Amazon Fire Stick vs Fire Stick 4K: Is it Worth the Upgrade?
We compare the new Fire Stick 4K with the older one to see if the price bump is worth it.
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Amazon in India has upgraded its popular Fire Stick device, which will now cost Rs 5,999. Recently an IDC report talked about the Fire Stick becoming the go-to TV streaming device for buyers in India, with 8 out of 10 streaming devices being the Fire Stick. The timing of upgrading to the 4K avatar feels spot on and it is now available in the country via Amazon’s website.
The upgraded Fire Stick gets support for 4K resolution, improved audio quality. And that’s not all, the remote bundled with the Fire Stick 4K gets voice as well as Alexa support, letting you access content on the television, without needing to move around.
Having said that, the new version costs Rs 2,000 more than the previous variant. So, can Amazon justify the price hike with the Fire Stick 4K for Indian buyers?
What’s New?
Amazon has made sure that people with the existing Fire Stick might feel compelled to upgrade. The company claims the Fire Stick 4K caters to the needs of a modern TV user, and Indian users will finally get a chance to access content in high/ultra definition quality.
Design-wise, there isn’t much to differentiate the new from the old. Except you’ll see the new Fire Stick 4K with the latest Amazon branding, instead of Amazon written over it. You still get 8GB of storage and it’s possible that the RAM count has been kept unchanged.
You’re still going to access the Fire Stick from your TV via HDMI port and you’ll need to keep it powered up all the time. Those basics were unlikely to change and that seems to be the case.
Better Video and Audio
The Fire Stick 4K, as its name suggests, will support content in native 4K resolution that clocks up to 2,560 pixels in quality.
This high display quality will be powered by the new 1.7GHz processor and with better graphics in tow, that will help in faster rendering of content and deliver smoother pixels in the process. In simple terms, movies and videos streaming from the new Fire Stick will look better than before.
The audio specs have been bumped up along with the video upgrade. Instead of just offering Dolby Audio, the new Fire Stick 4K supports Dolby Atmos now. No, this doesn’t mean you’re going to get theatre-like audio quality, but it is a significant upgrade for home viewers nevertheless.
New Remote, More Power
Amazon seems to have thought through the features for its new Fire Stick. Alexa is now enabled on the remote, which was previously confined to being voice-enabled. The remote is now IR enabled, which means that you can control your regular TV or even air-conditioner with this remote. It becomes a multi-tasker now.
It will be interesting to see how effectively Alexa functions with smart TVs. Those with the existing Fire Stick can also upgrade to the latest remote by paying Rs 1,999 to get the new unit.
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