5 upgrades Amazon cannot afford to skip on the subsequent Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max

I have been utilizing the second-generation Fire TV Stick 4K Max interchangeably on my lounge TV and my monitor for some time now, and it is turn into a staple of my streaming setup. I just like the consumer interface, reveals and flicks look nice in 4K HDR, and its Wi-Fi 6E connection ensures buffer-free streaming. Nonetheless, with Amazon not too long ago saying the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, it’s got me considering loads about what the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max may and will have.

Amazon final up to date the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max in September 2023, so it has been two years since its final refresh. With Amazon launching its new working system, Vega OS, alongside the 4K Choose, I’ve little doubt {that a} refresh of the 4K Max with Vega OS is coming quickly. At any time when Amazon decides it is time, listed below are the 5 upgrades I imagine the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max must should be definitely worth the wait and folks’s cash.

USB-C is an absolute should for the subsequent Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max

Micro USB is a relic of the previous

Even when Amazon launched the present era Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max in 2023, many individuals, together with myself, puzzled why the corporate continued to make use of Micro USB on its high-end streaming stick. USB-C was already frequent on each Android telephone again then, in addition to on laptops, and even the iPhone had simply switched to utilizing it.

Quick-forward to 2025, and Micro USB stays as outdated because it was in 2023. When Amazon seemingly updates the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max quickly, it ought to swap to USB-C as an alternative of Micro USB. First, USB-C is extra common and helps a lot sooner knowledge switch and higher energy supply than Micro USB. Second, USB-C is far simpler to attach as a result of it really works whatever the method you plug it in, in contrast to Micro USB, which solely suits in a method. Moreover, USB-C helps sooner Ethernet speeds, so in the event you use an Ethernet adapter together with your Fireplace TV Stick, you could possibly expertise considerably improved obtain speeds.

Elevated and upgraded RAM for higher efficiency

3GB or 4GB of RAM can go a good distance on a streaming stick

The present Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max is provided with 2GB of RAM, and I imagine the next-generation 4K Max would profit considerably from extra RAM. Am omcrease to 3GB can be first rate, however a extra sizable bump to 4GB can be even higher. Extra RAM would merely assist with operating extra apps, multitasking, and managing background processes, in the end making a smoother streaming expertise.

Moreover, not solely would extra RAM be helpful, however sooner RAM would additionally give the subsequent Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max a good higher edge. The 2GB of RAM it is outfitted with now could be LPDDR4, which has been outdated for some time. If you happen to’re questioning what LPDDR stands for, it is Low-Energy Double Information Charge reminiscence, a standard kind of RAM utilized in smartphones and streaming units as a consequence of its compactness, velocity, and energy effectivity. Most flagship telephones now characteristic LPDDR5, which is quicker and extra environment friendly than LPDDR4, and this improve would give the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max that further increase in efficiency it wants.

A extra succesful processor

Vega OS could also be environment friendly, however Amazon ought to nonetheless improve the 4K Max’s processing energy regardless

If Amazon intends for the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max to be one of the best streaming stick available on the market when it launches, it must be outfitted with a extra highly effective processor. The present Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max includes a quad-core MediaTek processor with speeds of as much as 2.0 GHz. Primarily based on my streaming expertise with it, I would not describe it as sluggish, however I additionally would not name it blazing quick both.

The Fireplace TV Stick 4K and 4K Choose each characteristic a quad-core MediaTek processor with speeds of as much as 1.7 GHz, so the distinction between them and the 4K Max is not substantial in any respect. Clearly, as a result of measurement constraints of a streaming stick, and to maintain the fee cheap, I am not saying the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max wants the efficiency of an Apple TV 4K, however I believe a notable bump in processing energy to make the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max really feel extra snappy would go a good distance in convincing folks to improve. Moreover, if Alexa+ and AI are going to turn into a bigger a part of the Fireplace TV expertise, then that further processing energy may go a good distance in making these options truly really feel clean and responsive.

Amazon is already saying that due to its new working system, Vega OS, apps will launch “remarkably quick” on the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Choose, and that Vega is “responsive and extremely environment friendly.” If these claims are true, that is nice, however I hope Amazon would not use Vega OS as an excuse to cop out on significant {hardware} upgrades. Software program optimizations can solely take you thus far.

Barely modify the design

Make the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max stand out

When Amazon launched the second-generation (and present) Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max in 2023, it adopted a rounder design in comparison with the boxier look of the first-generation mannequin. I am not suggesting Amazon must utterly overhaul the design of the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max, however a small design tweak may go a good distance in serving to it stand out throughout the lineup.

At the moment, the Fireplace TV Stick 4K, 4K Choose, and 4K Max all look the identical. If Amazon made the 4K Max extra distinctive — maybe with a special form, materials, or colour — it may improve its visible enchantment and assist scale back the confusion customers have with the Fireplace TV Stick lineup by clearly distinguishing its premium streaming stick from the others.

Storage increase and Wi-Fi 7

Upgrades that can make the subsequent Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max extra future-proof

That is the improve I believe is least prone to be anticipated from the next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max, however I imagine it will nonetheless be a pleasant addition both method. At the moment, the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max has 16GB of storage, which is double the 8GB discovered within the 4K and 4K Choose fashions. For its next-generation Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max, I believe that if Amazon elevated the storage to 32GB, it will ease most individuals’s worries about operating out of cupboard space and allow them to obtain extra apps and video games.

Moreover, whereas the 4K Max already options pretty quick Wi-Fi 6E capabilities, if Amazon added Wi-Fi 7 to it, it will make the connection speeds even sooner, extra dependable, and make it extra future-proof as soon as it will definitely launches.

When will the brand new Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max come out?

Whereas Amazon introduced the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Choose at its current fall {hardware} occasion, there was no indication or tease about when a brand new Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max is likely to be coming. One of many key options of the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Choose is that it runs a brand new Linux-based working system, Vega OS, which Amazon has reportedly been creating for a number of years. This differs from all the opposite Fireplace TV Sticks, which run Fireplace OS, an Android-based working system that Amazon has used on its Fireplace TV lineup for over ten years.

Undoubtedly, a Vega OS model of the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Max will probably be launched ultimately, however the timeframe for that is not precisely sure, and there have been no concrete leaks on when it might be. I believe it is because Amazon is utilizing the Fireplace TV Stick 4K Choose as a testbed for Vega OS. I imagine as soon as Vega OS is additional developed and tweaked primarily based on folks’s suggestions in regards to the 4K Choose, it’ll then launch a brand new 4K Max with Vega OS. So it may nonetheless be some time earlier than that occurs, however given the second-generation 4K Max on cabinets proper now could be already two years previous, I discover it laborious to imagine Amazon will not launch a brand new 4K Max someday in 2026.