Amazon’s New Fire TV Stick Is the Cheapest Way to Get Alexa in Your House

When people ask me what stream machine to bribe , my initial reaction is always to say , “ just get aRoku . ” But after using the wild ( and cheap!)Fire TV Stickfor the last few days , I cerebrate my testimonial might just change . At $ 40 , the new Fire TV Stick is a terrific pour machine that almost touch the Roku for ease of utilization . But better , it ’s also now the cheapest way to getAlexain your house .

Amazon has sell zillion of Fire TV Sticks sans Alexa . The caller wo n’t break out specific act , but on Prime Day , it was the well - sell product in the entire world . And it makes horse sense . As far as cyclosis sticks go , the Fire TV Stick has always been solid . It ’s a trashy way to get message in 1080p , it works like any other stick , by plugging into the HDMI port on your TV , and it even comes with an HDMI extender if you have weird ports . But previous Fire television Sticks were a minuscule tiresome and it was gruelling to advocate them compared to the $ 50 Roku Stick or the tacky $ 30Roku Express .

But now , it ’s a smarter stick that ’s cheaper than the Roku Stick and quicker than the Express . Thenewest Fire TV Stickhas a quad - heart C.P.U. , which get me open up Hulu and Netflix and the other apps and games super fast . It also let in 802.11ac WiFi — something the Express neglects .

All images: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo

All images: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo

But it still comes in second place when it comes to content selection . That ’s because Amazon base its Fire TV Stick on its Fire OS platform , AKA Android . Most of the apps and duct were designed for Android speech sound or tab , which means they do n’t always look awful on the big screen , but they work just okay with the included remote and video playback is gross .

verbalise of the remote , you may also apply the Fire TV Stick as a hapless man ’s Alexa , using the sameAlexa commandsthat you would use on an Echo , Echo Dot , or Echo Tap . Need to turn off your lights or find out who get ahead the World Series in 1969 ? Just press the search button and demand . It even works with playback ascendence , so you may say , “ rewind 17 seconds ” and it will .

you could also do all the other voice hunt that are becoming increasingly common in rigid top boxes . exchangeable to the newApple TVand theFire video box(or even the high - endRoku Ultra ) , you hold down on the microphone button and say stuff like “ Open Hulu ” or “ Open HBO Go ” to go directly to channels . you could also explore for film and TV shows .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

Amazon ’s Alexa search works with 90 different partner apps , so search for Broad City wo n’t just turn up Amazon final result , it will turn up stuff from Hulu too . And if you ’re already signed - into Hulu , Amazon know and will send you to watch on Hulu before it ask you to pass money with them .

The one downside is that you’re able to not employ the voice remote to enter in text or passwords when logging into apps . Amazon does n’t have a single sign - on ( which allows you to sign into all your apps at once ) , so that can get frustrative because navigate text ingress on cover is a chore . The good intelligence is you may always expend the Fire TV Remote app for iOS or Android to record stuff in faster .

Roku still has a slightly honorable content ecosystem , but Amazon ’s is getting damn tightlipped to as ripe and for $ 40 , you could get a libertine stick than the Express , but that also supports your voice . This is a great stocking stuffer for anyone who wants a small Alexa in their living , and a hearty streaming marijuana cigarette to boot .

William Duplessie