New Fire TV Stick 4K Can Run Off the TV, Lacks Dolby Vision

Amazon pitches the new $59.99 Fire TV Stick 4K (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) as the middle of its range, and on paper it suits a 4K TV unless that TV supports Dolby Vision: the new stick lists HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG but not Dolby Vision, so the 4K Max (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) is the stick that keeps it. The new 4K can run off your TV’s USB port with the cable in the box. Amazon does not say how much power that port has to supply.

Amazon announced the stick on 30 September and in the same post cut its range to “three clear tiers” of stick plus the Fire TV Cube (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab). Other models, it says, “will also continue to be available while supplies last”.

The four Fire TV players, on Amazon’s own specs

	Stick HD (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	Stick 4K (new) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	Stick 4K Max (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	Cube (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Released	2026	2026	2023 (2nd Gen)	2022 (3rd Gen)
Resolution	HD	Up to 4K at 60fps	4K	4K
HDR formats	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 6E
RAM / storage	1GB / 8GB	1GB / 8GB	2GB / 16GB	2GB / 16GB
Software	Vega OS 1.1	Vega OS 2.0	Fire OS 8	Fire OS 7
Price	$39.99 at Best Buy	$59.99, Amazon says	$84.99 at Best Buy	Not read

Specs are from Amazon’s developer device-specification pages; Best Buy prices were read on 9 October 2026. Amazon announced the Stick HD at $34.99 in April. Of the four, Amazon describes Direct Power, running off the TV’s USB port, for the Stick HD and the new Stick 4K.

Which one fits your TV

• An HD TV, a spare room or a hotel bag: the Stick HD (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab). Amazon pitches it at “the HD TV they already have” and at travel.
• A 4K TV that uses HDR10 or HDR10+: the new Stick 4K. It covers the HDR formats your TV can show, and Amazon claims it starts content “nearly 20%” faster than “a similarly priced 4K stick from another leading brand”, a figure from Amazon’s own testing.
• A 4K TV with Dolby Vision: the 4K Max, or the Cube. Check your TV’s spec sheet for the words Dolby Vision. If you are still choosing the TV itself, the TVs reviewers rate highest are listed with their scores.
• A Wi-Fi 6E router, or no way to run a cable: the 4K Max or Cube, the two with 6 GHz Wi-Fi on Amazon’s pages. If streams stall, the last hop from router to stick is worth checking before blaming the stick.
• You want to speak without the remote, or switch a cable box from Fire TV: the Cube. Its page lists a four-microphone array, an HDMI input and a 10/100 Ethernet port.

What changed from the old Fire TV Stick 4K

Three things, on Amazon’s developer pages, comparing the new stick with the Fire TV Stick 4K 2nd Gen from 2023:

1. Dolby Vision is gone. The 2023 model lists it; the new one does not. Amazon’s announcement now calls Dolby Vision one of the 4K Max’s “premium features”.
2. The software is different. The 2023 stick runs Fire OS 8, as does the 4K Max, whose entry on the same page lists Android 11. The new one runs Vega OS, which Amazon’s developer blog calls “Linux-based”. Amazon says it has added over 2,000 apps to Vega since its first device last year, including Spotify, Xbox and VLC. If you depend on a less common app, check it is listed for the new stick before you switch.
3. RAM halves on paper, from 2GB to 1GB. Storage stays at 8GB, Wi-Fi stays at Wi-Fi 6, and the processor stays a quad-core at up to 1.7GHz. Amazon nonetheless claims apps launch “over 35% faster” than on a rival stick; we have not measured either.

On sound, the developer page lists HDMI pass-through for Dolby Atmos on the new stick, meaning it sends the Atmos stream on for a soundbar or receiver to decode. That sits oddly beside the announcement’s description of Atmos as a 4K Max feature, so if Atmos matters, check the developer page rather than the marketing line.

The new Fire TV Remote ships with it. Amazon says the remote pairs with every Fire TV streaming player launched since 2019 and will sell on its own for $14.99 from late October.

What the new stick needs from your TV

An HDMI port and, ideally, a USB port. Amazon’s developer page lists the stick’s own connectors as HDMI 2.1 and USB-C 2.0, and the included cable runs from the stick’s USB-C to the TV’s USB port. Amazon calls this Direct Power.

What Amazon does not publish is the other half: how much current the TV’s port must supply, or what happens if it supplies too little. Neither the announcement nor the developer page gives a power figure. For the Stick HD, Amazon’s April post says that if a TV has no USB port, the stick “can always be powered with a USB-C cable and a wall adapter”. The 4K announcement does not repeat that line.

Plan on buying the adapter if you need one. Best Buy’s listing marks the wall adapter and the 5ft cable as sold separately, and lists only a power cable in the box.

One menu to visit after setup: our guide to switching off TV viewing trackers gives Amazon’s path to the Fire TV privacy settings. Amazon also dates its security updates by model; how long each TV platform says it keeps updating lists its commitment.

When it ships, and where

Amazon says the new Fire TV Stick 4K is $59.99 and began shipping on 30 September in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Australia, with more countries in late October. Best Buy listed it at $59.99 on 9 October.

Engadget, reporting on 30 September, listed the range the day before as five players: the Stick HD, 4K Select, 4K Plus, 4K Max and Cube. The 4K Select and 4K Plus are the two missing from Amazon’s new list; Amazon’s own post names neither.

Questions people ask

Which Fire TV Stick should I buy in 2026?

On Amazon’s specs: the Stick HD for an HD TV or travel, the new Stick 4K for a 4K TV that uses HDR10 or HDR10+, and the 4K Max if your TV supports Dolby Vision or your router has Wi-Fi 6E. The Cube adds hands-free Alexa and an Ethernet port.

Does the new Fire TV Stick 4K support Dolby Vision?

Not according to Amazon’s developer specifications, which list HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG for it. The previous Fire TV Stick 4K, the 4K Max and the Cube all list Dolby Vision as well.

Can the Fire TV Stick 4K be powered by the TV’s USB port?

Yes. Amazon calls it Direct Power and includes a cable for the TV’s USB port. It does not say how much power the port must supply. For the Stick HD it says a USB-C cable and a wall adapter work if the TV has no USB port.

Does the new Fire TV Stick 4K come with a power adapter?

Best Buy’s listing says no: the box has the stick, the remote, a power cable, two AAA batteries and a guide, and its product image marks the wall adapter and 5ft cable as sold separately.

What is the difference between the Fire TV Stick 4K and 4K Max?

On Amazon’s developer pages the 4K Max has Dolby Vision, Wi-Fi 6E, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and Fire OS 8. The new 4K has HDR10+ but no Dolby Vision, Wi-Fi 6, 1GB of RAM, 8GB and Vega OS.

Is the Fire TV Stick 4K Select discontinued?

Amazon has not used that word. Its 30 September announcement names three sticks and the Cube as the lineup and says other existing models stay available while supplies last. Engadget lists the 4K Select and 4K Plus as the two that dropped out.