The Fire TV Stick 4K’s new name is actually the least confusing thing about it

At its fall hardware event a few weeks ago, Amazon unveiled the newest member of its Fire TV Stick lineup: the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, which is aimed at entry-level 4K streaming and costs $40.

However, one of the issues that immediately arose when Amazon announced the Fire TV Stick 4K Select was the naming scheme, which made it confusing to differentiate it from the existing Fire TV Stick 4K. Hardware and feature-wise, the latter is a superior streaming stick. Amazon acknowledged this confusion and announced it would soon rename the Fire TV Stick 4K to help make its Fire TV Stick lineup easier to understand. Now, that name has been revealed.

Amazon has officially announced that its Fire TV Stick 4K has been renamed to the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus. So, now when you go shopping for a 4K Fire TV Stick, you can choose between three different models: the 4K Select, 4K Plus, and 4K Max.

The new name is helpful, but the Fire TV Stick lineup is still confusing

Should the Fire TV Stick 4K Select exist in the first place?

When Amazon announced it was going to change the name of the Fire TV Stick 4K, there was speculation that it would be called either the 4K Plus or 4K Pro. Personally, I’m glad Amazon chose to go with 4K Plus, as I think it makes a lot more sense. I feel like 4K Pro would have made it confusing to differentiate not from 4K Select, but from the 4K Max.

When you go to the official Amazon store page for the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, the new name is already there, and you can actually choose to have it shipped with the new name or old name, as presumably Amazon still has lots of stock left of the box with the older Fire TV Stick 4K name on it.

“While the name has changed, the quality and features you love remain the same,” Amazon said in a blog post. So if you buy the 4K Plus in the older packaging that still says 4K, you’re still getting the exact same product. No hardware changes have been made.

Overall, while I think this name change is helpful, it still doesn’t really address the fact that the Fire TV Stick lineup itself is still confusing, as Amazon now has three different 4K streaming sticks that are all relatively close in price and look the exact same.

Looking at the lineup as a whole, it really makes me wonder: why does the 4K Select even exist?

To break it down, the Fire TV Stick 4K Select is the least powerful among the three 4K sticks, offering just 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 5, and lacking Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. In contrast, the 4K Plus doubles the RAM to 2GB, has Wi-Fi 6, and includes support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Finally, the 4K Max has the same audio and features as the 4K Plus, but it offers more base storage at 16GB (double the 4K Select and 4K Plus, which both have 8GB) and includes Wi-Fi 6E.

At regular prices, the 4K Select costs $40, the 4K Plus $50, and the 4K Max $60. So three streaming sticks that look the same and have $10 price differences. Looking at the lineup as a whole, it really makes me wonder: why does the 4K Select even exist? Especially since the 4K Plus and 4K Max are always on sale for half off anyway.

I have two theories about why the Fire TV Stick 4K Select exists. One is that it’s a testbed for Vega OS, Amazon’s new operating system, before a wider rollout on a refreshed 4K Plus and 4K Max stick. The second is that I think the 4K Select might fully replace the Fire TV Stick HD in the lineup eventually as its base-level, affordable streaming stick.

For now, Amazon’s new name for the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus definitely helps it stand out more in a lineup of streaming sticks that all look alike but have substantial differences beneath the surface. Additionally, with the 4K Select now available, it will be interesting to see how quickly it gets heavily discounted alongside the 4K Plus and 4K Max. I also find it amusing that the same week Apple TV dropped Plus from its name, Amazon added it to the name of the Fire TV Stick 4K.