Amazon nixed its cheapest Fire TV player. What’s replacing it?

The days are numbered for Amazon’s cheapest Fire TV player, with the Fire TV Stick Lite getting the boot in favor of a newer, slightly pricier model. 

On sale now, the Fire TV Stick HD will hold down the lower end of Amazon’s Fire TV Stick lineup, while the Fire TV Stick Lite and its step-up sibling, the Fire TV Stick, will both be phased out, according to a product matrix supplied by Amazon. 

Priced at $34.99, the Fire TV Stick HD’s MSRP sits between those of the $39.99 Fire TV Stick and the $29.99 Fire TV Stick Lite. 

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best streaming media devices.

So, what’s new about the Fire TV Stick HD versus the Fire TV Stick Lite? Not a lot, at least as far the stick itself goes, with AFTVnews reporting that the Fire TV Stick HD’s player hardware is more or less the same as the Lite’s.  

The Fire TV Stick HD’s video resolution tops out at 1080p (complete with HDR), identical to the Fire TV Stick Lite, and there’s still 8GB of storage for apps, 1GB of RAM, a quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU, and Wi-Fi 5.  

Also similar is the lack of native Dolby Atmos support, although the player does offer Dolby Atmos pass-through for TVs or receivers that can decode the format. (The slightly pricier but still HD-only Fire TV Stick does boast native Dolby Atmos.) 

The big change for the Fire TV Stick HD compared to the Fire TV Stick Lite comes with the remote. The older Fire TV Stick Lite came with a “lite” version of the Alexa Voice Remote that lacked TV power and volume buttons, meaning you needed a separate remote to adjust your TV’s volume or turn your set on or off. 

The Fire TV Stick HD’s remote, on the other hand, does have TV power and volume buttons, allowing you to pare down the number of remotes in your living room. Indeed, it’s the same Alexa Voice Remote (aside from a few cosmetic changes) that shipped with the step-up Fire TV Stick.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Fire TV streaming player lineup remains unchanged. There’s still the Fire TV Stick 4K for $49.99, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (which adds an “enhanced” remote, more storage, and the Fire TV “Ambient Experience”) for $59.99, and the cable box-controlling Fire TV Cube for $139.99.