Tested and Reviewed: Does The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max Live Up to The Hype?

• Ease of Use: 20/20
• Functionality: 19/20
• Design & Features: 18/20
• Performance: 18/20
• Value: 17/20

TOTAL: 92/100

As someone who recently retired their dusty old Roku in favor of the Hisense CanvasTV (yes, the one with the matte frame that looks like art), I decided I was done with streaming sticks for good. Which is why, when we decided to test the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max—a $60 device that claims to make any HDMI-equipped screen feel brand new—I passed the reins to someone still living in the pre-refresh era: Candace Davison, PureWow’s VP of Editorial Content, who tested it on her 13-year-old smart TV.

Here, find her full, unbiased feedback

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“Phew, this is delightfully simple and intuitive to set up,” Candace said, noting that “there weren’t a ton of cords and cables, and if you needed them, there was a very straightforward, visual guide to setting up the Firestick. It couldn’t be easier, even if you’re not tech-savvy.” In the box: “You receive the Firestick device (which is basically the size of a USB drive you can plug into the back of your TV), along with triple-A batteries, a power cable, adaptor, remote and HDMI extender cable, in case your TV is mounted on the wall so closely that you can’t easily plug in the Firestick.”

Initially, she was especially skeptical that it would work with her setup. “I was worried that my ancient TV—it’s about 13 years old!—wouldn’t be compatible, even though it’s technically a ‘smart TV.’” According to the brand, all you need is high-speed wifi and an HDMI port. Still, she had reservations, though she was pleased to report that “it connected easily and quickly.” Previously, she had been casting everything through her phone and Google Chromecast, which was “very slow to load.” When she fired up the Firestick, she expected a similar experience. “Thankfully, it wasn’t. The TV switches between apps quickly, without the laggy load time I’d been experiencing in the past.”

“Right away, I logged into YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and started streaming different shows and videos,” Candace said. “The picture quality was crisp and clear, with less load time than I was used to in the past…It was like I’d upgraded my entire TV, just by adding the Firestick.”

And for someone who streams YouTube often? “I really loved that the remote has voice control. It makes it so much easier to search for what you want, rather than clicking one letter at a time.”

“This seems minor,” Candace added, “but given that very few electronics come with the outlet adapter anymore, I was grateful this one did. I didn’t have to go out and buy another—or sacrifice part of an existing charger—to set up the device.” Not to mention that it’s Alexa-compatible. “The Alexa voice remote has wound up being my favorite feature. I typically prefer Google Assistant to Alexa in terms of smart speakers, because I feel like Alexa constantly mishears me (seriously, am I a chronic mumbler or something?!)...but with this remote, the translation has consistently been clear, and it converts my speech to text quicker than the Roku [I use] downstairs does.”

She also noted that, “This device is great for the tech-averse…My parents bought a Roku-enabled smart TV, just because they were paranoid about dealing with dongles and tech that wasn’t already baked in, but this they could easily handle.” Plus, “the visual instructions make it easy to follow. The only hangup is your TV and home’s compatibility. High-speed wifi and an HDMI port are crucial here, or it won’t work.”