Hi everyone and thank you for watching today. As many of you may know, one of my favourite
streaming devices is the Amazon 4K Firestick, however today I am going to take an in-depth look
into the most powerful of all the Amazon streaming devices, their Fire TV Cube to see if
for the extra cost, it is worth it. If you want to find some more and
take a detailed look at the Fire TV Cube with me, then let’s go and take a look!
You can use the clickable sections below to skip ahead to any specific part in the video.
If you’re looking for a new VPN service, why don’t you check out the links in the description below.
Clicking on these links can not only give you a great discount off of your next
VPN subscription, but clicking through these links also helps to support my channel.
This is the Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen, released in 2019 and is
the most powerful streaming device that Amazon offers in their range.
It offers the same streaming experience as Amazon’s other devices, but with a built-in
microphone that allows the Cube to be used entirely hands-free through voice commands.
This also gives the Cube the ability to control cable boxes, soundbars, TVs & A/V receivers.
All of the streaming devices in my home are Amazon devices as I really like their ease of use with
the Fire OS and in my opinion, you get a lot for the price. However, there are some limitations
with Amazon streaming products, and these are reasons why some users choose to go with an
Android device over an Amazon device and I will also discuss these limitations in this video.
First let’s talk about the specs. The Fire TV Cube packs a lot of
power into a small cube for the price: It has a Hexa-core processor that combines
a Quad-core, running at up to 2.2GHz and a Dual-core, running at up to 1.9GHz,
2GB of DDR4 RAM, 16 GB internal storage, Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 4K ultra-HD & HDR,
Dolby Atmos, Far-Field Voice Control and it’s running the latest Fire OS version 7
For a full list of specifications check out the links in the description below this video.
In comparison, the newest Firesticks from Amazon have a slightly slower processor and
half the amount of RAM with just 1GB. The older 4K Firestick has 1.5GB RAM and runs an older Fire OS,
version 6. It will be interesting to see how they all compare later on in benchmarking tests.
Let’s take a look at what’s inside the box and take a closer look at the device itself.
Inside the box you have the Fire TV Cube, power adapter, IR extender cable, Ethernet adapter,
some quick start guides, remote control & 2 aaa batteries.
The Amazon ethernet adapter is limited to a maximum speed of up to 100Mbps
so that may be an issue for some people. However, 100Mbps is more than adequate for streaming.
The Cube itself is quite heavy, weighing 465g, especially when compared to a Firestick
which is around 56g. However, the Cube does pack in a lot more tech. The Cube is black
with a gloss finish all over apart from the top which has a matt finish. I’m not too keen on the
gloss as it really shows up dust and fingerprints which is not good news if you like to keep your
devices looking shiny and new. On the front is the amazon logo
and, on the top, you have volume up and down buttons, a button to turn the microphone on
and off for privacy, and an action button. There are also 8 tiny microphones that hear
you from any direction and a light bar. Around back you have a HDMI port, power in,
an IR port for the included IR extender and a Micro USB port for external storage or for using
the included Amazon ethernet adapter. Underneath you have 4 rubber feet and the speaker.
I really like the Amazon remote; it fits nicely in my hand and I don’t have any trouble with any
of the buttons. It connects via Bluetooth so you don’t need to point the remote directly
at the box. The remote is the 2nd gen Alexa Voice Remote. There is a new 3rd gen Alexa Voice Remote
that is being sold with the 3rd Gen Firestick but this new remote doesn’t yet come with the Cube.
Although this is the most expensive streaming device from Amazon,
you do not get a HDMI cable but this does seem to be becoming more typical for a streaming device as
neither does a HDMI come with the Nvidia Shield. Another drawback is you can’t easily add
additional storage via a USB or micro-SD slot like you can on some android devices. You are forced to
use an OTG cable or adapter but, there is some good news. Because the Fire Cube runs Fire OS 7,
adding additional storage can be easily achieved directly through the Settings menu.
If you would like to find out more about adding storage to any of your Fire TV
devices, you can check out my playlist showing above me & in the description down below.
Plugging in the Fire TV Cube is easy, just plug in the power and HDMI, then connect it to your TV.
