The best cheap Fire Stick sales and deals for May 2022

With the latest Amazon Fire Stick sales, you'll find turning your TV into a fully equipped smart TV is much cheaper than you would think. Hundreds of shows and apps will be at your fingertips, and our roundup of the cheapest Amazon Fire Stick deals is here to point you in the right direction.

You'll find all of Amazon's Fire Stick prices on display today, including the all-new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, the budget Fire TV Stick Lite, and the original Fire TV Stick. We've also included the powerful Fire TV Cube, which acts as a combination of an Echo speaker and Fire TV device, and the US-exclusive Fire TV Recast, which allows you to record free over-the-air content - one for all you cord-cutters out there.

The main advantage we've seen with the Amazon Fire TV devices over competitors like Roku and Now TV is the now-standard inclusion of Amazon's Alexa smart assistant, thanks to the voice-remote that comes with every Fire TV device. Several available apps and games just can't be matched by competitors either. So if you want the smartest of smart TV experiences for less, these Amazon Fire Stick sales are the way to go.

The best cheap Fire TV Stick sales and deals

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max was released in October of last year with a starting price of $54.99/£54.99. The Fire TV Stick Max is Amazon's most powerful streaming stick, with support for Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos. Unlike the Fire TV Stick 4K, the 4K Max supports Wi-Fi 6 and features the new quad-core 1.8 GHz processor that Amazon claims offers 40% more power than the previous generation.

The Fire TV Stick Lite was released in 2020 to the Amazon Fire TV family, and it's the cheapest device that Amazon has put out yet. The budget streaming stick allows you to stream your favorite content from apps like Hulu, Amazon Video, Netflix, and more. You'll get access to tens of thousands of channels, Alexa skills, and apps, and the Alexa voice remote allows you to browse shows, launch movies, adjust the volume, and more completely hands-free.

Amazon's 2021 Fire TV Stick 4K streaming device packs a wealth of features into a thumb-drive-sized stick for $49.99/£54.99. The updated Fire TV Stick features 4K Ultra HD capability with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and HDR10+. You're also getting a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, and Dolby Atmos Audio—something very few streaming sticks have. Plus, you also get Alexa, Amazon's smart assistant, and its voice control capabilities.

Amazon's 3rd generation Fire TV Stick was released last year as an updated version and retails for $39.99/£39.99. The 2021 Fire TV Stick now includes an Alexa voice remote allowing you to use your voice to launch movies, apps, shows, and more. While this model only supports HD streaming, the Fire TV Stick is 50% more powerful than the 2nd generation, and the Alexa remote includes all-new preset buttons, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and Disney Plus, allowing you to get your apps faster. If you're wondering the difference between the FIre TV Stick Lite and the Fire TV Stick - you're getting Dolby Atmos with the Fire TV Stick delivering a more immersive audio experience. If this isn't important to you, we suggest going with the Fire TV Stick Lite, which comes with a much cheaper price tag.

Amazon's Fire TV Cube is a hybrid between a smart speaker and a streaming media player. Calling itself the "first hands-free streaming media player with Alexa." Amazon seems to be betting on this combined functionality to sway consumers away from rival Chromecast or Apple TV devices.

Like the Amazon Echo speakers, customers can navigate Fire TV and play/pause/fast-forward content without the need for a remote while still using Alexa for all their weather/shopping/trivia concerns. Don't worry, you get an actual remote control too.

The Cube comes with its own Ethernet port, 16GB of storage, a built-in speaker, and top-of-the-range picture quality, as long as your TV can display it. Users can also control other compatible smart home devices, including additional speakers, soundbars, thermostats, and security cameras. Compared to Amazon Fire Stick prices, the TV Cube doesn't come cheap, retailing for $119/£109.99. You are getting complete control of your Amazon smart home in one neat little black box, making it the easiest way to combine all your connected tech.

