Amazon has just updated its Fire TV Stick 4K with a new 2023 model that promises faster performance and better Wi-Fi. The company also released a new version of its Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which features more perks, as well as a new Fire TV Soundbar. The new Fire TV Sticks are available for preorder now (with a Sept. 27 release date), while the Fire TV Soundbar is available to order right now.
Amazon has updated its 4K streaming stick for faster performance and Wi-Fi 6 support. You can tell it apart from older models, thanks to the curved corners.
The better 4K Fire TV Stick just gained a faster processor, Wi-Fi 6E support and the Fire TV Ambient Experience.
Amazon's 24-inch soundbar works with all Fire TV devices and expands your sound with DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio, with Bluetooth support for other devices.
Amazon dropped the original Fire TV Stick 4K in 2018, so we’re not shocked that an update finally arrived. This new model is all about its specs, as the $50 stick gains support for Wi-Fi 6, along with an updated version of its predecessor’s 1.7GHz quad-core processor that Amazon says is 30% faster than its predecessor’s. Wi-Fi 6 is valuable because it’s better at handling many simultaneous connections. Amazon’s also slightly tweaked its design, adding rounded corners so it’s visually different than Amazon’s previous sticks.
You’ll have a hard time finding streaming sticks with Wi-Fi 6 support, as the Chromecast with Google TV and Roku devices do not have it. The latest Apple TV 4K does.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max gets a speed boost and AI tricks
But what if you want more than just the entry-level 4K streaming? The new $60 4K Max Stick (you might notice a $5 price bump from its $55 predecessor) runs on a quad-core 2.0GHz processor, upgrading from the previous model’s 1.8GHz CPU. It’s got even better wireless networking with the Wi-Fi 6E standard, which adds a new 6GHz wireless band to support even more reliable connections. Check out the best routers to make sure you’re rocking one that supports the standard in the tech you’re buying.
This new version of the Amazon Fire TV Stick Max also upgrades what you see on your TV by adding the Fire TV Ambient Experience, previously available only on the Fire TV Omni QLED Series TVs. This mode lets your TV become a smart display with a simple tap of the Alexa button, opening up a mode that combines calendars, reminders, smart home tech and music app connectivity with more than 2,000 free high-quality works of art from prestigious museums (and your own personal photos too). These tricks could help make it one of the best streaming devices.
Amazon’s also adding the tricky and controversial world of generative AI art in the Fire TV with a free new feature coming to Ambient Experience mode. You’ll be able to make your own personalized background by giving Alexa a verbal prompt. Amazon suggested, “Alexa, create an image of cherry blossoms in the snow.” You’ll also be able to tweak the visual style of your own photos, in an update coming later, that will allow for you to take a family photo and turn it into a watercolor illustration, sepia tone photo or something else.
The 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K Max (which has rounded corners like its younger sibling) also sports 16GB of storage, twice as much as before. Those who hit the limits on previous models with all of their apps and games may find this to be the biggest reason to upgrade.
Amazon debuts the first Fire TV Soundbar
While Amazon’s previously partnered with companies for Fire TV Edition soundbars, the Fire TV Soundbar is the company’s first soundbar that’s all its own. The 24-inch soundbar works with all Fire TV devices; it offers a two-channel audio experience, DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio support; and it includes Bluetooth connectivity for other devices. It costs $120, priced to compete with the $130 Roku Streambar (currently on sale for 100 at Amazon).
Fire TV experience updates for all
Amazon also announced some upgrades coming to all users later this year. Now you can talk to Alexa with more detail when hunting for shows and movies, as Amazon notes you can go beyond asking for programming with specific actors and directors, to ask for “action movies with car chases,” “comedies for a rainy day inside” or “animated movies that are free to me.”
At a press demonstration, Alexa whittled down action movies that came with the user’s existing services and weren’t in their watch history. Then, Alexa culled that list down to ones the whole family would enjoy, and suggested “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” as one that gamers would also enjoy. It even let the user find Bob Odenkirk’s new show by asking for a title with “the guy who played the lawyer in ‘Breaking Bad,’” and surface great movies that should have (but didn’t) win an Oscar.
Amazon’s also continuing to build its Continue Watching row, which we’ve seen in our use of the third-gen Fire TV Cube. Supported apps will include?Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Peacock, Starz, Tubi and — of course — its own Freevee and MGM+. The Chromecast offers this feature, Roku’s been slowly rolling its version out and it’s also in Apple’s TV app.
Speaking of MGM+ (formerly known as Epix), Amazon’s giving a free six-month trial to the service for all who buy a new Fire TV device or smart TV on Amazon?or in retail stores.
Stay tuned for our full reviews of these streaming devices, coming soon.
