Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: What’s really Max about it?
Our Verdict
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max improves one of the Fire TV Stick 4K's weaknesses: performance. But that comes at a cost.
For
- Fantabulous 4K HDR quality
- Fast perfomance
- Every app you lot need
- Alive Idiot box and smart home camera integration
Against
- Interface is stuffed with Amazon and ads
- Voice-search doesn't always work right
Tom'due south Guide Verdict
The Amazon Burn Television set Stick 4K Max improves 1 of the Fire Television receiver Stick 4K'due south weaknesses: performance. But that comes at a price.
Pros
- +
First-class 4K HDR quality
- +
Fast perfomance
- +
Every app yous need
- +
Live TV and smart home camera integration
Cons
- -
Interface is stuffed with Amazon and ads
- -
Voice-search doesn't e'er piece of work right
The Amazon Burn Telly Stick 4K Max is here, and I wish information technology were simply the new Amazon Fire Television Stick 4K. Don't become me wrong: it's a practiced streaming device. In fact, it's my favorite Burn down TV device Amazon's ever made, and it's going on our best streaming devices listing.
That said, its main upgrade is in functioning, and we're not sure how many need a faster Burn Boob tube Stick. Every bit this Fire TV Stick 4K Max review will testify, our testing revealed that you won't ever come across the difference in the new processor. But when you do, you might be pretty happy it'south in that location.
- The best streaming services, ranked
- Amazon Fire TV Cube vs. Fire TV Stick vs. Burn Television Stick 4K: What should y'all buy?
We've got a number of modest differences to examine when it comes to the Fire Television Stick 4K Max. It'southward nonetheless packed into the same familiar blackness dongle, but now its remote has a few new buttons (including one that'south cracking for cord-cutters).
So if you're wondering if this is a must-have upgrade, or one to await on (or skip), permit's break down how it compares to the field. And if you want a full comparison, you tin likewise check out our Fire Television set Stick 4K Max vs Fire TV Stick 4K guide.
Amazon Burn TV Stick 4K Max specs
| Fire TV Stick 4K Max | |
|---|---|
| Starting toll | $49.99 |
| Resolution | Up to 4K UHD at sixty fps |
| Processor | Quad-core ane.8GHz (750MHz GPU) |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi half-dozen, 802.11a/b/g/n/air-conditioning/ax |
| Dimensions | 4.25 x 1.eighteen x 0.55 inches |
| Colors | Black |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos, seven.ane environs sound, ii-aqueduct stereo and HDMI audio pass through upward to five.1 |
| Video | HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
| Remote | Alexa Vocalism Remote w/ Live Tv set and App buttons |
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Toll and availability
The Amazon Fire Television receiver Stick 4K Max costs $55, a mere $v college than the $50 Burn down Idiot box Stick 4K, which is frequently put on sale well below that price. Its principal competitors are likewise $50: the Chromecast with Google Tv set and the upcoming Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which we look to test soon.
The Fire Television set Stick 4K Max came out on Oct 7, 2021.
Amazon Fire Television Stick 4K Max review: Blueprint
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max looks exactly similar the normal Amazon Fire Boob tube Stick 4K. A matte-black dongle measuring 4.25 10 1.18 x 0.55 inches, with and HDMI port to plug right into the back of your TV, where it will probable hide, in that lilliputian nook for HDMI cords and streamers. If your TV setup doesn't have the space for such a connection, Amazon includes a flexible HDMI adapter in the box in. Similarly, the Chromecast with Google Idiot box and Roku Streaming Stick 4K (both $50) sit behind your TV.
Yous power the Fire TV Stick 4K Max via the microUSB port on the side of the device. That cable stick out from the elevation or bottom side of the stick, depending on how your Tv set's HDMI port is oriented. If it sticks out from the top, as it does mine, you should plan to put the Fire Tv Stick 4K Max in the height-well-nigh HDMI port, so that the USB cablevision isn't getting in the manner of the beneath ports (reverse these instructions if your Fire TV Stick 4K Max's USB port is on the bottom side when plugged in).
