Amazon Fire TV Stick review: will it beat Chromecast?
The new Fire TV Stick dongle offers Prime Instant Video alongside Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Sky
The Fire TV Stick, a small video-streaming device that you
can plug into your TV set, has quickly become Amazon's fastest-selling
gadget.
Amazon's challenge to Google's Chromecast TV dongle costs £35 and streams Amazon's Prime Instant Video as well as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Sky and Demand 5.
It also gives access to Amazon's huge library of films and TV shows including recent releases such as Interstellar, The Imitation Game and Nightcrawler as well as playing music and a respectable collection of games. So is it any good?
It plugs into your TV's HDMI port and is powered by a USB cable or mains adaptor.
The device is made from sleek matt plastic with soft, curved edges and feels "somewhat more sophisticated than its rivals", says PC Pro. However "as you won’t be holding it in your hands, or really ever seeing it, it doesn’t matter how it looks tucked away behind your TV".
A separate games controller is available for £34.99, but the remote functions as a "surprisingly capable" controller in its own right, says games review site Teckish.com.
A simple game like Crossy Road, plays "effortlessly", the site says. Platformers such as Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse can also be played at a stretch, but Sonic The Hedgehog fares rather less well and will probably need Amazon's actual controller to play, Teckish notes.
Still, the selection of games on offer is decent, if not spectacular, says Tech Radar's Nick Pino. "I wish it were a little more AAA game-oriented and much more platform-agnostic (searches only return Amazon content). That said, this is still a fairly balanced ecosystem".
When put head-to-head against the Chromecast and Roku streaming media player, the "Amazon wins hands down", says Pocket-Lint. "Since the launch of the Fire TV set-top box, Amazon has been steadily getting developers on-board in terms of porting games to the platform. Many of the titles available are big name games as well."
The Fire TV Stick's dual-core processor won't be powerful enough to handle some "graphically intensive games" that are currently available for the Amazon Fire TV proper, says Pocket-Lint, but even so, when it comes to gaming the Roku and Chromecast "just don't compete", Pocket-Lint says.
For those who are already sold into the Amazon ecosystem of movies, games, television and music, Amazon Fire TV Stick is a compelling device to deliver the lot directly to your big screen for less than half the price of the full Amazon TV (£79). For those who are not, reviewers say that this is still a good alternative to Google's Chromecast or Chromebit for streaming subscription services such as Sky or Netflix, as well as for playing music and games.
Amazon's challenge to Google's Chromecast TV dongle costs £35 and streams Amazon's Prime Instant Video as well as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Sky and Demand 5.
It also gives access to Amazon's huge library of films and TV shows including recent releases such as Interstellar, The Imitation Game and Nightcrawler as well as playing music and a respectable collection of games. So is it any good?
Amazon Fire TV Stick design
Amazon's latest bid to take control of television sets worldwide comes in a small package. The device itself is "approximately the size and shape of a pack of gum", PC Mag says, measuring just 3.3in x 1in x 0.5in.It plugs into your TV's HDMI port and is powered by a USB cable or mains adaptor.
The device is made from sleek matt plastic with soft, curved edges and feels "somewhat more sophisticated than its rivals", says PC Pro. However "as you won’t be holding it in your hands, or really ever seeing it, it doesn’t matter how it looks tucked away behind your TV".
Amazon Fire TV Stick remote and games
The Fire TV Stick comes with a compact 1.6in x 4.7in x 0.5in remote control which is light but solidly built. Unlike the control that comes with the full-sized version of Amazon Fire TV, the remote does not offer voice search, but it is possible to get voice functionality by downloading the free Fire TV remote app (available for iOS, Android and Amazon devices), which syncs with the TV Stick and offers a range of touch and swipe controls.A separate games controller is available for £34.99, but the remote functions as a "surprisingly capable" controller in its own right, says games review site Teckish.com.
A simple game like Crossy Road, plays "effortlessly", the site says. Platformers such as Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse can also be played at a stretch, but Sonic The Hedgehog fares rather less well and will probably need Amazon's actual controller to play, Teckish notes.
Still, the selection of games on offer is decent, if not spectacular, says Tech Radar's Nick Pino. "I wish it were a little more AAA game-oriented and much more platform-agnostic (searches only return Amazon content). That said, this is still a fairly balanced ecosystem".
When put head-to-head against the Chromecast and Roku streaming media player, the "Amazon wins hands down", says Pocket-Lint. "Since the launch of the Fire TV set-top box, Amazon has been steadily getting developers on-board in terms of porting games to the platform. Many of the titles available are big name games as well."
The Fire TV Stick's dual-core processor won't be powerful enough to handle some "graphically intensive games" that are currently available for the Amazon Fire TV proper, says Pocket-Lint, but even so, when it comes to gaming the Roku and Chromecast "just don't compete", Pocket-Lint says.
