Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: The cheapest Fire stick around

The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is smart and cheap, but most users should spend the extra $15 for the higher-resolution, faster Fire TV Stick 4K.

If you had asked me a few years ago if we'd still be buying 1080p streaming sticks in 2024, I'd have immediately said no. For a while, it seemed as though 4K streaming sticks were getting cheaper and cheaper; however, those price cuts seem to have leveled out a little, still leaving some room for ultra-cheap 1080p models for those who really don't care to spend more than they have to.

The new Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is built to put the best streaming services front and center, but that's more or less it. It offers Amazon's Fire TV interface and an Alexa-capable remote – but limits its resolution to not even match many of the cheapest TVs on the market.

At this price, does that really matter? Or does the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD do enough to make it a no-brainer for those who just care about turning their dumb screens into smart TVs? Check out the rest of my review to see where it ranks among the best streaming devices.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Price and availability

The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD first went on sale in the fall of 2024, and is available from Amazon and some other retailers at a list price of $34.99. As usual, however, you can bet that Amazon will routinely discount the device. At the time of this writing, it was offered as a Black Friday deal for only $17.99. Its list price makes it only $15 cheaper than the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which is $49.99.

Its price is more or less on par with the competition. The Google Chromecast with Google TV is available in an HD version for only $29.99, which is the same price as the also 1080p Roku Express.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Design

Amazon isn't reinventing the wheel for the Fire TV Stick HD, and, in fact, many aspects of its design are due for an upgrade but don't get them. The basic stick is rectangular and squared off, built from a relatively cheap black plastic. That's not really a huge deal, as it's small enough to be mostly hidden behind your TV, out of sight. What is a little frustrating in 2024, though, is the fact that the device has a MicroUSB port for power. Amazon does include a cable in the box that, again, you'll likely never have to replace. But still, it's 2024, and the vast majority of other consumer products have moved to USB-C. There's really no excuse for Amazon not to have done the same.

MicroUSB aside, Amazon has included a decent selection of accessories in the box. There's the device itself, along with a USB-A to MicroUSB cable and a USB-A power adapter. There's also an HDMI dongle that you can use if the HDMI port on your TV isn't as accessible as you would like. For example, if it's a rear-facing port that you don't want the Fire TV Stick HD to extend out from.

There's also the remote, which is kind of the main event for this generation of the Fire TV Stick HD. That's because the remote is an Alexa Voice Remote, unlike the non-Alexa-enabled remote found with previous generation models. The Alexa voice remote means that you can not only control the TV with the regular software buttons but also through voice controls – plus, you can use the remote to control smart home devices and access information from the web. Alexa is generally pretty helpful at bringing up content that you request with your voice, so it's nice to see this support here.

The remote also has other handy features like quick access buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, Disney Plus, and Peacock. A programmable button might have been nice too, though. For example, I probably use Hulu more than Peacock and would have programmed Hulu access instead. But it's still a good selection of controls and hits four of the most used services.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Interface

Setting up the Fire TV Stick HD is a simple affair. Over the years, all of the major streaming device manufacturers have gotten a lot better at the setup process, and thankfully they all allow you to use your phone instead of having to hunt around on an on-screen keyboard and directional controls on the remote. To set up the Fire TV Stick HD, all I had to do was download the Fire TV app, hit the add new device button, and follow the on-screen instructions. That part of the process only took around two minutes, though after that, the device had to install an update, which took around 10 minutes. After everything was installed, I was guided through ads for Apple TV+, Amazon Luna, and Amazon Kids+, but it was easy to skip through those. Finally, I was prompted to select which streaming services I wanted to install.

After initially setting up the Fire TV Stick HD, you'll likely want to download and log in to your favorite streaming services. Even after you do so, however, you'll find that those services and the content within them aren't really publicized much in the Fire TV interface. On the one hand, this makes sense; Amazon wants to highlight Prime Video. On the other hand, however, it's a little frustrating to have an entire TV interface feel like an advertisement for Amazon's streaming service. It doesn't feel like Apple does the same with Apple TV Plus on tvOS.

That said, Fire TV isn't necessarily difficult to navigate. There's a slider of content at the top, followed by a menu row with access to your most-used apps. Under that, you'll find suggestions for content you might want to watch, most of which will be Prime Video titles.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Performance

The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD doesn't have the powerful internals that you can find in some other modern Fire TV Stick models. While the Fire TV Stick 4K Max has a 2.0GHz quad-core processor, the Fire TV Stick HD sticks to a 1.7GHz chip.

