By now you've probably seen that both Google and Amazon have enabled television control with their respective digital assistants, but to do that you'll need the right smart speaker and a streaming device hooked up to your TV that can integrate with it. You can use Google Home to control a Chromecast, for example, or any Echo to navigate your Fire TV.
That's clunky, though. At least, it's clunkier than it needs to be, and Amazon has a solution. Meet the Fire TV Cube, a device that marries Alexa and 4K video streaming in a single device.
The cube sits next to your TV, and assuming you have an HDMI CEC compatible screen, will fully control your television and what's streaming on it. It can turn on and control sound bars, receivers, cable boxes, and more, all hands-free with Alexa. Plus, since it's a streaming device, it can stream content from stuff like Prime Video and Netflix and still give you access to all of Alexa's skills.
That means even if your TV is off, you can drop “Alexa, watch whatever show on whatever service” and the Fire TV Cube will turn your TV and soundbar/receiver on and start streaming your request. Boom, full integration. It'll work with set-top boxes from Comcast, DISH, et al, too, in case you haven't fully cut the cord.
The device sports eight microphones for far-field voice recognition, so you'll get a great experience in just about any room.
You can pre-order the Fire TV Cube today for $119, and it'll include an IR extender cable and Ethernet adapter. The ship date will be June 21st.
If you're a Prime customer, you can grab one for just $89.99 until June 8th, and you can bundle the Cube with an Amazon Cloud Cam for $199.
Pre-order: Amazon