Amazon Fire TV Stick specifications
With a dual-core processor and 1GB of Ram, Amazon Fire TV Stick can stream full HD video. The device also has a feature called ASAP which will buffer shows that it thinks you may be about to watch, so that there is no stuttering once you press play. Still, according to PC Mag, the Fire TV Stick is not as quick as regular Fire TV. "For the smaller size and the lower price of the Fire Stick, you have to trade off the very snappy experience of the Fire TV for a slightly longer wait (but not nearly as long as the Google Nexus Player)", PC Mag says.Amazon Fire Stick TV content
The Amazon Fire TV Stick is not just a device for people who are already members of Amazon's film and TV subscription service, Amazon Prime. The device also works with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Sky and Demand 5, as well as Spotify for music. However, for UK viewers, "the lack of Now TV, ITV Player and All 4 support is disappointing", says PC Pro.Conclusions
Amazon already has a thriving audience due to Amazon Prime having absorbed the popular DVD rental and video streaming service Lovefilm in 2014. Lovefilm had around three million subscribers across Europe, many of whom are still members of Prime.For those who are already sold into the Amazon ecosystem of movies, games, television and music, Amazon Fire TV Stick is a compelling device to deliver the lot directly to your big screen for less than half the price of the full Amazon TV (£79). For those who are not, reviewers say that this is still a good alternative to Google's Chromecast or Chromebit for streaming subscription services such as Sky or Netflix, as well as for playing music and games.
Products in this article | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Google Chromecast |
Amazon$35
| Buy now |
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, available in the US since the end of last year, is now available to buy in the UK and Germany for the first time.
It went up for pre-order last month priced at £35, or £19 if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, although that deal has now ended. People who pre-ordered should get their devices today.
As well as allowing you to watch Amazon Prime content included with your subscription, or buy titles to keep, there’s also provision for playing back your own content stored on other devices, either by using Amazon’s cloud locker storage services, or via third-party apps like Plex.
That’s not really my requirement, as I stream most content directly nowadays rather than fill up hard drives with things I may never watch again, but it certainly is important for people with huge ‘offline’ collections.
It went up for pre-order last month priced at £35, or £19 if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, although that deal has now ended. People who pre-ordered should get their devices today.
As well as allowing you to watch Amazon Prime content included with your subscription, or buy titles to keep, there’s also provision for playing back your own content stored on other devices, either by using Amazon’s cloud locker storage services, or via third-party apps like Plex.
That’s not really my requirement, as I stream most content directly nowadays rather than fill up hard drives with things I may never watch again, but it certainly is important for people with huge ‘offline’ collections.
Convenience is king
Plugged into my TV is a Chromecast, a Roku 3, a Sky+ box, a PS4 and now an Amazon Fire TV Stick. Why have so many plugged in? Because they all seem to be slightly better at one thing than another.The PS4, when used for watching movies or TV shows, has slightly imprecise controls. The Chromecast is more useful to me whenever I want to do anything in a browser on the big screen, and the Roku has been my go-to streaming device in most circumstances until now.
However, my one irritation with the Roku is fixed with the Fire Stick – it offers both Netflix and Prime streaming in the UK. As a subscriber to both, that’s appreciated. It has Spotify and some other big name apps that you might want too, as does Roku.
For some reason, Prime Streaming still doesn’t exist on Roku in Europe, and that’s a major omission for an otherwise fine platform.
In some ways, I still prefer the Roku. I like the headphone socket on the controller, the UI’s just had an overhaul to make search better and there’s a neat new follow feature for specific titles. However, the Fire Stick will probably see more use in the future for the sheer convenience of having all the services I use in one place.
The Amazon UI has its charms too, and it’s consistent with its mobile and desktop incarnations in overall feel. There was no problem with full 1080p streaming and no jitteriness. It was a tiny bit on the laggy side when navigating between different options and shows though.
Amazon has its own search features too, which you can execute via voice or text commands. For the Stick incarnation, there’s no microphone button (or mic) on the controller, so to use voice you’ll need to install the companion app for Android or iOS devices. Alternatively, if you want the remote with the mic built in, that costs an extra £24.99.
The voice search actually works pretty well out of the box, although the search results themselves left a little to be desired in some cases.
You’ll probably want to check out the Fire TV Stick if gaming is a priority, Roku has gesture controls built into the remote, but Amazon lets you pair up a full-on game controller and has a better selection of games.
One place where the Roku is ahead of the Fire TV Stick is the mobile app, as it provides an easier way of beaming your own images straight to the TV without needing them to be saved in a specific place — in this case, Amazon’s cloud locker.
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick isn’t perfect — it’s closely tied to Amazon’s ecosystem and you’re constantly reminded that buying shows is a possibility, for example — but convenience goes a long way when the retail price is just £35.
Products in this article | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Chromecast |
Amazon$35
| Buy now |
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