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Amazon's $70 4K HDR Fire TV is a weird square dongle

The new Fire TV delivers tons of apps, best-in-class voice control thanks to Alexa, and a new weird square shape that hangs off the back of your 4K TV.

Amazon Fire TV 2017
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Unlike Chromecast though, it actually includes a remote.

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The new Fire TV delivers tons of apps, best-in-class voice control thanks to Alexa, and a new weird square shape that hangs off the back of your 4K TV.

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It's just a bit bigger than Google's circular Chromecast dongle.

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The same remote is available on numerous other Fire TV products.

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Its voice key lets you speak into the mic and summon Alexa to do all kinds of things.

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Yep, it's square, and you can't remove the HDMI cable.

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Here's the micro-USB-style power slot.

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Slim from the side.

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Ready for connection to a 4K HDR TV (it also works on non-4K TVs). 

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Power connected. 

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It's bigger than a streaming stick on the back of your TV, but should be easy enough to hide.

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Of course, it won't function without power. Plugging it into a standard AC socket with this included adapter is your best bet.

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You can also power it from your TV's USB port, but it will take longer to boot up.

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If your have an Echo or a Dot, you can issue voice commands without using the remote.

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Here's the home page. Lots of Amazon promotions.

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Non-Amazon apps are collected in Recent, but otherwise you don't get any customization.

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Plenty of games are on board.

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Lots of apps too.

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4K and HDR rows break out some TV shows and movies.

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The video library can also show films from Vudu, Google Play and iTunes if you sign up for Movies Anywhere.

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You'll need a 4K HDR TV to get the best image quality.

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The game controller is optional, but many games can be played with the remote.

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Here's the optional $15 Ethernet adapter.

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It's useful if your wireless connection near the TV isn't strong.

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Of course it's anything but wireless.

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The $70 Fire TV (with 4K) next to the $40 Fire TV Stick (without 4K). 

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The new Fire TV dongle replaces the original Fire TV box.

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A trio of $70 4K HDR streamers, from left to right: Roku Streaming Stick Plus, Fire TV and Google Chromecast Ultra.

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More 4K HDR streamers, from left to right: Apple TV 4K ($180), Google Chromecast Ultra ($70), Fire TV ($70), Nvidia Shield ($200).

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Even more 4K HDR streamers, from left to right: Google Chromecast Ultra ($70), Roku Ultra 2017 ($100), Apple TV 4K ($180), Fire TV ($70), Roku Streaming Stick Plus ($70), Nvidia Shield ($200).

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