The new Amazon Fire TV Cube will officially be released tomorrow, June 21st, and will arrive at the doors of everyone who preordered one. For those of you who are waiting for reviews and more hands-on information to come out, let me know in the comments of this post what you would like to know about the Fire TV Cube and I’ll do my best to answer your questions once it’s released.
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I wonder if the wifi will be any better than prior FTVs. Lately I seem to be having issues with my FTV2 getting a good signal.
head to head with Fire Tv2 and Nvidia Shield
and not just video – my kids still use the fireTV for games.
I think the real head to head would be the fireTV (pendant) and the Cube. They have the identical hardware and specs, except for 16 vs 8 gigs of storage. This is why I cancelled my pre-order and ordered the pendant and the Amazon brand Ethernet adapter. I think if people are not happy with the pendant they are not going to be happy with the Cube, because the Cube is the pendant with Alexa onboard.
Easiest question first. Can the Cube and Echo Show co-exist in the same open space or will they both respond?
I’m most accustomed to the Echo Show which has no limitations since it’s always on and has a screen. The Cube will always be listening, but that doesn’t mean the TV will be on. Will it have limitations without the always on screen? I’m thinking timers, alarms, calendar functionality.
I have the same question. I currently have a Dot in the same room where the cube will go. Originally, I had hoped to replace the Dot with the Cube, but I really need the Drop In feature, so the Dot will have to stay put. I hope they work well together, but ultimately I hope the Drop In feature gets added to the Cube.
I would assume a lot of people have a dot or echo in or around their living room, I was also hoping to replace my dot with the cube but need the call/drop in feature to connect with my kids. Would love if the cube could completely replace the dot.
Will it play music over a home theater system that is connected to the Fire TV via HDMI? If so, how is the startup delay of the home theater system handled?
I wonder how well Alexa will be able to hear you. I find myself having to yell sometimes to get Alexa’s attention unless the room is quiet. I’ve resorted to putting my bluetooth speaker in another room, so I don’t have to yell so much.
I’d love to see how it responds to voice commands in real-world scenarios. Can I really use voice instead of a remote to turn on the TV, open an app like Plex or Netflix, choose something to watch and be able to play/pause the show/movie.
UK release?
Will probably be 6 months from now. It was the same for the Fire TV Stick 2nd Gen and previous Fire TVs
I see Amazon is now giving a $35 credit, if you trade in you old streaming device.
Old Fire TV & sticks not eligible.
Where did you see that offer???
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Trade-In/b?ie=UTF8&node=17869251011
Would like to know with real world testing, How good it works as a complete cord cutter solution WITH an over the air network tuner like a HD Home Run and Guide data for all live streaming channels out there on the web. Key is a Guide for Live TV Guide for everything beside just OTA, like you get on Cable.
Would like to hook the cube up to an AVR. How does the cube handle that? Does it just turn on both the avr and tv? Or is it smarter and knows f.e. when to turn only the avr for music?
I just asked my Cube to play some music. It turned on both the TV and the AVR, not the answer I was looking for!
How does the integration of Alexa really work? For example, if the cube is connected to HDMI 1 on either a TV or an AVR, and you are watching content on HDMI 2 (for example a blu ray player), what happens when you ask Alexa a question? Does the cube switch to HMDI 1 and provide a response (either verbal, visual, or both) and then switch back to HDMI 2? Which speakers will the cube use to provide its response, the connected speakers or the cube’s speakers? If sound is already emanating from the connected speakers (TV speakers, soundbar, or AVR), how will the cube handle that sound when it provides a response from Alexa? Will the cube mute sound or pause a video or music playlist while it is providing the response from Alexa? If so, will the cube then unmute or unpause when it has completed the response from Alexa? Even if you are watching content through the cube and then ask Alexa a question, how does it respond? Does the response come from the cube’s speakers or from the connected speakers? If the response comes from the cube’s speakers, how does it handle the already playing content from itself, both the sound and the video?
Really great questions! I’ll be testing all of this. If I don’t fit it into an article, I’ll come back and reply to this comment with all the answers.
My experience with HDMI CEC is that it is really finicky because many companies have implemented its function in different ways and with different capabilities. It may work if all of your equipment is made by the same manufacturer. However, if your equipment is made by different manufacturers, then it is very likely that HDMI CEC is just simply not going to work correctly. In every case that I have tried using HDMI CEC, devices would act erratically, such as powering on or off, or changing inputs incorrectly. And the more devices that are added to the mix, the worse it gets. Imagine have a TV, AVR, cable box, blu ray player, Fire Cube, and XBOX all connected! If the cube requires that the devices must have HDMI CEC enabled in order for it to control them, then there could potentially be a lot of conflicts. I am curious to know how your experience goes with connecting the cube and enabling HDMI CEC for your devices. Good Luck!
