The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) proves that streaming sticks have hit the wall of improvement Amazon upgraded it with a more powerful processor and faster Wi-Fi connection, but it was not a huge leap forward from the previous generation

Furthermore, the Fire TV sticks are well made, but all are hampered by the Fire TV interface Tom's Guide's streaming staff, including myself, prefers the simplicity and relative agnosticism of rivals like Roku and Apple

Still, as this Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) shows, even with minimal upgrades, this new player is good enough to replace its predecessor on our list of best streaming devices

The new 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) is priced at $5999 and is available at Amazon and other major retailers This is $10 more than the 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd generation)

As a competitor, it is $10 more than the similarly featured Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Chromecast with Google TV 4K

The new 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K Max looks almost identical to the original, a small, slim black rectangle with an HDMI port on one end It is roughly the same size as a lighter The only slight difference is the rounded corners and edges It plugs directly into the TV, but if it is difficult to attach, the included extender can be used for convenience

The only other port besides HDMI is a micro USB for connection to a power source Unlike the more expensive Fire TV Cube, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) cannot be connected to other external devices such as hard drives This is quite normal for a streaming dongle; the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) cannot be connected to other external devices, such as hard drives

At this point, setup is easy for any streaming stick; the Fire TV Stick 4K Max took about five minutes to set up, most of which was spent updating the software Other than that, all I had to do was enter my Wi-Fi and Amazon login

Once setup was complete, the Fire TV home screen appeared It streamlined the navigation menu and made a few other cosmetic changes

However, the Fire TV interface still revolves around Amazon-owned channels and content The home screen feels like a giant advertisement for Prime Video, Freevee, and even MGM Plus These apps are automatically included in the navigation bar (although they can be edited)

Just below the menu, the "Continue Watching" row contained only Prime Video titles Immediately below that was a line promoting Amazon originals and exclusives, such as the recent films Cassandro and Sitting in Bars With Cake

After that, a row of recently used apps finally appeared, like Hulu, Max, and Sling But if you keep scrolling, all of the content offered is from Amazon; the Fire TV interface is not that different from the Prime Video interface

And because the interface chooses to use the brand logo (of the channel Amazon owns), it is not as sleek and attractive as the home screens of the Apple TV 4K (2022) and Roku devices

When it announced the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation), Amazon boasted that this was the best, fastest, and most powerful streaming stick ever It supports an upgraded 20GHz quad-core processor and Wi-Fi 6E Unfortunately, I was unable to test this performance because my router is old and does not have access to the 6GHz band

Still, my home Wi-Fi network is quite fast with little lag We also tested other streaming devices, including an earlier model Fire TV Stick, and can say that the performance gains of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) are not as significant

Interface and menu navigation was nimble Launching apps, movies, and shows were all fairly fast, but not "lightning fast," as Amazon puts it Here's a comparison of some app launch times for the Fire TV Stick 4K in 2023 compared to its competitors:

Based on these numbers, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd gen) is an upgrade, but not a massive one

As for video quality, I have a decent TCL 4K set, but it's not OLED, so I wasn't sure how good the HDR support would be Everything was clear, crisp, vivid, and the video was excellent Still, this may be the first time I've tested a streaming stick with poor-looking video Usually, low quality video is the fault of the source or the Internet connection

Alexa, as usual, displayed search results quickly and accurately When prompted to search for "Ryan Gosling movies," Alexa displayed multiple titles featuring the actor from a variety of sources, including Netflix's The Gray Man and the option to purchase the digital release of Barbie

Also, when I asked Alexa to "play 'Suits'" she responded by opening Netflix and displaying an information page about the legal drama

Voice search also works for common queries When I asked it to "find a pizza place nearby," it returned several results based on my location

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) comes with Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced Like all Alexa voice remotes, it is black, rectangular, and rounded on the back

The power and Alexa buttons are on the top, above the directional pad and playback controls At the bottom are four pre-programmed channel buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, DirecTV, and Peacock; unlike the Alexa Voice Remote Pro, there are no customizable buttons

However, at least unlike the Alexa Voice Remote Lite (included with the Fire TV Stick Lite), the extended remote can be used to turn on the TV and adjust volume, reducing the clutter of cleaning up the TV remote

2023 Fire TV Stick 4K Max has the power and speed to be the best streaming stick among Amazon's Fire TV players The enhanced processor and Wi-Fi connectivity will reduce the time it takes to open apps and play content However, it is slightly more than similar devices made by Roku and Google

The bigger problem is the Fire TV's interface, which is common to all of Amazon's streaming devices, not just this model As ever, the Fire TV shoves Amazon content in your face, which is understandable but can be frustrating

Overall, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) is a good streaming stick at a decent price However, "good" and "decent" are not enough to pick this over the Roku Streaming Stick 4K or Chromecast With Google TV, as there are many other options on the market Indeed, expect Amazon to offer deals on this product on Black Friday At that point, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd generation) may be worth getting For now, let's hold off