Streaming · Review
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd gen)
The best Fire TV stick you can buy. Also the one most people don't need.
No BS summary
The 4K Max is the quickest, roomiest stick in the range - faster chip, Wi-Fi 6E, double the storage, the better remote. It's genuinely lovely to use. But it does the same core job as the cheaper 4K Plus, just a touch faster, and unless you cram it with apps or fight a congested network you'll struggle to feel the difference. Brilliant hardware, slightly hard to justify.
Score: 8/10
Kudos for
- Fastest stick in the range - menus and big libraries fly
- Wi-Fi 6E, genuinely useful on a busy network
- Double the storage of the Plus
- The better Alexa remote, with Recent and Settings buttons
- Full Fire OS: sideloading, runs everything
Dropped the ball
- Priced well above the Plus for a difference most won't feel
- Home screen still wall-to-wall Amazon adverts
- Still no Ethernet without buying an adapter
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.
What you're actually buying
The flagship stick, and on paper it's a clean sweep: the fastest processor Amazon puts in a stick, Wi-Fi 6E, and double the storage of the Plus. In use that buys you a slightly snappier interface and more headroom if you keep a stack of apps installed. Setup is the usual five-minute Amazon affair - plug into a spare HDMI, sign in, sit through the update.
The remote
I judge every streamer's remote on one thing: can you grab it off the arm of the sofa at 11pm and hit the right button without turning a light on? The Max ships the upgraded Alexa remote, and it's the best in the Fire family - the dedicated Recent and Settings buttons genuinely save faff. But it still isn't backlit and still can't page itself when it goes missing, so it only half-passes the test. For the full set of tricks - backlight, finder - you're looking at Amazon's separate Voice Remote Pro, which is daft to need to buy on top. 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
As good as a stick gets. Apps launch instantly, big libraries scroll without the judder you sometimes feel on cheaper hardware, and Wi-Fi 6E earns its keep on a busy network - on our TalkTalk gigabit line with the usual household chaos, 4K HDR held steady. The honest catch: the 4K Plus does almost all of this too, and you'd be hard pushed to spot the gap in a blind test.
The home screen
Same gripe as every Fire device: the home screen is busy with Amazon's own promos and sponsored rows, and you can't fully switch it off. The price of the low hardware cost.
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
From the Max, the one thing I'd carry over from elsewhere is the Google TV Streamer's built-in Ethernet port. The Max has the fastest wireless of any stick, but wireless is still wireless - on a really congested network a wired box wins, and the Max can only get there with a clunky adapter. Give this stick an Ethernet socket and there'd be very little reason to buy anything else.
Who should buy this
Power users and big-library hoarders. If you keep a dozen apps installed, hammer between them, and want the snappiest stick going on a congested network, the Max is the one - and the better remote is a nice daily upgrade.
Who should skip it
Most people, honestly. If you run one or two main apps and just want clean 4K, the 4K Plus does the same job for noticeably less. And if your Wi-Fi is unreliable, the money's better spent on the Google TV Streamer for its Ethernet port than on a faster stick that's still wireless.
Specs at a glance
| Resolution | 4K Ultra HD, HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Fire OS (Android-based, sideloading supported) |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos passthrough |
| Remote | Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced (Recent + Settings buttons) |
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
The best stick Amazon makes - no argument. But "best" and "the one you should buy" aren't the same thing, and for most people the cheaper Plus gets you 90% of this for a good bit less. Buy the Max if you'll genuinely use the extra speed and storage; otherwise let your wallet talk you down a model.