Amazon is pushing portability and engineering physics hard with its slimmest Fire TV Stick yet.
Small enough for your pocket… powerful enough to run your entire streaming setup anywhere. The new Fire TV Stick HD combines a 30% thinner design with 30% faster performance, eliminating the extra cables and lag that defined earlier versions.
With Wi-Fi 6 and Alexa+ onboard, it doubles as a smart, portable hub that works across TVs and locations.
A mobile TV for any location, spiced with speed
In its announcement, Amazon calls it its “most portable ever” and “slimmest ever” streaming device. That portability is what makes it feel less like a stick and more like a TV that walks with you.
Aidan Marcuss, Amazon’s vice president for Fire TV, in a statement to CNET, said:
“It’s a pretty capable thing to upgrade any TV in your house. And so, if you’ve got the kitchen TV that’s perfectly placed for where it is, like, here’s a way to upgrade it.”
Compared with past generations, the smaller size is not limited to the stick itself.
Amazon also redesigned the power setup around the TV USB output. Unlike other models, this one does not require connecting to a power outlet to run. It’s built with a USB port that draws optimized power from the TV. As a result, users benefit not only from its mobility but also from the space it saves while in use.
Amazon says this device is “more than 30% faster on average than the last generation HD stick.” It comes equipped with 8GB of storage and runs on a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, giving it a snappier feel when it is turned on and even during app launches.
It’s also equipped with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, ensuring strong, reliable connections during movie time.
Accessibility and AI
Whether you want the next best recommendation or want to control room lighting, Alexa+ is the right AI tool for you, ensuring that your entire viewing experience flows with your mood. Out of the box, the Fire TV Stick HD comes with Alexa+. But Amazon notes that it’s available to customers in the US, the UK, and Canada.
However, that’s not the only great thing about this model.
The new Fire TV Stick HD also offers accessibility features to customers. While it has previously added Dialogue Boost, Audio Descriptions, and High Contrast Text, this new model comes with more. Customers will see a new Adaptive Display feature on this model, making it easier to view and navigate screen texts, menus, and entire content. Its adaptive nature will give users the flexibility to choose how large or small they want what’s on their screen to be.
Set up and availability
To get access to different streaming platforms using the Fire TV Stick HD, one needs a TV that:
- Has an HDMI port; if yours doesn’t, you can get an HDMI extender (sold separately).
- Has a USB-C outlet
- Supports HD(720p) or full HD (1080p) with up to 60 fps
Preorder began on April 15 at $34.99. The US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand will be among the first to get it when shipping starts by April 29. The next in line, according to Amazon, are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Sweden.
Customers in these regions can sign up on their local Amazon pages to be the first notified when it becomes available in their region.
Although Amazon didn’t list any other regions, we expect that the device will reach them at a much later date.
Also read: Amazon’s Alexa+ rollout to all US users is expanding the AI assistant behind more of the company’s connected devices.
