Amazon has announced that its all-new Fire TV Stick, with Alexa Voice Remote, will be made available soon in the UK, Germany, and Japan. The updates delivered by this HDMI streaming stick include the titular Alexa Voice Remote, plus a new quad-core processor which makes the new stick up to 30 per cent faster than the existing model.
In the press release concerning the update Marc Whitten, Vice President, Amazon Fire TV, said the all-new HDMI stick has been very well received in the US. "Since its recent launch in the US, the all-new Fire TV Stick has quickly become a best-seller on Amazon.com and received more than 35,000 five-star reviews," said Mr Whitten. He went on to claim that the new "content-forward UI and powerful voice search," helped Fire TV users find and enjoy streaming content.
One of the star attractions of the all-new Fire TV stick is Alexa. This voice assistant provides "fast and accurate voice search" with natural voice commands. For example you can just say "find suspense thrillers" or "open Netflix" and Alexa will respond. For Amazon Video content, you can also control playback with just your voice; just ask Alexa to "go back 30 seconds" or "jump ahead two minutes." Alexa's abilities go beyond TV functions so you can use this service for getting weather or news, getting sports scores, making shopping lists, playing music, ordering Just East takeaways or Uber cabs, and more.
As mentioned in the intro, Fire TV Stick hardware upgrades will also enhance your enjoyment of this device. The new stick uses a Quad-Core MediaTek ARM 1.3GHz CPU with Mali450 MP4 GPU. It's got faster networking too, as it supports 2x2 MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. Memory (1GB), and storage (8GB, no memory card slot) remain the same between versions. For a full comparison with the older Fire TV Stick I have created a table below.
|
Original Fire TV Stick |
All-new Fire TV Stick |
|
|
Size |
84.9 mm x 25.0 mm x 11.5 mm |
85.9 mm x 30.0 mm x 12.6 mm |
|
Weight |
25.1g |
32g |
|
Processor |
Broadcom Capri 28155, dual-core 2xARM A9 |
MediaTek Quad-Core ARM 1.3 GHz |
|
GPU |
VideoCore4 |
Mali450 MP4 |
|
Storage |
8 GB (actual formatted capacity will be less) available for apps and games |
8 GB internal (actual formatted capacity will be less) available for apps and games |
|
Memory |
1 GB |
1 GB |
|
Wi-Fi Connectivity |
Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO); supports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks |
Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi supports 2x2 MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
|
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth 3.0 with support for the following profiles: HID, HFP, SPP |
Bluetooth 4.1 |
|
Voice Search Support |
Yes, requires Fire TV Voice Remote (sold separately) or free Fire TV Remote App (available for download on Fire or Android OS and iOS) |
Yes, with Alexa Voice Remote (included) or free Fire TV Remote App (available for download on Fire, Android, and iOS) |
|
Game Controller Support |
Yes, optimised for Amazon Fire Game Controller, compatible with Nyko PlayPad Pro and other Bluetooth controllers |
Yes, optimised for Amazon Fire TV Game Controller and most games are compatible with other Bluetooth controllers |
|
Cloud Storage |
All Amazon Cloud Drive customers start with 5 GB of free storage |
Free cloud storage for all Amazon content |
|
Ports |
1 Type A HDMI 1.4b output, w/HDCP 1.4 |
HDMI output, Micro-USB for power only |
|
Audio |
Dolby Digital Plus certified, audio pass through up to 7.1 |
Dolby Audio, 5.1 surround sound, 2ch stereo, and HDMI audio pass-through up to 7.1 |
|
Content Formats Supported |
Video: H.264 |
Video: H.264 1080p30H.265 1080p30, |
|
Output Resolution Supported |
720p and 1080p up to 60fps |
720p and 1080p up to 60fps |
|
|
The all-new Amazon Fire TV Stick is priced at £39.99 in the UK. It can be pre-ordered now for free delivery shortly after release on Thursday 6th April.
