Amazon quietly dropped the Fire TV Cube just hours after Apple unveiled the second-generation Apple TV 4K, including pricing and availability in India. The product is referred to as the second-generation Fire TV Cube in the press release (and on Amazon India, where it is now listed), which is right, but it does not mention that the product was first released in 2019, so it is arriving in India nearly two years after its global debut. In India, the first-generation Fire TV Cube was never released.
Amazon is, as expected, undercutting Apple on price. In India, the Fire TV Cube costs Rs 12,999 and comes with several accessories, including an Ethernet adapter, a third-generation Alexa voice remote, and an IR extender cable, but no HDMI cable (for some curious reason). As an introductory deal, Amazon says it will provide one for free with the device. It will be available from Amazon India’s website as well as select Croma and Reliance outlets starting today. The Apple TV 4K will be available in the second half of May for Rs 18,990 for a 32GB model and Rs 20,990 for a 64GB model, with pre-orders starting on April 30.
So, what exactly is the Amazon Fire TV Cube? It combines three devices into one: a streaming media player, an Alexa smart speaker, and a universal remote for controlling other devices. It has a 6-core MediaTek processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage, and it comes pre-loaded with the new Fire TV UI. It’s Amazon’s fastest and most powerful Fire TV yet. It’s also the most expensive Fire TV the company has ever produced.
Returning to simplicity, it can display content in 4K, 1080p, and 720p at 60 frames per second (fps). It supports common HDR codecs, including Dolby Vision (which was one of the product’s main selling points at launch since the first-generation model didn’t), and it can also do Dolby Atmos. The Apple TV 4K’s faster A12 Bionic processor, on the other hand, enables it to play high-frame-rate HDR video and 60fps Dolby Vision over AirPlay, which is its key selling point.
The Fire TV Cube, on the other hand, makes a powerful comeback with eight microphones for far-field voice control and the ability to control IR-enabled devices such as TVs, soundbars, cable, and satellite boxes.
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