The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is priced at Rs 5,999.

Amazon introduced the first Fire TV Stick in India in 2017. At the time, smart TVs were expensive, few brands manufactured them and the adoption of over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms was relatively low. In such a market, a streaming device that could be plugged into any TV with an HDMI port to access streaming apps as well as games was a compelling proposition.

However, things have changed a lot in 2024. On the one hand, the number of OTT platforms has increased significantly, offering a wide range of exclusive content. On the other hand, smart TVs have become relatively cheaper, with many new brands entering the market and making it more accessible to the masses. According to the report “India Internet Report 2023” conducted by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar, a massive 707 million users are on OTT platforms in India. The total number of streaming platforms has also increased to 57, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

This situation would seem to make third-party streaming devices less useful, but then the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K made its debut. Priced at Rs 5,999, it supports 4K resolution content (2160p) as well as HDR10+, Dolby Vision, etc. It also offers the entire Amazon Appstore library with over 12,000 apps.

Over the past two weeks, I have been using this streaming device to find out if what it has to offer is good enough in this era when it is competing not only with other streaming devices but also with the growing number of smart TVs that offer the same experience integrated into the television.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Design and Remote Control

The basic design of the original Fire TV Stick hasn’t seen many upgrades over the years, and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K continues that tradition. It’s a matte black rectangular device (now with curved edges) with the Fire TV logo on top and an HDMI port on the front. If you can’t easily plug in the HDMI port, an HDMI extender gives you more flexibility.

New Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: Remote

There is a Micro-USB port on the side for power. Depending on your TV, you may be able to power the device using the USB port if it provides enough power. My TV couldn’t do that, so the charger that came in the box came in handy and allowed me to power it by plugging it into a power outlet.

The remote control has also been slightly improved over the previous Fire Stick 4K released in 2019. It now has dedicated app buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, and Amazon Music. A fourth button gives you direct access to installed apps. A Live TV button and a dedicated Alexa button have replaced the previous voice control button. The functionality is the same, but Alexa feels much better.

In a previous review, Gadgets 360 noted that at best the virtual assistant would just pop up an app if the content you searched for wasn’t from Prime Video, but now it can show title cards for Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Jio Cinema, and YouTube (these are the apps I use a lot.) Other than that, the rest of the remote is standard.

When it comes to installation and usage, Fire TV is very easy to use. The installation process, including OS-based updates, took about 15 minutes. All you have to do is plug it into your TV, connect it to a power source, and follow the on-screen instructions. It’s a plug-and-forget device.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: Interface

It runs on Fire OS, and the user interface isn’t too different from the standard Android TV experience. You get the same tile-based layout and horizontal scrolling interface showcasing your shows, movies, and apps. There’s a Home, Search, and Live TV section, along with an easily accessible App Library. The Settings icon is also conveniently located at the top, and the placement makes it easier to switch between since there’s no Settings button on the remote.

Amazon also has a great recommendation algorithm that suggests content across various OTT platforms, even if you don’t have them installed. It shows your recently watched shows, Netflix recommendations, free movies and TV shows, and categories by genre. However, being an Amazon product, the content is biased. For example, only Prime Video content is shown as 4K on the home screen. For other content, you have to click on the content tile to find out more.

You can jump directly to Prime Video content from the Featured section on the home screen, but other apps require a description screen first, and Prime Video takes up the top half of the page where recommended content is displayed.

However, I watch quite a few shows and movies on Prime Video, so I’ve never found it an inconvenience. The integration makes it easy to discover new content to watch and play it instantly. If you’re not a fan of the Prime Video library, you might be better off with the Mi TV Stick or the default Android TV/Google TV.

Overall, the interface is snappy, responsive, and extremely reliable even over extended periods of use. I rarely encountered any glitches or issues.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: Performance

Now, let’s look at the performance. On paper, this is Amazon’s most powerful streaming device available in India. It supports up to Wi-Fi 6 (both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands) and Bluetooth 5.0. It also has HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos audio support to go with 4K Ultra-HD video quality support. The device comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage.

I’ve been using the device with my Redmi Fire TV for over two weeks now and am pleased with its solid performance. Whether I was watching an episode of Shogun, enjoying the comedy drama Laapataa Ladies, or binge-watching the anime Spy x Family, the video quality was crisp and bright, with easy distinction between light and dark areas. Even dark scenes were bright and comfortable to watch. To my surprise, the OS performance on the Fire TV Stick 4K was faster than the built-in Fire OS.

