From Joe Steel’s review of Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 2:
Amazon currently has the 2nd generation Fire TV Stick on sale for $29.99, that’s $10 off the normal price, and an unbeatable bargain. That’s wacky-arm-flailing-inflatable-tube-man pricing. I’ll risk recommending something that some people might hate, because at $30, it’s basically the cost of a bad dinner, and a drink, at a restaurant.
And:
I bought the 2nd generation stick when it was first available for preorder in October, and have been very pleased with it’s performance over the 1st generation device. Since the previous model I had also came with a voice remote, there’s no difference in features, but if you had purchased the model without a voice remote it’s absolutely a different experience.
My dad just emailed me, asking the best way to add Netflix to his TV. There are many ways to solve this problem, but my knee-jerk reaction was to consider an Apple TV. But the cheapest Apple TV is US$149. The Amazon Fire TV Stick solves the same problem for $30. For someone who just wants Netflix, hard to argue for the Apple TV.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my Apple TV and am thrilled with the purchase. But if you want to add a few more, the price really adds up.
My dad just ordered an Amazon Fire TV Stick and I ordered one for myself so I can walk through the interface on my end, help him work through the setup remotely. At $30, the Fire Stick is a bargain, gives you something Apple TV does not (access to Amazon Video), and points out a real hole in Apple’s product line.
Likewise I bought a 2016 Roku Stick at Wally World as an adjunct to my AppleTV so I could watch Amazon Prime and VUDU (couldn’t do that on my original Fire Stick). For $35 it’s very competent and to be honest I couldn’t recommend an AppleTV to someone who wasn’t tied to iTunes content.
Is the Amazon Fire TV Stick even available in Canada? Can’t see it on the Amazon ca site. Roku or Google Chromecast would be alternatives, would they not?
If you use Apple products in any way shape or form the Apple TV is worth it. Airplay, iTunes, Apple Music, Photos, etc. These other devices are a huge waste of money.
Seems like a really good deal, as long as you don’t care about 4K or HDR.
Is there any doubt Amazon is using this to great advantage in increasing their commercial reach, particularly right now with the release of The Grand Tour? Apple will hold out for device profits but Amazon is perfectly comfortable playing a very clever confidence game, aces in full view.
As someone fully invested in the Apple ecosystem (and who has bought Apple TVs for himself and family), I think “huge waste of money” is overstating it. I had to set up a Chromecast over the weekend, and it was a snap and people loved the streaming YT videos. Turns out there’s plenty of people that just want to watch Netflix or Amazon video, and as such these sticks do a perfectly “OK” job.
Yeah…with more and more cable companies placing data caps on users we’ll see.
I would opt for a 3rd Generation Apple TV, even used, before the FireStick simply because I dislike Amazon and the data they collect.
Yeah, “currently unavailable.”
Really depends on how you value things. If you’re sure all you’ll ever care about is Netflix, there’s some really cheap boxes (or even less than boxes in some cases) that’ll do, and you just need to pick which vendor is the least poisonous.
I think my brother might have a Netflix client built into his cable box, and I know some TVs come with them now as well. Hard to argue with free.
On the other hand, if you’re in the iOS/Apple ecosystem AirPlay is pretty awesome.
EDIT: I feel like I should point out that while Dave’s right that this is a hole in Apple’s product line, it’s not necessarily one they should give two fucks about. (And I don’t think Dave implied they should, just sayin’!)
The ATV 4 comes into its own with the apps. I can add SlingTV or PSVue without waiting on a channel update from Apple. I can use all of the other apps and stream Netflix, Hulu, etc. Plus the Airplay etc.
BUT… as you and Dave rightly point out, if all someone needs is Netflix, maybe Hulu… it’s overkill.
If you have a PS4, that has Amazon Video too.
People used to say the Netbook was a hole in Apple’s laptop line. Just saying …
I’ve forgone the Apple TV 4 in favor of the Amazon Fire Stick. It’s a bit slow yet it does what I need it to do except airplay. So essentially it boiled down to paying $120 for airplay.
For what it’s worth, I bought the then $99 Apple TV 3 at a time when it was considered a good deal. It’s now used for a secondary television.
Although discontinued, there is still plenty of stock of the $60 AppleTV 3rd Gen.
The quiet killer feature of the new AppleTV is HDMI CEC support. It is very convenient to be able to just pick up the remote or start AirPlaying something and have your TV turn on and switch to the right input.
For me, that’s worth an extra hundred bucks over the lifetime of the device.
Another real hole in Apple’s product line is not having new iPads or an iMac ready for the holiday season. It’s a phenomenal goof not to market to peak buying season when people go nutty with their money.
It’s no goof. They have relatively new iPhones and Apple Watches and new MBP for Xmas. For Apple, that’s pretty good. From their own projections, they predict a banner Xmas. And they have not once missed on their own guidance ever since they started providing them again.
Only goofs would assume they have goofed.
Then get the Fire TV. Still a good deal at $75.
They don’t really have the new MBP for Christmas. Even if you ordered one a couple of weeks ago, it wouldn’t get here in time.
The Fire Stick also supports CEC.
how about the hole in Amazon’s product line — no way to access iTunes content? same thing. but at least with Apple line I can airplay Amazon content to it.
well thats not true. just checked apple.com: ordering today h as some delivering Dec 1, some at 3 and 4 weeks.
Only the non-touch bar model is in stock.
Everything else I see says “3-4 weeks”, which a potential Christmas buyer reads as “4 weeks”. Which, given that today is November 29, is after Christmas. 2 weeks ago, the shipping time was 5-6 weeks.
Pickup at my local store is in January.
Like I said, they don’t really have the new MBP for Christmas.