Only available in the US. Amazon has released its own DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to record free over-the-air content and watch it via an Amazon Fire TV device or Echo Show (so you'll need one of those too) . There are no subscription fees here, so it's a tempting option for all you cord cutters out there and with a 500GB capacity on the cheapest model, you're looking at around 75 hours of storage, so there's no need to pick up an external drive to save content, which is an issue with some DVRs.

There's a larger 1TB capacity version if you want to double down. Hook it up to a HD antenna and you'll be able to watch and record content from the likes of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, and The CW. Better yet, just ask Alexa to do it for you if you've got a modern Fire TV device with a voice-remote.

Which Fire Stick prices are right for you?

The Fire Stick and the Fire Stick 4K prices are fairly similar to begin with ($39.99/£39.99 and $49.99/£49.99 respectively. So, when the sales do come around, you may well find that the more popular 4K model is cheaper than the original HD-only version. Even if you don't own a 4K TV, there's little point in picking up the older version when this happens (and it seems to regularly). In fact, even if the original Fire Stick prices are cheaper than the 4K offering, if there's a sale on both regardless you might as well pick up the latest model and future-proof your purchase.

Returnal's latest update rebalances the endless Tower of Sisyphus

Sony surprised fans with the Returnal: Ascension update back in March. Adding campaign co-op and an endless survival mode called the Tower of Sisyphus to the popular roguelike, it was well-received and now, it's been adjusted through a new update.

Announced via Twitter , developers Housemarque confirmed details of Returnal update 3.03 earlier this morning, which has since gone live. Said to rebalance gameplay and fix several bugs affecting co-op play, Housemarque confirmed it's also reset the leaderboards for this endless mode, putting everyone on an even playing field.

However, if you're hoping for a more detailed look at what's been altered, you won't find it, not just yet. The exact balance changes made in this update weren't confirmed by Housemarque in the full patch notes . At the time of writing, 3.03's only been out for nearly three hours, meaning there's not been much time for any detailed breakdowns.

You can find the full list of bug fixes below:

We don't know if there'll be any further updates to come, though we've got some clues on Housemarque's next steps. Speaking at the DICE Awards in March, Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen confirmed the team's next game will be a brand new IP instead of a Returnal sequel, stating "it’s early days with us starting a new game, a new IP, concepting it out. We’ll see what comes with that."

Returnal: Ascension gave fans a reason to return

Ascension arrived nearly a year after Returnal's original launch and though we'd seen some significant post-launch updates - update 2.0 added both a save system and photo mode - 3.0 became a literal game-changer for two reasons.

First, we had the Tower of Sisyphus, a survival mode with escalating difficulty. Once you've unlocked the Icarian Grapnel, you can access this new endless mode that's split into phases, each featuring 20 floors and a new boss, Algos. Unsurprisingly, this gets harder through each phase, but thanks to leaderboards and score multipliers, there's plenty of incentive to try again.

Secondly, this also introduced two-player online co-op to the main campaign, letting you play with friends in private matches or random players publicly. You can't stray too far from your teammate and if another player's downed, your partner's got a chance to revive you. Between these two features, fans had a great excuse to play Returnal once more.

We had strong opinions on Returnal when it first arrived last year, giving it 4.5 stars in our own review . Blending third-person shooters with roguelikes, we called it "the perfect game for those who love a challenge with a bit extra behind it. It’s a game of risk, with its unpredictability defining the degree of challenge more than the enemies themselves."

This Windows 11 update is trying to save the world

The latest Windows Insider preview is testing a feature that could make future upgrades to Windows 11 more sustainable. While this is currently still in the testing stages, Insider build 22567 includes the ability to schedule system updates for specific periods of time when your local energy grid is pulling more energy from renewable energy sources than traditionally harmful ones.

