A few of Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks are on sale again, including the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which is down to $27. It went for $25 during July’s Prime Day, but that deal was only for Prime members — this one’s open to any one with the funds and inclination. This is a 51 percent discount off the $55 list price, and a sale we’ve seen a few times before. Two other streaming dongles are also on sale: the standard, HD-compatible Fire TV Stick is $25 instead of it usual $40, and the set-top Fire TV Cube is down to $120 as opposed to $140.
Of the lot, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is probably best for most people, as it offers a performance boost for just $2 more than the standard stick. The Cube is likely just for those who want to route other systems, like gaming consoles, through their streaming device. The 4K Max offers quick loading and response times and it’ll help you control your Alexa-enabled smart home devices, letting you view live interior or exterior camera footage directly from your TV screen. There’s even a picture-in-picture view so you can see who’s at the door without stopping the show. The 4K Max also includes support for Wi-Fi 6 — so if you’re already set up for that standard or plan to upgrade in the future, this can take advantage of the broader connections.
Our main concern with Amazon’s streaming devices is its less intuitive user interface. Fire OS isn’t as streamlined as Roku or Google’s streaming operating systems, and Amazon tends to favor its own content, heavily promoting its shows, services and products throughout the system.
Right now, we think Roku has the best UI of any streaming device, as we detail in our latest guide on the topic. The dongle we recommend, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, is currently seeing a modest, 20 percent discount, taking $10 off its usual $50 price tag. That’s well above the all-time low of $25 that we saw for last year’s Black Friday sales, but it’s still a decent buy on a feature-rich streaming stick.
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