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Interface
Just similar every Fire TV device before it, the Fire Idiot box Stick 4K Max features an interface that revolves around the Amazon ecosystem. Amazon Prime, of course, is key to maximizing the Fire Tv Stick 4K Max, every bit you probably know past now, and the menus volition not end suggesting things from Prime Video (and the Amazon-owned IMDb TV) to picket. But that's the name of the game at this indicate.
The recently redesigned Burn Idiot box interface is splashier than ever, and now breaks itself out into iii chief tabs. Dwelling has recommended apps and content, Find is where you search and Live is a home to the best cable TV alternative apps, such as Hulu and YouTube TV. To become the most out of the Os, check out our setup and mastery guide on learning how to utilise the Burn Stick.
You'll as well see a lot of ads, with the rows of sponsored content that show up every iv to eight rows in the home screen and the splashy banners at the height of the screen. And while ads are seemingly the status-quo for nearly all streaming devices (save for the super-pricey Apple tree Television 4K), the Fire Boob tube world seems to have many more. Yes, Chromecast with Google Idiot box is suggesting content everywhere, and Roku's ads are in its sidebar and screen savers, but neither feels as omnipresent.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Performance
The Max in the Fire Idiot box Stick 4K Max is about its functioning and speed, which I noticed, though non by that much. The changes happen under the plastic crush of a hood, with a new quad-core 1.8GHz MT8696 processor and a 750MHz GPU (upgraded from the quad-core ane.7GHz processor and 650MHz GPU in the Burn Television Stick). Amazon'south too added Wi-Fi half-dozen, 802.11a/b/one thousand/n/ac/ax support, though I didn't accept a Wi-Fi 6 router to test it with (if y'all do, expect improved streaming speeds).
Apps, movies and shows all launch pretty quickly on the Burn down TV Stick Max 4K in my testing, especially when y'all're moving from app to app, and back and forth. I saw the most notable differences confronting the regular Fire TV Stick 4K when I'd reboot information technology and other streaming sticks.
From a restarted country, Disney Plus loaded in 8.87 seconds on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, notably shorter than the Fire Telly Stick 4K's xiii.47-second time. I didn't even need my stopwatch to see the departure, as the "Disney+" logo stuttered in its animation on the Burn TV Stick 4K, just loaded smoothly on the Burn TV Stick 4K Max. The Chromecast with Google Television loaded the app in ix.07 seconds.
Similarly, Netflix loaded in 1.38 seconds on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (and 1.58 seconds on the Chromecast with Google TV), but it took 20 seconds to load on the Fire TV Stick 4K.
Those time differences disappeared when I loaded up the Black Widow moving-picture show in the Disney Plus app. All three sticks loaded it in around 8-ix seconds.
Amazon Burn TV Stick 4K Max review: Audio and video
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max produces excellent moving-picture show and sound, which I noticed as I rewatched Midsommar, a pic as beautifully shot equally its story is traumatizing. All of the colors of Dani'southward flower dress, and its many petals, rendered strong and well-baked on my LG 55-inch OLED TV.
This is owed in part to the Burn Television Stick 4K Max offering the same high-quality video and audio standards as the Fire TV Stick 4K. That's HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for rich visuals, and Dolby Atmos for immersive audio, with support for 7.1 surround sound, 2-channel stereo and up to 5.1 via HDMI audio pass through. The Chromecast with Google TV has those same video standards, also as Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K doesn't accept Atmos, but it does support multiple audio standards over HDMI (digital stereo, DTS Digital Surround and Dolby-encoded audio via pass-through).
Amazon Burn Tv Stick 4K Max review: Search
Amazon's search works well, except for the odd times that Alexa gets too pushy. Amazon combs through more than than 100 dissimilar services when you search, and so when I entered "Vin Diesel" information technology presented me with rows of titles that made sense, starting with Vin Diesel movies from my subscriptions (he's been in a scattering of movies on Disney Plus). The next row, "Movies and TV" shows titles from all other services.
Merely when I started to hunt for Fast & Furious movies, I was a trivial annoyed. At the search prompt window, the text on screen says you lot can type in your query or search by holding down the Alexa button on your remote. I'd only recommend the former, equally the latter would automatically take me to the search result it thought was most right: Netflix's Fast & Furious Spy Racers, an blithe series about "teen driver Tony Toretto" and his friends. I tried this again to make certain I'd not made a mistake. It kept throwing me to that app, foregoing the search results screen I'd see when I typed that "Fast & Furious" query in.
