Older Amazon Fire TV Stick Users Are Saving Money On Upgrades With This Offer

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The latest version of Amazon's popular plug-in streaming device, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, is cheap and easy to use, so it might just be worth it to swap out your old model. What you may not know is that you can get it even cheaper with the trade-in of an old Fire TV Stick or another Amazon device you don't use, like an Echo Dot. With Amazon's trade-in scheme, you can send in the Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick International, or Fire TV Stick HD to get a $3 discount on top of a gift card with a trade-in value of up to 20% off. 

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max upgrades the resolution to 4K quality, as the name implies, but also introduces a "smarter" search function with Alexa support, allowing you to use voice commands to find your favorite media. It also supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos Audio formats, and has 16GB of storage built in for apps and games, which Amazon states is double the amount in the original Fire TV Stick 4K.

In addition to the 4K UHD resolution for most media, which brings a huge upgrade in visual fidelity over standard HD — 4K is four times the resolution of standard HD — the Fire TV Stick 4K Max has some great upgrades for the price. Eagle-eyed folks might proclaim that Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Select and Fire TV Stick 4K Plus also handle ultra-HD 4K resolutions. So, what's the big deal? Mostly, it's the internal hardware that differentiates the Fire TV models, especially the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. 

For example, Fire TV Stick 4K Select has 1GB of RAM, whereas Plus and Max have 2GB of RAM, which leads to snappier, more responsive menus and apps. Meanwhile, the 16GB of storage in the Max adds more space for content, and Wi-Fi 6E means better streaming and browsing performance, which also blends well with the onboard Xbox gaming support. You can stream Xbox games right to your Fire TV Stick without a console thanks to Xbox Game Pass, but you will need a controller.

If you don't already own an Amazon Fire TV Stick, there are some things you need to know first before buying any version. Amazon does block streaming apps not officially available through its app store, as well. Additionally, you of course need to have an HDMI port in your television to plug it in. Finally, don't buy any of them at full price — they're often on sale, on top of the trade-in discount.