Apple TV 4K vs. Amazon Fire Stick 4K | 4K Streaming Battle

Today we're looking at the Apple TV 4K and the Amazon Fire Stick 4K. While I love almost everything about the Apple TV, I also love feeding my kids....

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Let's jump into the Apple TV 4K and the Amazon Fire Stick 4K!

How much does it cost?

- Amazon Fire Stick 4K is $50, or the cube for $120

So, which to compare? Intuitively, you might want to compare the most expensive options from each, since they’re naturally the best, right? So the Apple TV 4K versus the Amazon Fire Cube? Well... hold your horses.

The closest comparison is actually between the Apple TV 4K and the Fire Stick 4K. Which, as we just noted, isn’t a comparison at all, if you’re just talking about price: $50 for the Fire Stick 4K, $160 for the Apple TV 4K. All you math people already figured this out- but that’s more than THREE TIMES the cost for the Apple device. Unsurprising, given it's an Apple device.

So if price is all you care about, problem solved! Go with the Amazon device. If not, keep watching.

The next thing to think about is which ecosystem you want to live in. Once you plug in one of these devices, some of your future decisions are made for you.

If I utilize the voice search feature on the Apple TV to rent a movie, it will send me to iTunes to make that purchase. Conversely, the Fire Stick will send me to Amazon Prime to make the same rental. Yes, there are workarounds to this, but these devices are designed to work most smoothly and easily within their own ecosystems. So if you want to get the most from your Apple TV? Then you better be an Apple fan or a new willing convert. And same goes for the Fire TV.

Next to consider is available apps. But these devices have a ton of different apps, right? So which one has the better apps? Well, I think we’re pretty even here. Most of us are using a streaming box to access the big stuff: Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, etc. And both players perform that function well. Scratching the surface a bit, both of the devices do a pretty good job at gaming as well, with remotes that let you play great looking games with simple controls. You can even install a game emulator/bluetooth controller to play classic NES or SNES games.

When it comes to apps and daily functionality, the Apple TV wins out, thanks to the TV app on the Apple TV. The TV app is the simplified, Apple-ified version of something I wanted for quite a while: it pulls together your content from various apps like Hulu, ESPN+, HBO, Starz, even Amazon Prime. It lets you see everything in one place. The Watch Now tab will pull all of the stuff you’re in the middle of watching and put it into one list that you can see across devices, including your phone, tablet, or pc.

While we’re on the subject of apps, the new Apple TV+ service that’s scheduled to come out later this year. We’ll have to see how that does when it comes out, but for now I think it’s safe to say that it will work best on an Apple TV.

The last thing I think Apple TV wins out is the remote. Both remotes are good, don’t get me wrong. I actually prefer the clickable circle of the Fire TV remote over the trackpad on the Apple TV remote.

The Apple TV remote has the little microphone button on it that not only lets you issue commands to Siri, it also lets you dictate email addresses and passwords. So you don’t have to hunt and peck every time you need to log into something.

This is especially helpful during the initial setup phase, but it comes in handy a lot even after that. Now, with either the Apple TV or the Fire TV, you can always connect your phone and just use it for its keyboard. But the convenience of pressing a single button on your remote to take care of that is one of my absolute favorite things about the Apple TV.

So, there are a couple areas where I think the Apple TV pulls ahead a bit. But for the most part, both are great devices. They’re easy to use, 4K HDR, etc. While I love the Apple TV, it’s hard for me to get past the price. For the majority of streamers out there, I would recommend the $50 Fire Stick 4K over the $160 Apple TV 4K. But if I’m talking to an Apple superuser, then I think the Apple TV has some cross functionality, like with the TV app, that makes it a no-brainer.

There are a hundred other areas I COULD address. If there are other things that you love or hate about these devices hit the comments and let me know.

[ReviewsOrg]

Which device you should get really depends on who you are, and how connected you are with these brands already. Which device do you use, and why? What do you like and dislike about your device?

[drsumantamajumdar]

"I also love feeding my kids"...epic LOL...fantastic rivew ..thanks

[davidclixby]

I have the 4K firestick and it’s great.

[lotekjr]

I have 3 4K firesticks that cost me $75.00 for all 3 on Black Friday last year. Love these devices! Have had firesticks since the first one came out. These new ones out perform all their predecessors. I have got it fully loaded with some awesome Apks and IPTV plus Prime. Love it!

