Apple TV 4K gen4 vs amazon fire tv 4k?

[kofman13]

Heavy apple user here. Macbook, iphone, ipad, apple watch, airpods. Also have a 4K tv but i use chrome cast with it. I have my gripes with chrome cast and I want to get a dedicated streaming box. My first idea was the latest apple tv 4k gen 4 since it i am in the eco system already and can use my airpods with it which is a huge plus.

I looked on the apple website list of supported apps and services with apple tv and it has support for every service i would use and then some.

But then there is Amazon 4K fire tv that some people recommended over apple tv and said apple tv had "limitations". I know the fire tv is only $70 and apple tv is $179 ( i dont care about the price difference as my limit for a device like this was 200$), besides price does amazon fire tv 4k have any pros that make it better than the apple tv? Money isnt the issue i just want to see if i am missing out on anything with apple tV.

EDIT: i just read i can install any 3rd party android app on amazon tv including movie streaming like kodi and torrents but that doesnt interest me much i think..

 

[Closingracer]

Tbh I prefer the Apple TV interface which is why I got thr 4k apple TV. Unless you have a lot of paramount and I think MGM (not sure on that but isn't it owned by Sony?) which are not included in the movies anywhere service you'll be better off saving the money with an Amazon TV Tbh. The only other reason would be if you want to mirror your phone, iPad or MacBook.

 

[cynics]

Heavy apple user here. Macbook, iphone, ipad, apple watch, airpods.

Get the AppleTV.

The AppleTV will compliment your other devices. You can quickly set the AirPods (and other W1 devices) as the audio source, you can mirror the MacBook, iPhone and iPad to the AppleTV. Sync and extend your current apps. Etc.

With my limited experience with the Fire TV its a fine product but for someone heavily into the Apple ecosystem the AppleTV fits better.

 

[jacmeister]

Heavy apple user here. Macbook, iphone, ipad, apple watch, airpods. Also have a 4K tv but i use chrome cast with it. I have my gripes with chrome cast and I want to get a dedicated streaming box. My first idea was the latest apple tv 4k gen 4 since it i am in the eco system already and can use my airpods with it which is a huge plus.

I looked on the apple website list of supported apps and services with apple tv and it has support for every service i would use and then some.

But then there is Amazon 4K fire tv that some people recommended over apple tv and said apple tv had "limitations". I know the fire tv is only $70 and apple tv is $179 ( i dont care about the price difference as my limit for a device like this was 200$), besides price does amazon fire tv 4k have any pros that make it better than the apple tv? Money isnt the issue i just want to see if i am missing out on anything with apple tV.

EDIT: i just read i can install any 3rd party android app on amazon tv including movie streaming like kodi and torrents but that doesnt interest me much i think..

Get the AppleTV.

The AppleTV will compliment your other devices. You can quickly set the AirPods (and other W1 devices) as the audio source, you can mirror the MacBook, iPhone and iPad to the AppleTV. Sync and extend your current apps. Etc.

With my limited experience with the Fire TV its a fine product but for someone heavily into the Apple ecosystem the AppleTV fits better.

I currently own both and yes the amazon fire 4k is cheaper however the interface isn't very good but the most important thing for me was content.The amazon store is very limited with 4k releases and rentals but the Apple Store has many more to choose from and they also upgrade your existing HD purchases to 4K free of charge.

Been much happier with the Apple TV

 

[Phil in ocala]

I currently own both and yes the amazon fire 4k is cheaper however the interface isn't very good but the most important thing for me was content.The amazon store is very limited with 4k releases and rentals but the Apple Store has many more to choose from and they also upgrade your existing HD purchases to 4K free of charge.
?????????
I have two firesticks...neither can find the wifi network despite the booster for WIFI
worked find for about 5 months now....worthless.
Been much happier with the Apple TV

 

[ajohansson]

Get a roku ultra or stick plus. Keep itunes and use plex.

Believe me i have 7 apple tv3s and now a piece of crap apple tv4.

Kodi is dead lets just deal
With that. If you want to torrent just do that and add the movies to itunes. But kodi is a royal pita and the sites go down all the time. Not worth the hassle.

So just get a roku and call it good. If you have a huge catalog of itunes purchased movies either rip off the drm and use plex or use https://moviesanywhere.com/welcome

Apple tvs are for airplay at this point. I love apple products but itunes home sharing has failed. My atv4 sucked as a homekit hub. Im using a 6 year old ipad mini for homekit thats flawless now.

