Amazon Fire TV Stick (1st gen. 2014)

usability, price, software

82% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Excellent streaming performance ; UI speed improved over older models ; Bundle of entertainment apps ; Supports all major HDR formats ; Wi-Fi 6 compatible

Prime customers best served to get the most from it ; Some might not dig the amount of ads ; No High-res audio support ; £5 more expensive than standard Fire TV 4K

An excellent streamer and the best Fire TV Stick yet, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max offers plenty of entertainment options, the super-helpful Alexa and terrific streaming performance. Prime customers are best placed to reap the best performance though, and...

“It's an iterative update, sure, but one that makes the Fire TV Stick 4K Max the one to get.”

HDR and Atmos support ; Good picture quality ; Lots of apps ; Alexa remote ; Improved interface

HLG doesn’t appear to work ; Fairly Prime-centric ; Limited to 1080p resolution

Unobtrusive design ; Vastly improved onscreen keyboard ; Dedicated Prime Video section ; List of apps keeps getting longer

Still no HBO Go ; Included remote lacks voice search button ; Still some rough edges and inconsistencies in Fire OS

With the Fire TV Stick, Amazon seems to have a winner on its hands. It does everything you expect a media streamer to do with little fuss and a reasonable price tag. Whereas the Fire TV toyed a little too much with the idea of being a game console and...

Supports all current HDR formats ; Dolby Atmos ; Impressive performance

Big and awkward for a stick ; Limited 4K HDR film selection

The best value 4K video streamer

Fast performance ; Lots of apps and services ; Amazon Alexa voice control ; Wi-Fi 6

4K HDR media streaming can't really take advantage of Wi-Fi 6 ; No Apple AirPlay or Google Cast

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is an excellent media streamer that adds Wi-Fi 6 compatibility for just $5 more than the standard model, but you probably won't see a difference outside of very specific use cases.

Good image detail ; Supports all HDR formats ; Competitive pricing

Not the cleanest, clearest picture ; Sound lacks dynamism

While there’s plenty to like about the Fire TV Stick 4K Max’s picture, it's just edged out by the competition, and it's further behind when it comes to sound.

4K HDR streaming ; Access to Amazon Luna ; Dolby Vision / Atmos / HDR10+ ; Voice remote with Alexa

Too many sponsored ads ; Homescreen previews are low-res ; Search still could be better ; Luna can be unstable

Easy to use ; Speedy operation ; Low price

Missing Now TV and 4oD services ; Remote has no voice control ; Amazon hard-sell is a little strong

A lovely little streaming device and a no-brainer for Amazon customers