Amazon has traveled a long journey with respect to the evolution of voice-enabled Alexa devices. Joining the series, its latest TV streaming device Amazon Fire TV Cube is slated to release on 21st June, that is, next week in the US. Fire TV Cube is the “first hands-free streaming media player with Alexa”, offering a complete entertainment package.
The Fire TV Cube is basically a technical upgrade of Fire TV 3 launched in 2017. Unlike Fire TV 3, the new Alexa device has built-in speakers and far-field voice recognition feature. The device holds four ports at the backside namely, Micro USB port, Infrared port, HDMI port and Power port. A separate Amazon Ethernet adapter is included in the box this time.
Similar to its predecessor, Fire TV Cube provides 4K Ultra HD support up to 60fps, HDR and enjoy the excellent audio clarity in Dolby Atmos.
Fire TV Cube is the “first hands-free streaming media player with Alexa”. Source: Amazon.com
Fire TV Cube is a Hands-free Device
For the first time, Amazon has introduced a hands-free machine that can hear voices from any direction. There are eight far-field microphones located on the top of the Cube, facing the front, and operate on “advanced beam-forming” technology.
With the only voice command, the users can take the complete control of their TVs. Fire TV Cube will let the users play or pause TV, browse channels, search for a favorite show and do a lot more other things. Moreover, the IR technology installed on the TV streaming device allows controlling TV, sound bar, cable or satellite box, and receiver with just voice orders.
The Smart TV stream has in-built speakers too that works independently of TV streaming. These speakers facilitate the owners to hear weather news, current trends, control other compatible Smart Home devices.
In case one does not want to make a sound, Fire TV Cube even comes with the Alexa Voice Remote to navigate the TV episodes and movies silently.
Voice Device is Getting Smarter
Alexa is getting smarter all the time with the input of thousands of skills on regular basis. And one could access these Alexa skills on Fire TV Cube also. Along with this, the Cube owners can stream unlimited entertainment content from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO, SHOWTIME, NBC, and other integrated sites.
Later this year, Amazon will upgrade Fire TV Cube to support sleep timers. Stretching further on the services, Fire TV Cube also allows hands-free access to social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit, using Silk and Firefox browsers.
Room for Improvement
Keeping aside the streaming feature, even the latest Alexa device does not support Alexa Calling & Messaging. The Fire TV Cube doesn’t even feature multi-room music facility or Bluetooth connections for mobile phones.
Fire TV Cube even comes with the Alexa Voice Remote to navigate the TV episodes and movies silently. Source: Amazon.com
Prime Membership Special Access
Of course, Amazon Prime members have special privileges. Accessing the membership, subscribers can watch a number of movies and TV shows including “Thursday Night Football” and Prime Originals like “Sneaky Pete”. Additionally, they can also listen to millions of songs with Amazon Music subscription worth $3.99/month.
Amazon Fire TV Cube Price
The Fire TV Cube comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage space with no support to extend it. It is available for $199.99 on Amazon.
