Earlier this week, Amazon announced two new additions to the Fire TV line: the 3rd generation Amazon Fire TV Stick and the Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite. What are the differences between these two, and how do they compare to the top-tiered Fire TV Stick 4K? Let’s have a look.
The Amazon Fire TV streaming devices have been quite popular in the UK, dating back to the launch of the first Fire TV box, back in 2014 – and for good reason.
With most of the major UK streaming apps available for the Fire TV (with NOW TV being a notable exception), and a friendly interface, it’s an improved replacement to the often slow-and-limited “Smart TV” interfaces. (The Fire TV’s main competition at this point at the Roku streaming devices – see my reviews here).
But there are now FOUR Amazon Fire TV devices being officially sold in the UK: The Amazon Fire TV 4K Stick (see my review), the Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd generation, Full HD), The Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite (Full HD), and the Amazon Fire TV Cube (4K), which is a pricier product that combines the Fire TV with an Echo device.
The three sticks are all quite capable, affordable, and – somewhat surprisingly – quite similar in their specs.
In fact, the new “regular” Full HD stick is practically identical to the “Lite” stick, with the only notable difference being the remote that comes with either stick – the Lite remote doesn’t have TV volume buttons, and instead adds a “Live TV” button. That’s it. Oh – and there’s a £10 difference as well…
We’re hoping to have detailed reviews of the new sticks soon – but for now, here’s a full comparison of the specs:
(If you’re on a phone, you can scroll the table left and right)
| Fire TV 4K Stick | Fire TV Stick | Fire TV Stick Lite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | 4K / 60fps | 1080p / 60fps | 1080p / 60fps |
| HDR | HDR10/+ Dolby Vision, HLG | HDR10/+, HLG | HDR10/+, HLG |
| Audio | Stereo, PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos | Stereo, PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos | Stereo, PCM |
| CPU | MediaTek MT8695, 1.7GHz quad-core | MediaTek MT8695D, 1.7GHz quad-core | MediaTek MT8695D, 1.7GHz quad-core |
| GPU | IMG GE8300 | IMG GE8300 | IMG GE8300 |
| RAM | 1.5GB DDR4 | 1GB DDR4 | 1GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO (WiFi 5) | 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO (WiFi 5) | 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO (WiFi 5) |
| Bluetooth | BT 5 | BT 5 | BT 5 |
| Ethernet | Optional Adapter | Optional Adapter | Optional Adapter |
| Remote | Alexa Voice Remote | Alexa Voice Remote | Alexa Voice Remote Lite (without volume buttons) |
| OS | Fire OS 6 (Android 7.1) – Likely to be updated soon | Fire OS 7 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 (Android 9) |
| Price | £49.99 | £39.99 | £29.99 |
| BUY HERE | BUY HERE | BUY HERE | |
| Fire TV 4K Stick | Fire TV Stick | Fire TV Stick Lite |
As you can see, even the Fire TV 4K stick isn’t all the different, with a slightly upgraded CPU, 1.5GB RAM (instead of 1GB), and of course – support for Ultra HD 4K streaming (and Dolby Vision HDR).
On the other hand, while the new sticks will come out of the box with the new Fire OS 7 operating system (which is based on Android 9), the Fire TV 4K stick is still running Fire OS 6 (based on Android 7.1). But we expect Amazon to update the 4K Stick’s OS at some point in the near future.
When compared to the previous generation of Fire sticks, Amazon say that the new generation is 50% more powerful than the previous generation – we’ll wait for the full review to pass judgement on how this looks in real life usage.
Which Amazon Fire TV Stick Is Best?
So, which Fire TV Stick should you buy? If this is going to be your main streaming device, for a 4K TV, then I suggest you go for the 4K stick, which offers superior video quality and possibly a faster interface.
If, however, this is a second stick (for your bedroom, for example), or if you’re going to use it on an older non-4K TV, then I would go straight for the Lite version, which has a very tempting price point.
You won’t be able to control the volume of your TV with the Lite Remote – but consider whether that’s worth the £10 difference.