Amazon has its Amazon Fire TV family in which there are up to five models today. On the one hand, four models that correspond to sticks. On the other, the Cube, which is a multimedia player that combines the advantages of the previous sticks with the Echo and works as a player and speaker. But what are the differences between the Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire TV Lite? Is it worth paying more for the superior model or is the basic model enough?
Although the Cube exists, here we will focus on the classics: on the Amazon Fire TV Stick that allows us to turn any television into a smart television regardless of the brand and model as long as it has an HDMI port on the side and back and we can connect this device which is worth less than 60 euros in all its models. In the case of the Amazon Fire TV Stick, we have four models : the Amazon Stick Lite, the Amazon Fire TV Stick, the Stick 4K and the TV Stick 4K Max. These last two are the only ones that support 4K playback and differ from each other in that the top model has Wi-Fi 6 compatibility.
Specifically, we will compare the differences between the Fire TV Stick and the Fire TV Stick Lite, the two most affordable models if we have an old television that we want to make smart to play streaming content or access applications such as Netflix, Amazon, etc.
What are they
Let’s start at the beginning… What are these USB-looking gadgets? It is a gadget that allows us to connect it via HDMI to connect to the Internet and download streaming video applications and movies, music applications, applications to follow the news, games to play on TV, etc. Its function could be summed up as making any television smart.
It’s small, similar to USB, and is controlled via a remote that comes with the device. Or through voice thanks to its compatibility with Alexa. It hides behind the TV and we will configure it in simple ways the first time you connect it.
Technical characteristics
On a technical level they are practically identical. Both support Full HD 1080 (1920 x 1080) but do not support Ultra HD 4K and do not support Dolby Vision. Neither allows with Wi-Fi 6.
They both have 8 GB storage and 1 GB memory running on a 1.7 GHz CPU and 650 MHz GPU. As for audio support, the top model supports Dolby Atmos while the Lite model indicates Dolby audio pass-through over HDMI instead of full support.
As we can see, identical except in the audio section.
Functions and interface
The interface and functions of the Amazon Fire TV Stick and its Lite model are also identical. The difference of ten euros between the two models does not change anything when it comes to watching television. In addition, the storage is identical in both and we have eight gigabytes, so the applications that we are going to install will be exactly the same in one model or another as we need.
The great advantage of betting on a device like this, in both cases, is that it unifies the content that we have in all the applications. In other words, you may want to watch movies by a specific actor and if you search, it will do the complete search in all the apps instead of having to open them one by one.
An example. We can ask you to show us Brad Pitt movies and we will get all the ones on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO max or any other platform that you have previously installed and that you have registered at that time. From the search result we can go to one or the other comparing catalogs in a second. This is allowed by both. Both Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite and the normal model allow you to search, install apps or access television channels.
Remote control: the difference
It is in the remote control where we are going to find the big difference , in addition to audio compatibility. The main difference of ten euros between one model or another is in the command that accompanies the device. One of them will allow us much more complete controls of everything we see on television and the other does not.
As we can see in the images, the Amazon Fire Tv Stick Lite controller has a microphone button at the top, a control wheel and some buttons in the center: back, home menu, forward, play and pause, back. And that’s it.
In the Amazon Fire TV Stick remote we have the great difference in television playback controls. What is the difference? A few more buttons than on the previous remote. The remote has a button on the top to turn it on or off (it does not appear on the other) and also television controls in the center of it: volume up or down button, mute button. In addition, it includes a series of shortcuts on buttons at the bottom. In this case, and it is one of the main differences between one model and another, we can access it with a specific button for Netflix, a specific button for Amazon Prime Video, a button for Disney Plus and another to access Amazon Music. That is the difference.
As for the voice, in the case of the Amazon Fire TV Stick Lit e we have a voice recognition button on which a microphone is drawn. We can hold down the button and ask Alexa to search for what we want. The same thing happens in the top model but this button has become blue with the Alexa logo: we hold it down and tell it to search for content.
Differences and price
As we have explained in the previous paragraphs, there are only two differences between the normal model and the Lite: the television controls and direct access buttons on the remote and the audio compatibility (Dolby Atmos vs Dolby audio pass-through through HDMI) Nothing else. They are identical in memory, storage, processor, resolution compatibility…
They do differ in price. The price of the Amazon Fire Tv Stick Lite is 29.99 euros, although you may find a specific offer that makes the device somewhat cheaper temporarily on the web. The price of the Amazon Fire TV stick is 39.99 euros in total and it is a more modern model.