However, keep in mind that 4K video support requires a fast internet connection, and an unstable or slow connection may slow down the video stream. Additionally, the overall video quality will vary depending on the TV you’re using. Needless to say, a premium TV that supports 4K will offer better visuals than one that doesn’t.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: Review

As I said above, the goal of this review was to understand whether the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K really has enough features to be worth buying. After using it, my answer is yes.

Even in a world where smart TVs can be had for under Rs 15,000, not all are created equal. Some have poor memory and some offer sub-par OS experiences. With many people still using older, non-smart TVs, Amazon’s streaming device fills a gap in the need to replace trusty TV hardware due to software flaws.

The Fire TV Stick 4K is a solid performer in terms of OS interface, performance, and picture quality. But beyond that, what this device really offers is reliability. I’ve experienced glitches with my Redmi Smart TV and my parents’ Sony Bravia, but I’ve never experienced even minor issues with this device. From navigating between different apps to watching shows and movies, it was a seamless experience. In my opinion, a good streaming device should be something you don’t notice while watching TV, and the Fire TV Stick 4K delivered exactly that.

If you don’t own a smart TV, or you’re annoyed that yours is a few years old and starting to slow down, the Fire TV Stick might be a good way to extend the life of your TV without compromising your viewing experience.

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Infinix aims to offer basic features in a segment that doesn’t have many options in the mix.

Infinix makes decent smartphones in the sub-Rs 10,000 price range and offers pretty good hardware with them too. The brand launched the Infinix Smart 7 HD in April last year and has now revamped the model with the latest Infinix Smart 8 HD. The new phone comes with a slightly revised look and packs 3GB of RAM instead of 2GB on last year’s Smart 7 HD. We have tested the device thoroughly and in this article, we will tell you whether this entry-level smartphone is value for money or not.

Infinix Smart 8 HD Price in India

The Infinix Smart 8 HD is priced at Rs 7,990 and comes with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage. It comes in four colour options – Crystal Green, Timber Black, Shiny Gold and Galaxy White. We got the Crystal Green colour option for our review. In the box, you will find the smartphone, a clear case, a charging brick, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C charging cable, a user manual and a SIM ejector tool.

Infinix Smart 8 HD review: Design

The phone looks pretty similar to its predecessor. The matte back panel barely features the Infinix logo, and the camera module protrudes quite a bit from the matte polycarbonate side rails. The main difference between the Smart 8 HD and the 7 HD is the texture on the back panel. Instead of a textured polycarbonate back panel, you get this unique shimmery design. The phone uses a side-mounted fingerprint reader instead of the rear-mounted one used on the 7 HD. Despite the heavy use of polycarbonate, the Infinix Smart 8 HD feels good in the hand with flat sides and a thickness of 8.5mm.

Infinix Smart 8HD Back Panel Infinix Smart 8HD Back Panel

The Infinix Smart 8 HD looks very different from its predecessor.

Weight distribution is good, and at 184 grams, it doesn’t feel bulky. For a short time, I used this smartphone as a secondary smartphone, and I had no problem carrying it in the same pocket as my daily smartphone. The Smart 8 HD’s bezels are quite thick, but that’s not a problem considering the price. The front camera uses a punch-hole cutout, which is refreshing for an entry-level smartphone. However, there is no official IP rating or splash resistance, so it’s not wise to take it swimming. A dedicated microSD card is included, making it a good choice for those who want more storage space but need to use two 4G SIM cards.

Infinix Smart 8 HD review: Specifications and Software

The smartphone is powered by the Unisoc T606 SoC, an entry-level processor that can handle light tasks with ease. You can use the smartphone for daily VoIP calls, checking emails, replying to texts on WhatsApp, and light website browsing. I had a second 4G SIM card inserted while I was carrying the device and the reception was good. The internet speeds are not as fast as 5G-enabled devices, but considering it is a 4G smartphone, it works well enough.

For a smartphone in this price range, it is good to see the phone moving to a USB Type-C port instead of the usual micro USB port. It has a fingerprint reader on the side, which is a nice feature at this price range. Face unlock is also available, but we don’t recommend it as it is not secure. The Infinix Smart 8 HD is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and can be charged using the included 10W charger. It runs on Infinix’s XOS 13 based on Android 13 Go. It uses a Dynamic Island-like feature that Infinix has named Magic Ring, but it has limited functionality. The brand has not made any promises regarding future software updates, which may be a bit worrying for those who want to keep the smartphone for a long time.

