In this article, we are going to compare all of these options, to help you figure out which one is best for your TV.
Specs
As you can see, they all use basically the same processor, except for the Cube, which has twice the cores, and has faster clock speeds too. The other thing to take a look at here is RAM and storage. The 4K models do have more RAM, with the 4K Max and Cube having the most here. And the Cube also has the most storage. 8GB of RAM is likely plenty for most people, since Fire TV apps are pretty small. But always good to have a bit more storage.
HD vs 4K
The next question you should ask yourself is, whether your TV is a 4K TV or not? And if you want to future proof your streamer. If you don’t need 4K, then a Fire TV Stick can be pretty inexpensive. But if you need 4K, that still leaves you with three options.
If you choose HD
If you choose 4K
Now, if you do want 4K resolution from your Fire TV Stick or Cube, then that makes the next choice a bit tougher. That’s because, there’s not a lot of differences between the Fire TV Stick 4K, 4K Max and the Cube. So the next question to ask yourself is, do you need or want WiFi 6 or WiFi 6E, or if WiFi 5 is fine? If you need WiFi 6, that does narrow it down to the Fire TV Stick 4K Max or the Fire TV Cube. While the Fire TV Cube does have WiFi 6E for even faster WiFi connectivity, as well as an Ethernet port.
Do you want Hands-free Alexa?
Now the next thing here is going to be, hands-free Alexa. Do you want to be able to control your Fire TV with Alexa, without pressing any buttons first? If so, the Fire TV model to buy is easy then. That’s the Fire TV Cube, since it is the only model that supports hands-free Alexa. Unfortunately, since the other sticks are plugged into your TV and are “off” when the TV is off. They can’t do hands-free Alexa. So why would you want hands-free Alexa? Well it allows you to control the TV without a remote, even with the TV off. If also allows you to basically replace your Echo in the living room, or wherever you Fire TV Cube is going to be. Which is really nice to have.
The absolute best Fire TV device for 2023
We’ve talked about resolution, we’ve talked about specs, and we’ve talked about hands-free Alexa. Now, which is the best model? Well we would recommend the Fire TV Cube or the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Let’s explain why we’d recommend each model.
Fire TV Cube
Now, the Fire TV Cube is fairly expensive for a streamer. It’s $139, which puts it on the same level as the Apple TV. And that’s why we’d also recommend the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Which is about half the price.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max
Unless you’re buying a Fire TV Stick for an older TV and you don’t plan to upgrade it anytime soon, you shouldn’t be looking at any other Fire TV devices other than the Fire TV Stick 4K Max or the Fire TV Cube.
