Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max powers up gaming, streaming for $55
Amazon's flagship streamer offers 40% more power than the original 4K Stick as well as support for Wi-Fi 6.
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Amazon's range of streaming devices just got a little larger with the unveiling of the company's flagship player, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
Amazon says the Max is 40% more powerful than the popular $40 Fire TV Stick 4K and comes with a quad-core 1.8GHz processor. This should translate to speedier loading times and navigation than the cheaper model offers, as well as improved performance for Luna, the company's streaming games app.
The Stick includes support for Wi-Fi 6 and playback standards 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ as well as Dolby Atmos audio. The company says the stick is its first product with live Picture-in-Picture.
The device also comes with the latest Alexa Voice Remote and also offers the Alexa Home Theater feature for wireless pairing with the Echo Studio or two fourth-generation Echo smart speakers.
The TV Stick 4K Max is up against dongle-style devices like the $50 Chromecast with Google TV and the $40 Roku Express 4K Plus, and the Luna integration pits it against Google's Stadia recent inclusion on the Google TV device. Gaming via streaming is an emerging category and I look forward to seeing how the Amazon and Google products compete in this regard.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max will be available in the United States on Oct. 7 for $55. We don't have information on international availability or pricing yet.
Separately, Amazon announced an all-new lineup of Amazon-branded Fire TVs as well as additional upgrades for Luna gaming.