Amazon Fire TV Cube 4K

Awfully slow interface now as it is more GoogleTV centric. I can forgive it on a firetv stick but the Cube just is garbage. The Ethernet jack is only 100 Meg, which makes zero sense (but it is built in so that is a step up from the previous editions external dongle). It is still running a marginally improved same CPU from the last generation firetv cube, has 2 Meg of ram, which is just abysmal (same as it’s predecessor) and 16 Meg of storage. The Bluetooth is 5.2 opposed to 5.0 which is not game changing by any means and nothing has changed compared to the prior gen in terms of format support (2160p, atmos, hdr10+, all your common formats). There is an hdmi in port now. I cannot find any specifics as to it being hdmi 2.0 vs 2.1 but nothing here shouts 2.1. You can ... MoreAwfully slow interface now as it is more GoogleTV centric. I can forgive it on a firetv stick but the Cube just is garbage. The Ethernet jack is only 100 Meg, which makes zero sense (but it is built in so that is a step up from the previous editions external dongle). It is still running a marginally improved same CPU from the last generation firetv cube, has 2 Meg of ram, which is just abysmal (same as it’s predecessor) and 16 Meg of storage. The Bluetooth is 5.2 opposed to 5.0 which is not game changing by any means and nothing has changed compared to the prior gen in terms of format support (2160p, atmos, hdr10+, all your common formats). There is an hdmi in port now. I cannot find any specifics as to it being hdmi 2.0 vs 2.1 but nothing here shouts 2.1. You can potentially control a third party device with Alexa if that’s your thing but with HDMI-CEC,it doesn’t make much sense. All in all, this is a bust in my opinion. They have also locked down some of if not all of the ability to install your own APK files so you are locked to the App Store of Amazon. Fire OS is actually Android 9, so enjoy those feature, security and cve updates from Android TV 11+, it is also purely 32 bit but since it does not support modern apps or apks outside of Amazon’s store that won’t impact you. You can do your own homework on the cpu but in the end the chip is an Amlogic POP1-G under clocked and the mali gpu is embedded. Wifi6e is great on paper but not many of us nor is there a great deal of certified routers or even network cards in deployment. The storage is god awful slow emmc. In the end, I cannot recommend this device as there isn’t more than some codec licensing which will only apply to corner cases. The device is slow and it’s underpowered compared to the latest AppleTV which can do all the same but at a lower price point (Wi-Fi model). Also, there are alternatives that do almost all of this and will work equally well at a cheaper price point.

This thing is fast. Apps open and close noticeably faster than the sticks and really any other streaming device I have, including the nvidia shield tv. I love it for that but it has an annoying glitch that has not been fixed even though Amazon has known about for months. If you have it auto detect hdr format it will not properly display colors everytime you turn on the device. It corrects when you start HDR programming and then you get out of it and it's fine. But it resets when you turn it off and come back to watch later. This is something that didn't happen with the fires stick I previously had and should not be happening with their higher prices device. Another annoying setting is that you have to enable Alexa if you want it to power on and control volume 2itb ... MoreThis thing is fast. Apps open and close noticeably faster than the sticks and really any other streaming device I have, including the nvidia shield tv. I love it for that but it has an annoying glitch that has not been fixed even though Amazon has known about for months. If you have it auto detect hdr format it will not properly display colors everytime you turn on the device. It corrects when you start HDR programming and then you get out of it and it's fine. But it resets when you turn it off and come back to watch later. This is something that didn't happen with the fires stick I previously had and should not be happening with their higher prices device. Another annoying setting is that you have to enable Alexa if you want it to power on and control volume 2itb my tv and receiver. The firstick did not require that and controlled my devices fine with CEC. Just another gimmick to force alexa. Amazon is failing on this one.

I have always liked the cube, especially because I have an older tv in my bedroom that although is "smart" is a very limited and outdated system. The main issue I had with the older cube is the delay in remote/cube communication. Also speed of loading apps and extra connector for network, that can also be really slow. I was much faster on wifi which should have been the opposite. Anyway ALL issues have been resolved. This interface and processor is lightning fast. Faster than my tvs with Fire built in. The mic is so good is can hear a whisper from 12 feet. And connectivity with wifi6 is excellent. I can finally plug Cat cable right into the cube and get the fastest speed available. Apps download so fast and run even faster. This was a great buy and I am overly ... MoreI have always liked the cube, especially because I have an older tv in my bedroom that although is "smart" is a very limited and outdated system. The main issue I had with the older cube is the delay in remote/cube communication. Also speed of loading apps and extra connector for network, that can also be really slow. I was much faster on wifi which should have been the opposite. Anyway ALL issues have been resolved. This interface and processor is lightning fast. Faster than my tvs with Fire built in. The mic is so good is can hear a whisper from 12 feet. And connectivity with wifi6 is excellent. I can finally plug Cat cable right into the cube and get the fastest speed available. Apps download so fast and run even faster. This was a great buy and I am overly pleased! A+