It's 2026, But The Amazon Fire TV Stick Still Uses Micro-USB Like It's 2016

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Amazon's Fire TV streaming sticks are some of the best media streaming devices you can find on the market today. The company released its first-generation Fire TV Stick in 2014, and since then has expanded the lineup with more options. If you'd like to get a Fire TV Stick device at the moment, the company has several options on the market, including the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Select, and Fire TV Stick HD. The most expensive of the four is the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and it gives you 16 GB of storage, Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced, and Wi-Fi 6E support for more bandwidth, speed, and lower latency. 

But one of the major caveats with buying any of the company's Fire TV Stick devices, even the most powerful Max option, is the use of a micro-USB port for charging. That's because Amazon has decided that, regardless of the continuous adoption of USB-C ports, it won't join that bandwagon just yet. Mind you, in 2026, that shouldn't be the case, given that many different gadgets have adopted USB-C, from phones to laptops and even some weird USB gadgets that you can plug into your phone. 

Even Apple, of all the companies, ditched its proprietary Lightning port for USB-C in the iPhone 15 series in 2023. However, Amazon is sticking it out with a micro-USB port, as if it has special features you would miss out on if it embraced the modern USB-C interface. It's no longer 2016, and the company sure needs to adopt USB-C as the continued use of micro-USB does have its downsides.

The micro-USB physical interface has been around for a while, and the reason why USB-C was created was to address some of its challenges. One of the most notable annoyances of micro-USB ports is that you have to plug the cable into the port a certain way, otherwise it won't work. That is unlike USB-C, which is reversible as it comes with a symmetrical rectangle shape with rounded corners and doesn't need a cable to be plugged in a certain orientation, making it more convenient. Another downside of micro-USB ports that you might not be aware of is their durability. 

Micro-USB ports are known to wear out over time and become loose due to frequent plugging in and unplugging. When that happens, you won't be able to use your Fire TV Stick anymore, as it relies on the port for charging. Besides, if your micro-USB cable spoils, you might have to get a new one unless you still have a similar one lying around, since most modern devices use USB-C. Of course, these two are just the inconveniences of using a micro-USB connector for charging a device like the Fire TV Stick. 

There are other advantages of using USB-C over micro-USB, like faster charging speeds and speedier file transfers, although they don't apply to the Fire TV Stick, as it only uses the USB port for charging. While you can't do anything else other than charge the Fire TV Stick via the micro-USB port, you can achieve more if you get an appropriate adapter. For instance, the $14.99 Ethernet Adapter for Amazon Fire TV Devices enables wired internet connectivity, and a $5.97 Micro-USB to USB Adapter lets you connect external storage devices.