New Fire TV Cube coming

It's still nearly a month from actual release, but Amazon did recently announce that a new edition of the Fire TV Cube would be available soon.

I know that most people opt for the Fire TV Stick -- commonly called "Firestick" by many users -- but the Fire TV Cube is the top of the line of Amazon's streaming devices. Personally, I use the Fire TV Cube because of my previous experience with the Fire TV Sticks.

The first Fire TV Sticks were simply inferior devices, especially when compare to the Roku devices. However, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is a very good device, and completely changed my mind about the Sticks. But, if you do want the top of the line experience, the Fire TV Cube is the way to go.

According to the Amazon Fire TV Blog, the new Fire TV Cube will be available on October 25 and have some improvements in power and speed, plus an HDMI input:

An industry-first, Fire TV Cube includes an HDMI input port, giving customers the flexibility to bring their entertainment devices together by directly connecting compatible cable boxes, Blu-ray players, and more devices. Now, customers can just say, "Alexa, tune to ESPN on cable" instead of manually changing inputs to get to the content they want. With Fire TV Cube, customers can easily control live TV, cable boxes, and on-demand streaming via Fire TV's Alexa Voice Remote or hands-free with Alexa. Fire TV Cube also features a USB port for easy connection to compatible webcams for video calling with Alexa Communications — simply say, "Alexa, call mom" to connect with family or friends from the largest screen in the home.

This may pressure other streaming manufacturers to do the same. Until that happens, the Fire TV Cube will be the only major streaming device to offer a feature that's normally reserved for a full smart TV.

The features are interesting, and if someone has been thinking about getting a Fire TV device, this, to me, is worth waiting for. I don't think I'm going to upgrade my current Fire TV Cube however. If you have an older Cube, then I can see that. But as I don't have need of the HDMI port, I don't see it bringing anything to the table for my Streaming Life. But the device sounds great for someone who doesn't have a current Fire TV Cube.