The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max improves one of the Fire TV Stick 4K's weaknesses: performance. But that comes at a price.

This stick offers one of the best ways to stream content: it's easy to use, there's access to loads of streaming services, and integration with Alexa's Skills means it does a little more than some.

An excellent streamer and the best Fire TV Stick yet, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max offers plenty of entertainment options, the super-helpful Alexa companion and terrific streaming performance – although Prime customers are best placed to reap the best performance.

After a few days of using the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, it’s easy to recommend. Not only is its $54.99 price tag attractive, but its performance is unmatched by any other Fire TV Stick, or any Roku streaming stick at this price point for that matter.

If you can get by Amazon's bugs and interface quirks and are looking for a fast and powerful media streamer, the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max checks nearly all the boxes. It has robust app support, opens said apps really quickly and can control your smart home.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max caters mostly to Amazon Prime members and Alexa-based smart home owners, but it’s still an undeniably powerful device at an affordable price. We don’t love how Amazon’s implemented ads on the home page and have issues with search, but we still feel this is the best streaming device for Amazon Prime subscribers.

While there’s plenty to like about the Fire TV Stick 4K Max’s picture, it's just edged out by the competition, and it's further behind when it comes to sound.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is an excellent media streamer that adds Wi-Fi 6 compatibility for just $5 more than the standard model, but you probably won't see a difference outside of very specific use cases.

Amazon's latest streaming stick is perfect for anyone already deeply invested in its ecosystem, but others might want to look elsewhere.

The improvements are minor but worth the extra cash

This is the most powerful Fire TV Stick that Amazon has ever released, but there's one major caveat to be aware of: the endless ads.

Unless you already have a Fire TV Stick 4K, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the logical purchase if you’re after a future-proofed 4K HDR streamer. It’s only a fiver more than its predecessor yet packs in a number of new features, the most significant being the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 support.