Amazon has released a new 2nd generation version of the Alexa Voice Remote Lite that is bundled with the Fire TV Stick Lite. The new remote is identical to the previous version, which debuted in 2020, except the new version now has four app shortcut buttons along the bottom. Also changed on the new 2nd-gen remote is the voice command button which has been changed from a black button with a microphone icon to a blue button with the Alexa logo. Read more ›
The Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite and 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick are the latest Fire TV models to add support for being grouped with Amazon Echo speakers to form an Alexa Home Theater System. Using Echo speakers for improved Fire TV audio was first introduced with the release of the Echo Studio last year, thanks to its Dolby Atmos capabilities. The feature has since expanded to also include compatibility with the 1st & 2nd-gen Echo Plus, 2nd & 3rd-gen Echo, 3rd-gen Echo Dot (with or without clock), and the Echo Sub. All of these Echo speakers can be grouped, in the Alexa app, to the Fire TV Stick 4K, both 1st & 2nd-gen Fire TV Cubes, the 3rd-gen Fire TV, and now the two new 2020 Firesticks. Grouping the devices together into a Home Theater System allows the Fire TV’s audio to automatically and wirelessly use the smart speakers instead of your TV speakers. Instructions for how to do so can be found here.
In Amazon’s current lineup of Fire TV models, the 2020 Fire TV Stick Lite, 2020 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick, and the Fire TV Cube (both 1st and 2nd-gen) support expanding their internal storage through the use of an external USB drive. Doing so allows you to move supported apps onto the external storage device to free up space on the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube’s internal storage space. The Fire TV Stick 4K, while it does support external USB devices to some extent, does not currently support moving apps to external storage. Here are what accessories you need for external storage, instucritions for how to configure your Fire TV device correctly, and how to move apps off of the internal storage. Read more ›
The Fire TV Stick Lite and the 3rd-generation Fire TV Stick (i.e., Fire TV Stick 3) have recently been released for 2020 and join the Fire TV Stick 4K from 2018 to round out Amazon’s budget-friendly lineup of streaming media players, which are colloquially referred to as Firesticks. The differences might seem straightforward when comparing their device specs, but there are several differences, particularly with the software and operating system of each device, that anyone comparison shopping should know about before determining which device is right for you. Here is a meticulous comparison of all of the differences and similarities between the three Amazon Fire TV Stick models. Read more ›
If there was any doubt that the 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick and the 1st-gen Fire TV Stick Lite share the exact same hardware, the fact that they both use the same model number of S3L46N and the same FCC ID of 2AUQI-7436 should put that to rest. The two are physically indistinguishable from one another on the outside. There is a slight chance that internal components like the memory chips differ, based on my benchmark findings, but components like that can actually vary slightly on the same device model depending on what was available during a particular manufacturing run. So, if they do differ inside, there’s no way to know if that is deliberate or just luck of the draw. Read more ›
Among the first questions that people ask about every new Fire TV model is if Amazon has done anything to deter sideloading apps like Kodi. Rest assured that the new 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick and the Firestick Lite can sideload apps just as easily as every Fire TV model that came before them. My Downloader app runs perfectly right out of the box on these new devices. There is just one important difference about sideloading on these new devices that may be confusing to existing Fire TV and Fire TV Stick owners. Read more ›
Now that the new 2020 Amazon Fire TV Stick 3 and Fire TV Stick Lite have been released, it’s time to see how they stack up against existing Fire TV models, past and present. While computational benchmark scores are by no means going to tell you how well a device will perform at real-world everyday tasks, they’re still helpful to understand how much raw power each Fire TV, Firestick, and Fire TV Cube have to offer, should you push them to their limits. I’ve run all 10 Fire TV models that have ever been released through 4 popular benchmarks that test their CPU, GPU, Memory, and more. Here are the results. Read more ›
The latest Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote with TV power, volume, and mute buttons is a great remote. If you can afford it, paying the extra $10 to get the Fire TV Stick 3 instead of the Fire TV Stick Lite is well worth it for the better remote alone. That said, if you recently purchased the old Fire TV Stick 2 with the better remote included and are looking to upgrade to the Fire TV Stick 3, you should absolutely consider getting the Fire TV Stick Lite instead. That’s because you can just pair your Fire TV Stick 2’s remote with the Fire TV Stick Lite for nearly the same experience as the Fire TV Stick 3, but you save $10 on the upgrade. Read more ›
Now that there are two new Amazon Fire TV models in the form of the 3rd-generation Fire TV Stick and the Fire TV Stick Lite, here is a comparison of all of the device characteristics and specifications for the entire Fire TV lineup, including the Fire TV Stick 4K and the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube. Read more ›
Amazon has announced the all-new 3rd generation Fire TV Stick and, for the first time, a new Fire TV Stick Lite model. These two new models for 2020 replace the outgoing 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick that first debuted in 2016. Both new devices share identical hardware, in regards to the streaming media player itself, which is based very closely on the much loved Fire TV Stick 4K. The new Fire TV Stick 3 carries the same price of $39.99 as the outgoing model and comes with the exact same Alexa voice remote that is included in the rest of Amazon’s Fire TV lineup, which features universal remote capabilities thanks to its built-in IR blaster and power/volume/mute buttons. The Fire TV Stick Lite is being introduced for the first time at $29.99, which is lower than any previous Fire TV model before it. The Firestick Lite comes with a new Alexa voice remote that forgoes device control buttons and adds a new Channel Guide button to make access live content easier. Read more ›
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