Amazon Fire Cube, Fire Stick 4K Max, and more, are 50% off for limited time

It looks like the best time to get into streaming online content is here, if you weren't doing it already. That's because Amazon is having a massive sale on all its streaming devices at the moment (up to 50% discount on almost everything), which includes the 2nd Gen Fire TV Cube, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, the Fire TV Stick 4K, and the regular Fire TV Stick (links to purchase towards the end of the article). Also in case you are from the U.K., head over to this article.

Among these, the Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen, released in 2021, is the most powerful. It packs a hexa-core CPU which can blaze through also any content, at up to 4K, that you throw at it. The only notable drawback for the Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen, compared to the new 3rd Gen device, is the lack of USB-A port. You'll need to use an OTG converter with its micro-USB if you want to expand the storage.

The full specs of the 2nd Gen Fire TV Cube are given below:

Fire OS version: Fire OS 7

Processor (SoC): Amlogic S922X Hexa-core (Quad-core at up to 2.2GHz + Dual-core at up to 1.9GHz)

GPU: ARM Mali G52-MP2 (3EE), 800MHz

Memory (RAM): 2GB DDR4-2400 Mbps

Storage16 GB internal

Alexa Voice Remote (3rd Gen)

Audio codecs:

Dolby Atmos. Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit.

AC3 (Dolby Digital). Up to 48kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit

eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus). Up to 48kHz, 8 channels, 16-bit

AAC Profile (AAC LC). Support for up to 8 channels from 8 kHz to 48 kHz.

MPEG-4 HE AAC Profile (AAC+). Support for up to 8 channels from 8 kHz to 48 kHz.

MPEG-4 HE AACv2 Profile (enhanced AAC+). Support for up to 8 channels from 8 kHz to 48 kHz.

AAC ELD (enhanced low delay AAC). Support for up to 8 channels from 8 kHz to 48 kHz.

FLAC. Up to 48kHz, 2 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit (no dither for 24 bit)

MIDI. MIDI (Type 0 and 1), DLS (Version 1 and 2), XMF, and Mobile XMF. Ringtone formats RTTTL/RTX, OTA, and iMelody.

MP3. Up to 48kHz, 2 channels in DSP (16-bit and 24-bit) and software (16-bit).

Vorbis. Ogg (.ogg), Matroska (.mkv).PCM/Wave. Up to 96kHz, 6 channels, 16-bit and 24-bit.

AMR-NB. Supported.

Opus. Up to 8 channels, 48 kHz.

Video codecs:

H.265 (HEVC). Hardware accelerated up to 2160p (4K) @ 60fps Main Profile Level 5.1

H.264. Hardware accelerated up to 2160p @ 30fps or 1080p @ 60fps, 20 Mbps, High Profile up to Level 4

H263. Hardware accelerated up to 1080p @ 30fps, 6 Mbps, Profile 0 Level 70

VP8. Supported up to 1080p 30fps. Baseline profile, non-secure

VP9. Hardware accelerated up to 2160p @ 60fps (with limitations)

MPEG-2. Up to 1080p @ 60fps

MPEG-4. Up to 1080p @ 60fps 10-bit

OpenGL ES 3.2

DRM (Digital Rights Management):

Widevine L1 v11

PlayReady 3.3

HDR (High-dynamic-range):

HDR10

HLG

HDR10+

Dolby Vision

Bluetooth version 5.0

Wifi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; 2x2 MIMO (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz dual band)

Ethernet: through USB-connected Ethernet adapter

Miracast (display mirroring with Fire tablet): Supported

Far-field Alexa control (Hands-free voice control): Supported natively

Near-field Alexa control (Mic button on remote): Supported

The other Amazon Fire streaming devices, which are the Fire Stick 4K Max, the Fire Stick 4K, and the Fire Stick 4K, are progressively slower than the Fire Cube. However, except for the Fire Stick (non-4K model) all are capable of streaming 4K content as well.

Our recommendation, out of the three sticks, is to get the 4K Max model as it supports the AV1 codec as well, something that even the 2nd Gen Fire Cube does not. Other than that, the Fire Stick 4K Max also supports HDCP 2.2, and Fairplay DRMs. But if you are looking for something with more general oomph outside of streaming videos, then the Cube is for you.