The new Fire TV Stick 4K goes on sale in Germany. We took a look at the new streaming stick for the HDMI socket.
Amazon is also cleaning up the Fire-TV product category with this new launch. The square Fire TV Box is no longer available; customers can now choose between the first-generation Fire TV Stick available for 39.99 euros with only Full HD resolution and the new 4K model for 59.99 euros.
The 20 Euro surcharge for the Fire TV Stick 4K is not only reflected in the higher 4K resolution and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, but you also get noticeably faster hardware with the built-in 1.7 GHz quad-core processor. On top of that, there’s the latest version of the Alexa voice remote with small but very welcome improvements at first glance: The remote control, which is also available as a single purchase, now not only has an on/off button, but also a volume button and a mute button that can be used to adjust the volume of the TV set without having to use a second remote control each time.
The option to use the remote control for Alexa voice commands is as familiar to us as the option to operate the Fire TV Stick 4K via echo speakers from previous generations of Fire devices. Even though it might be a bit heavier for me, I think the Alexa voice remote is very handy and allows a much faster and more reliable operation than Apple’s Siri-Remote. Apple’s attempt to integrate a mini-game controller at the same time is not convincing.
The Fire TV Stick 4K itself is a good two centimeters longer than its predecessor at 108 × 30 millimeters and is also so wide that it blocks the HDMI connections directly adjacent to most TV sets. A short adapter cable is included in the scope of delivery, with the help of which the latter can be prevented and the stick can be placed more flexibly. A power supply unit and a micro USB cable are also included, as the picture remains black on the corresponding TV input without a separate power supply.
With regard to the use itself, everything remains the same except for the support of the additional video and audio formats. The stick is recommended as the perfect supplement for an Amazon Prime subscription, and can of course also be used independently for video streaming services such as Netflix, DAZN or the apps of TV stations. Music services such as Spotify are also available for download from the Amazon App Store.
The Fire TV Stick 4K is available from Amazon for 59.99 euros. As part of an introductory campaign, there is a 10 euro discount on the purchase of two sticks for a limited period.