Infinix Smart 8 HD review: Performance

Being an entry-level device, our expectations on performance were not very high. Nevertheless, we ran all the required benchmarks on the device and the scores were decent for a smartphone in this price range. It scored 2,32,007 in AnTuTu v10.2.1 , 379 in single-core and 1,322 in multi-core tests in Geekbench 6. The Infinix Smart 8 HD sports a 6.6-inch HD+ LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate which seems new in this price range, while Xiaomi’s Redmi A3 offers the same. The display shows colors well when viewed from the front, but colors start to wash out when viewed from an angle. Indoors, the brightness levels of the smartphone are adequate with a peak brightness of said to be 500nits . But, when you take it outdoors, the display is quite disappointing.

Infinix Smart 8HD Display Infinix Smart 8HD Display

The Infinix Smart 8 HD’s display is barely readable outdoors.

The smartphone’s bottom speaker offers acceptable sound quality despite having very little bass. When played at maximum volume, it can sound sharp and volume adjustments will be required to improve clarity during playback.

Android 13 Go edition is quite lighter than the full version, which works in the smartphone’s favour quite a bit. The smartphone did not feel slow or lagging while scrolling through the UI of the smartphone, but it is a bit slow to launch third-party apps. Despite the price, the performance of the Infinix Smart HD 8 is quite good. It is not a gaming device but it can handle basic casual games without any issues. Subway Surfers ran well without any lag and the touch response rate of the smartphone was also good.

Considering it is an entry-level processor, I was surprised to see the phone heat up after just 15-20 minutes of playing casual games. There are also heating issues while using the camera app, but everyday tasks like web browsing and using messaging apps like WhatsApp work just fine.

The phone achieved a respectable 20 hours and 10 minutes in our battery loop test. After a full day of use, including calls, streaming videos, and even taking photos with the default camera app, there was about 30% battery left at the end of the day, which is decent for a phone in this price range. In our battery charging test, the phone charged just 4% in 30 minutes, 27% in an hour, and was fully charged in 3 hours. This may seem a bit slow, but most phones in this price range perform similarly.

Infinix Smart 8 HD review: Camera

The Infinix Smart 8 HD sports a dual rear camera setup with a 13MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 0.08MP secondary camera. The smartphone uses an 8MP camera for selfies. The camera UI is simple and without any fancy features. It offers basic photo and video controls as you would expect on an Infinix smartphone.

The Infinix Smart 8 HD has one user-accessible camera.

The 13MP main camera takes decent images even in sunlight, and although it takes a second for the final image in the gallery to appear, the result is very different from the image you see in the Camera app’s viewfinder when you take the shot.

The camera does a lot of processing in the background, but the results are average. Images have good saturation but lack detail resolution. I took a few shots of moving and still objects in sunlight and the results were satisfactory for a smartphone in this price range. The camera handles backlit situations well in portrait mode and has decent edge detection, which is typical for a smartphone in this price range.

The phone uses 2x digital zoom and a lot of processing to produce softer images, but in enough light you can take serviceable photos. As expected, the phone struggles with low-light photography.

Daytime photo taken with 2x digital zoom

The night mode gives you clearer images and decent colors. One thing that caught my attention is that you can’t set the exposure when using the dedicated night mode, which can lead to bad photos and you having to retake them. In other words, the low light performance is not what you would expect from a smartphone in this price range and is not reliable at all.

Night mode photo from the main rear camera

The Infinix Smart 8 HD’s front camera doesn’t perform well in low light.

The 8MP selfie camera is adequate for daytime shots. Photos taken are sharp enough with a good level of detail. The front camera struggles quite a bit in low light, taking noisy and blurry images. The Infinix Smart 8 HD can shoot videos up to 1080p 30fps with the main camera. If you stay still, the results are mostly good. If you start moving or panning, the video shakes a lot and becomes unusable. Video performance in low light is not great, and recorded videos are very blurry and noisy. The front camera takes pretty good daytime shots in both moving and stationary situations, which is a plus.

Infinix Smart 8 HD Review: Verdict

The Infinix Smart 8 HD is a good device if you want a second phone with a long battery life and you are on a tight budget. However, it has some drawbacks like very slow support for 10W charging, poor camera performance in low light, unreadable outdoors and very limited viewing angles. So, it is good for calls and basic app usage, but not much more. There is no doubt that there is not much choice in this price range, but Xiaomi offers something similar with the Redmi A3 starting at Rs 7,299. It has a better processor, more RAM variants and a 90Hz refresh rate display. You can also consider the Redmi 13C (starting at Rs 7,699), which is a little more expensive but has a better display and cameras.

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