Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K powered by a MediaTek MT8695 quad-core SoC for launched for $50 about two years ago. The company has now introduced two cheaper variants with Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite and Fire TV Stick powered by a similar MediaTek MT8695D quad-core processor designed for 1080p (Full HD) HDR video playback.
Both devices are basically the same for Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite goes for $29.99, and Amazon Fire TV Stick for $39.99 as the Lite version includes a cheaper Alexa Voice Remote Lite that lacks hardware buttons for controlling the volume and power on your TV and does not support Dolby Atmos (except via HDMI pass-through).
New Amazon Fire TV Stick (Lite) specifications:
- SoC – MediaTek MT8695D quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.7 GHz with Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2
- System Memory – 1GB DDR4
- Storage – 8GB eMMC flash
- Video Output – HDMI up to 1920 x 1080 (1080p) @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG support
- Video Codecs
- 1080p 60 H.265 (HEVC), H.264, VP9, MPEG-2
- 1080p30 H.263, VP8. MPEG-4
- Audio Codecs
- Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, AAC (LC, AACv1, AACv2), FLAC, MP3, Voris, AMR-NB, Opus etc…
- Fire TV Stick only – Dolby Atmos
- DRM – Microsoft PlayReady 3.0, Google Widevine L1/L3
- Connectivity
- Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFI 5 2×2 MIMO and Bluetooth 5.0
- Optional 10/100M Ethernet via USB adapter
The TV sticks run Android 9 (API Level 28) based Fire OS 7. The user interface has been updated with the Main Menu moved to the center of the screen, easier ways to find content, improved Alexa voice controls, and integration with Amazon Ring security camera. Not directly related to the Fire TV sticks, but the new OS will also allow users of Fire TV Cube to make video calls using a USB webcam, and Zoom support is planned for later this year.
Via Liliputing and AFTVNews
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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The Fire TV Stick 4K went on sale pretty often, down to as low as $25 to $35 each, sometimes as a 2 pack. It will probably go on sale again around Black Friday in November.
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The 4K version has 1.5 GB of RAM, improving the situation for a Kodi installation.
https://amzn.to/2H4dwli
$30 for 4K stick
It doesn’t make sense to release a fire tv stick with just 1Gb of ram and 8Gb of storage which you will run out of space quicker than you think. Even to install kodi, there’s no available space on it. It needs to have minimum of 2Gb RAM and 16Gb storage since it doesn’t have a dedicated USB OTG port without installing some bizzarre Y adapter. I have 3 FireTV 4K sticks at home and 1.5Gb of RAM is barely the minimum. I have to restart my devices if I start browsing pages with its browser or even after watching… Read more »
I disagree..
Its only made to stream video to your (Home) TV ( dumb terminal )
Its Not really made to :
-Store media files.. for this you need a NAS
-Browse the web..
-Office app.. or emailing
-gaming..
While the unit can browse the web / recieve e-mail / game emulation
Its just not made to do this.. there for the experience is not good if you use it for this..
I have the xiaomi stick and firestick 4k
You need to install apps to view various services. So the storage is a factor in the usefullness of these devices.
What are the chances the 4K-stick will get an update to FireOS 7, seeing this stick is using the same SoC?
Very little chance. Amazon has never updated previous Fire TV devices to a new FireOS major verison
it is great to see many popular smart home devices being powered by Mediatek’s processors