That's not to mention the fact that it steps down from Wi-Fi 6E support to only Wi-Fi 5, meaning that things may not load as quickly as they otherwise would. That would be frustrating for anyone with a reasonably modern WiFi router. For example, I have a WiFi 6E router that can't take advantage of everything it has to offer with the Fire TV Stick HD.

The sluggish performance on paper translated to real-life use too. The device regularly stuttered and lagged as I navigated through menus, and it took quite a while to load most apps. It wasn't completely unbearable, and it never froze for more than a second or two at a time, but for a completely new streamer, it certainly wasn't the best experience.

Time (in seconds) to load apps

• Netflix: 21 seconds
• YouTube: 5 seconds
• Disney Plus: 12 seconds
• Max: 13 seconds
• Sling: 23 seconds

These numbers aren't great. Who wants to wait 20 seconds for Netflix to load, or even more for a service like Sling? YouTube loaded relatively quickly, though, which was nice to see – but generally, expect to have to wait a little for most services.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Audio and video support

One major question you might have is whether to buy this model or the 4K model. Honestly, the answer is simple: if you have a 4K TV or plan on getting one soon, buy the 4K model. A 1080p resolution isn't as bad as it might sound, and many modern TVs offer good enough upscaling technology to ensure that the image is still relatively crisp. However, it's not as crisp as it could be with native 4K support.

Apart from resolution, one major downside to the Fire TV Stick HD is its limited HDR support. Unlike other Fire TV Stick devices, this one does not support Dolby Vision. Thankfully, it does still support HDR10 and HDR10 Plus, but if you were hoping to take advantage of Dolby Vision with the Fire TV Stick HD, you'll be disappointed.

Thankfully, the device does support modern audio formats. It can pass through Dolby Atmos audio, allowing you to take full advantage of your Dolby Atmos system.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Search

One of the best things about the Fire TV has always been how it uses Alexa. With Alexa, you can search for content based on titles, content featuring a particular actor, and so on.

Asking Alexa to find “Ryan Gosling movies” resulted in content from different platforms showing up, including "The Gray Man" from Netflix and "The Fall Guy" on Peacock. When I asked it to “play Drive to Survive,” it immediately pulled up the page for the show on Netflix, allowing me to tap the button to keep watching.

Alexa also works as it does on other devices. You can use it to control smart home devices that you have set up and even find out information from the web. When I asked it to find Indian restaurants near me, it brought up a number of locations, including their Yelp ratings and how far away they are. It worked well, and I like that Alexa offers visual components even when the prompt is unrelated to watching content.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Remote

The better remote with the Fire TV Stick HD makes a reasonable difference. It may not feel all that premium, but it works well, and the buttons are clicky enough. On top of that, it's pretty easy to navigate. It has software controls along the top row with playback controls right under that. Then you get volume controls and a button to quickly access Prime Video Channels, which is the live TV service built into the device.

The big upgrade for this version, however, is the Alexa support. There's a microphone button all the way at the top of the remote, which you can hold down for Alexa commands. It worked well and is a super helpful addition to the Fire TV Stick HD.

The remote works through Bluetooth instead of infrared, which is handy considering the fact that the Fire TV Stick HD might be hidden behind your TV and not in the line of sight for infrared to work properly. Most people will find it easy to get used to using the remote.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: Verdict

The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD isn't a low-quality product, but most who want to stick within the Amazon ecosystem should go for the Fire TV Stick 4K instead. If you have a 4K TV that supports Dolby Vision, then it's a no-brainer. Upscaling tech is getting better and better, but you still can't beat native 4K support – and Dolby Vision support alone would make the higher-end Fire TV Stick worth going. As an added bonus, if you buy the higher-end device, you'll get faster performance.

If you're not necessarily set on sticking within Amazon's ecosystem, it might be worth going for the Chromecast with Google TV HD instead. It's five dollars cheaper, performed a little faster in our tests, and has a generally better interface that doesn't shove Google's own content down your throat at every turn. Among the best streaming devices, though, we still prefer the Roku Streaming Stick 4K or the Roku Express, as they have even cleaner interfaces.

That said, if you want to stick to Amazon and don't have a 4K TV or don't plan on getting one soon, the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is perfectly fine. It's a little slow, and the interface isn't great, but you'll get used to both of those things.