Amazon Fire Stick [2021] Features, Alternatives, Pros & Cons

In the tech developmental era, there are various advancements made and among the huge list, streaming devices are one amongst the classification. Just like picking the tv channel packs, it is quite important to choose the right streaming device for your television. If you are one of those who are looking for a better way to find a streaming tool to use on your smart tv to get the best entertainment, then the Amazon Fire Stick works the best. Amazon Fire Stick is a digital media player that was developed by Amazon in 2014.  There would be none who says no to unlimited entertainment on their television. So you never have to limit yourself just with the cable tv channels, instead, get Amazon Fire Stick and stay up-to-date with all your favorite online streaming sites that offer a variety of contents without any boundaries.  

Amazon Fire Stick
Amazon Fire TV Stick Box

What is Amazon Fire Stick?

The Amazon Fire Stick is a video streaming device that will give you the digital audio or video contents from the internet to a high-definition TV. The Amazon Fire TV will go beyond the television and thus you can do more to get more of entertainment. It will look exactly like an oversized USB flash drive that features an HDMI connector on one side with a micro USB socket present on the other side. So you plug it into your TV directly, or use the HDMI extension cable included when there is any hassle. With this, you will get the same similar cinematic entertainment now on your HD TV.  You can choose to access from more than 3000 apps to instantly watch thousands of movies and TV shows on your HD TV. Amazon Fire TV gives you all the streaming and the live TV contents onto the big screen.

Tip-off !!

Streaming without a VPN exposes your IP address, making you vulnerable to privacy breaches and hacker attacks. Without encryption, your online activities are more susceptible to monitoring by ISPs, snoopers, and the government. Lastly, accessing geo-restricted content may be impossible without a VPN, limiting your entertainment options. Hence, it is recommended to use a VPN.

Of all the available VPNs, I recommend NordVPN if you ever want to watch the desired movies, TV shows, or sports events on your Firestick without risking your privacy. NordVPN is the fastest and best VPN service provider with global coverage. You can now avail yourself of the New Year's deal of 67% off + 3 Months Extra of NordVPN to stay anonymous.

With NordVPN on Firestick, your internet traffic gets encrypted, so your IP and identity stay anonymous. You can stream the desired content while staying away from the government and other online intruders.

NordVPN Deal
Amazon Fire Stick
Firestick 2nd Generation Device

With the Amazon Fire Stick device, you can turn any TV into a Smart TV basically by plugging it into the HDMI video port. You can easily stream live sports, news, series, must-see shows and more other online contents in the 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, and with the HDR support. The Fire Stick requires an internet connection and with which it will bring all of your favourite contents them from different apps and channels like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Pandora, Hotstar, Hulu, HBO Go, Sony LIV, etc. Get to access all of the latest videos, music, games, and more as with this device. right from your tv.  You will be able to easily find your favourite web contents and watch it any time anywhere easily. And you don’t require to be a techie and is simple to install as well as use. 

How To Set Up Amazon Fire Stick / Fire TV Stick for the First Time?

Amazon Fire Stick – Classifications

Amazon Fire Stick has been available in three different models and they are called Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, and the Fire TV Cube. They are otherwise termed as the first, second, and the third generation of Amazon Fire Stick. Get to find the difference between all the three of them. 

Amazon Fire Stick
DIffernet generations of Fire TV Sticks
  • The first and second generation of Fire Stick uses HDMI port on the tv and the power will come from the USB cable that you lug into the USB port of the tv. While the third-generation model will use a separate HDMI cable.  
  • All the three models support 1080p HD resolution with Dolby Audio while the latter two generations of Fire Stick has additional features like the support for the Dolby Atmos audio and 4K Ultra HD and HDR videos.
  • Get the Alexa enabled remote support with three models while the latter two models have added features like the support for controlling certain functions for the tv or other devices.
  • With the support of the microphone, it is easy to control the Fire TV Cube with your voice which is absent in the first two models.
Amazon Fire Stick
New Fire TV Stick Remote with Alexa Voice command

Also read How to update Firestick?

How Does Amazon Fire Stick Work?

