Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max: Breathe new life into your old TV

Smart TVS, many of which come with Alexa built-in, have become a favourite entertainment device for Indian households. A smart TV uses your Internet-powered home network to provide streaming video and services on your TV. Thanks to Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can also turn your old television set into a smart one. Basically, Fire TV Stick is a media streaming device which lets you stream video, install apps, play music, etc., on your TV. It’s built on the Android platform and it converts your normal TV to a Smart TV. You can install Android apps on the device and play games and enjoy music too. “It’s an HDMI stick and all you need is an HDMI port on your television and you’re good to go,” says an Amazon official.

“Fire TV has millions of active users in India, who enjoy hours of content every day,” says Parag Gupta, head, Amazon Devices India. Recently, the Jeff Bezos-founded firm introduced Fire TV Stick 4K Max (Rs 6,499), the company’s best streaming stick yet. It is 40% more powerful than Fire TV Stick 4K and features a new quad-core 1.8GHz processor and 2GB of RAM, so your apps start faster and navigation is more fluid. “Fire TV Stick 4K Max is also our first streaming media player to offer Wi-Fi 6 support and uses the latest Mediatek MT7921LS Wi-Fi 6 chipset, which means smoother streaming in 4K,” says Gupta. “There is a significant increase in video streaming with several direct to streaming release and customers choosing at-home entertainment. With Fire TV Stick 4K Max, we have taken the best-selling streaming media player and made it even better with a faster experience and the latest connectivity that provides seamless streaming without slowing down your home Wi-Fi.”

For the not-so-tech-savvy, Wi-Fi 6 is capable of higher speeds and better performance than the Wi-Fi 5 we use today. Let me point out that in order to use Wi-Fi 6, you’ll need a Wi-Fi 6-compatible router, but Fire TV Stick 4K Max is also compatible with existing Wi-Fi routers.

We got the brand-new Fire TV 4K Max for trial purpose. What’s included in the box is Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Alexa Voice Remote (3rd Generation), two AAA batteries, power adaptor, USB Cable and HDMI extender cable. Physically, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is identical to the Fire TV Stick 4K. It’s a plain, rectangular black stick, with an HDMI plug sticking out of one end.

As soon as I figured out the entire apparatus (which is pretty simple and straight forward), I plugged it into my nine year-old wall-mounted Sony Bravia TV. Trust me, this Fire TV stick has a very good build quality. The remote has a premium look and feels great in hand. The set-up with TV is just seamless. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is loaded with apps and features, built around a friendly but visually dense tile-based interface. It supports 4K UHD, HDR, and HDR10+ streaming as well as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for a theatre like experience at home. It comes with the latest Alexa Voice Remote so you can easily search for the content you want to watch, control playback, manage your smart home, and more. Four preset buttons get you to your apps quickly. You can also control your compatible TV and sound bar without needing another remote.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max gives you access to thousands of apps, Alexa skills, and channels, as well as hundreds of thousands of movies and shows in brilliant 4K, Ultra HD, HDR, HDR10+ or Dolby Vision across your favourite apps such as Prime Video, Netflix, and more. You can stream for free with YouTube, or watch live TV, and more. Or listen to songs, playlists through services like Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify.

Overall, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the fastest Fire TV device in terms of potential Wi-Fi speeds. It’s a very good media streamer, has fast performance and lots of apps and services. Truly, it breathes new life into your old TV and makes it genuinely smart. Highly recommended.

Estimated street price: Rs 6,499

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz