Firestick by Amazon, Chromecast by Google, Roku Streaming Players, and Apple TV is fighting each other to be the best streaming device. Apart from that, Android TV Box is also giving tough competition to these streaming devices. In this article, we compared the features of Android TV Box vs Firestick to find out the best one. If you want to know the pros & cons of these devices in detail, read the detailed comparison between Android TV Box and Amazon Firestick.
What is Android TV Box?
Android TV Box is an external TV device that runs on Android. It can be connected to any TV with an HDMI port that instantly turns your TV smart. When Android TV Boxes are considered there are 37 products available around the world. In the US, there are 10 Android TV Boxes are in existence. Even though there are many Android TV Boxes available, only a few devices like Nvidia and Xiaomi are familiar to the people. These are the devices that can be connected to your TV and turn your TV into a smart TV.
What is the difference between Android TV and Android TV Box?
It may be confusing to many people that both Android TV and Android TV Box are the same or different. Well, both aren’t the same. Android TV is a real TV that runs on Android OS whereas Android TV Box is a setup device that can be connected to the HDMI port of the TV. Android TV is an independent device, Android TV Box is not an independent device, it needs to be connected to a TV. OnePlus TV, Samsung smart TV are examples of Android TV. Mi Box, NVIDIA Shield TV, AirTV are some of the examples of Android TV Box.
What is Amazon Firestick?
Amazon Fire TV / Firestick is one of the best streaming devices for any normal TV. With the Firestick, you can change your normal TV to a smart TV. You can install apps, play games, surf the internet, watch & stream movies & TV shows, and many more things. You can do all the things that you can do it on your smartphone. In the streaming devices section, Amazon Firestick is considered to be the best streaming device. Below is the comparison between Firestick to Android TV Box. If you are going to buy any of these two devices, read the below article and then decide which device you are going to buy.
Related Comparison: Firestick vs Chromecast
Android TV Box vs Firestick: Setup
The Setup procedure for Android TV Box is similar to the Android Smartphone setup (both are Google-made OS). The external wire connection like powering the TV Box and connecting the TV Box to the HDMI port are the common connections in all the brands of Android TV Box. Adding an account, choosing the language, and set up the Home WiFi network are the essential setup operations. You can also choose your Android smartphone account if you have any. This will cut short some of the setup procedures.
When you have done the external wire connection, you have to follow the on-screen instructions. One key thing is that your device comes with an Amazon shopping account if you need to set up a new account, you can remove the account. Like every other device, you need to set your language and Home Wi-Fi connection. The setup procedure is the same as Android TV Box but with different names.
In the setup procedure, all the steps are very similar to each other. In the setup section, all the devices are considered as equal.
Android TV Box vs Firestick: Design
As mentioned earlier, there are 37 Android TV Boxes are available. All the devices can’t have the same design. Nvidia Shield TV Box has a circular shaped device which is never existed in the streaming device. Like this, Android TV Boxes are available in many shapes and dimensions.
In the case of Firestick, it has a uniform shape. It is a small pen drive sized device that can be directly connected to your TV. It is the simplest of all devices, you just need to connect the device to your TV and you are good to go. Firestick is the most comfortable device to use. The device is easy to carry and can be transported to any place. Firestick won’t occupy any space at all.
On design-wise, In Android TV Box, you can have a variety of shapes. You can choose the desired device you want. Whereas in Firestick, the design is compact. Amazon Firestick is the best device as it won’t need any space and easy to connect.
Android TV Box vs Amazon Firestick: Control
Every Android TV Box has its own remote control. The remote follows the most standard design, the rectangle shape. Other than the remote control, TV Boxes can be controlled by smartphone apps. All the Android TV Boxes will have its own remote control smartphone apps. For Xiaomi devices, the smartphone has a built-in app to control the TV boxes. Both the devices are Android-based, the control between the devices will be easier.
Amazon’s Firestick has a remote control to control the devices. You can also control the device by using Alexa voice control too. It also has a smartphone app called Amazon Fire TV to control its device. Other than these, you can also control the Firestick with Echo devices which is absent in other streaming devices.
Read How to pair Firestick remote?
In the control department, Firestick is the clear winner as it is having control over Echo devices. The individual remote, smartphone app is the common controlling option of the Andriod TV Boxes.
Android TV Box vs Amazon Firestick: UI
The Android TV Box has the same UI as your Android smartphone but with small changes. Like your Android Smartphones, all Google apps are preinstalled in the device. The version of Andriod may differ among the brands. You can also update the Android version. If you want you can change the UI by installing some Android launchers. There are so many launchers available on the Google Play Store itself.
Firestick runs on Fire OS, which is very similar to Android OS. Fire OS is maintained and developed by Amazon. Until now there are three versions of Fire OS, Fire OS 5 which is based on Android 5.1, Fire OS 6 which is based on Android 7.1, Fire OS 7 which is based on Android 9. From this, it is evident that Amazon released Fire OS for every two Android OS. For a TV, FireOS works better than many.
In the UI, Android TV Boxes are the best streaming device. Because you can change the UI by changing the launcher. This feature is not available on the Amazon Firestick.
Related Comparison: Amazon Firestick vs Roku
Android TV Box vs Firestick: App Ecosystem
Since the Google Play Store is preinstalled, you can install most of the Play Store apps on your Android TV, if storage permits. Most of the third-party apps are written in such a way that it can installed on Android devices as Android is the most common platform. By using Android TV Boxes, you will have the privilege that you can install almost all the third-party apps. In Android TV Box, you will never get disappointed with Apps compatibility.
On the other hand, Firestick has its own app store called the Amazon App Store where you can install all the apps. Apart from the app store apps, you can sideload apps by using third-party downloaders. You can also install Andriod apps on your Firestick as the Fire OS is very similar to Android OS. Firestick can hold a lot of apps as it is having 8GB of storage.
In apps compatibility, no device is superior to the other. You can install most of the available apps on both Android TV and Firestick. So, its a tie.
Android TV Box vs Firestick: Gaming
Like Apps, there is a wide variety of games available for Android TV Box. Some of the Android TV Box has a game controller that is sold separately. Some companies are popular for gaming like Nvidia has its own streaming device that is capable of playing high-end games without any issue.
In the gaming section, Firestick is a bit low-end device. You can play games on Firestick with the game controller. But, while playing high-end games, the device may not respond quickly to your commands. On the bottom line, Firestick is not the best device for gaming.
In the gaming section, Android TV Box is the best gaming device. With that, you can’t conclude that all the Android TV Boxes are best for gaming. Only a few devices like Nvidia Shield TV are the best.
Android TV Box vs Firestick: Pricing
You can so many choices in Android TV Box so in the pricing also you may have choices. The price starts at as cheap as $40 and goes as high as $200. The contrast in price is due to the added features like gaming, high storage among the different brands.
Amazon has a variety of streaming devices in its line up. The costs range from $45 to $119. Firestick is the best and cheap streaming device. With only $45, you can get a streaming device that is far better than most of the streaming devices.
Final Verdict
If you analyze all the ups and downs of the Android TV Box and Firestick, Amazon Firestick is the best streaming device. It is the cheapest among all the devices. If you are going to buy any one of the above devices, Amazon Firestick is worth the buy.