![]() I've used the Echo and the Dot before, albeit sparingly, so I wasn't initially sure I'd use the Cube's remote mic or on-set microphones as much as I just clicked around with the remote. I barely use voice commands in my day-to-day life for anything, and I don't have any smart home stuff at home. Naturally, Prime Video content is pretty prioritized. The Fire TV Cube's software is laid out in a TV-screen-friendly manner, with big clickable tiles. Of course, as soon as I could, I abandoned the remote's buttons to use voice commands. The circle-pad navigator on the remote is precise and easy to use, and plugging in my passwords for my WiFi and Amazon accounts was surprisingly painless. I had to re-pair the Cube's remote with the device and reboot once after it froze on the location selection screen, but after that (and a quick remote update), I was ready to roll. Naturally, you'll be prompted to sign into your Amazon account and add a few apps to the pre-installed selection. You can certainly fiddle with the adapters and such if you need to, but all you need to do is plug the Cube into the wall and grab an HDMI cable to plug it into your TV (I stole our Nintendo Switch's HDMI cable-I'm-a sorry, Green Mario). Setting up and getting down to business (re: streaming Netflix et al) via the new Fire TV Cube is an easy as peanuts process. A quick, clean, intuitive streaming solution The Cube is as monolithic as you'd expect, save its four top-mounted buttons, rear inputs, and a thin LED strip along the front top corner that lights up in a shade of blue during voice use, in the familiar fashion of other Amazon devices like the Echo. All your cables and adapters say "Amazon" prominently, and are of a matching matte black aesthetic. ![]() The included remote is about as minimalist as the Cube itself, featuring a few key buttons in a matching white-on-black aesthetic.įrom the Cube, to its accessories and remote, the design/materials of everything here feels as premium as it can for a device like this. Perhaps Amazon is hoping you'll steal the old one from your previous, worse streaming device. While a lot of people have these laying around these days, it's worth making note of. like a pro, you aren't getting an HDMI cable to run it to your TV. Note that while you're getting almost everything you need to use the Fire TV Cube 2nd gen. The bottom of the cube features a speaker that fires into the tabletop surface, and 'round back you'll find all your inputs: a mini USB input for the ethernet adapter, an input for the included IR extender cable, an HDMI out, and the power port. The top of the cube is dotted with microphones to make far-field voice commands possible, and four cardinally oriented buttons for power, volume control, and turning the microphones on/off (useful if, for example, you have a family member named Alexa-or you're just anxious about Amazon listening in on your conversations). ![]() In any case, it's an aesthetic that's inherently pleasing, if only for its symmetry. The top of the Cube features embedded far-field microphones, control buttons, and the familiar "Alexa" strip. The monolithic Fire TV Cube presents a pleasing symmetrical aesthetic. I like to think at some point in Amazon's product design division, after the moderate success of the Fire TV Stick, somebody was like, "Alright, how do we make a big standalone box? Well, no one's done a cube yet." And voila, the Fire TV Cube was born. From the tiny Roku stick to the humongous Xbox One, we have a plethora of ways to watch Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and YouTube-amongst many other things. There's something altogether pleasing about the Cube's designĭevices that stream media to your TV come in many shapes and sizes. Now that you've got a solid understanding of what this device is and what it's supposed to do, let's talk about how it actually works. While you could do technically achieve this via separate Echo and Fire TV devices, this is a more affordable way to do it, and also gets you the IR extender and HDMI-CEC abilities. Note that there's no HDMI cable included.Įssentially, the Cube acts like a Fire TV Stick and an Amazon Echo speaker in one, able to take your voice commands and immediately control your TV. In the box, you'll get the Cube itself (pictured: the back, with power, IR extender, USB, and HDMI ports), an ethernet adapter, an IR extender, and a power cable.
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