Apple get your crap together and fix homesharing. And im sure you could have added some searh function on atv3 but nope had to sell me an atv4. So glad i found roku and plex.

 

[Macalicious2011]

With the Amazon app now on ATV and integrated into the TV app, the ATV at twice the money is good value as it offers a lot more than the Fire TV. Amazon's catalogue of 4K movies is tiny compared with Apples. That is to me the biggest advantage of the ATV.

An added bonus is that if you have an Android phone, you can now cast YouTube videos to the ATV.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

In both <other product> vs. TV threads you've started, the ONLY thing you seem to write favoring the other product is price, followed by you claiming to not care about price. Apparently, you already own a Chromecast, so adding an TV just brings TV features & benefits. Apparently, you'd have to buy this Amazon Fire product so this one seems more of a head-to-head purchase decision... but again, you also write that you are Apple everything and don't care about price.

What's the holdup? Buy one. Try it for up to 13 days. Return it if you don't think it's worth the price.

In spite of saying that price doesn't matter, since it seems to matter, take advantage of the DirecTV deal to get a new one for a little more than $100.

Or, if you are really hung up on price, there's always the FireStick for about $30. Maybe both? TV + FireStick?

If you don't want the DirecTV deal, refurb TV + FireStick?

This crowd is always going to be very biased to the Apple <anything> vs. any competitor thing. So it's practically impossible to get bona-fide objective feedback. Best you'll do is read the bias based on whatever the poster chose to go with... which MAY involve buying a competing product. Otherwise, "we" will generally pound away at any disadvantage- even if it's relatively modest and somewhat reaching- while ignoring any disadvantages of Apple's cut.

TV is great. For an Apple-everything guy that doesn't care about price, it should be an excellent addition to the (Apple product) collection. Get it. Just do it. Then, see for yourself.

 

[Phil in ocala]

Firestick is unreliable at best....I have two...neither can find the wifi network...despite the booster...anyone want to buy these??

 

[ajohansson]

While your at it get a roku do a side by side comparison. Roku has all the channels. Keep what youlike return the other. If you lots of apple tvs like more than 5 im telling you atv/home sharing willbe a pita

 

[archer75]

I have owned many streamers over the years and still have many in the house. I can't think of a single good reason to own a amazon fire tv. It's just a useless device IMO. I have 2 devices that get most of the use and that's an nvidia shield and apple tv.
I still have a roku in the bedroom and another in our trailer. Several chromecasts that hardly ever get used and some game consoles that could be used as streamers but we don't.

 

[ajohansson]

A word about movies anywhere when remember that the studio that released the
Movie has to be on board so just cuz you bought it in itunes doesnt mean that its gonna show up there. I have a few purchases and not all of them are in there because of studio affiliation so i rip the drm off it (for my personal use only) so it can play in plex. I dont make a ton of itunes purchases. I still have my atv3s though that can be used to play itunes purchased content

 

[Ben Harley]

The best thing to go for is apple tv esp if you want quality on screen. Roku, raspberry pie, amazon device or any other devices are very complicated to use. Especially getting kodi run on android devices, firestick and firetv stick and etc


My experience with them all is very pathetic. Just look at the complication of installing builds and changing addons on kodi on kodiforum, a friend sent this and I was knocking my head on the wall.

 

[kofman13]

i got the apple tv its so awesome thanks guys!

 

[aphexacid]

Roku is complicated? Roku is about as basic as it gets. That’s a great thing!

I have a bunch of streaming boxes. My Roku ultra 4660 is the best running and hassle free by far. Next would be my gen 2 Fire tv box. Then the Nvidia Shield. The new fire tv 4K dongle has lots of bugs when released, but it’s good now.

I said in a thread before, only pick Apple TV if you need iTunes. Otherwise, way better options.

 

[archer75]

I said in a thread before, only pick Apple TV if you need iTunes. Otherwise, way better options.

I would totally disagree with that. I don't need itunes but I still feel the ATV is one of the best streamers out there. And not to sound like a broken record but as i've posted above i've owned or still do own most every streamer out there.

