5 upgrades Amazon cannot afford to skip on the fol...

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 change into a staple of my streaming setup. I just like the consumer interface, exhibits and flicks look nice in 4K HDR, and its Wi-Fi 6E connection ensures buffer-free streaming. Nevertheless, with Amazon just lately saying the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, it’s got me pondering loads about what the next-generation Hearth TV Stick 4K Max might and will have.

Amazon final up to date the Hearth 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 question {that a} refresh of the 4K Max with Vega OS is coming quickly. Every time Amazon decides it is time, listed here are the 5 upgrades I consider the next-generation Hearth TV Stick 4K Max must should be well worth the wait and folks’s cash.

USB-C is an absolute should for the following Hearth TV Stick 4K Max

Micro USB is a relic of the previous

Even when Amazon launched the present era Hearth 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Quick-forward to 2025, and Micro USB stays as outdated because it was in 2023.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 possible updates the Hearth TV Stick 4K Max quickly, it ought to change to USB-C as a substitute of Micro USB. First, USB-C is extra common and helps a lot quicker information 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 means you plug it in, not like Micro USB, which solely suits in a technique. Moreover, USB-C helps quicker Ethernet speeds, so in case you use an Ethernet adapter together with your Hearth TV Stick, you might 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 Hearth TV Stick 4K Max is provided with 2GB of RAM, and I consider the next-generation 4K Max would profit considerably from extra RAM. Am omcrease to 3GB could be respectable, however a extra sizable bump to 4GB could be even higher. Extra RAM would merely assist with working extra apps, multitasking, and managing background processes, finally making a smoother streaming expertise.

Moreover, not solely would extra RAM be useful, however quicker RAM would additionally give the following Hearth TV Stick 4K Max a fair higher edge. The 2GB of RAM it is outfitted with now’s 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 typical sort of RAM utilized in smartphones and streaming units as a consequence of its compactness, velocity, and energy effectivity. Most flagship telephones now function LPDDR5, which is quicker and extra environment friendly than LPDDR4, and this improve would give the next-generation Hearth 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 Hearth TV Stick 4K Max to be the very best streaming stick available on the market when it launches, it must be outfitted with a extra highly effective processor. The present Hearth TV Stick 4K Max incorporates a quad-core MediaTek processor with speeds of as much as 2.0 GHz. Based mostly on my streaming expertise with it, I would not describe it as gradual, however I additionally would not name it blazing quick both.

The Hearth TV Stick 4K and 4K Choose each function 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, because of the measurement constraints of a streaming stick, and to maintain the fee cheap, I am not saying the Hearth TV Stick 4K Max wants the efficiency of an Apple TV 4K, however I believe a notable bump in processing energy to make the Hearth 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 change into a bigger a part of the Hearth TV expertise, then that further processing energy might 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 Hearth 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 does not use Vega OS as an excuse to cop out on significant {hardware} upgrades. Software program optimizations can solely take you to date.

Barely modify the design

Make the Hearth TV Stick 4K Max stand out

When Amazon launched the second-generation (and present) Hearth 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 Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, however a small design tweak might go a good distance in serving to it stand out throughout the lineup.

At the moment, the Hearth TV Stick 4K, 4K Choose, and 4K Max all look the identical. If Amazon made the 4K Max extra distinctive — maybe with a distinct form, materials, or coloration — it might enhance its visible attraction and assist cut back the confusion customers have with the Hearth TV Stick lineup by clearly distinguishing its premium streaming stick from the others.

Storage increase and Wi-Fi 7

Upgrades that can make the following Hearth TV Stick 4K Max extra future-proof

That is the improve I believe is least more likely to be anticipated from the next-generation Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, however I consider it will nonetheless be a pleasant addition both means. At the moment, the Hearth 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 Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, I believe that if Amazon elevated the storage to 32GB, it will ease most individuals’s worries about working 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 quicker, extra dependable, and make it extra future-proof as soon as it will definitely launches.

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

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

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