Amazon Fire TV Stick HD review: A great streamer for older TVs

Telegraph

21-03-2025

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What is the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD?
The term smart TV is something of a misnomer these days, as it's hard to buy a television without smart features. Despite this, streaming devices – which started off as a way to make normal TVs smarter – have proven rather successful and none more so than Amazon's Fire TV Stick.
To get one thing out of the way, the 2024 Fire TV Stick HD isn't as new as it appears. If you look at Amazon's own specs comparison chart, it's the same hardware as in the 2020 Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite, right down to the processor and memory.
It's a process of rebranding and simplifying a complicated lineup and all you really need to know is that the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is now Amazon's entry-level TV streaming stick. If you own either of the 2020 TV Sticks, there's no need to upgrade, unless you're a sucker for new packaging.
If you want to add features to an old non-4K TV, however, it's hard to argue with the value that Amazon offers with the Fire TV Stick HD. For £39.99, you can add the likes of Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Prime Video, Now TV, BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus to your set, with support for HDR and an Alexa-enabled remote for finding content with your voice. That's a pretty compelling offer, even if selling the product as something new and exciting is a touch disingenuous.
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How we test streaming devices
The only way to test streaming devices is to plug them in and use them to stream the best TV shows. Rather than getting lost in the plot, however, we're diligently taking mental notes on everything from ease of setup to the range of supported apps and looking out for glaring omissions. If there are voice controls, we test them too, assessing not only what they can do, but how well they understand us.
Crucially, with most TVs now having built-in apps, we want to see an improved experience on dedicated hardware, whether it's in speed, usability or app availability. With the best streaming devices selling for under £40, we also consider relative value.
As for my qualifications, I've been reviewing consumer technology for over a decade, so have plenty of experience assessing the merits of a full range of streaming devices.
Design and setup: 9/10
With Fire TV, Amazon has adopted a say-what-you-see approach. While the Fire TV Cube is a cube, the Fire TV Stick HD is a rigid rectangle that you plug directly into a spare HDMI port on your television. It is, quite literally, a stick.
Sadly, it's not quite as simple as that. It requires more power than can be drawn from HDMI itself, so has a Micro-USB connection for power. A cable and plug is supplied and you'll need to use the latter, as the USB port on your TV won't have the power this device needs.
The Fire TV Stick HD is not much to look at and the stick shape has a rather long profile if you've wall-mounted your TV. But there is an extender cable in the box, if you need flexibility in how you connect the stick to your TV.
Amazon has made a virtue of easy set-up processes and it's the same story here. Once plugged in, the TV will guide you through the process of connecting to Wi-Fi and logging in. It will even update it to the latest version and help you find popular apps you might enjoy, making the setup process a doddle.
Connectivity: 7/10
The only physical connection on the Fire TV Stick HD is the Micro-USB port used for power. Given that USB-C has been available for over a decade now, Fire TV still using Micro-USB in 2025 is a bit of a head scratcher, but it's not a problem when Amazon provides the cable in the box and all you use it for is power.
The lack of an Ethernet port means you'll be relying on Wi-Fi, although you can buy an Ethernet adapter if you'd rather have a wired connection. The Fire TV Stick HD supports Wi-Fi 5, a slightly older standard than you'll find on the Fire TV Stick 4K or 4K Max models. In reality, this doesn't make a huge difference so long as you have good strong Wi-Fi at home.
It also supports Bluetooth to connect to speakers, headphones and video game controllers, should you want to explore the app library beyond streaming.
Because the remote has Alexa built-in, you can also use the Fire TV Stick HD to control elements of your smart home, in the same way you would via an Amazon Echo. In other words, you can use the same voice commands to control your smart lights and plugs and even bring up a live link to your Ring Video Doorbell if you have one.
This is a useful feature, but because the Fire TV Stick's Alexa implementation is triggered via a button on the remote rather than a wake word, it's not always listening like the Echo speakers are. There are pros and cons to this, but it does mean it's only useful for smart controls when you're in front of the TV.
Usability and features: 7/10
The biggest downside of the Fire TV Stick HD is right there in the name: it only offers HD, or high definition, picture quality. That means it can only give you HD pictures and no more. In a world where many people have a 4K TV, with 2160p resolution, that's a clear drawback, as this model of the Fire TV Stick won't be able to deliver all the picture detail that 4K offers.
It's true that for an older or smaller TV that only supports HD or 1080p resolution, you're missing nothing at all. But it does offer support for high dynamic range (HDR) formats including HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. If your TV supports those features (and some small televisions do support HDR), then you'll get better quality pictures as a result.
