Amazon’s Fire TV Cube is the square-faced offspring of a Fire TV and an Echo

You once had to get off of your backside to change TV channels. Imagine! Now, you tell tiny remotes what you want to watch. But if even that is too much effort, there’s Amazon’s Fire TV Cube ($120), due for release on 21 June in the US (and likely shortly thereafter elsewhere). There’s a remote in the box for Luddites, and a speaker for interacting with the Cube when your telly’s off. Mostly, though, you’ll bellow at the thing to have it switch shows and inputs, adjust the volume, and interact with Alexa. So via the power of your voice alone, you’ll be able to watch Preacher, peruse sports scores and weather forecasts, turn up the heating, and gorge on trailers for movies playing at nearby cinemas. Although the last of those is probably redundant, because with a Cube attached to your telly, you may never need to leave the sofa again.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.