Amazon unveils faster Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) and a new Fire TV Remote

Amazon just unveiled a slimmer and faster Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) and a new Fire TV Remote. The stick is 20%-40% faster than similarly priced 4K sticks from other brands, says Amazon. The pricing is $60, by the way, but you can have it for half that – see below.

The new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) is powered by a quad-core 1.7GHz processor with 8GB of internal storage. It supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 and LE. It can decode up to 4K video at 60fps with the H.264, H.265, VP9 and AV1 codecs. It also supports several HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. Notably, there’s no Dolby Vision – if you need that, you’ll have to get the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. The Max also has Wi-Fi 6E.

Here’s another reason why you may want the Max – that one still runs the Android-based Fire OS. The new Stick 4K uses the new Vega OS instead. Amazon says that app support is improving and over 2,000 apps have been added in the past year.

This includes the essentials – video streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Prime Video and HBO Max and even less popular ones like Peacock, Tubi and Pluto. You can even scroll through Instagram on your TV, so that you can take a break from scrolling through Instagram on your phone.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K comes with the new remote and runs Vega OS

Jokes aside, Vega OS also supports local video players like VLC, music streaming apps like Spotify and gaming services like Xbox. You can even connect it to VPNs for certain uses that Amazon doesn’t spell out (but you know what they are for).

Amazon created the following demo to show off how fast the new Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) is compared to similar 4K sticks and to smart TVs’ native app capabilities:

Anyway, the new stick adopts the slimmer form factor of the Fire TV Stick HD from earlier this year. It can be powered directly from the TV if you plug in the cable into one of its USB ports (Amazon calls this Direct Power). This saves the hassle of finding an empty outlet for a power adapter behind the TV.

A comparison between Amazon Fire TV streamers

The company also unveiled the new Amazon Fire TV Remote, which will ship with the new Stick 4K. You can also buy it separately for $15 – it works with all Fire TV streaming devices dating back to 2019 as well as all Amazon Ember TVs.

The remote has a flat top and a weighted and rounded bottom for easier handling. The Home button now has a distinct metal surface that makes it easier to find by touch.

Amazon also brought a premium feature to this remote – the Star button, which can be assigned to your favorite app. Alternatively, you can set it to activate a commonly used feature like enabling closed captioning or the Screen Magnifier.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) is available now on Amazon US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. It will launch in new markets next month. As noted above, it normally costs $60, but you can get it for $30 during Prime Big Deal Days.

The new Amazon Fire TV Remote will be available on Amazon US for $15. It will ship in late October. Note that Amazon also plans to release a Fire TV Remote Plus with a premium aluminum body and backlit keys next year.

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