The Fire TV Cube is Amazon’s answer to a question most people never asked: what if your streaming stick was also a smart speaker, also a universal remote, and also the fastest box Amazon has ever made? At £139.99, it costs twice the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. After 8 months with it as my main living-room streamer, here is whether that premium is worth it, and who should just buy the stick instead.
Fire TV Cube Review: The 60-Second Answer
The Fire TV Cube (3rd gen) at £139.99 is the fastest, most capable Fire TV device you can buy. Hands-free Alexa actually works, the octa-core chip flies through menus, and the HDMI input lets it control your set-top box or console.
Buy it if your home runs on Alexa and you want one box to rule the living room. Skip it if you only stream Netflix and iPlayer: the Fire TV Stick 4K Max at £69.99 does 95% of the streaming job for half the money.
Score: 8.6 / 10 — brilliant for Alexa households, overkill for everyone else.
Fire TV Cube Price in Europe
The official price is £139.99 in the UK. In practice, Amazon discounts it relentlessly: £109.99 is common, and Prime Day and Black Friday have taken it near £90. Never pay full price. Set a price alert and wait a fortnight.
For context across the range:
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max: £69.99 (often £39.99 on sale)
- Fire TV Cube (3rd gen): £139.99 (often £109.99 on sale)
- Apple TV 4K (64GB): £199
The Cube sits awkwardly between the sticks and the Apple TV. Its real competitor is not another streamer, it is the combination of a Stick 4K Max plus an Echo Dot, which costs roughly the same on sale. The Cube wins that fight on convenience and speed, and loses it on nothing much.
Design: A Small Black Monolith
The Cube is a fabric-wrapped black box, 86mm square and 77mm tall, weighing 513g. It looks like a shrunken Echo had a child with a set-top box. There is a light bar across the front, physical buttons on top (volume, mute, action), and every port you could want around the back: HDMI 2.1 out, HDMI 2.1 in, USB-A, IR extender, Ethernet, and power.
It needs mains power and a shelf near the TV. This is not a stick you hide behind the telly. But it looks fine on a media unit, and the fabric finish hides dust well.
Speed: Twice the Stick, and It Shows
Amazon claims the Cube is twice as powerful as the Stick 4K Max, and in daily use that feels honest. The octa-core chip (4x 2.2GHz + 4x 2.0GHz) with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage makes everything snappy: apps open in a second, the home screen never stutters, and 4K streams start fast on Wi-Fi 6E.
Coming from a Stick 4K Max, the difference is most obvious in the interface. Scrolling the Fire TV home screen, which can feel heavy with ads and auto-playing trailers, stays smooth on the Cube. It is the first Fire TV device where the software never feels like it is fighting the hardware.
For gaming via Amazon Luna or Xbox Cloud Gaming, the extra headroom helps too, though this is still a streamer first and a games machine a distant second.
Hands-Free Alexa: The Reason to Buy
This is the Cube’s killer feature and the one thing no Fire TV stick can do. The built-in microphones and speaker mean you never touch the remote: “Alexa, play The Boys”, “Alexa, turn off the TV”, “Alexa, switch to HDMI 1”. It works from across the room, even with the TV playing, and it is genuinely transformative once you trust it.
Beyond streaming, it is a full Echo smart speaker. Timers, weather, smart-home control, music through your soundbar, all hands-free. If you were going to buy an Echo Dot (£54.99) anyway, the Cube effectively costs you £85 as a streamer, which reframes the value completely.
The HDMI input is the sleeper feature. Plug in a Sky box, a console, or a Blu-ray player, and the Cube can switch inputs and control them by voice. “Alexa, tune to Sky Sports” actually works. Cable-cutters will not care. Anyone still nursing a set-top box will love it.
Picture and Sound Quality
The Cube supports everything: 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Atmos with 7.1 passthrough. On a decent 4K TV, films look superb, matching the Stick 4K Max frame for frame. There is no picture-quality advantage over the Max; you are paying for speed and smarts, not better pixels.
Audio passthrough to a soundbar or AV receiver is clean, and the Ethernet port (10/100 Mbps) gives you a stable wired option that the sticks lack without an adapter. For 4K Dolby Vision streaming, wired is still king if your router is far from the TV.
Winner vs the Stick 4K Max on picture: a draw. Identical formats, identical quality. Buy the Cube for everything around the picture, not the picture itself.
