Reviews: all new fire tv cube with alexa voice remote

Review Honest Reviewer Talk The Pros, Cons and Oks for Fire TV Cube (HR)..
Pros:
• Plenty of choices for steaming 4k (make sure your TV can be built for that resolution). I mainly use Netflix, but you have Prime and thousands of more apps with this little guy. Have to admit it’s a pretty large library (that also has simple games to play).
• My TV is built to play 4k, and I found no difference in quality if I put in a Blu-ray disk instead.
• I’m getting a pretty immersive experience. 60 fps with HDR10 support and Dolby Atmosphere for audiophiles.
• The Cube is pretty fast as well. The response time is very efficient when you’re asking simple questions/commands. I have to assume that because of the Cube software, it doesn’t need to rely on Amazon’s servers.
• Have to give props on the microphone inside this machine. Even at the movie volume level, saying Alexa, will pick up your voice. I haven’t tested this out if you’re in a room full of loud people, but I assume you’ll get the same results.
• I felt to have more use of using my voice than with a controller with this one. One example, I can tell Alexa which way to scroll and to open an app (Netflix for me) that I want to watch and Alexa follows that flawlessly. The voice recognition is more of a tool than a little side perk in this Cube.
• It’s a smart home device, so you ask the Cube to turn on almost anything that is connected to a smart plugin. I found this great to use to just turn on the TV. No remote required.
• The YouTube experience is also right on point. I’ve read that the past Fire TV Cubes from Amazon didn’t have a YouTube app. Well, this one does have it and it works without issue. I found this better if you already have a list of videos in your “Watch List” as searching will take time since you have no keyboard. What I do is I use my smartphone to quickly add the videos I want to my watch list and then refresh the YouTube page on the Cube. Simple and quick.
• A very lively interface. It’s not complex and the simple guidelines it provides you make this ready to use right out of the box.
• It does have an Ethernet adapter. I strongly recommend you use this. My Wi-Fi tends to disconnect at random times and an Ethernet connector prevents this from happening.
• The remote that it comes with has a nice “clicky” touch and an excellent touchpad. The voice layout works well enough that I use the remote only to explore new apps on the Cube, or type.
• When you start digging around with the Cube, some great features pop up. One is when you move your cursor over to a live channel (If you have “On Now”) it gives you a preview of what is happening on that channel. Similar to when you go on YouTube and move your move over to a video. Very efficient and something I had to make a pro for.
• The setup took less than 3 minutes. The Cube identified my Samsung the moment it was connected.
• If you have an Amazon Echo, then it’s exactly that but merged with a Fire TV Stick. This means, besides the simple weather questions, you can ask for directions to the closest restaurants and so forth. I live in a location where fast food restaurants are the lay of the land, but I can see this to be helpful for those who live deep in a city.
• The microphone is set up in the Cube, and not the remote. You won’t have to worry if you lose the remote.
• Amazon is not kidding. Ten of thousands of channels you can search through. I have to believe that Amazon has a channel for every person.

Cons and Oks:
• You don’t get an HDMI cable with this Cube. If you’re watching 4k, it would’ve been nice to have a high-quality HDMI cable with this purchase.
• As I mention, big props with the voice layout, but you still got to use the remote as well. For more detail questions, Alexa will go off the rails as any question, other than simple dialogue, the Cube will need to check with the cloud for the answer. Example: I asked for the early 2000s movies starring Denzel Washington. It gave me movies like LOTR and The Prestige as the fifth and eighth results (lol).
• The speakers are fine with Alexa’s voice but not fit to play music on. Stick to your TV speakers.
• You can’t add storage in the Cube. What’s there is what’s there.
• No USB-Stick connector. A huge lost because if you had a home video or a movie in a USB drive, you’re out of luck.
• I can’t edit my home screen. I can’t customize it and it’s packed with ads, ads, and more ads.
• The Ethernet adapter is placed on the Cube in an awkward place. It looks like that the designers forgot about this feature and design it within the last minute of production.
• The ads on this device are extremely annoying. On the home screen, 25% of my viewing is a large ad of mostly Amazon shows.
• With Netflix, I notice that you can ask Alexa to open the app, but if you have more than one account than Alexa will take you the account page. Because of this, I need to use the remote every time I want to use Alexa since the Cube can’t save my “specific” Netflix account.
• You got to get used to “Alexa’s” vocabulary when speaking. Simple wordings like “Alexa, start over” are the style that you need to speak to experience good voice recognition.
• I didn’t have the last Cube, but I’ve been told is the same design as before.
• A huge dust and fingerprint magnet on the sides of the Cube.
• When starting for the first time, there are numerous privacy contracts you need to agree to. I understand why, but there is a decent amount of “hit agree” buttons that for those who are not a fan of this.
• Amazon can push a little too aggressively in promoting its Prime channels. I understand that you should expect more Amazon ads with this device, but you’re going to get a lot of them.
• No voice password function available. Apple TV has this feature and I think I would make issues with apps like Netflix very efficient in accessing your account. The good news is that there is an app on the Cube that makes it easy to enter text using your remote.
• I want to mention that not all content on this device is 4k. Many times I thought I was watching 4k but found out it was only HD. Now please note that if you don’t have a 4k TV then you’re not going to get the 4k experience. You need a 4k TV to enjoy the quality.

