Amazon's new Fire TV Stick 4K finally ships with a good remote

Amazon introduced the next Fire TV Stick 4K on Wednesday as part of its fall hardware refresh. The device itself has 8GB of internal storage, a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, and support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Bluetooth Low Energy. It handles HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, H.265, H.264, VP9, and AV1 video formats, and can output at 2160p, 1080p, and 720p resolutions at up to 60 frames per second. Amazon claims it is 20% to 40% faster than leading competitors.

But the bigger news is the remote control bundled with it. Gone is the prominent blue Alexa button; the microphone control is now a more subtle black button at the top right, with a slight dish so users can find it by feel in the dark — a deliberate fix, since Amazon’s older voice remote made buttons hard to locate without looking. The new shape and curvature are designed to be easier to hold and point at the TV. The home button now has a metallic, orangeish-reddish finish that’s distinct to the touch, the recessed power button at the top left helps prevent accidental shutoffs, and the D-pad is flatter with a more tactile center click, making it easier to navigate by thumb. Amazon also added a programmable favorites button, in response to user feedback, that can launch a preferred app or toggle a frequently used setting like Closed Captions or Dialog Boost.

The new remote ships with the Fire TV Stick 4K but will also be sold separately for existing owners who just want the upgrade, arriving in late October at $14.99 in the U.S. The 4K Stick joins Amazon’s existing lineup alongside an HD Stick, a faster and higher-storage 4K “Max” Stick, and the Fire TV Cube.

The Fire TV Stick 4K is priced at $59.99 but will launch at a discounted $29.99. It will be initially available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Why it matters

Amazon is treating remote-control ergonomics as a differentiator in a streaming-device market where processor speed and video format support have become table stakes.