Fire TV Stick 4k vs Apple TV 4K
- allaboutfiretv
- Jun 10, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
Summary:
- Fire Stick vs Apple TV comparison table
- Apple TV 4K reviews overview
- Comparing remote, price and applications
- Considering your Smart Home ecosystem
Today, we have come to one of the most successful technology company in the world, and the product: the Apple TV 4K 2021. Both the company and its later founder has been the market leader for decades, and had long become a familiar household name. There probably will be one person in every 3 of your friends who would owns an Apple product like the Iphone or the Macbook. With its mission to connect and create amazing user experiences for everyone, it is no wonder that they have also expanded their product range into Streaming Devices.
The Apple TV 4K 2021 is the latest in their foray into the streaming market. The 6th generation of the Apple TV device and also the 2nd generation of 4K Apple TV devices, this streaming device is definitely a premium product going for $179 for their 4K compatibility and $149 for their HD compatible version. The price point is a far cry from the Fire TV Stick 4K, which is going for just $39.99, a whooping $110 difference. So should you be buying the Fire Stick or the Apple TV? Well, if pricing is the most important factor for you, the $100 difference may just be a deal-breaker, but read on for our review, and see if the more expensive choice may actually be better for your home TV experience!
We already did a Fire TV Stick 4K review updated regularly! Read on for a comparison between the Fire Stick 4K vs Apple TV 4K.
Is the Apple TV 4K worth it?
Only available on Amazon as recently as April 2021, the product already has 256 global reviews. 87% of buyers gave a 5-star rating with about 10% giving poor ratings. It is still early as the sample size is still pretty small compared to other products such as the Fire TV Stick 4K or the Fire TV Cube. From the limited reviews found though, we are seeing many praises for the easy user interface and also for being very convenient to synch into existing Apple ecosystems in homes. The Apple TV 4K remote was also mentioned several times as a much welcomed upgrade from the older version, now having become more durable and also user-friendly.
Apple TV 4K vs Fire Stick 4K
Apple is well known for their sleek products and the Apple TV 4K is no different. It has that familiar minimalist feel, with dimensions of 1.4x3.9x3.9 (inches; HWD). The Streaming Device also includes an ethernet port and this could be useful for those who would prefer a faster wired-internet connection. The Fire Stick 4K, however, does not have an ethernet port and would require an additional ethernet adaptor to be able to connect to your Wifi via wire. So while the Fire TV Stick 4K is much smaller and compact, the Apple TV 4K gives you that little edge in convenience if you want to use the ethernet.
Fire Stick Remote vs Apple TV remote
In terms of their remote, their voice control system is based on the Apple-designed Siri. While Siri has been around longer, many do think that Amazon's Alexa has made much more progress between the two. One possible plus (or minus) point, could be the difference in their remote: while the Fire TV remote uses AAA batteries, the latest Apple TV Remote (as with all Apple products) comes with its own charger. This could be a point of convenience for some!
Fire Stick Apps vs Apple TV Apps
While the price is three times the price of the Fire TV Stick 4K, the capacity of the Apple streaming device is much larger than the Fire Stick. With the choice of Apple TV 4K 32gb or 64gb, the Fire Stick's 8gb does seem small in comparison.
While both the Apple TV and the Fire Stick boasts massive libraries of apps, over 10,000 apps that you can choose from, it may be important to some to know that there may be slight differences. For example, Apple TV has HBO Max and Peacock on their available apps; while Amazon only included HBO Max in 2021 and Peacock is still officially unavailable (officially, because you can actually sideload Peacock as a third-party app on you Firestick). Hence, this difference may no be a long-term consideration since the available apps may always change at the latest conflict between the giant streaming companies and the streaming device corporations.
Apple TV 4K vs Fire Stick 4K: Smart Homes
Last but not least, remember we mentioned in our article on the Roku Express 4K Review, about how the Fire TV fitting into the Amazon Smart Home ecosystem was a winning factor over the Roku Streaming Device? Well, for the Apple TV, this is no problem.
The Apple Smart Home ecosystem is really well set-up, with great user experience and convenience! Even from the set-up process of the Apple TV, you would immediately be able to synch to many of your Apple devices with your Apple ID. More than just connecting to your favorite applications to your TV, the Apple TV can actually be used as a Home Kit hub for your Apple Smart Home ecosystem. There are countless functions that you could explore: connecting to your Smart Home amenities such as lights and other electrical appliances, to checking who is outside your door when the bell rings. Apple is really successful with producing the all-grounds-covered-kind of ecosystem for your home.
That being said, Amazon also has a powerful Smart Home ecosystem that can rival that of Apple's. Their Alexa virtual assistant can work with a wide range of Smart Home products from various brands; whereas Apple has very stringent control over the available devices that can work with Siri. This can be both a boon or a bane: on one hand, you have an ever-increasing range of Smart Home products compatible with Alexa; on the other hand, Apple is able to quality-check compatible items and vouch for issues such as privacy and reliability of the products (In their Terms of Use, Amazon has stated that the buyer is responsible for the information that they give to the third-party manufacturers and service providers).
Hence, for this part of the comparison really depends on your existing preference of your home's Smart Home system! You can read more about Smart Homes in this article from the New York Times article: How to make your house a Smart Home.
Conclusion
Whether you choose Fire Stick or Apple TV, in terms of streaming, both are able to give you an amazing home TV experience, but the Apple TV definitely would be considered a premium streaming device while the Fire Stick 4k is a more budget-friendly one. The number of applications available are really close calls between the two, with the major streaming apps available on both devices. Furthermore, the Apple OS also supports Amazon Prime, so in terms of the applications available, there is simply no shortage from either side.
However, it is also very alarming that the Apple TV 4K 2021 is more than 3 times the price of the Fire TV Stick 4K. For someone who is not really immersed into the whole Apple ecosystem, paying an additional $100 plus for the premium Streaming Device may not be that worth it after all! While 8GB does seem kind of miniscule compared to Apple TV's 32GB, for most, 8GB is usually be more than enough to satisfy your streaming needs. (On a side note, Amazon does have its own premium streaming device, the Amazon Fire Cube!)
For our verdict, if you are not fully immersed into the Apple Smart Home system (i.e. the only Apple products you own are the Iphone and an Ipad), perhaps you may want to save on that additional $100 and go with the Fire Stick 4K! If not, the Apple TV 4K is definitely a premium product that gives more than just an amazing streaming experience: it adds to the Smart Home vision of Apple.
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