What are the differences between the Fire TV Stick generations?

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a brilliant tool for those who want to transform their boring TV into a streaming platform with all sorts of opportunities. But, there has happened quite a lot with the Amazon Fire TV Sticks throughout the years, and since the 1st generation was released in 2014, until the 3rd generation was released in October 2018, quite a lot has happened. What are the main differences between the different Amazon Fire TV Sticks?

First of all, how can you find out what Fire TV Stick you have in your possession? You can most likely do the dating job yourself, because if you bought it between the autumn of 2014 and 2016, you probably have a Generation 1 Fire TV Stick. If you bought it between the autumn of 2016 and the autumn of 2018, you probably have a 2nd Generation Fire TV Stick, and if you have bought it late in 2018 or in 2019, you have a 3rd generation stick.

But, there is another way to find the version of your Fire TV Stick, and that is to read the following article in the IP Address Guide. There you can see pictures of the different controllers, and the remote is actually the key to identifying the generation of your Fire TV Stick.

An Amazon Fire TV Stick (First generation)
An Amazon Fire TV Stick (First generation)

What are the main differences between the Fire TV Stick generations?

If we want to make it short, there is the normal evolution of computer technology that is also taking place in the world of the Fire TV Sticks.

As a result, the processor is getting better and better (faster and faster) with the never generations of the Fire TV Stick. Not only is it getting faster, but the remote itself is also getting better. In the first generation the amount of buttons were limited. In the 2nd generation, you got the chance to use the Alexa Voice Remote, and in the third generation, you can turn on your TV with the remote and also control the volume. That is actually quite useful, so I am happy about the upgrade to the latest Fire TV Stick remote.

The most recent generation also has support for 4K (if you buy the more expensive version of the Fire TV Stick).

There are even more differences worth noticing.

The first generation of the Fire TV Stick had 8GB of space for internal storage (whereof 4,5 GB could be used by the user) and 1 GB of memory. It also had support for Bluetooth 3.0.

The second generation of the Fire TV Stick had exactly the same size of internal storage space, and it also came with 1 GB of memory. But, it came with support for Bluetooth 4.0.

The third generation didn’t come with more storage space, but the most important upgrade was the fact that it came with 1,5 GB of memory, something that can clearly be felt as you use the device. It is much faster than its predecessors.

These are some of the differences between the different generations of the Fire TV Stick.

Which generation is your Fire TV Stick? Are you satisfied with the Fire TV Stick? Or would you rather use a Google Chromecast or some other smart-device? Or maybe just buy a Smart TV right away instead of trying to transform your TV into a smart TV using a Fire TV Stick?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

2 thoughts on “What are the differences between the Fire TV Stick generations?”

  1. My gen 2 freezes up regularly. Tech support says “unplug it and replug it”. Does the gen 3 suffer the same problem? It’s annoying to the point of me wondering if it was the right choice.

    1. Well, I am not really sure – they are all slow, but they get better with every generation. I went from generation 1 to generation 2 and it became much better, and I haven’t had trouble with it freezing, even though it can get really slow (still).

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