The Fire TV Cube (2022) sports an updated design, but is there more than just a visual change? Here's how it differs from the 2019 model.
Amazon's Fire TV Cube has received another refresh that brings a design upgrade and new features, but how does it compare to the Fire TV Cube (2019)? The Fire TV Cube sits at the top of Amazon's Fire TV streaming device lineup. First announced in 2018, the Fire TV Cube is not only a media streamer but also doubles up as a smart speaker.
It has far-field microphones that can pick up voice commands from across the room and a speaker for audio feedback. It also has an infrared blaster that allows it to control non-smart home devices with an IR receiver, just like the Google Assistant-powered Xiaomi Smart Speaker IR Control. Users can use this feature to turn on compatible TVs, soundbars, and cable boxes, switch stations or HDMI inputs, or adjust the volume of the said device.
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The Fire TV Cube (2022), like its predecessors, is dimensionally not a cube as all its sides are not equal. However, it is slightly smaller at 3.38 × 3.38 × 2.99 inches compared to the 2019 model which measures 3.4 × 3.4 × 3.0 inches. The biggest change is the design. Rather than glossy sides, the 3rd generation Fire TV Cube is wrapped in a mesh fabric that makes it look like a speaker. There are still four buttons on top of the device, but they are not recessed. It also appears to have fewer microphones on the top, but there could be more hidden behind the mesh fabric. Nevertheless, it still retains the light strip from the Fire TV Cube (2019) that provides visual feedback.
The differences pick up at the back of the streamer where the ports are. Unlike the Fire TV Cube (2019) which has just four ports (Micro USB, Infrared extender, HDMI output, and power), the Fire TV Cube (2022) has six ports. In addition to power, HDMI output, and the IR extender, the new Fire TV Cube has Ethernet, a USB-A port, and an HDMI input port. The USB-A port is for connecting peripherals such as webcams while the HDMI input port allows users to connect their cable box or game console directly to the Fire TV Cube. The addition of the Ethernet port means there's no need for the Micro USB-to-Ethernet adapter, so users won't find this in the box.
There are big changes on the inside too. The Fire TV Cube (2022) has an octa-core chipset with four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four cores at 2.0GHz. It also has a GPU clocked at 800MHz which Amazon says makes it ready for its Luna cloud gaming service. Amazon claims that the new chip makes the Fire TV Cube twice as powerful as the Fire TV Stick 4K Max which has a quad-core CPU, and 20 percent more powerful than the Fire TV Cube (2019) which has a hexa-core CPU. RAM and storage have not changed though, so users still get 2GB and 16GB respectively. The Fire TV Cube (2022) has Bluetooth 5.0 + LE and is the first streaming device with support for Wi-Fi 6E.
The Fire TV Cube (2022) supports 4K Ultra HD, HDR, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos audio. Amazon doesn't include the IR extender cable in the box, and like the previous generation, it doesn't come with an HDMI cable. Like most of Amazon's hardware refreshes this year, the new streaming device costs more at $139.99 compared to the 2019 model which launched at $119.99. Despite the high price, the new Fire TV Cube doesn't come with the new Alexa Voice Remote Pro, but the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.
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Habeeb has years of experience covering consumer technology and has written for multiple publications. As a Senior Writer at Screen Rant, he enjoys writing about wearables, smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks. Several of his articles include guides and comparisons that help users get the best out of their devices or choose the one that bests suits them. When he's not writing, he's catching up on the latest TV shows. He considers The Crown as peak drama and Castlevania as one of the best game-to-screen adaptations. And on days when there is nothing to watch (is that even possible?), he sneaks in a few hours of games on his PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.