Can the ‘universal remote’ features be disabled? More specifically, can this just be used as an Echo Dot/Fire TV combo that could be used alongside an existing universal remote system, such as a Logitech Harmony without interfering with the operation of the Harmony?
As Rob said, the official FAQs say it doesn’t work with Harmony remotes. I’m thinking it might still work but they are saying it doesn’t because things can get confusing with two things trying to control equipment. It might take me a few days to test Harmony stuff because I packed my Harmony remote away recently, so I have to set everything back up.
Mine is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I didn’t see that it won’t work with a Harmony remote, I guess I didn’t read the fine print. That would be a deal breaker for me since I’ve got my Harmony remote set up to switch the AVR and control my Cable box, Shield TV, and Amazon device (I have both a Shield and FTV3 because I like different features of both boxes for different tasks). If it’s not officially supported perhaps you can come up with some work-arounds. Otherwise I’ll have to send the Cube back and just stay with the FTV3 even though I like the Echo integration and ethernet connection on the Cube. Thanks for your great work, Elias!
Was really disappointed to hear that harmony remotes are not supported. Will see how Alexa handles what my harmony used to do. I have a feeling I’ll be returning the cube.
is it a cube or actually a cuboid?….
Haha, it’s cuboid. Dimensions are 3.4” x 3.4” x 3.0” (86.1 mm x 86.1 mm x 76.9 mm) so it’s a bit shorter (height) than it is wide and deep.
The Cube has the real estate inside the unit for more powerful components, yet it’s the same speed as a FTV3. Was extra interior space primarily used for Echo or just for the cool looks? Will anyone dare to disassemble it to see how the guts are laid out.
This seems like the closest thing to a real Fire TV 3, so they still do design Fire TVs which aren’t sticks.
Since you seem to have alot of insight: can we expect to get a new version of the FTV 1/2 boxes at last? I don’t want a stick, nor a mix of Echo and Fire TV, but just an updated small box. Like everybody I know.
I wouldn’t expect to see a new flagship Fire TV until at least Fall 2019.
How fast can you throw it across the room?
Will this enable me to toss out & replace my harmony hub?
I’m just interested in a speed/performance test vs. the FTV3 as a streaming device only. How do they compare in that dept?
This would help those of us who are just looking to buy the best performing streaming device between the two.
I use a Harmony Hub and Ultimate remote to run my system that somewhat is Alexa friendly. Is the Cube going to muck all that up? Does Bezos think he can do it better than Logitech? I don’t think so. I’m happy with the additional memory so long it stays away from my Logitech stuff.
Set the cube up with my hub and ultimate remote and everything works just fine.
I have not been able to get my Harmony remote to pair with the Cube, even though I had no problem with the FTV3. Has Logitech added a Cube option in the setup/synch procedure where you choose the device for the activity? Did you have to completely redo the activity or were you able to just pair it without having to do that?
Did a redo! showed up as Harmony Keyboard under other Bluetooth devices but works normally for me.
I would like to know about Harmony Hub voice integration.
How extensive is the list of devices supported via the IR blaster?
A few, a couple dozen, a lot?
Any gaming consoles in the mix?
Any competing streamers?
How is the reproduction of high bitrate BR rips and UHD BR rips from the USB
Can this or will this be able to control a gaming system like Xbox one? What would happen if I connected the cube to the HDMI in of the Xbox one? I have a harmony setup and was going to get a second harmony setup for my bedroom but this came out and I jumped on this instead. The issue is I have my show in my bedroom so I wanted to bring my harmony into my room then use the cube to control my livingroom entertainment system including a TV, sound bar, and Xbox one. Any word on this?
1.
Tivo already supports Alexa, question is is Tivo on the natively support boxes on the cube, meaning if you say change channels to say ESPN does it do it or do you each time say Alexa ask TIVO to channel channels to ESPN which gets confusing for the non technical or visitors of the house.
2.
how good does it integrate with 3rd party boxes, DVRS, DVD, Game boxes, What about other inputs like Computer or Composite that I got a Video camera on
3. can it changed to Composite input and will it let me name that input so I can say Alexa change to security camara
How do we install Google Play Services on Fire OS 6??