However, if you want to connect via ethernet you can connect
the Ethernet adapter that’s included in the box to the micro-USB port.
Connecting your Cube directly via ethernet can help with a
better & more stable internet connection. The only issue with connecting via ethernet
is you have to use up the micro-USB port to plug the Amazon ethernet adapter in, so that means with
this setup, you can’t add additional storage or any USB peripherals. But you can get around
this by using a USB hub and ethernet adapter such as this UGreen USB hub which also has the
additional benefit of being a Gigabit ethernet adapter, supporting speeds up to 1000Mbps.
Once powered up and the remote is paired it’s easy to follow the guided set-up instructions
on screen to allow your Cube to control other devices and install additional apps. Once all
this is done, you will be at the Home screen. Another thing that is really great about the Cube,
in fact all Fire TV devices, is that most of the popular streaming services
are supported in up to 4K Ultra HD at 60 frames per second where available. Netflix, YouTube,
Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, HBO Max, Apple TV, Peacock, Disney+ and more are all supported.
Plus, the Cube has support for Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ content as well as support for Dolby
Atmos, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus. The first thing I noticed with the Cube is
navigating around was really fast, as well as installing and loading
apps which was flawless too. I had no issues whatsoever with working my way around it.
With the Fire Cube running Fire OS, which is a fork of Android, you will find that not
all apps that are on the Google Play Store are available. Amazon have a smaller number of apps
in their App store, however you can easily get around this by side-loading applications.
Just one point to make regarding this though, not all apps are compatible with Fire TV Devices
as they may require Google Services and this is not supported on Fire OS, or they may require the
installation of a virtual mouse app to navigate. In speed tests, the Cube performs well connected
to my 5GHz Wi-Fi and connecting via ethernet. I had no issues getting the maximum speeds from
my ISP and the connection via ethernet and Wi-Fi was stable. Do remember though,
that if you use the Amazon ethernet adapter, your speeds will be limited to 100Mbps.
There’s no problem with Bluetooth connectivity, I could connect my 8bitdo controller without any
issues and playing a game was excellent with no lag or performance issues. Pairing additional
Bluetooth devices such as headphones also had no issues, and with the 16GB of internal storage
and the ability to easily expand storage, you can install lots of apps and games.
In benchmarking tests using Geekbench 5, I am going to compare the performance of the processor
in the Fire TV Cube to the cheapest Amazon streaming device,
the Firestick Lite and the most popular Amazon streaming device, the 4K Firestick.
Benchmarking measures performance with a points system with more points meaning
better performance. You can see that the Cube is more than 2 times as powerful
in single core processing than the Lite & 4K Firesticks. And in multi core processing,
the Cube is nearly twice as powerful as the 4K Firestick and nearly 4 times
faster than the Fire TV Stick Lite. I do have more hardware reviews you can
check out by taking a look at my playlist showing above me and in the description below this video
which includes a full review of other Fire TV streaming products and Android devices too.
The Amazon Fire TV Cube retails for $119.99 in the US or £109.99 in the UK, however if you are
looking to purchase one, Amazon often lower this price several times throughout the year. In this
year’s Amazon Prime Day, the Cube was reduced to just $79.99 in the US and £59.99 in the UK.
I would definitely recommend waiting for one of these price drops as at these prices the
Fire Cube is an absolute steal in my opinion. Overall, I love the Fire TV Cube. I now have
2 in my home, both purchased for lower prices during the sales. Although they are more expensive
than any other Amazon streaming device, I do think that if you get it when on sale, for the price it,
it is most definitely worth it and is one of the best streaming devices on the market right now.
Not only does it have superior power, it also has double the storage of any other Amazon streaming
device. The Far-Field Voice Control comes in handy and the ability to control other devices
within my home is an extra bonus. With it being so powerful, I will be using it for years to come.
If you have a Fire TV Cube, drop me a comment below this video with your thoughts.
If you haven’t got yourself one yet and you are interested in taking a look at it for yourself,
you can find links in the description below this video. Going through these
links also helps to support my channel. As always, thank you for watching. If you
enjoyed this video, don’t forget to give it a like, and subscribe to my channel,
making sure that you turn on notifications so you don’t miss out on any of my latest releases.