Analysis of the Amazon Fire TV Cube 4K 3G, a beast that changes the way you interact with the television

You may think that the world of TV media players is boring and even meaningless due to the multimedia capabilities of today’s televisions. Nevertheless, I find it exciting the way in which Apple, Amazon and Google, mainly, are focusing their products.

Google has two Chromecasts with GoogleTV (the original 2020 model with 4K and a more basic 1,080p model). Apple only has an Apple TV 4K (with two variants depending on storage and ports) and Amazon… well, Amazon has a ton.

For. Side you have the Fire TV Sticks that offer different experiences. If we want 4K we have the Fire TV 4K Max (with higher resolution, HDR and very fast) and, on the other hand, the normal Fire TV Stick and the Lite, with a more basic control.

However, there is also the one that we bring in this analysis, the Fire TV Cube 4K, which is one of the best multimedia players that you can connect and that He’s got a couple of tricks up his sleeve.: an HDMI pass through and a built-in speaker with Alexa.

The review of the Amazon Fire TV Cube 2022: analysis, test and opinion of Computerhoy:

Data sheet of the Amazon Fire TV Cube 2022

The result of a crazy night between an Echo Dot and a Fire TV 4K Max

At the design level, the truth is, there is not much to scratch. As the name suggests, it is a cube of 86 x 86 x 77 mm which is pretty teeny and basically like an Echo Dot, but square instead of circular in design.

Since I mention the Dot, the Fire TV Cube works like a speaker. It does not have the best sound quality, but it works in small rooms and, in addition, it has Alexa integrated.

Yes, Chromecast and Apple TV have their respective assistants, but you need to press a button on the remote to activate them and have it close because that’s where the microphone is located.

Here everything is integrated into the Cube (although the remote also has an Alexa button and a microphone), so you can be in the same room, invoke Alexa… and that’s it.

In fact, it has the blue LED that is activated when we speak and the basic controls of an Echo at the top (volume up/down, tap to unmute and mute mics).

Indeed, the controller is not the Pro model (that costs 40 euros and which is very similar to this one, but with backlighting). It seems to me that Amazon should have included this device to really have the best experience.

Later I will tell you what this is for day to day in the control of the television, but to finish with the design, we have the power adapter that plugs into the back and a good number of ports.

The wifi is of quality and, in addition, it is wifi 6E, so it is well served at this pointbut you also have the possibility to connect an Ethernet cable, it has an infrared extension port, a USB-A and two HDMI.

The HDMIs let Dolby Atmos content through and it is HDMI 2.1, but it has a big asterisk because it is not ideal for you to connect a PS5 or an Xbox Series X to the Cube to output a signal to the TV saving an HDMI, since you will not be able to benefit from technologies such as VRR, ALLM and the maximum output is 2.160p60.

If your television is not compatible with these technologies, yes, it will not matter to you, but if your TV has HDMI 2.1, I recommend connecting your current generation console or your PC with RTX 4080 / RTX 4090 directly to the television.

At the design level, I have to admit that I quite like it. It is not as discreet as the Chromecast or Apple TV, but I have to say that it does not look out of place in any furniture setup and while you’ll have to watch out for dust (because the black mesh catches it nicely), I find it classy.

And, as with the Apple TV, it doesn’t include an HDMI cable in the box. Being HDMI 2.1, and costing what both players cost, I think that theirs would have been that they had included the cable, but hey.

It is very fast and, now, Alexa lives on your television

At the level of experience, if you have a Fire TV, you already know what you are going to find. Neverthelesseverything goes much, much faster thanks to the new SoC Amlogic POP 1. It has 8 cores at 2.2 GHz and a Malo-G52 MP8 GPU with 2 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 16 GB of storage.

It’s very powerful hardware that moves 4K HDR content without a problem, as well as an interface full of icons without any problem. Open apps in a flash, switching between apps is seamless, and everything works as you’d expect from hardware at this price point.

It is compatible with Dolby Vision, HDR10 +, HDR10 and HLGso it’s not bad at all because it covers the HDR formats used by the different platforms. Netflix, AppleTV+, Prime Video either Disney+ they look great, but the one you can’t install (officially at least) is HBO Max.

It has Bluetooth 5.0 and you will be able to connect headphones, speakers or even controls for videogames and yes, the number of games that are available is not too wide either and they are not the most TOP, really, but you can always download an APK for enjoy Game Pass in the cloudfor example.

But hey, let’s go with the native options and here we have to talk about FireOS. It’s about the Android-based operating system which, as I said, is great, but I think it’s time for Amazon to give it a spin.

I think it has too much publicity and content recommendations are focused on Prime Video. I understand this, since it is still its platform, but for example in Chromecast 2020 Google gives free rein to content recommendations from other installed platforms.

I think you can simplify the menus and make everything a bit more minimalist. Without going to the extremes of Apple TV, but without having everything full of rectangles of content that sometimes do not make much sense.

What I love is having Alexa on the TV. I have connected the Fire TV Cube to a Sony XH90 and, in addition to being able to ask Alexa basic things, allows me to control home automation easilyturn on the TV without worrying about the controls and play content without having to search for it with the remote.

Be careful, if you ask him for something, he will surely send you to Prime Video directly, logically, so his thing is that you tell him the platform. For example, “Alexa, play The Simpsons on Disney+.”

Versions, offers and price of the Amazon Fire TV Cube 2022

Before moving on to the conclusion, let’s go with the price. There are products that have a lot of versions available and, even in the case of the Apple TV 4K of 2022, we have versions with more or less storage whose ports change depending on this.

Not here though. There is only one version of the Fire TV Cube, the one we have reviewed, and it is something that takes our headaches away. About the price, it normally costs 159.99 eurosbut it is easy to see it in offers at a much lower price.

Amazon Fire TV Cube

Amazon’s most advanced streaming media player with Alexa voice control and WiFi 6e support and Ultra HD 4K video.

At the time of writing these lines, the Fire TV Cube 4K 2022 costs 107 euros and yes, if you read this review in a few months, the offer may not be active anymore, but surely there will be a Prime Day or something around the corner. the corner with a lower price than the original.

Amazon Fire TV Cube 2022, Computerhoy’s opinion: is it worth it?

We have reached the end of the review of the third generation Fire TV Cube 4K and the truth is that the sensations have been very positive during these weeks. It wastes power on all four sides and that is something that I highly value in a device of this type.

It jumps in and out of apps very quickly, you can jump from one to another with no issues or lag, and I haven’t had some of the issues that I’m experiencing with my Chromecast lately, like crashing apps. The audio and video quality is great and the compatibility with the main HDR formats is an important point in its favor.

However, I think the most notable thing about this device is its hybrid function as a smart speaker. It is very comfortable to have the controls on the table, to be sprawled on the sofa and to control everything simply with your voicethe truth.

What I don’t like so much is the system itself. I notice that it is lagging behind that of the main competitors and That HBO Max is still missing is… strange. We’ll see what happens with this service in the future, as well as the new Paramount service, but all streaming platforms should be compatible with all players.

And yes, I think that they could have included the Pro controller for the 160 euros it costs, but otherwise, it is a device that I have loved and a 2 for 1 that can be ideal for many homes. Here, the truth, Amazon has the great asset and sales argument for its Fire TV Cube.