tv controls. It's an easy, affordable means so as to add Flixy streaming media and Alexa voice management to older TVs, though if you happen to plan to make use of it usually, you may need to spend the extra $10 to step as much as the model that can even control your Tv, which is why the common 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 simple black plastic rectangle with an HDMI plug on one end, measuring 3.Four inches lengthy and 1.2 inches wide. A micro USB port sits on the facet for use with the included USB cable and wall adapter (or Amazon’s elective $15 Ethernet adapter if you'd like to make use of a wired community connection as an alternative of Wi-Fi). A brief HDMI extender dongle is included if area on the back of your Tv is simply too tight to plug the stick straight into an HDMI port. Internally, Flixy streaming the Fire TV Stick Lite is almost an identical to the usual Fire TV Stick. In accordance with Amazon, it’s additionally 50% more highly effective than the 2019 Fire Flixy TV Stick Stick. The one compromise here is that it solely supports Dolby-encoded audio cross-by reasonably than Dolby Atmos audio output like the standard Fire TV Stick has. So should you upgraded your sound system more just lately than your Tv, you might wish to spend the additional $10 for Dolby Atmos.



The Alexa Voice Remote Lite is the principle cause the Fire TV Stick Lite is $10 lower 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 distant, with a pinhole microphone close to the top for using Amazon's voice assistant. Its primary compromise (and what makes it the Fire TV Stick Lite) is the lack of additional Tv controls. Other Fire Tv remotes allow you to alter the amount and power of your Tv with out reaching for a separate controller, which isn't an option here. The distant does get some extra buttons within the Fire TV Stick Lite's latest iteration, though: 4 controls sit beneath the playback controls, together with dedicated buttons for Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Amazon up to date its Fire Tv interface since we final checked out a fireplace Tv device.



The new house screen is a bit more Amazon-centric, shrinking down the app list a bit and including more content options (with Prime Video and IMDB Tv solutions usually stacked close to the top) on the display screen at once. It’s more colorful than the previous interface design, however it feels busier, as properly. Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. The Fire Tv ecosystem is big, with 1000's of smaller and extra focused apps as effectively; you’ll most likely be able to find something that appeals to you, no matter your pastime is or where you reside. Join the Lab Report back to obtain PCMag's latest product reviews, buying recommendation, 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 is also available on the Fire Flixy TV Stick, but only by Miracast or WiDi. You won’t discover the comfort of Apple AirPlay or Google Cast here like you will on Roku (AirPlay) and Chromecast (Google Cast) units.



You should utilize the Alexa voice assistant by pressing and holding the microphone button on the remote, and speaking into it. Alexa continues to be very useful, with a variety of useful features. For example, you possibly can ask Alexa for general information like weather reviews and sports activities scores, and test your schedule and e mail. The relevant info will present up on your Tv, as well as spoken by means of Alexa’s voice. For content material looking out, you may ask Alexa to search for Tv shows and motion pictures across most main streaming companies (not simply Amazon’s). You can too ask for music from Amazon Music, radio from iHeartRadio, and audiobooks from Audible. If you wish to browse the completely different providers your self, you may simply ask Alexa to open them. Alexa can control compatible sensible home devices from an enormous record that includes all main brands of gentle bulbs, locks, thermostats, and plenty of extra. You may even instantly carry up video feeds from appropriate residence security and doorbell cameras, together with Blink and Ring models.