The new Amazon Fire TV Cube 2022 is a big step up from the Fire TV stick with 4K, Dolby Vision/Atmos, Wi-Fi 6E and Alexa voice control in a small cube format with a remote control.

While it is still essentially a $219 HDMI smart TV device, it has grown up and now offers everything you could want in an add-on streaming box. I am particularly impressed with the Ethernet port (or Wi-Fi 6E with the right router).

 There are two parts to this Cube – the hardware and the software – in this case, Fire TV OS. Let’s look at the latter first.

The strength of any TV OS – be it LG webOS, Samsung Tizen, Google Android TV and more – is its App availability. In Australia, we want, at a minimum:

Amazon lists over 10,000 apps; if you are tech-savvy, you can sideload Android TV APK apps (it is based on Android).

Instead of using Google’s services (for activities such as browsing, location, messaging, payments, and so on), Fire OS uses Amazon’s services, including its Alexa, Amazon App Store, Prime Music/video, Audible, Kindle, Silk Browser, Maps, Messaging, in-App purchasing, Amazon Mobile Ad Network, Amazon Login, etc.

There is a good but slightly outdated comparison between Android TV (now Google TV) and Fire TV here.

Software security updates until 2026 (at least four years after the device is last available for purchase as a new unit on Amazon’s website).

Bottom line: Just as Google ‘owns’ your data when using Android, Amazon owns it when using Fire TV OS. You should be happy with either.

You need an Amazon account which means Amazon knows whatever information you give it and, by default, your viewing habits. You can set up to six personal profiles that keep track of your

Basically, you plug in an HDMI cable (not supplied) to the TV’s eARC/ARC, power up, and the onscreen setup process is intuitive. If you have a Wi-Fi 6E router, it connects to that; if you have Wi-Fi 5 or 6, it connects to the 2.4 or 5GHz at a lower bandwidth. The 5Ghz band is suitable for 4K streaming. The default settings are fine.

You then need to download Apps like Netflix etc., to the device. You can use Alexa to locate them or wade through the App store. Then log into these and verify the Fire TV device.

Remember that you are in the Amazon world, and your information resides there. It is subject to its privacy policy and terms and conditions. If you are unhappy with that, you can use a Google TV dongle and be subject to Google’s Android T&Cs.

Fire TV has both App permissions and privacy settings, and you can easily disable all the most necessary reporting. I recommend you do this, but it will be at the expense of some added-value features like content recommendations.

It is twice as powerful (32-bit Amlogic POP1-G processor with four ARM Cortex-A73 CPU cores at 2.2GHz, and four Cortex-A53 cores at 2GHz) and has twice the storage (16GB) as the Fire TV 4K Max stick.

It is small – 86mm square x 77m high x 513g. On the back are HDMI 2.1, 4K@60Hz, eARC/ARC Out, HDMI 2.1 in, 4K@60Hz (for passthrough with ALLM), an IR Blaster port, 100Mbps Ethernet (speed not specified) and a USB-A 3.0 port (supports webcam, audio and video and we hope supports at least 5V/1A/5W). It has BT 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E (when connected to a suitable router; otherwise, it is backwards compatible).

Power comes from a proprietary 12V/1.25A/15W plug pack. It is disappointing that it does not use USB-C, but that would add to the cost.

It supports streaming content in Dolby Vision, up to HDR10+, and at up to 4K@60fps, although that is the ‘auto’ setting, and it will range down to 720p if the hot TV/monitor does not support it. We also found that while it runs 4K@50/60fps on the latest LG QNED, it would only reliably run at 1080p on lower-cost 4K devices.

Audio content support includes Dolby Atmos, up to 7.1 Dolby Digital and PCM, and up to 5.1 with HDMI Pass-through.

Amazon Fire TV FAQs are here.

It comes with the standard Alexa Voice remote. This has an Alexa button, power/volume/mute and pre-set streaming App buttons (see image above).

You can also get a $59 Voice Remote Pro that includes

First, your TV needs to support it, and you need DV/DA content. There is growing DV/DA content on Amazon Prime and Netflix, or you could connect a Blu-ray player to the Fire TV Cube HDMI In port.

The Fire TV Cube 2022 decodes DV/DA metadata and passes it to the TV via HDMI 2.1, which displays to the TV’s panel and speaker (most TVs have two) capability. This can be a catch-22 – Dolby Vision looks best on TVs with at least 1000nits peak brightness, and the Cube decodes up to Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 (8 channels) to give the 3D spatial and height effect.

Fire TV Cube should be in the TV’s HDMI 2.0/2.1 eARC/ARC port, usually reserved for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. Whichever device you plug into the eARC port is the one that has HDMI-CEC remote control capability, so if you use any other HDMI Port, you lose CEC.

Note that if you have a more expansive DA soundbar – 5.1.4, 7.1.2/4 or 11.1.4, there is no DA signal for the extra channels, e.g., no rear Left/Right up-firing or additional 3D height channels. It may not provide as immersive a sound as true DA can.

You can send audio to Alexa speakers as well.

It supports Miracast (over Wi-Fi) but not Chromecast or AirPlay2. Apple TV+ App is in the App Store.

Good NBN (at least 50/20Mbps) and Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E 5GHz speeds and reliability are critical to avoid buffering. Ethernet to the router eliminates buffering except for slow NBN speeds.

It will upscale 720/1080 content to faux 4K. If your TV does this, turn Super Resolution Upscaling off and let the TV do its job.

The Home screen could be more customisable.

In December 2021, I reviewed Fire TV Stick 4K Max – For Amazon lovers (review) and was quietly impressed that a $99 device could stream compressed 4K HDR/10/10+/Dolby Vision. I was quietly unimpressed with way too many Amazon-focused and ‘sponsored’ content ads.

But we use it on a dumb TV to add smart features, and I have grown to like the interface and now customisable privacy levels. It scored 8/10 then and now scores even better.

In the Fire TV world, the $49 Fire TV Stick 4K Max does what a streaming dongle does. It does not have the Cube’s power or expansion capabilities.

In the Android TV world, the Google Chromecast 1080 or 4K versions are more basic ‘sticks’ but still provide all the streaming smarts. If you want the best Google TV with the works, then NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro – Android/Plex media centre (review) or NVIDIA SHIELD TV  – the Android dongle you need above all (review)can’t be beaten.

Telstra TV 4K (Roku – no Dolby Vision/Atmos support) is a $216 option, but you must be a Telstra customer. It has a TV antenna for free-to-air channels. Telstra then has access to your viewing data.

Or you can get a set-top box like Fetch or Foxtel, but these require a monthly subscription.

If I was invested in the Amazon and Alexa ecosystem, then yes. If you use Google Assistant, then no.

It is one of the more fully featured streaming devices in this price bracket.

Decent value and more so if you can get it at $159 on special now. No HDM High-Speed Premium cable supplied

Excellent performance but with the caveat about decent NBN and Wi-Fi speeds. Wi-Fi 6E needs a compatible router, and an Ethernet connection is highly recommended.

Setup is easy, but you need to look at the advanced settings and customise them to the level of privacy you require. Alexa has all the Apexa speaker capabilities.

It is a cute cube, and the remote works via BT and IR, so it does not need to be displayed.

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