Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro Review: An Unnecessary Upgrade

Amazon Fire TV and Roku each embrace remotes with their streaming gadgets and TVs, and each now supply the choice to purchase a fancier clicker for $30. We actually like Roku’s model, the Voice Remote Pro, which comes with a chargeable battery and an intuitive find-my-remote characteristic. Instead of looking endlessly for a misplaced distant, you may simply say “Hey Roku, find my remote” and the mid-field mic on the distant’s physique will play a beeping noise till you discover it. It’s an excellent trick that works properly and makes the improve tempting for anybody who owns a Roku. 

I did not just like the $30 Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro almost as a lot. Like the Roku model, the Amazon incarnation additionally options find-my-remote capabilities, although it is inferior to the one discovered on Roku. That’s as a result of Amazon’s distant lacks a mid-field mic and subsequently wants a further Alexa system, like an Echo speaker, in an effort to ping your lacking distant. The Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro additionally lacks a chargeable battery, so it nonetheless wants a gradual provide of AAAs for its energy. That mentioned, it does include a simple approach to pair your Bluetooth headphones to your TV, in addition to backlit buttons so you may see them at nighttime. Otherwise, this distant is not very totally different from different remotes included with Fire TV gadgets and is not definitely worth the improve in any respect — until you always lose your clicker and are determined for a approach to discover it. 

Read More: Ultimate Alexa Command Guide: 200+ Voice Commands You Need to Know

The good: Backlit buttons, Bluetooth pairing

The Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro seems so much like different Fire TV remotes. Its format is sort of an identical to that of the distant that comes with the Fire TV Cube, for instance, although the Pro is barely extra compact. It comes with three extra buttons that may solely be discovered on the Pro: a headphone button on the prime proper nook, which acts as a shortcut to Bluetooth pairing, in addition to two customizable shortcut buttons on the backside. These can be utilized to open an app in your TV, provoke an Alexa command or management Alexa-enabled good house merchandise. 

Everything on the distant works properly, even throughout a number of Fire TV gadgets. I examined the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro on an older Fire TV Stick 4K and on the 2022 Fire TV Cube and was capable of simply change between the gadgets by urgent and holding the house button on the distant till it paired. There was no distincti on in performance from one Fire TV system to the opposite. 

I discovered that it was straightforward to set a shortcut button — all I needed to do was long-press on one of many customizable buttons to carry up a listing of shortcuts to select from — and urgent on the preinstalled shortcuts to Prime Video, Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu labored flawlessly. 

Using the headphones button to pair Bluetooth gadgets was additionally straightforward and efficient. Clicking on the button opened a facet menu the place you may shortly pair your Bluetooth headphones. Both of my Bose Quiet Comfort IIs and my Airpods Pro related to my Fire TV Cube with minimal fuss. I did not discover any lag in sound or dialogue and located it to be an effective way to observe TV. It’s particularly good to attach with out having to make use of an app on my telephone (I’m taking a look at you, Roku) in an effort to watch TV with out disturbing anybody. 

Note that you could pair headphones with most Fire TV gadgets by digging into the menus, so the shortcut button is not a necessity. It is actually handy, nevertheless, and I’d like to see it on extra remotes sooner or later.

The backlit buttons aren’t a game-changer, however it’s enjoyable to see the white symbols glow via the all-black buttons each time you seize the distant in a dim room. It’s a pleasant contact that offers the distant a barely extra premium really feel. 

The dangerous: To discover this distant, you want one other Alexa

Fire TV’s most spectacular characteristic is Alexa voice management, however Alexa is not any totally different on the “Pro” distant than it’s on every other system. All Fire TV remotes have entry to Amazon’s private assistant. You can ask it to go looking, management the TV, launch apps, and do any variety of issues. There is just one particular characteristic that makes the Pro distant compelling: Alexa can discover this distant when it is misplaced. 

Unfortunately, it is advisable depend on one other Alexa system to ensure that this to work. Amazon is for certain that you will have different Alexa-powered gadgets round your room, and if that is the case, all you will must do is ask different ones to assist. 

But what in case your Fire TV is the one Alexa system you personal? Well, then you definately’ll must obtain and use the Alexa app in your Android or iPhone. Just open it up and say “Alexa, find my remote.” This will activate the clicker’s painfully annoying multi-note beep (I desire Roku’s vary of finder sounds). It will not cease till you hit any button on the system, which offers you additional incentive to seek out your distant as shortly as attainable in an effort to shut it up.

The complete course of works as supposed, however I want it have been attainable to chop Alexa out of the equation. Roku’s use of a mid-field mic on its distant signifies that you do not want an additional system to seek out it when it is misplaced. The distant itself will be capable to hear you and instantly begin pinging — no want for an app or anything. 

The Roku Voice Remote Pro additionally comes with a chargeable battery, whereas the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro doesn’t. I perceive that it may be annoying to want to recharge tech, however single-use batteries aren’t very environment friendly. This appears like one other place the place Amazon did not differentiate the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro from the remainder of the remotes it makes. 

Conclusion: You do not want this distant

Ultimately, the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote Pro does little to make it an attention-grabbing, not to mention needed, improve. If you’ve got misplaced or destroyed your unique distant and wish a brand new one anyway, or when you lose your Fire TV distant always, this may be a sensible choice. Otherwise, save your $30 and spend it on one thing extra helpful.