Plenty of companies require to build the centrepiece for tomorrow ’s smart habitation . Amazon has a head start , too . 10 of millions of Americansnow ownEcho machine , and Alexanow hastens of yard of skills . add together a voice assistant to any television , I’ve always thought , could be a game auto-changer . And now , Amazon ’s Fire TV Cube does just that . Is it a game changer ? Not yet .
Fire TV Cube
What is it ?
Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)
A situated top box with Alexa
Price
$ 120
Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)
Like
let you curb TV with spokesperson
No like
Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)
Does so slowly , ill
The $ 120 Fire telly Cube is a wacky mashup of a Fire TV and an Echo — with some completely newfangled features to rush . It does everything that a steady old Fire TV dongle does , but it can also enable you to control your television with your spokesperson . Say , “ Alexa , reverse on the TV , ” and the goggle box turns on . Say , “ Alexa , bring the movie 9 to 5 , ” and Alexa will do the work of find it , seeing if you get it for free , and permit you how to purchase it if you do n’t . The experience is designed so that you never have to touch your remote , and after a few days of using the machine , I can say that this is dead on target . It does n’t mean that I did n’t require to advert my remote , though .
One problem with voice helper is that they ’re a little dim . This always bugged me about using an Echo to see to it the luminance in my apartment . Walking in the room access and saying “ Turn on the Inner Light ” just was n’t as fast as slapping the switch on the wall . Then again , it was very commodious when I was run low to layer , the switch was on the other side of the elbow room , and I could just shout to turn them off . living is a maze of trade - offs and conundrums .
When it comes to view telecasting , though , the wait really go down on . It takes two or three beats for the Fire TV Cube to register and then perform your program line . So if you ’re look for a movie to watch , you may see eight at a fourth dimension on the fresh designed , voice - quick drug user user interface , but to see the next eight you have to ask Alexa to show them to you and wait a sec for her to do it . This is a really elementary complaint , but it ’s also a big one for me .
The Fire TV Cube also suffers from all the other conversant Alexa problem , too . Sometimes , the by artificial means intelligent software program simply does n’t understand what you ’re saying . In a demonstration , an Amazon rep asked Alexa to show some play . Alexa pull up some Thomas the Tank Engine videos . When I get home to test the equipment , I asked Alexa to go back 30 minutes in a motion-picture show . Alexa showed me a selection of pic with statute title like 30 Minutes or Less .
To simplify thing , Amazon has innovate a new numbered menu so that you’re able to say “ Alexa , peck issue one ” instead of “ Alexa , pick Y Tu Mamá También”—presumably so that there ’s a less chance the AI helper will misapprehend you . The process still feels clunky , and I still feel like I was say “ Alexa ” fashion too often . But misunderstands are n’t specific to Alexa . Google Assistant and Siri bear from similar shortcomings . It just does n’t make it any less frustrative , when you just need to channel-surf through some sweet content .
So I ’ll keep my remote tight by , for now . It ’s just quicker and more dependable . Maybe I ’m old fashioned to cling to my buttons and my phone , when I require to assure my TV , but I want to cerebrate I ’m also being practical . It ’s handy to tell Alexa to turn on the TV and show me David Bowie pic , when I take the air in the door and desire to watch Labyrinth as shortly as possible . The Fire telecasting Cube can do this well . Most of the time , though , I require to browse through the gratuitous movies and watch something dreaded . The Fire TV Cube suck at this .
If you were already thinking about buying a Fire TV , however , you should unquestionably see spending an extra $ 50 on the Fire TV Cube . By owning it , you will decidedly get all the great fringe benefit of owning a Fire TV , because the new Cube work just like a stock $ 70 Fire telecasting dongle , including support for 4 K and HDR subject matter . you could still buy the stock Fire TV , too , but the Cube will set up you up for the vox - operate future we ’ve been predict . The bright side is that the gimmick ’s wearisome software can probably be improved with a software update , and as Amazon loves to say , Alexa is always getting better . So the Fire television Cube might get better soon , too .
Though by buying this Echo that ’s not quite called an Echo , you will still be instal several always - on mike and potentiallyinviting the Jeff Bezos privacy pirates into your home . Nightmarescould follow . But hey , like I say , life is a maze of trade - offs and enigma .
README
Comes with all the corking lineament of a Fire TV plus some new Alexa abilities
Voice control is much slower than using an actual TV remote control
Alexa struggles to read commands , for now
Costs significantly more than a $ 70 Fire TV
AlexaAmazon EchoFire TVPrivacySet - top BoxesSmart Home
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