The primary necessity to deal with the Amazon Fire Stick is to have an uninterrupted internet connection. All you need to do is to plug your Fire Stick into the HDTV’s HDMI port, plug into the wall outlet, and connect to the internet to let enjoy accessing it. Once if the connection is established, it will enter into the setup process and you have to log into those services which you have already subscribed or accessed with this device. Fire Stick will let you easily connect to the online entertainment contents from all over the world. So those digital contents which you have purchased will be made available to you as soon as you have logged in to any services. 

Amazon Fire Stick
Setting Up Fire Stick on your TV

Things Amazon Fire Stick Offers

Watch Anything you Want: Get unlimited entertainment on your HDTV as with the help of Amazon Fire Stick. You can watch anything you prefer watching like movies, TV episodes, live TV contents and more other streams now on your big screen with ease with an internet connection. 

Entertainment on your TV: You can choose to stream or watch live tv contents as with the Fire Stick as it supports tens of thousands of channels, apps, and Alexa skills. So it lets you get entertainment on your tv in a cinematic way. 

Watch All Your Favourites: Get to watch all your favourite contents like TV episodes and movies from thousands of apps and channels with this streaming device. It includes Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Go, HBO Now, Sling TV, etc. And installing apps on Firestick is very simple.

Amazon Fire Stick
Home screen of Firestick

Get Better with Prime: With the Prime membership, you can unlock Hollywood, Bollywood, regional movies, tv shows in a great number along with the Amazon Original series. So, Amazon Fire Stick gives you access to the popular series to shows and more as there is something it always has.

Stream Audio Contents: The Amazon Fire TV has included the support for a plethora of music and audio apps. It includes the Amazon Music as well as the Audible services like the Pandora, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Sirius XM, and more.

Live-Recording: With the Fire TV Recast feature of Fire Stick, you can record any live sports, local news, late night shows, and even TV from channels that are available in the HD like ABC, CBS, NBC,  FOX, PBS, and The CW.

Play Games: It is easy to play hundreds of games from the top developers and those popular ones like Mojang, EA, and Disney. Fire Stick will even let you discover top apps with which you can easily download and play games on your HDTV.

Amazon Fire TV Vs Fire Stick

Although Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV are both the streaming devices, there are differences that exist between them. The Fire Stick looks slightly bigger than the USB drive whereas the Fire TV is bigger in size. The former is small in size and it will be completely hidden as it will be fixed on the HDMI port. The latter is just like a setup box and it will occupy some space. The Fire Stick has only half the memory when compared to Fire TV. When it comes to cost, then due to higher memory, Fire TV costs higher than the stick. Fire Stick has got slow processor while it has no 4K ultra HD support as like the Fire tv. With the Fire Stick, you will find only the HDMI connector and USB port but with the Amazon Fire TV, you will get HDMI port, Ethernet port, optical audio port, and more.

Check out this article for a complete Amazon Fire TV Vs Fire Stick comparison and find out which one to choose for yourself.

Amazon Fire Stick
Fire TV VS Fire Stick

Pros & Cons of Amazon Fire Stick

Pros of Amazon Fire Stick:

  • It is a low-cost streaming device when compared with other rivals.
  • It will occupy low space on the exterior.
  • It is handy to carry across different places. 
  • Get more contents when compared to the regular cable tv.
  • Alexa is supported on all the types of Fire Stick.

Cons of Amazon Fire Stick:

  • It doesn’t have high memory to store larger contents.
  • There is no Ethernet and optical audio port. 

Amazon Fire TV Stick Alternatives

Here are the alternatives of Amazon Fire TV Stick:

Amazon Fire Stick
Fire TV Stick Alternatives

Roku Ultra: Roku Ultra is one of the best streaming device and an alternative to the Fire Stick. It supports 4K contents and thus you can rent or purchase an endless number of contents with ease.

Apple TV: The best alternative of Amazon Fire Stick is the Apple TV and you will be able to stream any digital contents in 4K. With quite impressive features, you can buy or rent contents to watch it on your device.

Chromecast Ultra: Chromecast Ultra is an excellent device to stream any video contents form different channels. It also supports 4K videos and you can choose to stream any contents. 

Fire Stick Review

With so much incredible and impressive features, you will be able to get unlimited entertainment without any limits on your television. With this tool, you can stream any web video contents on your TV. In another way, if you have brought a new tv and looking for ways to enhance it to get more entertainment, then Amazon Fire Stick is the better choice.  

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