58% off? It’s a…
Fire sale
The pun, it burns…
The 4k Fire Stick is better in almost all aspects, PLUS comes with the Alexa voice remote, and same price.
I was looking at the cube earlier, and everyone was complaining about volume control/etc, said it needed the add on remote to do TV volume control. Not sure if this has it or not, but I went with the 4k stick instead.
My guess this is the first gen eration fire cube, packaging is different
The Cube has only been around since June. There are no other generations.
Mine has worked flawlessly. Built-in speaker with Alexa that works even when the tv is off. It will turn on and off your soundbar/receiver through HDMI CEC. Volume control is not shown on the picture of the remote so I guess you have to upgrade the remote or tell Alexa to increase volume. Specs do say that remote is IR so I guess it turns on the TV and components for you. I use a harmony remote set up so it’s not an issue for me. You get a lot more than you get with the fire stick.
The specs are about even: the 4K Stick has .2 extra GHz and Bluetooth 5.0 + LE vs. the Cube’s Bluetooth 4.2 (in the off-chance you ever need to connect this to connect this to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones). Whereas the Cube has twice the storage and half a GB more memory. I only have the 4K Stick, but I can’t imagine these making much of a difference. If I played more video games, though, the extra storage would be nice.
Feature-wise, the Stick has been left in the dust. The Cube has Echo features like multi-room music and announcements. There are also a lot of things that a paired Echo can’t do with a Stick, like on/off, switch inputs, volume control, up/down/left/right, etc. You need to use Alexa on the remote for that, which is not hands-free, so the Cube is better in that respect. Also, Alexa on the Fire TV acts like an Echo Spot or Echo Show in many ways, showing you the things you ask for instead of just telling you, which would be much nicer hands-free.
The only downside, as you mentioned, is that Amazon now sells with the second gen Alexa remote, which adds the volume up/down/mute and TV power buttons. Both remotes do have hands-on Alexa.
Thus, if you’re the type of person who uses Echoes, I’d suggest this one over the Stick, as the Woot price is identical, and it saves you the price of an extra Echo to control it. If you really end up missing the TV controls on the remote, Amazon often sells them for cheap.
Disclaimer: Keep in mind, the are a few things that a Cube can’t do that an ordinary Echo can, like Bluetooth to your phone, calling/messaging, and Spotify, so it’s not a full Echo replacement.
Though the Cube only comes with the old-style Fire TV remote, the new remote is on sale for $15:
https://amazon.com/All-New-Alexa-Voice-Remote-with-power-and-volume-controls/dp/B07B6L2QCF/
My (elderly) mom has one of the cubes and it works great for her - it’s like having an echo dot when the TV is turned off and a fire TV when it’s turned on. She can have it turn the TV on, tell it to play a video, tell it to turn the TV off, etc.
I bought one during the Christmas sale.
I love it, and I’m pretty picky about electronics.
It’s able to turn on my TV, Receiver, and change the receiver to the correct input. It also turns everything off with a voice command.
It’s great to be able to use voice commands to start Netflix, but the even better part is you can set up a routine so that when you start Netflix, Alexa can dim the Hue lights and stuff like that.
The Ring and Arlo integration is pretty decent. You can use your TV as a security monitor, and when someone activates Ring, the a notification will pop up on your screen. Only downside is you can only view one camera at a time with Arlo. It won’t show you multiple cameras on the same screen.
A few irritating things, too. When you’re using your voice to try and select things like apps, I can’t figure out how to make it “select” or “choose” an item. It’s often just easier to pick up the remote. The CNNgo app is infuriating. Telling Alexa to select CNNgo results in various errors. She can’t find an app called “CNN.” She can’t find an app called “CNN NO.” Etc. It’s often easier to use the remote.
Some folks have griped about the speed. Honestly, Roku is a little fast, but it opens the apps just fine. What is a little annoying however, is the lag with which the blue Alexa bar pops up on screen. If you say “Alexa” there’s a noticeable lag from the moment you stop speaking until the moment the blue bar appears on screen letting you know she’s listening. On the Dots and Echos, that blue bar is almost instant. It’s not on the Fire Cube. However, I’ve noticed Alexa is actually listening even during that lag time, so I just keep talking as if the blue bar has appeared.
If you’ve already invested in the Alexa ecosystem, this is an easy buy. I’d recommend it.
I have the Cube and have really liked it (coming from a Roku for the last 8ish years). Mine came with the voice remote, but I don’t use the voice function (on the remote) as much as I thought I would.
I have no problems recommending the Fire Cube to friends.
The mother ship has the voice remote on sale for $15 (I bought an extra one as a backup/different chair/lost in chair/just in case remote).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B6L2QCF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’ve debated on whether or not to get one of these. My whole house has Google Homes, so I’m not interested in a full fledged Echo. I also have Harmony for voice control through the Google Home but it’s only used to turn on/off the TV, sound bar, etc. What I’d like to do is say something like “Open Netflix” or “Turn on Stranger Things” and have my TV turn on and load Netflix. Would this work for that or am I better off getting a 4K Chromecast?
“Fire TV Cube hears you from any direction.” - I know this is supposed to be a good thing, but it creeps me out.
It heard you say that.
By the way, this is on sale at Amazon today as well. So if you’re willing to spend $30 more, you get the newer remote and it’s not used. The 4K Stick is $40 today as well (a $10 discount).
It says " * Includes first-generation Alexa Voice Remote with power and volume controls." I thought the first generation remote didn’t have power and volume controls? Also the picture shows no power or volume controls, so which is correct?
Sorry about that. We’ve updated the copy to reflect that it ships with first-gen Alexa voice remote that does not include TV power or volume buttons.
When I add to the cart and try and sign out with amazon prime it takes me to a dead page. This is the start of the web link. https://na.account.amazon.com/ap/oa?appActionToken=
I’ve tried logging into Amazon from woot from different web browsers and 2 different computers and it takes me to the same dead link. Anyone have luck purchasing this through Amazon prime today?
Strange. Could you try this:
Sign out from Woot & Amazon.
Clear Woot & Amazon Cookies.
Restart your browser
Log in to Woot using the Login with Amazon button.
Let me know.
I just did as you said. I logged out of Woot & Amazon
Cleared Woot & Amazon Cookies.
Restarted my browser
I logged in to Woot using the Login with Amazon button.
and it won’t let me log into Amazon. It takes me to a blank page-
https://na.account.amazon.com