[lb-ethu]

The fact that you said you love feeding your kids...how did you know I was researching the comparisons bc my 14 year old son wants the APPle, but this single mom is brokey broke

[kenyattaclay]

I actually have both but I use them for different things. As of right now I misty only use the fire tv for the recast DVR because they don’t have YouTube TV at the moment. I also use the fire tv for NFL Sunday Ticket because I like the UI better than the one in Apple TV. However for everything else the Apple TV is just better. First, I can organize apps how I want and even put them in folders. Second, the TV app is great because it will pick up where I left off. Third, their one UI means I can go from one TV to another and it will pick up right where I left off without have to search through a lot of stuff. Finally, the ESPN app is so much better on Apple TV. During the college football season it allows you to have 2 to 4 boxes up on the screen and I can go in and out of games depending on what’s going on. I understand that cost might be a factor but while I like fire tv I think Apple TV is better. Oh, as a post script, Apple TV has a bigger processor so it’s faster.

[gcastell]

I own a non 4K Apple TV and a fire stick 4K. My whole family prefer to use the Apple TV instead of the fire stick. All the apps work without a hitch and are quick and polished.
In my opinion if you want easy to use, setup and zero issues and you have the money, I would recommend the Apple TV. The fire stick is ok but I feel you have to compromise but might be worth it in order to save $100.

[sbailey]

If you've got other Apple devices then Apple TV is definitely the way to go. The integration can't be beat.

[adamb]

The reason I switched to amazon Firestick despite being heavily into the Apple ecosystem. I live overseas, I can boot up a vpn to it easily and the Apple TV app is on it, so I can still use and access my immense iTunes library but all from one device.

[FB-gyvy]

One issue you did not cover is the resell value of the product. I typically use my Apple products for two to three years and resell them for a good price. This reduces the gap in the cost of using between these two devices quite a lot

[dougdingle]

The Fire Stick 4K regularly goes on sale for Black Friday at under $30. Last year, it was $25.

[BobBridgesbob]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You are the first reviewer that I've seen so far that actually even mentions the "TV" app on the Apple TV 4K. I have both the FireTV Cube and the Apple TV 4K and I use them both for different reasons, but I find myself using the Apple TV 4K the most just because of that TV app. Like most others, I subscribe to Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, CBS All Access, etc. What I absolutely LOVE about the TV app on the Apple TV 4K is that "Watch Now" feature. When a new episode of a show that I watch becomes available (on Hulu, HBO, CBS All Access, whatever), it just pops up under the "Watch Now" section. I click on it, and it automatically launches the appropriate app and plays the show. So I don't need to jump in and out of various apps to see if the next episode is available yet or not. That one feature has become invaluable to us and I think is by far the best feature of the Apple TV 4K.

[cjcairns]

I have both and I like that fact that you can turn off hdr mode on the apple tv as some entry level 4k tv’s cannot get bright enough to display it properly.

[NoCluYT]

My big thing is performance. They both got the 4k and dolby vision that I want, but can they also avoid lag? My built-in google TV is ridiculously laggy and especially when it comes to 4k hdr content

[NSaco]

After I cut the cord I purchased the Amazon Fire Stick 4K to replace 5 set-top boxes. It was rather affordable ($25 each during Prime Day Sale). In my den where I have my main entertainment system, I enjoy Apple TV which offers Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos.

[MitchHowes]

Nice to be able to hide the Firestick behind the TV in a Minimalist home setup, but more notably, I think the Apple TV app is coming to the Firestick no?

[MnACreations]

Just the review I was looking for!! Thank you for breaking it down and explaining it so well!

[BadassMoFo.]

I have both of the 4K stream devices, but I just can't choose which one's better, but I'm going to have to pick with Amazon fire TV stick, because maybe it's just a slightly tad bit more accurate with show series, movie films, and subscriptions

[David-woun]

Great video! Thank you for keeping it short and sweet. It's a tough choice, but the price difference will likely be the determinating factor.

[pjgriff]

I am in the Amazon ecosystem. Love the fact that my recast box steams to all of my Amazon steaming devices flawlessly so I can watch TV off the air and record without any additional monthly fees.