Amazon Fire Stick 4K (Max

The Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max is the quickest stick Amazon put in this shape. A 1.8 GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of DDR4 memory and Wi-Fi 6, driving 4K at up to 60 frames a second with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG, and Dolby Atmos passed through.

• Wi-Fi 6 is the reason to buy the Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max
• AV1 decoding, which matters more each year
• A camera on the screen without pausing the film
• The remote has app shortcut buttons
• Which of the two 4K sticks

Wi-Fi 6 is the reason to buy the Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max

Not the processor, though it is quicker. On a router that supports Wi-Fi 6, the stick stops queuing behind every phone, laptop and camera in the house for airtime. That contention is the actual cause of a 4K stream that plays perfectly at ten in the morning and stutters at eight in the evening, and no amount of processor speed fixes it. If your router is Wi-Fi 6, this is the stick. If it is not, the difference is much smaller and the plain 4K is the sensible buy.

AV1 decoding, which matters more each year

AV1 is the codec the streaming services are moving to, because it delivers the same picture over less bandwidth. A stick that decodes it in hardware will keep working well as more services switch; one that does not has to fall back to older, heavier streams. On a connection that is not unlimited, that is a real cost difference rather than a specification line.

A camera on the screen without pausing the film

Ask Alexa to show a compatible camera and the feed appears picture in picture over whatever you are watching. So somebody at the gate does not mean pausing, getting up and finding a phone. In a house with a camera at the entrance, this turns out to be the feature people use most often and mention least.

The remote has app shortcut buttons

Alongside the power, volume and mute keys for the television, there are direct buttons for services, so a subscription is one press away rather than three menus deep. It also carries native USB OTG support and 2 GB of DDR4, twice the memory of the standard 4K stick.

Which of the two 4K sticks

Check your router first. Wi-Fi 6, sometimes badged 802.11ax, is on the label or in the router admin page. With it, take this one. Without it, the Fire Stick 4K costs less and gives you the same picture. On a 1080p television neither is right and the Amazon Fire Stick is the answer.

You need a spare HDMI port, Wi-Fi and an Amazon account. The adapter, the HDMI extender and two AAA batteries are in the box. Wikipedia explains Wi-Fi 6 and why contention is the problem it solves.