Our editors independently select the products we recommend. We may earn commission on items purchased through our links.
It can be difficult to parse the sheer volume of Amazon smart home devices, but there are many among them that are worth your attention and money. One area that’s been well covered is smart streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV Cube, and we’ve spent a lot of time with the third generation of this device, and we’ve got thoughts on that.
Today’s best deals
Amazon Fire TV Cube is ranked among some The best streaming devices for a while now, mostly because of how easy it is to use them to get to The best streaming servicesas well as some useful Alexa integration that makes it easy to control your The best smart home gadgets also. Does the third generation guarantee an upgrade though?
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation)
Buy now on Amazon
$140 at Best Buy
Positives
cons
Specifications
|
WiFi support |
Wi-Fi 6E and Ethernet port |
|
storage |
16 gigabytes |
|
memory |
2 GB |
|
Audio support |
Dolby Atmos |
|
Healer |
Octa Core 4x 2.2GHz + 4x 2.0GHz, GPU 800MHz |
|
Included in the box |
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen), Amazon Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote, Power Adapter, 2 AAA Batteries, Quick Start Guide |
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation) design
Visually, there isn’t a whole lot to be said about the Fire TV Cube’s design because it’s, well, a cube. It’s modern in appearance, it’s nice, and although it’s unlikely to win the SPY Smart Home Award For an innovative look, it matches the decor in most homes.
Outside of the visual design, things are a bit more mixed, though. One of the biggest advantages of this device is its simplicity, which extends to the setup process as well. This is a device that many instinctively know how to work, and it’s the kind of thing you can talk to your parents on the phone with relative ease.
It should be noted that you may need an IR blaster extender if the cable box is not in direct line of sight. Although, the Fire TV Cube already has built-in infrared speakers, which are perfect for helping it control things like the TV, any speakers you might have, and so on.
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation) interface
The interface may be the strongest aspect of the Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation). For starters, you have strong integration for both Prime Video and Prime Music, which is great if you’re someone who loves music as much as TV and movies.
It’s also very fast, which makes it an even more enjoyable experience when you’re browsing through menus trying to find things to watch. This is not the case with all such devices or smart TVs but sometimes it can lag a bit which exacerbates the problem but that is not the case here.
One of our favorite aspects of the device is especially useful if you’re already embracing Amazon in your smart home, because the easy access to Alexa lets you use the Fire TV Cube to control other devices. Considering how many great smart home gadgets there are now, this is a huge convenience.
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation) features
One of the most important features of any streaming device is the visual side of things, and you’ll be happy to know you’ll be drooling over crisp videos and really excellent dynamic range too. It just means that you’ll be able to enjoy more of everything, which is great.
The Fire TV Cube also has an HDMI port, which allows you to connect any cable box or TV interface you may already have, but without using any other HDMI ports. Not only that, but you can use Alexa to interact with your cable box as well.
However, this can be a hit or miss. While giving instructions to Alexa to change to a specific channel works like a dream, things get a little more clumsy if you want anything more advanced. Say, for example, you want to ask Alexa to record something, or launch an on-demand service, those functions are unlikely to work in conjunction with Amazon’s smart assistant, which is a real shame.
Our Verdict: Is the Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) Worth It?
The question of whether the updated Fire TV Cube is worth buying is difficult, and it has some conditions. The short answer is that yesWell, that’s worth it.
However, this is only true if you’re particularly committed to Amazon devices, or if you specifically have an older TV and aren’t looking to upgrade soon. Other than that, this device just doesn’t do enough to earn its price, and you can find many of these features on modern TVs anyway.
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation)
Buy now on Amazon
$140 at Best Buy
More hot deals from SPY
The best spy software
Click here to see More recent holiday deals!