To do this, Microsoft will take regional data on carbon intensity from sites like electricityMap and WattTime , and you’ll only be able to enable it if your laptop or PC is plugged into an outlet. If preferred, you can still choose to install updates immediately by navigating to Settings > Windows Update and choosing “Check for Updates”

On the Insider Blog , Microsoft states that “Most electrical grids are powered by multiple sources, including renewables and fossil fuels. Whenever possible, Windows 11 will now prioritize installing updates in the background at times when greater amounts of clean energy sources (like wind, solar, and hydro) are available”

You'll see a small message in the Windows Update section of your settings that reads "Windows Update is committed to reducing carbon emissions", but this doesn't think to anywhere just yet. Interestingly, the blog also mentions "We’re still working on the content that the text links to – stay tuned for future updates" so we have reached out to Microsft to see if we can get some clarification.

Sadly, If the carbon data isn’t available, it doesn’t look like this feature will be available to you and the blog also notes that not all Insider members will have access to this feature just yet, but it certainly feels like a step in the right direction, even if it’s a small one.

Technology is unavoidable, so we must do better

Modern technology uses a lot of power. It’s sometimes a hard pill to swallow for people who love the latest gadgets and hardware, especially if you’re as eco-conscious as I am, but our drive to constantly improve and build upon previous technology now means that we consume more electricity and energy than ever.

I want to see more companies pushing developments like this. It often feels as though in this new world where every aspect of our lives can be dominated by technology - from video gaming hobbies, daily mobile phone usage and now even smart home technology running 24/7 in our houses and apartments - the only alternative for a clear conscious is to simply avoid it all and live in the woods somewhere off-grid.

As appealing as that can sound at times when you just want to escape, it's not a healthy or practical way of approaching the situation for everyone. Technology is here to stay, and without building in environmentally-conscious policies and features into things as they develop, things could quickly get out of hand.

It feels slightly ridiculous that an operating system needs to make adjustments towards sustainability, but I’m grateful that something this small (in the grand scheme of things) is also making an effort. Microsoft is a huge company, and its actions not only set a good example to other smaller brands, but the number of people across the wider market that will use Windows 11 is only going to grow as older operating systems start getting phased out.

We obviously need to be making changes to our daily habits as individuals, but most of these are facilitated by what we have access to - you can’t be expected to buy an electric car with sufficient charging infrastructure for example, and in many regards, we’re entering a future in which anyone who doesn’t have access to devices like laptops or tablets will be at a huge disadvantage within the workplace and education.

Not everything is 'greenwashing'

Microsoft already makes many notable pledges towards sustainability and ethical working, using recycled marine plastics to create peripherals like mice. It also works towards creating a more equal space across both work and play, creating adaptive controllers for the Xbox console series and implementing inclusive features across its entire hardware and software range to help the disabled community.

There's a lot to cover in that bracket, but if you feel disadvantaged using mainstream technology because of things like mental illness and neurodivergent, or physical disabilities that affect your hearing, vision and mobility then you can read more on the accessibility section of the Microsoft website .

That said, there’s always more to be done, and I fear that a recent trend of ‘greenwashing’ has only thrown additional spanners in the works. For those unaware, greenwashing refers to a marketing tactic where brands will use sustainability or otherwise ecologically virtuous features to sell their products. Think 'bio-degradable' bags that actually take decades to break down into dangerous microplastics.

I’ve spoken to companies like Dell and Razer about its own sustainability pledges in the past, and who were keen to prove that its efforts come from a place of genuine care and concern for our planet and its people, but there will always be those that are happy to label any work towards a more sustainable future as greenwashing to appease the public.

I also like to take things with a healthy dose of skepticism, but I fear that condemning any and all efforts to improve on current policies will demotivate privately-owned companies from making any additional improvements in the future. Let’s not settle for just the bare minimum, but let's also use our common sense and not sabotage genuine efforts towards improving our planet for the generations that will inherit it.

Can Microsoft be doing more? Absolutely, and as one of the driving forces in computing alongside Apple, I demand additional features and policies to reduce carbon emissions, as well as proof of ethical material sourcing and manufacturing, and a promise that the desire for profits won’t come at the detriment of our planet’s health. My expectations are kept low, but I remain hopeful that our pursuit of fresh technology won’t be a driving force behind ecological collapse.