Chromecast 3 and Amazon Fire TV Stick are capable of turning any HDMI-enabled TV into a smart TV. Known as dongles, they connect and stream images from the internet, access applications, and play back leading streaming services.
See their characteristics and also a comparison between the two.
Chromecast Google 3 Full HD HDMI
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Chromecast 3 brings something new: Full HD (1080p) transmission support at up to 60 frames per second (fps) for smoother transitions.
The design is slightly smaller and more discreet, with a single color option (dark gray). Videos and other content are streamed to your TV via mobile phone or computer, on Android or iPhone iOS systems, and Windows or macOS via the Chrome browser.
The device lets you stream TV videos generated by apps like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify, as well as games like Just Dance, Ubisoft’s famous dance app.
Another new feature of this TV converter is that it accepts voice commands as it is integrated with the Google Home smart speaker.
The dongle’s wireless network uses 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
The handset offers Environment Mode that enables you to convert your TV into a digital screen for projecting Google Photos images and even forecasting the weather and time.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
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Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition, in addition to being a dongle, runs streaming, stores video files and provides support for installing games and applications.
The device is capable of playing Full HD video.
Sold in black, the device looks like a flash drive and has 1 GB of RAM and an 8 GB storage space for storing files. Technically, the Fire TV Stick’s memory even allows games to be installed on the device itself.
This pen drive is sold in conjunction with a remote control that interacts with the device interface, eliminating the use of mobile or computer.
Apps are installed through the Play Store because Amazon’s operating system (Fire OS) is derived from Android.
Finally, it is important to note that Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service, is exclusive to Fire TV and not available on other dongles.
Advantages and disadvantages: which model to invest in?
The first big difference between the two dongles is that Chromecast is a content relay and Fire TV Stick is a standalone player. This means that if the user wants to watch a movie on Netflix, the Amazon device connects via a few clicks on the remote, while the Google model relies on a smartphone, computer, or tablet to make the connection.
Fire TV Stick, which works like a TV box, has full applications, but you need to download them. In Chromecast, which mirrors images, the apps will be all those already installed, for example, on the smartphone that generates the images.
In short, Google’s dongle is simpler, but Amazon’s most complete. The first is lighter and the second more robust. However, Chromecast may crash if you lose your connection to your mobile phone, while in Fire TV the connection is direct (thus more stable) with your TV.
Knowing which one to use is a personal decision because, knowing both, the consumer will be able to use the one that best suits them. Good choice!