Bottom Line:

If you have the previous Fire TV Cube, than don’t waste your money on this. If you have only one media account that you use, then don’t waste your money on this. If you have a Fire TV Stick (even an Echo), than don’t waste your money one this. But, if you have none of the issues above then this is a pretty good buy to have an Echo and a Fire TV Stick in one.

With Apple TV and Roku, each is quite similar in what they offer. One reason I favor the Fire TV Cube is the number of apps and channels that are provided with this device (Plus 4k!). Also, I’m a huge fan of having a built-in Echo so you can begin to make your house a “smart house.”

Still in the end this device isn’t a must have because it depends on you and your family on how much content you’re planning on watching. Apple TV will have different content than Roku, and Roku isn’t the same as the Cube. If you want to get into the world of digital media, I got to put my money on the Cube. Of all out systems out there, the Cube is more bang for your buck (Echo + Fire TV Stick + 1000+ apps/movies + 4k).

Overall: A system built for those who want to jump in the digital media world, and the same old system for those who are already in it.

Hope I was a help to you.
Love,
Honest Reviewer

A review R. Ellis Talk Impressed and Disappointed!.
This is a massive improvement over the 1st Gen cube! Voice control is responsive and accurate, setup was pretty straight forward, and it works really well with my TV and AV equipment. Netflix and Prime Video work well with both voice and remote control, I didn't have any trouble with 4k HDR or Dolby Vision stuff. I was able to play some Dolby Atmos (DD+ streaming version) content over Prime Video. Overall, this is an excellent box for a person who streams everything from online services! The upgrades are welcome, anyone who was frustrated with the performance of the first gen Cube but intrigued by the functionality should probably give this one a chance!

If you use Plex, Kodi or similar... the experience is less than desirable! The box doesn't do passthrough for lossless codecs such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos (non-DD+/lossless version) and DTS-MA. Playing 4k content with any of that causes all sorts of issues while streaming.. including not playing at all, blank screens, or sever stuttering. It's completely unacceptable that a streaming box capable of 4k, HDR/DV and Atmos isn't able to handle passthrough while the original Shield TV has been able to handle this for years!

Also, the Ethernet to MicroUSB adapter is only 10/100Mbps. This is sufficient for any online streaming and most all local streaming, but it's not unfeasible that a local 4k stream could be close to or slightly over 100Mbps. While the included USB2.0 wouldn't allow for actual gigabit, there are suitable gigabit adapters that should allow ~400Mbps for wired. There are adapters which are compatible, though it results in additional cost. Considering the typical Cube user isn't likely to run in to any issues here, it's not really a miss. Also, considering the above prevents a lot of this sort of content from being playable, the lack of USB3 or Gigabit is moot.

I'd hoped this would be a replacement for my Shield TV (which doesn't support Dolby Vision), I was disappointed. I'm also a bit annoyed, there's simply no logical reason for it not to support passthrough.

Overall, I like the ability to come home and say "Echo, open AT&T TV" and have it open and playing CNN while I'm still getting settled... Or "Echo, play the Good Place on Netflix" and have the same. But I don't like that this still requires me to switch back and forth between different devices depending on what I want to watch. Hopefully Nvidia Shield will get Dolby Vision soon, and maybe Netflix will enable Dolby Atmos on the shield (or directly on my Vizio SmartCast TV.

This a word from Zurn Talk Will not “fully” support Amazon Music Ultra High Definition audio.
Does not support Amazon Music Ultra High Definition audio, which I confirmed with Amazon customer service. I only bought this for that one reason, as my 4K fire stick is just fine. The spec sheet states it supports ultra (well FLAC), and it did for a few days after I received it. Amazon did an update and now will only support HD, not Ultra. Makes no sense and I think they are deceitful with how they are advertising both the cube and music.

Very sad you cannot use an Amazon product to get the most out of an Amazon product! Chew on that for a minute.

Another customer Lynn E. Mclenon say Faster.
I bought this to upgrade my previous version Cube. It is easy to set up and much faster than the older version.

One problem is that you can't clear the cache on your apps. I have tried it from settings/apps and when you select it nothing happens. This needs to be fixed. I don't think you should have to uninstall and re-install your apps just to clear the cache.
Another thing I have noticed on my Samsung 4K tv is that the picture gets darker. If I go in to my TV settings I can reset it and maybe it is my tv but this never happened before I set up the new Cube.

Update: I forgot to note in my original review that I was really disappointed that this did not come with an HDMI cable.

