Apple TV vs Fire TV: Which Options to Choose?

Smart TVs are becoming more common over time, but they still come at a very high price. Above that, we often have a television with an excellent resolution and there is no reason to upgrade to a Smart. That's exactly why we're doing this Apple TV vs Fire TV comparison!

In a simple way, they are streaming tools that serve to transform any TV into a Smart TV, with a reduced investment. So if you want to know more about these options, just read on below!

Apple TV vs Fire TV: What Are They Exactly?

If you're reading this article, you probably already have a sense of what they are. Still, it's a good idea for us to explain a little bit about what to expect when purchasing one of these products.

You probably know the famous Chromecast, right? Or the cheap Android box? So, the products that we are going to cover here are nothing more than the Apple and Amazon versions!

With them, you could turn your normal TV into a Smart TV, allowing you to stream media through Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, YouTube, and more.

You can control Apple TV or Fire TV using either the included controller or your smartphone by the specific app. It's all very simple and practical and allows anyone to take full advantage of it.

Features

Right. Now is the time to explain what features each of them has to offer so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Keep in mind that while it's possible to get Fire TV for less than 500 reais, you'll only find Apple TV for over 2000 reais! That is, the budget is a very important factor.

But before that, a brief comparison:

1. Design

Okay! Now, hands on. Both devices have a very discreet design, entirely black (except for the brand logos). While Fire TV will hide behind your TV, Apple TV has a different format that other people might prefer.

That is, it is a rectangular box that sits on top of the television counter, being a decoration in a way. Of course, if you make a point of purchasing the Apple TV, it is possible to hide it somewhere, since the control signal is not via infrared, but via WiFi.

In contrast, the Fire TV looks a lot like a rather long flash drive, fitting any HDMI input. However, due to its length, it may end up appearing from behind!

2. Image quality

It's good to make it clear that the Fire TV vs Apple TV comparisons we're going to make will be the 4K version of both devices. In other words, if you want to purchase Fire TV Lite, they will not be valid.

Far above “just” an extremely detailed 4K Ultra HD resolution, both models support a truly amazing wide range of formats, which will make all the best series even prettier!

Both Fire TV and Apple TV support Dolby Vision and HDR 10, resulting in gorgeous colors. However, and a big point in its favor, Fire TV also supports HDR 10+.

That means the images will be much brighter, up to 4x brighter, plus dynamic metadata technology. What this means is that the color and brightness information is scene-by-scene rather than an entire video.

However, keep in mind that as good as the HDR 10+ is, only a few specific models support it, and only Amazon Prime Video supports it.

3. Sound quality

As important as the previous item (many might say even more important), the sound quality these devices offer is amazing. In the Fire TV vs Apple TV comparison, there is no winner for this category.

Both products support Dolby Atmos sound, which is pretty amazing considering the price of the Fire TV. Even more considering that the result is excellent!

Furthermore, they ensure good sound quality with standard 5.1 and stereo sound, being very detailed.

Of course, Apple TV's sound is a little better, but it's not that different, and it's not worth the price difference (unless you simply want the best, no matter what the price!).

4. Features

Their functionalities are quite similar, prioritizing (with all sense) the quality of the streaming. There are two big differences between Apple TV vs Fire TV: the first is the ability to play games, and the second is unofficially downloading free movies.

While it's possible to play a little on both, the Apple TV's hardware is superior, and you can subscribe to Apple Arcade for just 9.90 a month to get access to a massive library of great games.

Since Fire TV runs Android, it makes it much easier to install a torrent program to download whatever you want to watch. Remember: if you are going to do this, always use a good VPN service!

However, and very importantly, the Fire TV's internal storage is only 8GB, which is quite limited, even more so if you take into account how much 4K videos take up. The Apple TV's storage is 32GB, allowing you to store more videos.

Still, it's possible to use a microUSB flash drive to plug into Fire TV and watch much more.

Another aspect when talking about Apple TV vs Fire TV features is the amount of applications that are supported by the platforms. Here, let's first cover natively supported apps.

In this category, Apple TV wins, with almost 13 thousand applications, against Fire TV's 10 thousand. That doesn't mean much, but a big factor is that on Fire TV you can't watch HBO Max natively!

On the other hand, it is possible (and even easy) to install Aptoide (one of the best alternatives to Google Play) to download basically all Android apps on Fire TV and use them. If you want to follow this path, Fire TV wins easily.

Finally, you can control smart devices that are in your home through them. With Fire TV, you can control both Alexa and Siri, while with Apple TV you can only control Siri.

5. Usability

With all this in mind, something very important to talk about is the usability of these services. That is, how easy (or difficult) it is to use them to do what you want to do, and that's exactly what we're going to talk about here.

Interface

Using Fire TV is extremely intuitive and simple, being very easy to use for anyone. Their menus are quite beautiful, which for sure is a good plus.

Still, it ends up giving a strong impression that all Amazon wants is for you to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video and Amazon's exclusive channels to consume their series, since everything is put on the home screen that you can't change .

And, in fact, this is absolutely true. After all, when a company launches a good product for such a low price, it does so with the intention of making a profit in some other area.

Apple TV also has a clean and beautiful interface, with icons very characteristic of Apple, being simple and attractive for everyone. When comparing Apple TV vs Fire TV, one of the biggest positives is that the Apple TV home screen is configurable for you.

While Apple also promotes your content, it does so in a much less intrusive way, letting you permanently hide the app from the TV. That is, no advertisements on your product!

Control

This is an area where Fire TV wins, as the control is so much better and more intuitive. In it, you'll find several buttons for basic functions such as navigation, play/pause, rewind and fast forward, as well as controls on your TV to turn it on and off and control the volume and turn it off. There's even a button for Alexa!

By contrast, the control that comes with the Apple TV is… confusing. Instead of up, down and sideways buttons, as well as forward and rewind, it has a trackpad with clicks for control.

As you can't control his sensitivity, he's too sensitive for some, and too little for others. Fortunately, it has dedicated buttons for volume control!

6. Price and cost benefit

We are reaching the final stages of the Fire TV vs Apple TV comparison with one of the most important areas, values! There's not much to be said, so let's get straight to the point:

Fire TV Lite costs only R$349.00, being an extremely affordable option with many features. If you want to watch it in 4K, just increase your budget by R$100.00 and buy Fire TV 4K for R$449.00.

Regardless of which Amazon streamer you purchase, the cost-effectiveness couldn't be better. After all, it offers almost everything Apple TV has to offer for a very low price.

The Apple TV HD, the cheapest version of Apple's streamer, costs as little as R$ 1999,00! That's right, for the same price as 4 Fire TV 4K you can get an Apple TV HD!

Now, if you want to be able to watch your series and movies in 4K, the value goes up to R$ 2399.00. In other words, Apple's stremaer is really an option for those who want to make an investment in a lasting product.

Its cost-effectiveness is certainly lower than the competition, making this area of ​​Fire TV vs Apple TV almost meaningless. Yes, the quality is a little superior in almost every aspect, but the huge difference in value makes it not really worth it.

Fire TV vs Apple TV: Which one to buy?

Among Fire TV vs Apple TV, in a very simplified way, Amazon's product is ideal for those who want an excellent cost-benefit ratio and want a lot of features for a reduced price.

In fact, it's the best streamer available for those who don't want to spend an exorbitant amount. However, if you want to acquire the best of the best and cost is not a concern, then purchasing an Apple TV is the best option.

Did you like our Fire TV vs Apple TV comparison?

If you found our comparison guide useful and if we were able to help you make a more informed purchase, please leave a comment with your opinion! And if you want recommendations for what to watch, just check out the best drama series and the best war series!

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