Amazon's New Fire TV Stick 4K Touts Faster Boot Times, Slimmer Body, While New Remote Goes by Feel

Flip the remote over and you'll notice the bottom is rounded while the top stays flat — that's not just a design quirk, it's Amazon's way of letting users tell which end points at the TV just by feel, without ever looking at it. This new remote, alongside a redesigned Fire TV Stick 4K, was announced on September 30 and goes on sale today in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K's main selling point is speed. Amazon says the device isn't just faster than its predecessor — it's also 20% to 40% quicker than "another leading brand's 4K stick" at a comparable price point. The company backs this up with specifics: faster boot times, app launches over 35% quicker, and content starts playing nearly 20% faster. Amazon also ran a comparison test, pitting the Fire TV Stick 4K against the built-in systems of three bestselling brand-name 4K smart TVs, measuring response speed for the three most popular apps on the Fire TV platform. The results showed the stick beating all three TVs on average playback speed. These figures come solely from Amazon's own claims and videos, with no third-party verification of the testing methods.

On the hardware side, the new Fire TV Stick 4K is slimmer than its predecessor, with a form factor similar to the Fire TV Stick HD launched this past April. It can be powered directly from the TV's USB port, and the included cable means users no longer need to run a long cord to a wall outlet — though that option remains if you prefer it. The device packs 8GB of storage and a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE, and plays back 2160p, 1080p, and 720p resolutions at up to 60fps. This generation of the Stick runs on Amazon's own Vega operating system, complete with Alexa+ built in and a refreshed Fire TV interface.

The New Remote Bakes Touch-Based Navigation Right Into the Buttons

Beyond the curved housing, the most noticeable change on the remote is the Home button — now finished in metal so users can locate it by touch alone, no screen glance required. The power button, microphone button, and back button have each been given distinct shapes or recessed cutouts to make blind operation easier. The customizable "star key," previously reserved for higher-end models, now comes standard on the regular Fire TV Remote, letting users assign it to launch an app or, as Amazon suggests, toggle settings like subtitles or screen zoom. The remote also handles basic TV functions like volume and power, and it's compatible with every Fire TV streaming device released since 2019, as well as Amazon's Ember series TVs.

Amazon has also teased a higher-end Fire TV Remote Plus, arriving in early next year to replace the current Alexa Voice Remote Pro. This aluminum-bodied remote with backlit buttons will support a Find My Remote feature, letting users ping the remote to make it beep through an Echo speaker, Echo Show, or the Alexa app on their phone to help track it down when it's lost.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K comes bundled with a Fire TV Remote, which sells separately for $15. The full package retails for $60 and is available for preorder now, with US shipments expected to begin in late October. During next week's Prime Big Deal Days, the price will drop to $30.