So, you want a new Android TV box – 4K capable, of course – and you pretty much want to buy it today and have it in your hands tomorrow? You will probably be looking to buy on Amazon, where you will find literally hundreds of Android TV boxes available.
Let us take the headache out of assessing them all and choosing the right one for you with our recommendations for the five best Android TV boxes you can buy on Amazon today.
They are all 4K capable, and all of them, with the exception of our budget choice, will let you stream the major services such as Netflix and Prime Video in full 4K.
They each have different pros and cons, and which one is right for you depends on what you are looking for. But we guarantee that you will find an Android TV box you will love on this list, and it can be in your home as soon as tomorrow if you get it delivered with Amazon Prime.
Product Links
- Fire TV Stick 4K – Best Overall Android TV Box
- Fire TV Cube – Best For Smart Home
- X88 Pro T 5G Android 10.0 TV Box – Best Affordable Box
- NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV 4K HDR Streaming Media Player – Best Premium TV Box
- NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro 4K HDR Streaming Media Player – Best For Gamers
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Fire TV Cube  |
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X88 Pro T 5G Android 10.0 TV Box  |
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NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV 4K HDR Streaming Media Player  |
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NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro 4K HDR Streaming Media Player  |
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Best Android TV Boxes Available On Amazon
1. Fire TV Stick 4K – Best Overall Android TV Box
If you are looking for both value for money and top quality, the Fire TV Stick 4K is still the best option on the market. It will set you back just $49.99, and it is still the only Android TV box available for less than $100 that will unlock the major streaming services in 4K.
- Unlocks major streaming services in 4K
- Lightweight 1.5 GB ROM and 8 GB RAM
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos Audio
- Integrates with Alexa smart home systems
- Amazon Alexa remote included
One of the most important things people are looking for when choosing a new Android TV box today is being able to watch their favorite movies and programs in 4K. But while most cheap Android TV boxes are 4K compatible, you won’t be able to stream anything from Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in 4K.
This isn’t because the box can’t do it, but because the companies choose which devices to authorize access to their 4K content. They authorize popular devices from the big name brands like Sony and Samsung, but they don’t authorize the cheaper Android TV boxes from the small suppliers.
So, if being able to watch this content in 4K is important to you, this is the cheapest way that you will get access to it.
And there are lots of other great things about the Fire Stick 4K as well. It delivers Dolby Digital Vision and Audio, which again you will rarely see on a box for less than $100. It comes with the Alexa remote, which is worth $20 on its own, and it can fully integrate with your Alexa smart home system if you have one.
The downsides? It is lightweight, with only 1.5 GB of ROM. That is enough to do what the Fire Stick is designed for easily. But if you want to start doing things like downloading Kodi, you might be disappointed by the speeds.
It also layers the Amazon Fire TV operating system over the top of the Android operating system. This means some apps are restricted as you have to download from the Amazon App Store rather than the Google Play Store. There are workarounds, but not everyone wants to deal with this.
It also means that Amazon products will always come up in your search first. So, you might see a paid Amazon option before you see an option you can get for free or already subscribe to.
That’s annoying, but it isn’t a deal-breaker. This Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K offers so much for such a value price tag that a little bit of scrolling to find exactly what you are looking for is a small price to pay.
2. Fire TV Cube – Best For Smart Home
If you like the Fire Stick, but you want something a bit more powerful that will also support you if you do want to install Kodi, torrent, or stream from your own library, then the Fire TV Cube is the souped-up version you are looking for.
- Unlocks major streaming services in 4K
- 2 GB ROM and 16 GB RAM
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos Audio
- Ethernet connection
- Fully-fledged Alexa Speaker
The Fire Cube does everything the Fire Stick does, but more. Most significantly, it not only integrates with Alexa smart home systems if you have one, but it acts as a fully-fledged Alexa speaker in its own right. So, if you want a 4K TV box and you want a smart speaker, the Fire Cube is one of the most affordable ways to get both at the same time.
With 2 GB of ROM and a Heacore, this is still not the most powerful TV box on the market, so it probably won’t satisfy gamers, but it has enough under the hood for both streaming and torrenting, though you will need to do some workarounds to get torrenting working on the Fire TV operating system, though it’s not hard. And if you do, make sure you are using a VPN.
No matter what you are streaming, you will be thankful for the Gigabit ethernet connection that comes built-in, so you can make the best use of every drop of internet connectivity you have at your disposal.
Serious streamers that want to be able to stream from any source in full 4K on a relatively affordable device will love the Fire Cube. Plus, it’s one of the cheapest ways to set yourself up with a smart home speaker as well.
An Amazon Alexa speaker will set you back at least $50, while the Fire Cube is currently selling for only $120.
3. X88 Pro T 5G Android 10.0 TV Box – Best Affordable Box
If all you want is an affordable Android TV box that will allow you to stream directly to your TV and you aren’t concerned about all the bells and whistles, then the X88 Pro is a great choice. It costs just $30 and is just as good as the Android TV boxes on the market that are twice the price.