It also supports Dolby Digital audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, which can provide more immersive soundtracks, so long as you have speakers or a soundbar to support it.
I tried the Fire TV Stick HD on both a 65-inch 4K TV and an older 43-inch HD model with no native smart features. Picture quality was good on both, with no noticeable judder on a fast internet connection. But on the 4K TV – an LG OLED model – I could see that it wasn't as high quality as you'd get from the Fire TV Stick 4K.
The processor in the Fire TV Stick HD is showing its age and while using it is generally smooth enough, occasional slowdown while navigating the menus is noticeable. Crucially, that's only an issue when looking for content, rather than playing it and it's still a smoother and more responsive experience than many TVs' built-in software.
The Fire TV Stick HD has 8GB of onboard storage, which is the same as the 4K model. Given it's not designed to run your video files directly from the Stick, this is plenty, as streaming apps don't take up too much space. You're only likely to run into problems if you decide to explore the Amazon app store's collection of apps and games.
Voice controls: 8/10
The Fire TV Stick HD remote is comfortable and easy to navigate via the buttons and circular navigation pad, but the addition of Alexa voice controls is very nice indeed. Holding down the blue microphone button at the top will have the remote control listening and you can quickly use that for all kinds of things.
Some of these are worse than using the buttons: pausing a movie, for example, requires one press of a button on the remote, as opposed to holding down the Alexa button and then giving spoken instructions.
But others are definitely better with Alexa. Rather than navigating all the menus looking for something you might enjoy, you can just ask Alexa to show you freshly added movies or TV shows, or even to highlight content featuring a specific actor. That sure beats painstakingly typing 'Zach Galifianakis' with an on-screen keyboard.
It's not perfect, though. As an example, it managed to find Tom Hanks films and correctly located Arrested Development on Netflix but it stumbled when I asked about who's in the show, unaccountably informing me of films at local cinemas instead.
To be fair, this isn't in the list of supported commands, but it highlights the limits of Alexa: it works brilliantly without you having to look up phrases to try, until it doesn't. Indeed, 'open NowTV' brought up three unrelated apps: AgNow TV for agricultural news, RightNowTV and Faith Life Now. That's baffling when NowTV was already installed on my Stick.
Apps and streaming services: 9/10
The range of streaming options on the Fire TV Stick HD is extensive and you're unlikely to be left disappointed unless there's something obscure that you're looking for.
BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITVX, Channel 5, YouTube, Disney Plus, Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus, Now TV and more are all available to install. The only absence I could see was Google Play Movies and TV, but you can play content purchased there through the YouTube app, so you're not missing anything.
Of course, for Amazon, the main event is its own Prime Video service. That's the only bugbear you can have with Fire TV as a platform in 2025: the whole interface is set up to serve up Amazon's own content with rows and rows of Prime Video shows.
Other apps, though searchable via the Alexa voice remote, don't get the same level of promotion, making something powered by the more platform-agnostic Google TV better for those who subscribe to multiple streamers and want some guidance over what to watch.
Technical specifications:
The obvious comparison point for the Fire TV Stick HD is Amazon's own Fire TV Stick 4K. Should you fork out for 4K?
Naturally, the biggest difference is its ability to output content at 2160p resolution, though it also offers 7.1 surround sound, Dolby Vision, support for Wi-Fi 6, a faster processor and more RAM. It's £20 more, but is worth it if you have a TV with a 4K screen.
Telegraph verdict: 8/10
Judged on its own terms, it's hard to fault the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. Even if it is the same hardware from 2020 which means it could be snappier in use, in terms of content and usability, it doesn't put a foot wrong.
The sheen only comes off when you look at the wider picture. The 4K version is only £20 more and adds support for Dolby Vision and the faster Wi-Fi 6 standard. If you're looking for a streamer for an HD TV, then this is a great product to go for, but it simply doesn't make sense to cut this corner if you have a 4K TV like the vast majority of televisions that will be sold in 2025.
FAQs
What apps are available?
The Fire TV Stick has over 20,000 apps and games available to download of variable quality.
Suffice it to say that includes all the television big hitters you'd expect, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Now TV, Paramount Plus and many more. It also includes music players like Spotify.
Can you use the Fire TV Stick HD without an Amazon account?
No. An Amazon account is required to set up the Fire TV Stick, though you don't need Prime or a subscription to Prime Video.
Does the Fire TV Stick HD support Alexa voice commands?
Yes, you can use Alexa to search for shows and launch them via the Alexa Voice Remote. Just press the blue microphone button and Alexa will listen.
What internet speed is required for the Fire TV Stick HD?
Amazon doesn't specify a minimum connection speed for its Fire TV Stick HD, though it recommends at least 15Mbps for the 4K model. The general consensus is that users will need speeds of at least 5Mbps to make using the HD version a smooth experience.
Does the Amazon remote replace my TV remote?