When I tried Alexa-based searching again, this time with the give-and-take "Halloween" (to see how many of the Michael Myers movies are streaming online), information technology gave me the regular results window, as it should have. 1 oddity, which we constitute in our Fire Tv Stick 4K review, is that Alexa thinks "4K movies" means "four k movies," something we wish the digital banana could translate properly, peculiarly since 4K is in this device'southward proper name.
Amazon Burn down Telly Stick 4K Max review: Remote
The Amazon Alexa Voice Remote is pretty standard at get-go blush. A circular directional pad with a select button in the eye, menu buttons for Home, Dorsum and Options, Goggle box power and book buttons and navigation via fast forwards, rewind and play/suspension buttons. Oh, and the blueish Alexa button, which allows yous to open up and control applications, past clicking down and speaking the proper noun of an application, or asking Alexa to rewind or fast forward.
Annoyingly, the Fire TV 4K Max remote'southward been infected with the branded app push disease (Roku may have been patient goose egg) that ever more than like advertisements for brands than helpful tools for customers. The buttons are dedicated to Prime number Video (of course), Disney Plus, Netflix and Hulu. We'd honey them to exist programmable, similar you find in the 2 buttons in the higher-cease Roku Ultra, but this only seems to be the industry standard for streaming devices priced around $50.
Cord-cutters shouldn't overlook the Live TV button, even though information technology just defaults to the free linear programming on the IMDB app. Digging around in the Settings, I found that I could connect my Sling TV account's channels to the Live TV grid of channels (Settings > Live Telly > Sync Sources > select your source), and so I could simply hide the IMDB channels (Settings > Alive Television set > Manage Channels), and turn the Live Boob tube button into a Sling button.
That said, Roku remotes accept a Sling TV push button, which cuts through the need to the states Amazon'south interface. I'd prefer that, as the IMDB channels didn't seem to offer me much, sort of the same freebies y'all detect in Pluto Television.
Amazon Burn TV Stick 4K Max review: Content and apps
The Amazon Fire Television set platform has been nearly flawless when information technology comes to having every app available, only hiccuping notably for the outset year of Peacock. But now that Comcast'due south streaming service is in Amazon's streaming app library information technology's hard to argue with the support. Amazon doesn't publish how many apps in that location are in its shop, but the site 42matters claims there are more than 12,700 apps at this point.
Those with smart-home cameras will also be happy to hear that in that location's a new Live View Moving picture-in-Picture fashion then y'all can check what's going on with your video doorbell or habitation security camera without stopping the movie or show you're watching. I was not able to test this feature, as I don't have whatever such cameras. The Chromecast with Google TV has an choice to sentry your Nest Cam feed on your Goggle box, but non in picture show-in-picture.
The Burn Idiot box Stick's library includes all of the best streaming services and the best cablevision Television alternative apps are there, and that's including YouTube TV (which is currently knocked out of the Roku store, and just establish hidden abroad in the YouTube app). Across that, yous've also got Plex, Spotify and many more.
Amazon'southward even added gaming back up from its Luna platform. Nosotros will update this review with the user experience on the Fire Telly Stick Max in the coming weeks.
If you're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem, the Fire Television Stick 4K Max will exist all the more valuable. All of your Amazon subscriptions, Amazon Channels, Amazon Music content and purchased films and shows are all hands found in the device.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review: Bottom line
If you're considering the Amazon Burn TV Stick 4K Max, y'all're likely aware that it'south non simply a streaming device, but a portal into the Amazon ecosystem. While I wish it wasn't pushing that world so hard, it doesn't stop yous from existence able to use the Fire TV Stick 4K Max to really scout things.
Is live Television receiver integration enough to spend $5 more when you could get the less ad-heavy Chromecast with Google TV for $50? We've yet to test the upcoming $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K, but we expect it to be a great competitor, especially since its interface is cleaner and less bogged down with ads.
As this Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review has shown, the operation improvements in the new Fire stick are either slight or profound. Just for those who appreciate everything about the Fire TV Stick, but only wish information technology were a trivial bit faster? Information technology's time to accept your streaming to the Max.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k-max
Posted by: driggsextat1985.blogspot.com
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