The Fire TV Stick, released in Italy in 2017, immediately became one of the most useful technological devices at home, an economic tool to add applications to any normal TV, as and in a much better way than any Smart TV. The Fire TV Stick connects to the TV's HDMI port, is powered by a USB port and is therefore compatible with any Smart or non-Smart TV, even 10 years old (as long as it has the HDMI port).
With the Fire TV Stick, not only can you comfortably see Youtube videos and Netflix movies on TV, but you can also install smartphone games and other Android applications through a store that does not have the limitations of modern Smart TVs. In another article, we saw the guide to install all the Android apps on the Fire TV Stick, so you can open video sites, games, Facebook and even special applications to watch movies and football games.
The novelty of these days is that, finally, Amazon has put on sale in Italy two new versions of the Fire TV, the one with Alexa voice commands and the enhanced one that supports watching movies in 4K .
The new versions of Amazon Fire TV Stick are therefore two: normal Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD .
The normal Fire TV Stick is the same version that has been on sale in the past two years, with the only difference being a new remote control which, compared to the previous model, has the keys to change the volume and to recall voice commands. Taking advantage of the Alexa app integrated in the Fire TV Stick, you can then press the microphone button and speak on the remote control to open the various applications such as Netflix, to start playback, to stop it, to go to the next video or go back and also to to do research. Voice commands work best with the Amazon Prime Video app which also supports more complex requests.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD, on the other hand, is a more powerful device than the standard model. While the normal Fire TV Stick has a maximum resolution of 1080p, this Fire Ultra HD allows you to watch movies and videos in 4K resolution, with maximum video quality if it is supported by the TV you are using and by the application (for example Netflix can transmit in 4K). The Fire TV Stick 4K also has a different processor, slightly faster than that of the standard model (the reactivity could therefore be higher even if a big difference is not to be expected).
Those who already have the old version of Fire TV Stick may wonder if it is worth buying one of the two new models. As for the basic version, as mentioned, only the remote control with voice commands changes which can also be purchased separately for only 15 Euros ( The Fire TV remote control on Amazon ).
Those who have a new TV that supports viewing in Ultra HD quality, on the other hand, could find a marked improvement in the quality of streaming videos from Netflix, Prime Video or Youtube by buying the Fire TV Stick 4K, which also improves the quality of the audio. If you do not yet have an Ultra HD TV, then the purchase of the Stick 4K version becomes practically useless.
As for the voice commands, these are linked to the remote control with the microphone button and work on all Fire Sticks, even the old one. In theory, then, the integration of the Fire TV Stick with Amazon Echo devices should finally be active, so that you can control the playback of videos with your voice without necessarily using the remote control.
READ ALSO: Amazon Fire TV Stick guide with tricks, apps and hidden functions
With the Fire TV Stick, not only can you comfortably see Youtube videos and Netflix movies on TV, but you can also install smartphone games and other Android applications through a store that does not have the limitations of modern Smart TVs. In another article, we saw the guide to install all the Android apps on the Fire TV Stick, so you can open video sites, games, Facebook and even special applications to watch movies and football games.
The novelty of these days is that, finally, Amazon has put on sale in Italy two new versions of the Fire TV, the one with Alexa voice commands and the enhanced one that supports watching movies in 4K .
The new versions of Amazon Fire TV Stick are therefore two: normal Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD .
The normal Fire TV Stick is the same version that has been on sale in the past two years, with the only difference being a new remote control which, compared to the previous model, has the keys to change the volume and to recall voice commands. Taking advantage of the Alexa app integrated in the Fire TV Stick, you can then press the microphone button and speak on the remote control to open the various applications such as Netflix, to start playback, to stop it, to go to the next video or go back and also to to do research. Voice commands work best with the Amazon Prime Video app which also supports more complex requests.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Ultra HD, on the other hand, is a more powerful device than the standard model. While the normal Fire TV Stick has a maximum resolution of 1080p, this Fire Ultra HD allows you to watch movies and videos in 4K resolution, with maximum video quality if it is supported by the TV you are using and by the application (for example Netflix can transmit in 4K). The Fire TV Stick 4K also has a different processor, slightly faster than that of the standard model (the reactivity could therefore be higher even if a big difference is not to be expected).
Those who already have the old version of Fire TV Stick may wonder if it is worth buying one of the two new models. As for the basic version, as mentioned, only the remote control with voice commands changes which can also be purchased separately for only 15 Euros ( The Fire TV remote control on Amazon ).
Those who have a new TV that supports viewing in Ultra HD quality, on the other hand, could find a marked improvement in the quality of streaming videos from Netflix, Prime Video or Youtube by buying the Fire TV Stick 4K, which also improves the quality of the audio. If you do not yet have an Ultra HD TV, then the purchase of the Stick 4K version becomes practically useless.
As for the voice commands, these are linked to the remote control with the microphone button and work on all Fire Sticks, even the old one. In theory, then, the integration of the Fire TV Stick with Amazon Echo devices should finally be active, so that you can control the playback of videos with your voice without necessarily using the remote control.
READ ALSO: Amazon Fire TV Stick guide with tricks, apps and hidden functions
