4K-CAPABLE STREAMERS
Add extra capabilities to any TV – or just make things nice and consistent
Add smart extras and great shows to your TV
Amazon Fire TV stick 4K
£44.99 FROM amazon.com SPECS alexa voice remote, HDR, HdR10+
Our first reaction to the Fire TV 4K was surprise: it’s super slick, with a quick setup pulled off entirely on the TV (as long as you have an existing Amazon account) and a massive amount of streaming app compatibility. Its abilities even extend as far as games, with titles like Asphalt 8 entirely playable through its awkward remote control.
It’s not all roses – the integrated Alexa assistant is finicky and doesn’t seem to like playing with apps like Plex, its screen mirroring function doesn’t work with iOS or MACOS, and digging down through content categories is infuriatingly difficult – but the overall experience of using the Fire is highly pleasant and, as a standalone device, its neat remote makes it a great way to smarten up a dumb TV.
Roku streaming stick+
£59.99 FROM roku.com SPECS Remote, HDR, HdR10
Close in physical stature to the Amazon Fire TV 4K (but lacking its short HDMI extension cable, meaning this will jut out of the back or side of your TV awkwardly unless you supply your own), the remotetoting Roku is similar in features, simple to set up, and straightforward to get streaming on – and its independent nature means it might well have the most wide-ranging app support, too. It’s unfussy, and we appreciate the generally calm interface, which keeps all the services separate and easy to access.
You can also use it in a similar manner to a Chromecast; if your phone app supports it, you can cast content straight to the Roku without needing to use its interface. That’s a plus, but it does feel less luxurious than the Fire TV 4K.
Google Chromecast ultra
£69 From store.google.com Specs Wireless only, HDR
While the other two units here add smart (or perhaps smarter) features to your TV, the Chromecast reroutes those smarts to add them to your phone or web browser instead. There’s no included remote control, and no hosting apps on the device itself: the Chromecast is simply a conduit for your media. That means you won’t have to deal with any awkward or inconsistent on-board apps, but it does push the problem to your phone.
Many apps are happy to stream to a Chromecast, some (including Apple TV, at present) are not. For those that do work, the Chromecast is a quick and easy way to beam content to a TV, and this latest model adds an extra lick of speed as well as upping the resolution. It’s simple, reliable, and instant.