Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition Review

What is the Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition?

As Amazon starts to lay roots in Australia, it's slowly but surely bringing its extensive family of "home-brand" devices down under. The Kindle may have blazed the trail and Amazon Echo (with Alexa in tow) isn't too far off, but the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition is the first Amazon gadget the retail behemoth has launched in Australia since setting up shop.

As the name might suggest, the Fire TV Stick is a streaming stick. If you're not familiar with the concept, streaming devices like the Fire TV Stick are designed to get internet TV services onto your big screen. You might have heard of the Google Chromecast, which is the Fire TV Stick's closest competitor, but there's a couple of key differences. 

They both connect to your TV using a HDMI port and then connect to your home Wi-Fi, but unlike the Chromecast, the Fire TV Stick is a standalone device. It comes preloaded with its own operating system - based on Android TV - and it doesn't require a smartphone or tablet to drive it. There's even a remote in the box.

What's good about the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition?

The Fire TV Stick's greatest strength lies in its simplicity. It's a small dongle that won't take up much space behind your TV, it's effortless to setup, and easy to use.

The setup process is almost a case of plug and play: plug the Fire TV Stick into a spare HDMI port, power it up using the included AC adapter, connect it to your Wi-Fi, and sign in using your Amazon account. Once you're in, the tile-based user interface will be familiar to anyone who's used a streaming service like Netflix.

Content from Amazon's streaming service - Prime Video - is put front and centre, but admittedly, that's the main reason you'd consider picking up a Fire TV Stick. While the Prime Video app is steadily showing up in more and more places, it's nowhere near as widely available as Netflix and Stan. It's not supported by Chromecast, it's not on Telstra TV, or the Foxtel Now Box. You can get it on select consoles and the Apple TV now, but they're a great deal pricier than the $69 Fire TV Stick.

While the Fire TV Stick is designed to highlight content from Prime Video it can also run media apps from Netflix, Spotify, Plex, and VLC, among others.

At $69, the Fire TV Stick's bundled remote is a welcome addition when compared to streaming solutions like Chromecast that rely on a phone or tablet. The remote is quite basic, but it does the job. There's a directional pad around a central button, navigation controls, and your standard array of pause, play, fast forward, and rewind. The only glaring omission is the lack of volume controls, which can be a minor inconvenience; it means you always need to have a second remote on hand.

What's not so good about the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition?

While Amazon says the Fire TV Stick can access over 4,000 apps and games, there's some major omissions - at least when it comes to the Australian market. There's no Stan, Foxtel Now, ABC iview, SBS On Demand, or any other local catch-up app for that matter, at least for the moment. This may change as Amazon cements its position in Australia, but for now, the Fire Stick TV's two major video options are Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Thanks to a spat between Amazon and Google, there's not even a YouTube app anymore. You still can access YouTube content by installing a browser like Firefox, but there's no official app available for Fire TV at present and this is a pain in the neck.

There's a decent range of games available for the Fire TV Stick, including popular mobile titles such as Crossy Road and Pac-Man 256. Many can be played with the included remote, but some need a third party Bluetooth controller. However, we found that the Fire TV Stick didn't quite have enough grunt to play games smoothly, which can make fast-paced titles like Crossy Road close to unplayable.

The Fire TV Stick Basic Edition doesn't support 4K content or HDR, but at a $69 price-point, that's not quite surprising. Other products in the Fire TV family support 4K, but these aren't available in Australia yet.

Who's the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition for?

The Fire TV Stick Basic Edition gets Amazon Prime Video on to your TV, but that's about it. 

At the same time, it's still one of the only ways to get Amazon's streaming service on the big screen; your other options the much pricier Apple TV, an Xbox One or a PlayStation 4, or a Smart TV with a dedicated app (LG and Samsung's latest smart TVs have Amazon Prime Video out of the box). And at a nice $69, it's hard to argue with the price. (Note: Amazon recently launched a Prime Video app for Android TV, but it was not compatible with any Android TV devices we had on hand, including the Foxtel Now Box and a 2015 Sony Bravia TV).

If you care about 4K video, the Apple TV 4K is a much robust option thanks to more to wider app availability, but if you just want a simple watch to get The Grand Tour, The Tick, or American Gods onto your TV, the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition is a safe choice.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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