What’s funny is that everyone assumed 2014 would be the year companies battled it out over wearables, but instead 2014 is shaping up to be the Year Of The Set-Top Box. In addition to the Apple TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast users in the US (and soon, hopefully, the UK) now have a fourth choice--the Amazon Fire TV. We take a look at how the Fire TV stacks up against the current heavy-weight champ, the Apple TV.
Design, Specs, and Features
Make no mistake about it, Amazon came out of the gates swinging at the Apple TV. Let’s start off by looking at the specs of the two set-top boxes.
Here’s the specs for the Fire TV:
Output: HDMI, CEC compatible
Processor: Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 8GB flash
Max. Output Video Resolution: 1080p
Dimensions: 115(L) x 115(W) x 17.5(H) mm
Weight: 281 g
Connectivity: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet, USB
Power: Built-in universal 6 W power supply
And here’s the specs for the Apple TV:
Output: HDMI (not CEC compatible)
Processor: Single-core Apple A5
RAM: 512MB
Storage: 8GB flash
Max. Output Video Resolution: 1080p
Dimensions: 99(L) x 99(W) x 23(H) mm
Weight: 270 g
Connectivity: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet
Power: Built-in universal 6 W power supply
You’ll notice two big differences immediately: the processor and the RAM. The 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Krait 300 is an insane amount of power to pack into a set-top box, but it reveals just how big Amazon’s plans are for the Fire TV. That’s compared to Apple’s now paltry-looking single-core A5. The other huge difference is the Fire TV offers a whopping 2GB of RAM versus the Apple TV’s 512MB. The RAM in this case is really to help with video buffering, so videos on the Fire TV should load without a hitch.
Now to be fair to Apple, they haven’t updated the Apple TV in almost a year, so it’s very likely the next one could be packing expanded RAM and a quad-core A7 but we’ll have to wait until later this year to find out.
Besides the RAM and Processor, the other hard specs are almost identical: both have optical audio out, both feature Bluetooth 4.0, 8GB of storage, and max out at 1080p via HDMI.
In the design department they are both black boxes designed to blend in with your TV. The Fire TV is a bit longer and wider, but is also thinner, while the Apple TV is shorter and narrower, yet also thicker. All that has to do with the way the two companies decided to arrange the internals of the devices.
Content and Channels
A set-top box is only as good as the content and channels it offers. As far as content is concerned, both the Apple TV and Fire TV are pretty complete. That’s because the Apple TV is backed by the iTunes Store and all its hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows. But the Fire TV is no slouch either. It’s backed by the entire catalogue of Amazon Instant Video.
Where this content differs is in how you pay for it. For the most part all the movies on the Apple TV are ala carte. You either have to buy or rent each one individually. All TV shows must be purchased too. Since the Fire TV uses Amazon Instant Video all the movies and TV shows are free...if you fork out $99USD a year for an Amazon Prime subscription.
Besides direct content, both the Apple TV and Fire TV also offer channels which let you stream content from dedicated providers. Right now the Apple TV offers over 40 channels and is slowly adding more all the time. The big names are there: YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu, but it still lacks some of the popular ones like BBC iPlayer, and, understandably, Amazon Instant Video.
As far as the channels on the Fire TV, you get Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube, Showtime Anytime, WatchESPN, Bloomberg TV, Vevo, and Pandora, among some other lesser ones. The Fire TV lacks HBO GO, but other than that offers most of the major channels the Apple TV has. However, it’s disappointing that both the Apple TV and the Fire TV lack UK-specific channels for now. Amazon can be forgiven for that as the Fire TV isn’t available in the UK yet, but Apple...come on!
Gaming
This is one area where the Fire TV, hands down, kicks the Apple TV’s butt. Amazon has designed the Fire TV with gaming in mind. At launch it has over 100 titles available including Minecraft-Pocket Edition, Asphalt 8, The Game of Life, and Amazon’s own Sev Zero. The last one is made by Amazon’s own game studio, so it shows you just how serious the company is about gaming. Amazon is also working with indie game developers and marquee big ones like Mojang, EA, Disney, Ubisoft, and others to bring more titles to the platform.
The company is also releasing a dedicated Amazon Fire Game Controller, sold separately, that gives you an Xbox-style game controller to play all the games the platform offers. Given how much thought Amazon has put into creating a controller, it’s just another sign that this set-top box isn’t only for watching videos like the other set-top hardware. Amazon wants to enter the living room gaming market hard.
As for games on the Apple TV? Unless you count the ability to mirror games from an iPhone or iPad via AirPlay to the Apple TV, then there is no such feature. Besides, playing games via AirPlay on the Apple TV while using a non-tactile touchscreen device is incredibly hard--and the playback lag from the streaming doesn’t help.
Remotes
Let me start by saying the Apple TV includes a gorgeously designed, very small aluminum remote that is as easy to use as you would expect a remote from Apple to be. But as beautiful as it is, the Fire TV’s slightly bulkier remote puts the Apple TV’s remote to shame.
Why? Because Amazon has built voice search directly into the Fire TV’s remote. The remote has a built-in mic. Simply tap the voice button on the remote and speak the name of the TV show, movie, actor, director, or genre you want to watch and the results are displayed on screen. This hands down beats any remote options of any other set-top box maker and it’s this extra little feature that is going to set the tone of how viewers interact with their TVs in the future.
OS and UI
The Apple TV runs its own OS, which is based on a version of iOS. The Fire TV runs Android with a custom HTML5-based skin. You’ve got various-sized tiles representing different content (movies, games, TV shows) and then on the left fifth of the screen you have a list menu, which allows you to navigate everything from search and movies, to games and settings.
The Apple TV’s UI is a grid system of apps/channels that you select to access the content inside them. The icons are arguably easier to navigate and see, but there does seem to be many more presses of the remote that are required to get to specific content than the Fire TV requires. However, the Apple TV now lets you customize channel placement on the main screen so you can access your most liked channels first--something the Fire TV doesn’t allow.
Winner
Hands down, the Amazon Fire TV wins this time around. The reason is primarily due to the unique voice control and search functions built into the remote control and also Amazon’s heavy focus on gaming. Amazon has clearly designed the Fire TV to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and seems to get that in the future we’re going to want one box that does everything--from gaming to movies. The Fire TV also wins in the specs department. The quad-core processor and four times the amount of RAM put the Apple TV to shame.
However, it’s very likely Apple will unveil a new Apple TV in the coming months. That’s when things will get interesting. There are rumors of a new, unique remote control and a heavy emphasis on gaming. If that happens the battle for the champ of the living room will be wide open again.
The Apple TV is $99 in the US and £99 in the UK. In the US the Fire TV is $99 and is likely to be £99 when it hits the UK sometime, hopefully, later this year.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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