Welcome to the age of affordable 4K streaming. Not only do most 4K TVs now offer at least some form of app and streaming service support, but dedicated 4K media streamers are becoming more affordable. The Fire TV Stick 4K is smaller, faster, cheaper, supports Dolby Vision, and has an advanced remote control.
The Fire TV Stick 4K is slightly larger than the standard Fire TV Stick, measuring 3.9 x 1.2 x 0.6 inches (HWD). It’s a simple rectangular, matte black plastic stick with an HDMI port on one end and a micro USB port on one side. If it’s a little too big to fit comfortably into a port on your TV, you can position it at a different angle with a short, flexible HDMI extender.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Amazon has updated its Alexa voice remote with some new tricks. The second-generation remote is still a slim, rectangular stick with a prominent round navigation pad and a pinhole microphone on top for using Alexa. It still has menu and playback controls, which are now joined by power and volume buttons.
The Fire TV Stick 4K can directly control your TV’s power and volume, so you can start watching streaming media right away without having to pick up a second remote. It currently only controls the volume and turns on the power. So you can’t navigate your TV’s menus or change inputs, but if your Fire TV Stick is the primary device you’ll be watching, this is a very useful upgrade.
The Amazon Luna cloud gaming service impresses with its performance and affordability. At least part of the performance is due to the Amazon Luna controller. The controller is a well-built and comfortable Bluetooth gamepad, but its real advantage is its separate Wi-Fi connection, which significantly reduces input lag when playing Luna games. The Amazon Luna controller is technically an optional accessory for the service.
Combined with its impressive overall gaming features, the Amazon Luna Controller is an Editors’ Choice award-winning gamepad. The Luna Controller looks excellent and feels very similar to the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It’s a very solid, black gamepad with two analog sticks offset Xbox-style and A/B/X/Y face buttons arranged in the Xbox layout. The sticks, face buttons, and triggers all feel firm and well-made, although the plus-shaped directional pad is a bit spongy rather than clicky. Build quality is very similar to that of the Xbox Wireless Controller.