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Rewrite my Fire

Amazon has tweaked the spec sheet for its latest Full HD streamer by adding HDR, Dolby Atmos and a claimed 50% speed boost over the old model

£40 / stuff.tv/FireStick

■ Amazon has updated 2019’s Fire TV Stick to include HDR and Dolby Atmos support. Confusingly, the new third-gen Stick sports exactly the same name as its predecessor and sits below the 4K version launched in 2018, but above the new no-frills Fire TV Stick Lite.

■ This dongle is slightly smaller than the 4K-flavoured model so it’s an even neater fit behind your tellybox. It consumes 50% less electricity than the older model, says Alexa, so it’s a winner if you’re concerned about killing the planet and lowering your utility bills.

■ Setup could not be simpler: just plug in the stick and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll even get to pick your favourite apps so they’ll be added straight to your homescreen, and the voice remote is really intuitive once you manage to prise off the fiddly battery cover.

■ Amazon claims the souped-up 1.7GHz quad-core processor is 50% faster than the previous model’s, and it certainly feels very responsive when you’re whipping around the Fire TV interface hunting for new and edgy shows before settling on that thing you’ve already seen a million times.

■ The Full HD picture looks ace, with no lag or buffering; and with more HDR content landing all the time, the newly added support for that is a welcome addition. Add some Atmos-compatible speakers and you’ll get awesome 3D surround sound too.

Tech specs

Max resolution 1080p with HDR Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, HDMI, Ethernet (via optional adapter), microUSB Dimensions 86x30x13mm, 32g

How deep is your contrast? The Fire TV Stick’s HDR support extends to HDR10+ and HLG, but not Dolby Vision. For that you’ll need the 4K version.

■ Stack for good

Amazon Prime unsurprisingly gets the most exposure in the UI but all the usual apps are here, from BBC iPlayer and All 4 to Netflix and Disney+, while YouTube seems much slicker than on the previous model. ■ It only talks a minute

The Alexa remote means you can fire up voice search just by holding down the mic button. It works brilliantly on Prime and well enough on Netflix, and is a genuine time-saver compared to typing in your viewing orders.

STUFF SAYS A solid little HD streamer for all the best bits of Amazon and more HHHHH

Everything changes for the better with this slicker Stick

Libby Plummer This is another brilliant streaming stick from Amazon, especially if you’re a Prime subscriber. It’s not vastly different from the old model, but the addition of HDR and a punchy processor make it worth the upgrade. Spending a tenner more will get you the 4K version – but at a time when every penny counts, this is a solid plug-and-play streamer if you’re not fussed about the extra pixels.