Streaming · Review
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd gen)
The most powerful Fire TV, with proper hands-free Alexa baked in - if you can forgive its age.
No BS summary
The premium Fire TV: the fastest chip in the family, full Fire OS with sideloading, a built-in Ethernet port, and an Echo speaker inside so you can drive it hands-free by voice. It runs everything smoothly. The catch is that it launched back in 2022, so you're paying flagship money for silicon that's a few years old. The reason to buy it isn't streaming speed - a stick does that for less - it's the hands-free Alexa and the speaker.
Score: 8/10
Kudos for
- Most powerful Fire TV - runs everything smoothly
- Full Fire OS with sideloading
- Built-in Ethernet port (the sticks won't give you that)
- Hands-free Alexa and a real speaker inside
Dropped the ball
- 2022 silicon at a 2026 price
- Pricey next to a stick that streams just as well
- A box to find a shelf for, not a stick to hide
The same on every Fire TV · skip if you've read it before
Fire OS vs Vega OS: the one rule that decides everything
Amazon's Fire TV range splits across two operating systems, and it matters more than the price. Fire OS (the 4K Plus and 4K Max) is Android-based and allows sideloading - installing apps from outside Amazon's store, like Kodi, Jellyfin or emulators. Vega OS (the cheaper 4K Select and HD) is locked to about 3,000 approved apps with no sideloading at all. If anything in your setup lives outside Amazon's store, a Vega OS device can't run it - we flag which side each model sits on in the verdict above.
Good news for the Cube: it's firmly a Fire OS device, the most powerful one, so it runs the lot and faster than any stick.
What you're actually buying
Power and convenience, mostly the convenience. As a streamer it's lovely but a 4K Max gets you 95% of the experience for a lot less. What the Max can't do is sit there as an Echo, answer "Alexa, play..." from across the room, and pipe sound through its own speaker. It also quietly fixes the sticks' biggest weakness with a built-in Ethernet port - plug it into the router and buffering stops being a conversation.
The remote
The 11pm test - find it in the dark, hit the right button? The Cube ships the better Alexa remote (the one with Recent and Settings buttons), but here's the twist: it's the only device on this whole site you don't have to find in the dark at all. Just talk to it. Hands-free voice means the remote becomes optional, which is the most elegant pass of the test anyone manages. And the usual bugbear: the hardwired app-shortcut buttons (Netflix, Prime and the like) are far too easy to knock by accident and bump you clean out of whatever is playing - some people love the one-press access, I would happily bin them.
Performance in normal use
The smoothest Fire TV, full stop. Menus never hesitate, big libraries scroll cleanly, and wired over Ethernet on our TalkTalk gigabit line it was rock solid with 4K HDR. The hardware's age shows on paper more than in use - for everyday streaming you won't feel 2022.
The home screen
Same Fire OS gripe: Amazon's promos and sponsored rows are baked into the home screen and you can't fully banish them. The price of the ecosystem.
Which - yes - we appreciate the irony of pointing out. This site doesn't do that to you: no pop-ups, no auto-playing video, no boxes sliding over the words. Anyway, back to it.
What's missing
Honestly, not much - the Cube already has the Ethernet port the sticks lack. If anything, I'd just want newer silicon inside the same shell. It's the one Fire device that doesn't really envy the others; it's more that the others envy its Ethernet and its voice.
Who should buy this
Smart-home and Alexa people. If you want a streamer that doubles as a hands-free assistant and a speaker - and you'll actually use the voice - the Cube is genuinely lovely and the Ethernet port is a real bonus.
Who should skip it
Anyone who just wants to stream. If the voice and speaker don't move you, a 4K Max streams every bit as well for much less, and a Google TV Streamer gives you the Ethernet stability without the Cube's price or its age.
Specs at a glance
| Resolution | 4K Ultra HD, HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Fire OS (Android-based, sideloading supported) |
| Network | Wi-Fi 6E + built-in Ethernet port |
| Voice | Hands-free Alexa, built-in speaker |
| Remote | Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced |
Where to buy
Pick your country. We may earn a small commission on some links once our affiliate programmes are approved - you pay the same.
| UK | Amazon UK · Currys |
|---|---|
| US | Amazon US · Best Buy |
| CA | Amazon CA · Best Buy CA |
Links go live as each affiliate programme is approved.
Final word
A lovely device sold at an awkward price for ageing hardware. Buy the Cube for the hands-free voice and the speaker - that's what you're actually paying for, and it's genuinely good. If you only care about streaming, your money goes further on a stick or the Google box.