Amazon Fire TV vs. Apple TV vs. Roku 3 vs. Chromecast

What's This?

A look at how the Amazon Fire TV device stacks up against others in the market.

Image: Christina Ascani/Mashable/Associated Press

By Samantha Murphy Kelly2014-04-02 19:37:49 UTC

The newly-announced Amazon Fire TV wants to take over your living room with its tiny, flat media box, but with lots of other existing devices on the market, you'll want to consider all streaming options first before making a purchase.

Fire TV — a set-top box, gaming console hybrid — will directly compete against streaming devices like Apple TV, Roku and Google Chromecast, but it will also take on gaming consoles such as Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and even the Android-powered Ouya.

For the sake of comparing Fire TV to existing set-top boxes — and leaving the gaming consoles out for now — there's a lot to be said about its bells and whistles. First, it uses voice search when you speak into the remote and boasts a stronger quad-core processor than the Roku 3 (double core), Apple TV (single core) and Chromecast (single core).

Fire TV also wins in terms of memory (2GB), compared to 512 MB included in the other three devices. Price is virtually the same across the board ($99), with the exception of the Google Chromecast at $35.

But you'll also want to factor in content compatibility into your purchase decision. Although Fire TV supports Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora and YouTube, users will not be able to access HBO Go, which is available for streaming on all three other devices. On the plus side, you can — unsurprisingly — access Amazon Instant Video via Fire TV (as well as the Roku 3), but users of Chromecast and Apple TV are out of luck.

And for those with their eyes on gaming, Fire TV and Roku 3 offer games, whereas Chromecast and Apple TV do not.

For a full look at how the Fire TV stacks up against its three main competitors, check out the chart below.

	Amazon Fire TV	Roku 3	Apple TV	Google Chromecast
Pricing	$99	$99	$99	$35
Form Factor	Box	Box	Dongle or box	Dongle that sticks into TV
HDMI Compatibility	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice Commands	Yes	No	No	No
Processor	Quad-core	Dual-core	Single-core	Single-core
Memory	2 GB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB
Video Apps	Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Crackle, Showtime Anywhere, Bloomberg TV	HBO Go, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Crackle, Showtime Anywhere	HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube, Bloomberg TV	HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube
Music Apps	Vevo, Pandora	Vevo, Pandora	Vevo	Vevo, Pandora
Sports Apps	Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass	Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter	Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter	None
Number of Games	100+; "thousands" more coming	Less than 100	None	None
Remote	Voice search, physical remote (no line of sight needed)	Physical remote	Physical remote	App controlled
Gaming Controller	Yes; $39.99 (sold separately)	No	No	No