Amazon should make the Cube with Plex Media Server built-in. I’ll definitely get it if that happens and more storage space.
I’m curious if I’ll actually get it.
“A train derailment has delayed delivery. We’re adjusting plans to deliver your package as quickly as possible.”
I have a question, I have firetv Game Edition, this cube version can run the same games? I ask because I have game like GTA Vice City, star wars ect. Thanks Guys and sorry for My English!
Can I still use Flirc with the AFTV Cube? Is there an SD slot? I’m not giving up my Harmony One remote. Mine will be here today as well and I’ll be curious to see if it truly will pass through DTS or only support Dolby Digital formats. Good chance it may be on eBay or Craigslist very quickly.
Flirc is working. However no DTS. Although with my AFTV2 I never could select DTS capable receiver in Kodi. But that might just be due to running Kodi 18 alpha.
Apple TV is the only device that will except locals for Directv Now. Roku, and Fire Tv don’t pickup locals because it has to do with location. I have Windstream and my IP address one day will be in NY, the next day Cleveland OH., will the Cube have device locator like the Apple Device does ??
Can it use the same power adapter as the Fire TV 2? I’d be more likely to consider buying one of these if I didn’t have move my entertainment center around.
How does it handle music requests from Amazon music and from other services (Spotify, tunein, etc)? Does it open the music app on the screen when requesting music?
I received an email upon completion of setup:
“Thank you for setting up your Fire TV Cube. Your Amazon account has been credited with $10 which will be automatically applied to your next eligible video purchase or rental. Any unused credit will expire on Aug 31, 2018. See full terms and conditions below.”
Does the Cube periodically update it’s apps automatically? Thank you.
Does the cube show up in the Alexa App for you? I have a cube and I don’t see it in mine. How do you set it up to run routines like turn my lights and my TV off?
Anyone figure out if there is a way to change the wake word? I hate Alexa. I changed my Echo Dot to Echo and it’s confusing.
Never mind. Found where I could change it in the Alexa app on my phone.
Is there any way to tune to the channel I ask for without Alexa repeating the channel? Example: “Alexa tune to MLB Network” Alexa responds “Tuning to M…L…B…Network”. Can’t it just tune to the channel without saying the channel name?
Also, the cube is connected & set-up on the main TV in my room. I have a smaller 2nd TV also in the same room. Everytime I ask Alexa to turn the TV on or off, it does it to the 2nd TV as well. I tried it with and without the IR extender but it still affects the 2nd TV regardless. It’s very annoying.
Say “define pushy”.
Response: I’d rather not answer that
Why?
Elias,
How do you move Game Circle data to another device? A few games that we play on FireTV stick Gen 1 have a ton of time/gameplay spent. How can we move it to the Cube? I’ve installed the games using our Amazon account but it doesn’t seem to see the game progress.
An example is the $10 million on Casino World Championship. Four years :-(
Elias,
You or someone has found out if there is an alternative way to make the “Mouse Toggle for Fire TV” application work on the new FireTV CUBE?
I have been reading in the help section of the APP, that there is a bug in all FireTV 3er.Generation, that affects the mouse position, unless the display setting is set to: 1080p 50HZ…
But, unfortunatelly after selecting 1080p 60HZ (Settings/Display & Sounds – Display – Resolution), the mouse coordinates are still off, and therefore the mouse pointer never shows.
I thought that everyone who like me, recently bought the new FireTV CUBE, would like to know, that I just received an email from iostouchdev, the developer of the “Mouse Toggle for FireTV” application, with really great news:
“Hi there,
I just received a Fire TV Cube a few days ago and just resolved the issue.
So there will be a update available in the next few days that will have support for the Fire TV Cube.
Thank you”
Thanks, iostouchdev for developing such an Excellent APP, and fixing so Quickly the problem with the New FireTV CUBE!!
Good News…
Today iostouchdev, the developer of the Mouse Toggle for FireTV has just released in the Google-Play-Store a New Version 1.11 of the application, that finally supports the New FireTV CUBE and FireTV Edition models!
Now the Mouse Toggle application works perfectly on FireTV CUBE, and I would dare to say that it is much better and more accurate than before.
Unfortunately the Mouse Toggle APP is not available from the Amazon APP Store, so you will have to buy it from the Google Play Store…
Thanks again iostouchdev for fixing so Quickly the problem with the New FireTV CUBE!