Amazon Fire TV Stick
The Fire TV Stick is Amazon’s second least-expensive streaming device. It supports 1080p streaming and offers a vast selection of apps.
Roku Express 4K+
The Roku Express 4K+ media streamer offers an excellent value with its 4K streaming, faster processor, and a good app selection.
Whether you want to make your regular television smart or are unsatisfied with the preloaded smart TV operating system, Amazon and Roku offer a slew of plug-and-play streaming sticks to get a brand-new smart TV platform. But there are quite a few options to choose from.
So, in this article, we pitAmazon’s Fire TV Stickagainst Roku’s Express 4K+ streaming player to see which makes the most sense for you. You can also consult ourbest streaming device recommendationsfor further shopping advice.
Price, availability, and specifications
The Fire TV Stick sits in the middle ofAmazon’s streaming player lineup. It has a list price of $40, but it’s frequently discounted and can be found for as low as $20 duringBlack Friday, Cyber Monday,Prime Day, and other major sale events. As it was originally launched in 2021, it’s readily available via Amazon and Best Buy.
The Roku Express 4K+ also has a list price of $40. And like the Amazon Fire TV Stick, it often sees discounted pricing, with its promotional price tag reaching as low as $25. You can buy it from all major retailers.
Hardware, remote, and video output
The Fire TV Stick and Roku Express 4K+ have quite different designs. While the Fire TV Stick is essentially a rectangular stick with an HDMI connector sticking out to plug into your TV, the Roku Express 4K+ is a curved rectangular device that is meant to sit next to your TV. It doesn’t have a built-in HDMI connector. Instead, it uses an HDMI cable to connect your TV.
However, both devices use a microUSB port to get additional power if required and are supplied with a power brick. Amazon also ships an HDMI extender with the Fire TV Stick in case it’s hard to plug the Fire TV Stick directly into the TV’s HDMI ports or the device is having wireless connectivity issues.
You also get a wireless voice remote with the Fire TV Stick and the Roku Express 4K+. Both remotes offer essentially the same functions. Plus, you can power your TV on/ off and control its volume with the Roku Voice Remote; the same is possible with the Alexa Voice Remote, but it depends on whether your TV is compatible with the IR blaster included in the remote.
The significant difference between the Amazon and Roku offerings comes in their video output capabilities. While the Fire TV Stick can only stream up to 1080p video, the Roku Express 4K+, as its name suggests, can stream 4K content. This matters if your TV has 4K resolution, as you will get a crisp and sharper picture with the Roku offering. But if you own a full-HD TV, there isn’t going to be any difference.
Coming to HDR, both streaming devices support HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. So you won’t be able to enjoy Dolby Vision content on either.
Processor, performance, and connectivity
As you expect, given the 4K streaming support on the Roku Express 4K+, the streaming device packs a faster Realtek 1315 chip than the MediaTek MT8695 present on the Fire TV Stick. The Realtek 1315 packs four Cortex-A55 cores, compared to four Cortex-A53 cores in the MT8695. While there isn’t a massive difference in the performance of these two chips, the ARM Cortex-A55 cores are said to be 15% faster than the A53 cores. So, you can expect a slightly snappier performance on the Roku offering.
Otherwise, the two streaming media players are pretty much evenly stacked with 1GB of RAM and Wi-Fi 5. But you get double the amount of storage at 8GB in the Fire TV Stick.
Both models can also access wired internet via Ethernet using a dongle.
Amazon uses itsAndroid-based Fire OSin the Fire TV Stick. However, that may be changing in the future as reports indicate the company ismoving from Fire OS to its own non-Android-based Vega OS. But for this comparison, we will consider Fire OS as Amazon’s smart TV platform.
The Fire OS is feature-rich and gives you access to all popular streaming services and apps. You can also useAlexaand control your connected smart home devices with the Fire TV Stick. But the interface isn’t as easy to use as the Roku OS, as it is cluttered with recommendations and “continue watching.”
The Roku OS, present on the Roku Express 4K+, is a simple and clean smart TV platform. Although it refers to apps as channels, you may find all popular streaming services. Roku has had some issues with some apps in the past, but things have settled down for now.
One highlight of the Roku OS is the built-in private listening support. You can get audio to your headphones via the Roku app on your phone. You can’t do the same on the Fire TV Stick. That said, the Fire TV device supports Bluetooth headphones, but the overall experience isn’t as seamless as the Roku OS.
Which is better for you?
Both the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Roku Express 4K+ are capable streaming devices. But the Roku Express 4K+ is a much better option for most people. It can stream in 4K, has a simple and easy-to-use interface, supports private listening via its app, and has a robust app selection. It is also slightly faster thanks to its upgraded processor.
4K video support
The Roku Express 4K+ is easily a better media streamer than the Fire TV Stick. It’s unlikely to disappoint you.
But the Fire TV Stick can be a good option for people who are getting it for around $20 and need it for their full HD TV. Alexa is a valuable addition as it’s a full-fledged voice assistant and can do a lot more than find content for you to watch. Apart from the Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick Lite is also worth considering for people who want a cheap streamer for their HDTV.
The Fire TV Stick can help you save some money if you have a full HD TV. The presence of Alexa also makes it slightly more versatile.