 

[aphexacid]

I’ve also got most every streamer out there. My opinion is that for what you get, it’s not worth it. I’m looking at it from a total package perspective. I’m not bashing Apple or anything. I know this is an apple forum and going against them will hurt a lot of people’s feelings.
Also the 4K has been a little buggy for me.

 

[Ben Harley]

Roku is complicated? Roku is about as basic as it gets. That’s a great thing!

I have a bunch of streaming boxes. My Roku ultra 4660 is the best running and hassle free by far. Next would be my gen 2 Fire tv box. Then the Nvidia Shield. The new fire tv 4K dongle has lots of bugs when released, but it’s good now.

I said in a thread before, only pick Apple TV if you need iTunes. Otherwise, way better options.

Agreed to some extent. Not all the devices are hard to use but like I said, if you want to see the quality on screen, one has to go for ATV.
[doublepost=1524035375][/doublepost]

I’ve also got most every streamer out there. My opinion is that for what you get, it’s not worth it. I’m looking at it from a total package perspective. I’m not bashing Apple or anything. I know this is an apple forum and going against them will hurt a lot of people’s feelings.
Also the 4K has been a little buggy for me.

Haha this was not the case with me, just wanted to make things clear. All people are free to put their opinions and state their preferences.

I just feel ATV is a lot cooler and is actually better than other streaming devices.

 

[archer75]

I’ve also got most every streamer out there. My opinion is that for what you get, it’s not worth it. I’m looking at it from a total package perspective.

As am I. The ATV and the roku have more apps than any other streamer. I would say the ATV has slightly more of the better channels than the Roku. Single sign on is huge as is the TV app bringing it all together. Upscaling on the ATV4k is 2nd to none. It feels like a much more unified experience than the roku. And it's got Dolby vision.
Really the only thing it lacks is atmos/DTS:X and that's where I use my shield.

 

[winstars]

I have four ATV4's including 2 ATV4k's and love them. All of my remotes have a case on them for ease of use and I find them easy and fun to use.

I do however have two Amazon FireStick's for one and only one reason only. The FireSticks have the app DISH ANYWHERE which enables me, when I travel and stay in hotels, to access my DISH Network Hopper 3 DVR in my home. Meaning I can watch every single channel I am paying for at home whilst I am away AND all my DVR recordings, both locally on the Hopper 3 and on an external hard drive I have connected to it.. The FireStick also has a "mini browser" that enables me to access a hotel portal, enabling me to give the usual name room number etc info to connect to a hotel network.

I still carry one of my ATV4's with me but it DOES NOT have this DISH ANYWHERE app and I must give a hotel IT person the WiFi/MAC addy of the ATV4 for them to manually add to the hotel system in order to join its network.

I wish the ATV4 had the DISH ANYWHERE app and that it had some sort of mini browser to connect to a hotel system. While the Firestick is pretty small, I would rather just have the ATV4 in my luggage!!!

 

[x-evil-x]

Get a roku ultra or stick plus. Keep itunes and use plex.

Believe me i have 7 apple tv3s and now a piece of crap apple tv4.

Kodi is dead lets just deal
With that. If you want to torrent just do that and add the movies to itunes. But kodi is a royal pita and the sites go down all the time. Not worth the hassle.

So just get a roku and call it good. If you have a huge catalog of itunes purchased movies either rip off the drm and use plex or use https://moviesanywhere.com/welcome

Apple tvs are for airplay at this point. I love apple products but itunes home sharing has failed. My atv4 sucked as a homekit hub. Im using a 6 year old ipad mini for homekit thats flawless now.

Apple get your crap together and fix homesharing. And im sure you could have added some searh function on atv3 but nope had to sell me an atv4. So glad i found roku and plex.

kodi is not dead. It works fine on my aptv. Depends on the things you instal and how fast they get locked up the ones ive had have been good for almost a year now. Popcorn time is where its at though.

 

[cashville2400]

I also have both and I like both. To me, the more options I have, the better. I really like my Amazon FireTv and never have had any problems with it. I just got my Apple 4k with the DirecTV promotion and I like it too. Like someone else said, it is good to Airplay your other Apple devices to. The Appletv does also have more 4k content available.

So I really don't have a personal favorite between the boxes, other than using Kodi on my Firetv. All of these boxes pretty much have the same apps to run. So like a lot of things tech, it really just matters what you are more comfortable with, or prefer.