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A Review of the Amazon Fire TV

By Karla Vogel
29 November 2018

The streaming box business is a competitive one.

And nearly everybody has their own version of the device out there.

From dedicated makers like Roku to Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast, there’s something out there at just about every price point.

But we’re here to tell you today that not all streaming boxes are made equal.

Price is a huge consideration, sure, but that isn’t everything.

If you’re in the market for a streaming TV box and you’ve considered the Amazon Fire TV, then you’re in the right place.

We’re going to give you a fair review of that option as well as compare it to others on the market right now.

As we said, price is a huge deal, and the Amazon Fire TV comes in at a cool $79, making it far cheaper than the Apple TV 4K at $179. The user interface is great and you have Alexa-based voice control, another huge plus.

Of course, you have this on the Apple TV as well – sans Alexa.

Compared to the Roku device, the Amazon Fire TV is a pretty good option. It has some great apps and the content selection is pretty robust – if you’re an Amazon Prime member.

While it is markedly cheaper than the Apple box, it is tough to recommend the Amazon Fire TV.

In terms of design, everything is clean cut and quite basic. Where it starts to become an issue is with the remote. There are no volume buttons on the Amazon Fire TV’s minimalist remote. This means that you will need another controller to handle the sound alone. For those that know, Apple TV’s remote, a study in minimal design if ever there was one, can handle the volume on your TV. This kind of omission is pretty glaring and frustrating. It’s amazing that Amazon thinks they’re giving you a deal with this package. And why are the remote so bare bones if it isn’t even fully functional? The Apple TV Remote, love it or hate it, is amazingly logical in its design and has everything you need.

The voice control option is great but that’s awkward as well. It works most of the time but when it doesn’t, it is a mess.

Again, the Alexa voice controls are great, but they can’t change the volume either.

Where the Amazon Fire TV shines is in its awesome user interface. Here, Amazon matches Apple and does a way better job than Google. The voice control might be awesome, but so is the general UI. Content is easy to find and it is even easier to watch this way.

As it stands right now, the Prime catalog for 4K movies is a little thin. Outside of that, however, there are a ton of movies to watch on Amazon’s device. You can link up to other apps after downloading them and you can purchase movies through Amazon as well.

The Amazon Fire TV is a great device but it is hard to recommend it over something more polished like the Apple TV 4K.

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A Review of the Amazon Fire TV

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The streaming box business is a competitive one. And nearly everybody has their own version of the device out there. From dedicated makers like Roku to Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast, there’s something...

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Karla Vogel

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