Amazon Fire TV Stick Max, now with WiFi 6 and HDR

Amazon continues to bet on the Fire TV range in order to govern, if it is not already doing so, the market for multimedia players on television. While it is true that the Smart TV built into the latest televisions is very competent, these small devices continue to offer us a freedom and compatibility difficult to match.

We analyze the new Amazon Fire TV Stick Max, Amazon's latest bet for its compact version now with WiFi 6 and all HDR technologies. We are going to take a look at all the news that this new Amazon product raises and if it is really worth it compared to the cheaper alternatives of the same Fire TV family.

Materials and design

Amazon continues to bet on these types of products out of respect for the environment, 50% of the plastics used in this streaming media player come from post-consumer recycled material. 20% of the plastics used in the remote control come from post-consumer recycled material.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

  • Box contents:
    • HDMI adapter
    • USB to microUSB cable
    • 5W power adapter
    • Fire TV Stick Max
    • Command
    • Batteries for the remote

The dimensions of the appliance are 99 x 30 x 14 mm (device only) | 108 x 30 x 14 mm (including the connector) for a weight less than 50 grams.

A very renewed command

Both in weight and dimensions, the control remains almost identical to the previous version, Despite this, it has been reduced by a centimeter in length, before we had 15,1 cm in the traditional control while the new control remains at 14,2 centimeters in length. The width remains the same at 3,8 centimeters in total, and the thickness is slightly reduced from 1,7 centimeters to 1,6 centimeters.

Fire TV remote

It does change the button to invoke Alexa, which although it maintains proportions is now blue and includes the logo of the Amazon virtual assistant, different from the image of the microphone that it showed so far.

  • We continue with the button control pad and directions, where we don't find any change. The same happens with the next two lines of multimedia control, finding from left to right and from top to bottom the following: Backspace / Back; Start; Settings; Rewind; Play / Pause; Move along.
  • Yes, two buttons are added to the side and side of the volume control. On the left a «mute» button is incorporated to quickly silence the content, and on the right a guide button will appear, very useful for viewing the content in Movistar + or the information about what we are playing.

Finally, the four most notable additions are for the lower part, where we discover dedicated, colorful buttons and with a considerable size for Quickly access: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney + and Amazon Music respectively. These buttons are not at all configurable at the moment. Thus the things, the control continues offering a bittersweet sensations in this aspect. This directly conflicts with, for example, the mid-range and high-end controls from Samsung or LG and produces a strange sensation to the change.

Technical characteristics

In this case the Amazon Fire TV Stick Max It is surprising for its size and the fact that it houses all the reproduction technologies of the amazon fire tv cube, the highest-end version of similar Amazon products. By this we mean that it is compatible with 4K resolution, compatible with the different versions of HDR, among which is Dolby Vision, as well as the virtualized audio Dolby Atmos that is becoming so fashionable lately.

  • Processor: Quad core 1.8GHz MT 8696
  • GPU: IMG GE8300, 750MHz
  • 6 WiFi
  • HDMI ARC output

For its part, it also has Picture in Picture functionality and for this it is accompanied by 8 GB total storage (8GB less than the Fire TV Cube and the same capacity as its smaller siblings) as well as 2GB of RAM (identical to the Fire TV Cube). To do this, use a 1,8 GHz CPU and a 750 MHz GPU slightly higher than the rest of the Fire TV Stick range but somewhat inferior also at the same time to the Fire TV Cube. All this means that this Fire TV Stick Max is 40% more powerful than the rest of the Fire TV Stick range at least according to Amazon itself.

It is surprising at this point that they continue to bet on the microUSB as a connection port to provide power to the device, which will be impossible to run through the USB port of most televisions, however, They have the detail of providing us with a 5W charger in the box. The integration of a state-of-the-art WiFi 6 network card is precisely one of its greatest assets.

Using FireOS on your TV

Regarding the resolution of the image, without limitations we will be able to achieve the UDH 4K with a maximum rate of 60 FPS. This does not mean that we will indeed be able to enjoy the rest of the content in other resolutions that we are able to reproduce. The result in our tests with the main streaming audiovisual content providers has been favorable. Netflix reaches 4K HDR resolution levels smoothly and without jerks, offering slightly sharper results than through other systems such as Samsung TV or webOS. 

The own and personalized Operating System helps him a lot. It works slightly faster than the rest of the Fire range, even with really heavy applications and the occasional emulator.

Editor's opinion

This Fire TV Stick 4K Max is positioned at 64,99 euros, which is a difference of only € 5 compared to the 4K version, it is honestly worth paying € 5 more for having the characteristics that differentiate both. If on the other hand we are studying to buy the normal TV Stick because we do not need more than Full HD content, the difference is remarkable. From my point of view, it is reasonable to bet either on the Fire TV Stick for 39,99 euros, or go directly to Fire TV Stick 4K Max for 64,99 euros finding a complete high-end experience.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max
  • Editor's rating
  • 4 star rating
64,99
  • 80%

  • Integrated
    Publisher: 80%
  • Connectivity
    Publisher: 90%
  • Performance
    Publisher: 80%
  • Operating system
    Publisher: 85%
  • Portability (size / weight)
    Publisher: 80%
  • Price quality
    Publisher: 90%

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Compact and easy to hide
  • A worked OS and very compatible with various apps
  • Works without jerks, light and comfortable

Cons

  • The command materials can be improved
  • It does not work with the USB of the TV


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