Fire TV Cube vs Fire TV Stick 4K Max
This is the comparison everyone actually wants. Here it is, head to head:
| Spec | Fire TV Cube (3rd gen) | Fire TV Stick 4K Max |
|---|---|---|
| UK price | £139.99 | £69.99 |
| Typical sale price | ~£109.99 | ~£39.99 |
| Processor | Octa-core 2.2GHz | Quad-core 2.0GHz |
| RAM / Storage | 2GB / 16GB | 2GB / 16GB |
| 4K / Dolby Vision | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Ethernet | Built in | Adapter needed |
| Hands-free Alexa | Yes | No |
| HDMI input | Yes | No |
| Smart speaker | Full Echo built in | No |
| Form factor | Box (mains, shelf) | Stick (hides behind TV) |
| Best for | Alexa smart homes | Pure streaming value |
The honest summary: for watching things, they are near identical. The Cube’s £70 premium buys you hands-free voice, device control, and speed. If those three words do not excite you, buy the Max and spend the difference on a year of a streaming service. My full Fire TV Stick 4K Max review has the details, and the 4K vs 4K Max comparison covers the stick range.
Fire TV Cube: Pros and Cons
✔ What I like
- Fastest Fire TV ever, menus never stutter
- Hands-free Alexa genuinely changes daily use
- HDMI input controls your set-top box by voice
- Full Echo smart speaker built in
- Ethernet port, no adapter needed
- 16GB storage, plenty of room for apps
✘ What I don’t
- £139.99 is steep, double the Stick 4K Max
- No better picture than the £69.99 Max
- Fire TV interface still pushes Amazon content hard
- Needs a shelf and mains power, no hiding it
- Far-field mics suffer inside closed cabinets
Fire TV Cube in Europe: What to Know
- Availability: sold officially in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy via Amazon. Other EU countries can usually order from amazon.de with delivery.
- Apps: the full UK catch-up lineup works (iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5), plus all the global services. Some smaller local apps vary by country.
- Alexa in your language: hands-free Alexa supports English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Smaller EU languages may have limited voice features.
- Deals: never pay £139.99. Prime Day, Black Friday, and random fortnightly sales routinely drop it to £109.99 or less.
Fire TV Cube: Your Questions Answered
Is the Fire TV Cube worth it in 2026?
For Alexa smart-home households, yes. Hands-free voice control, device control via HDMI input, and the fastest Fire TV performance justify it, especially on sale around £110. For pure streaming, the Stick 4K Max does the same job for half the price.
Fire TV Cube vs Fire TV Stick 4K Max: which should I buy?
Buy the Cube if you want hands-free Alexa, smart-home control, and the fastest menus. Buy the Stick 4K Max if you just want great 4K streaming: same picture formats, same apps, £70 cheaper.
Does the Fire TV Cube work without Alexa?
Yes. The included Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced works like any streamer remote, and you can mute the microphones entirely. But you would be paying a premium for features you are not using.
Can the Fire TV Cube control my Sky box / set-top box?
Yes, via the HDMI input plus IR blaster. You can switch inputs and change channels by voice. Setup takes a few minutes and works with most major set-top boxes.
Is the Fire TV Cube better than Apple TV 4K?
Different strengths. The Cube wins on hands-free voice and smart-home integration at £140 vs £199. The Apple TV 4K wins on raw speed, polish, and Apple ecosystem features. See my Roku vs Apple TV and Fire TV vs Apple TV comparisons for the wider picture.
Does the Fire TV Cube support Dolby Vision and Atmos?
Yes. 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Atmos passthrough, identical to the Stick 4K Max.
Can I use the Fire TV Cube as just an Echo speaker?
Yes, it is a full Echo device. Music, timers, smart-home control, and routines all work, with audio through your TV sound system, which sounds far better than any Echo Dot.
When is the best time to buy a Fire TV Cube?
Prime Day (July) and Black Friday (November) bring the biggest discounts, often to £89-£99. Avoid paying the £139.99 RRP.
Related Guides
- 👉 Fire TV Stick 4K Max Review
- 👉 Fire TV Stick 4K vs 4K Max
- 👉 Best Fire TV Devices in Europe
- 👉 Fix Fire TV Buffering Issues
- 👉 Roku vs Apple TV: Which Is Better?
Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Fire TV Cube?
After 8 months, the Cube has earned its shelf space in my living room, but I am under no illusion about who it is for. If Alexa runs your home, if you like talking to your TV, if you have a set-top box gathering dust that you wish would just obey your voice, the Cube is the best Fire TV ever made and worth every penny of its sale price.
If none of that applies, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the smarter buy. Same picture, same apps, half the money, and it hides behind your TV.
My final word: wait for a sale, pay around £110, and only if you will actually use the voice. Otherwise, buy the Max.
Score: 8.6 / 10