Update 10/18/19: Amazon customer service was great and called me regarding the clear cache problem. There has been an update and it works fine now. I have changed my rating as the follow up was great and she was very helpful with any questions I had on any of my echo devices.

A review Spyke9000 said Why did they take away the UHD music support for this device?.
As a previous reviewer stated the uhd music worked for a couple days and now it's only hd quality. I would have never spent the money on this cube if I had known that. Everything else works fine, but I only bought it for the music feature. --- I received a call from an amazon cust. rep right after I posted this review and she said they are working on an update so it will play uhd music. If and when that happens is anyone's guess.----As of 12/15 the cube is once again playing uhd music at 24-bit/48khz so I bumped up my rating to 3 stars, but I would still like to see them list the cubes audio capability in the description or the specs as far as uhd music goes.---wed.,12/18, the cube is back to 16/48.

Review Paul Sisk experience Almost perfect, lacks gigabit Ethernet, otherwise excelletn choice for media consumption..
This is ALMOST perfect, IMO. I am a first gen cube user and loved the tight integration with echo built-in. I loved the cube so much it actually convinced me to cut the cord and leave cable TV altogether in favor of Playstation Vue Live TV streaming. I bought 3 of the 1st gen, one for each TV in the house, and never looked back.

Over the last year with the 1st gen model, it started to slow down as more items were installed. Not really sure why or how but it was slow and I frequently had to restart the device to get Vue working reliably. Enter this version 2 cube. Everything on it is snappy and so much more quicker than the gen 1 model ever was. I timed Vue opening on both devices and the old model took 24 seconds to get to the main screen while the new one got to the same point in less than 12 seconds flat. Awesome.

And everything from moving in the menu, going into settings, running Silk, just seems faster and more smooth.

The only negative, and to me its a big one.......It is still running Micro USB for the ethernet dongle which limts its capability to 100MBs speed! They were redoing the whole thing, new SoC, 4k, everything, and they left the maximum wired connection to 100MBs, just makes no sense to me. They could have put a USB3 or USB-C port in there and allowed a gigabit ethernet connection, removing any possibility of slow streaming. My guess is that they bet on most people using wireless which is fast and getting faster; the problem with som many wireless routers is consistent connectivity. This is why so many of us would want to go wired.

Now, to be fair, I have not experienced any delays or inconsistent wireless connections but I do this for a living and know how to setup routers to be reliable, most people don't.

The only other issue I have is when I use the Android Fire TV remote control app, i lost the volume control buttons. They are still there when i connect to the 1st gen devices but not this 2nd gen cube. In speaking with Amazon support they advised it is not a feature available on the new device (going backwards?).

Other than these drawbacks, in my opinion, the device is awesome and exactly what I was looking for in a streaming box.

Now, if they can just release a large format Fire Tablet to compete against the 12.9 iPad, I'd be happy.

My friend RJ say Had issues, but Amazon came through!.
I originally gave this a a 3 star review because of a cache clearing and playback issues, but Amazon saved the day with an update. On top of that, James from customer service called me to let me know that the issue had been fixed! I was shocked. That's awesome customer service. I was really ready to take it back to Bestbuy and give it a shot at a later date. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star review is an issue with backing out of apps and menus. I didn't notice it at first; You can navigate forward through the different apps and menus, but when you go back through the menu it goes straight to the home screen. It wasn't until I went to the 4K firestick in the bedroom that I confirmed that something was wrong. Overall this is a good product. Very quick and responsive. Lightning fast start up and menu navigation. If they fix the issue with backing out of menus and apps, I will definitely give this 5 stars. One very pleased customer. Update: got home and there was another update. 5 stars! #teamamazon

A review Dave said Currently does not work with EPB FiTv.
For some unknown reason, the new cube does not show the FiTv app necessary to install to receive the FiTv for Chattanooga, TN EPB (Gig) system.

As James tell us Ads in the screensaver now? Really Amazon?.
Ads have been added to the default amazon screensaver. The screensaver was awesome, now I have to see ads for shows I'm never going to watch while using my device I bought and the service I pay for. I have 5 Echo Dots, an Echo Auto, a Fire TV, this Fire TV Cube, and a Kindle. If this isn't fixed post-haste, I will not be buying any other Amazon products and will start replacing my Amazon devices as I can.

My friend James S. said Buyer Beware Product Doesn't Work when Account is on HOLD..
BUYER BEWARE!!!! If you have an issue with your account ( like a card expires or gets replaced) they will PUT YOUR ACCOUNT ON HOLD rendering this device completely useless. You are logged out of the device and your home screen disappears. Once you get your account issue resolved and they reinstate your account the FUN BEGINS as you now have to COMPLETELY SETUP your device as if it was brand new, including setting up your network, logging in with your username and password and then DOWNLOADING ALL THE APPS and of course having to login to those again. It's ridiculous and they DO NOT TELL YOU ANYWHERE that this can happen. Forget streaming Hulu or anything else while your account is locked. UNACCEPTABLE. And customer service doesn't care one bit.