- Stream your content in full 4K
- Android 10.0 operating system
- 2 GB ROM and 16 GB RAM
But while it is just as good as more expensive budget models, it is nowhere near as good as the other Android TV boxes on this list.
This is a good piece of kit for the price tag. You get 2 GB of ROM and 16 GB of RAM, which is the same as the Fire Cube. It also runs on Android 10.0, which is much less annoying than the Fire TV operating system, and promises longevity as it won’t be going out of date in the near future. With HDR decoding, this is more than enough power to run your favorite apps and stream in 4K.
However, you won’t be able to stream anything on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in 4K, as this little device isn’t authorized to access that content. So, while it could provide you with that content, it is blocked. But this is true of all Android TV boxes for less than $100, with the exception of the Fire TV Stick 4K. So, if you are looking for a budget box, this is just something you have to live with.
You also won’t get any of the Dolby visions and sound, smart home integrations, or the voice remote options you get with the other boxes on this list.
But if all you want is to stream your stuff in 4K when possible but you are willing to accept that it is not always possible, then you won’t find a cheaper option.
But if you do want to explore cheap Android TV box options, check out our complete guide to buying a cheap Android TV box, with recommendations (most of which are available on Amazon too).
4. NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV 4K HDR Streaming Media Player – Best Premium TV Box
If you want all the great things that come with the Fire Cube, but you don’t want to deal with the Fire TV operating system, then you will want to pay an extra $25 to get your hands on the NVIDIA Shield 4K streaming device. This is their device for streamers, rather than gamers, which is currently available for $145.
- Unlocks major streaming services in 4K
- 3 GB ROM and 64 GB RAM
- Tegra X1+ processor
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos Audio
- Ethernet connection
- Compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
This NVIDIA Shield device runs on a powerful Tegra X1+ processor, which is the best processor that you will see in any TV box today and is about 25% faster than previous generation processors. It also has 3 GB of ROM and 64 GB of RAM, both of which are a generous increase to the boxes we have already looked at.
It is authorized to unlock all the major streaming services in 4K, and it is powerful enough to be the hub for your own media library, run Kodi, and support torrenting. It also has an open Android operating system, so you don’t need any workarounds to get everything working the way you want it.
You get Dolby Vision and Audio, GB ethernet connection as well as Wi-Fi, and it integrates not only with Amazon Alexa but also with Google Assistant, so you can use it with a more open-source smart home system.
Basically, the only thing about this device that we don’t like, and which is also very surprising, is that it doesn’t have any USB ports for connecting external hard drives, keyboards, or anything else like that. Presumably, the designers chose to skip it since this is their “lite” device, and they assumed you can connect anything you want via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which you can.
So, basically, streamers that want a seriously good Android TV box should look at this option from NVIDIA Shield.
5. NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro 4K HDR Streaming Media Player – Best For Gamers
However, if you want to use your Android TV box not only for streaming, but also for gaming, then you will need to upgrade to the NVIDIA Shield Pro, which is quite a bit more expensive at $200 on Amazon.
- Unlocks major streaming services in 4K
- 4 GB ROM and 500 GB RAM
- Tegra X1+ processor
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos Audio
- Ethernet connection
- 2 USB 3.0 Ports
- Compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
This flagship device from NVIDIA Shield is basically the same as the slightly more modest streamers device that we just looked at, except it has 500 GB of RAM and 2 USB 3.0 ports for fast connections to external hard drives.
This means that this machine isn’t just powerful enough to be your media streaming hub, but it is also powerful enough to be your gaming hub. And it is built with gamers in mind, including access to NVIDIA’s GeForce Game Stream library.
If you want to know more about this top-end, best of the best Android TV box, read our full review here.
The Verdict
So, there you have it: our pick of the best Android TV boxes you can buy on Amazon today and have in your hands tomorrow.
While we have included one budget option, we’ve mostly steered clear for the simple reason that budget Android TV boxes won’t let you access the major streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in 4K. This isn’t because they aren’t powerful enough, but because they aren’t authorized. This is a deal-breaker for most streamers, so we haven’t recommended them.
But if you are happy to skip this and you want something more budget, check out our complete guide to buying a cheap Android TV box here.
Otherwise, we recommend that streamers looking for the most affordable 4K streaming on a basic level go for the Amazon Fire Stick 4K, and those wanting the same but a bit more power to manage their own media hub and smart home upgrade to the Fire TV Cube.
If you, understandably, don’t like the Fire TV operating system and you want to be able to run Kodi on your TV box, as well as torrent and create your own media hub, then look at the NVIDIA Shield streaming device. But if you also want to use your TV box for gaming, upgrade to the NVIDIA Shield Pro.
What’s your favorite Android 4K TV Box and why? Share your expertise with the community in the comments section.
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