Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K Max is in many ways a marvel of modern consumer electronics. Despite being slightly smaller than its predecessor, it delivers faster performance, better Wi-Fi connectivity, and double the storage.
Yet in one way, the new streaming dongle is frustratingly outdated: It still requires a Micro-USB cable for power. Just like rival Roku, Amazon continues to use a 13-year-old power connector instead of the modern and far superior USB-C standard.
There’s no excuse for this in 2023, when even Apple has switched from the proprietary Lightning connector to USB-C for nearly all of its products. USB-C is so close to becoming the only kind of cable you need, yet some of the most popular streaming video players on the market are holding it back.
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Why USB-C is better
The USB-C connector on the Chromecast with Google TV.
Jared Newman / Foundry
If you’ve bought a new laptop or Android phone in the past seven years or so, you’re almost certainly using USB-C already. It’s a small connector with fully rounded edges, so there’s no wrong way to insert it.
Micro-USB is more obnoxious, with a trapezoidal connector that you can only insert in one direction–you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time. It’s also, in my experience, one of the flimsiest connectors in existence, and I’ve had my fair share of Micro-USB cables break outright or become too loose to form a reliable connection.
Beyond mere annoyance, Micro-USB is becoming less useful as the rest of the tech world moves on. Apple, for instance, has just switched to USB-C for its iPhone 15 line, the refreshed case for its second-generation AirPods Pro, and all its current-gen iPads and MacBooks. It’s a truly universal connector that over time will reduce the number of cables you need to keep around–and carry with you–so it’s all the more frustrating that Roku’s and Amazon’s streamers don’t use it. I sometimes travel with a Fire TV Stick for hotel use, and it’s the only device for which I still need to bring a Micro-USB cable along.
Because every streaming device ships with its own charging cable, you’ll also be steadily amassing more Micro-USB cables for which you have no other use, potentially leading to more e-waste. Europe is requiring all device makers to adopt USB-C within the next few years for precisely this reason, yet streamers are hanging onto Micro-USB for dear life.
Lastly, Micro-USB complicates the process of connecting your streaming device to external accessories, such as ethernet cables, storage drives, and wired game controllers. While you might already use a USB-C hub for your computer or tablet, streamers with Micro-USB power will require a separate USB-OTG connector instead.
Name and shame
Roku’s best remote still uses Micro-USB for charging.
Jared Newman / Foundry
So, which streaming devices are stuck on Micro-USB?
Currently, every Amazon Fire TV Stick model uses the aging standard, including the 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max. (Fire TV Cube models use a barrel-shaped charging cord instead, which is annoying in its own way.)
As for Roku, it uses Micro-USB for all its Express models, including the new Express 4K with Voice Remote Pro bundle that recently launched on Amazon. The Voice Remote Pro also uses Micro-USB for its rechargeable battery, which is especially irksome if you use USB-C to charge your phone and everything else. (Roku’s Ultra models use their own barrel connector, while the Streaming Stick 4K uses the even older Mini-USB standard, supposedly to discourage people from swapping out the power cord with its built-in Wi-Fi module.)
Roku and Amazon aren’t alone in sticking with Micro-USB. Walmart also went with Micro-USB for its its Onn streaming players, and that didn’t change when it refreshed the 4K model earlier this year.
Other streaming device manufacturers have wisely moved on. Google outfits its latest Chromecast players with USB-C, and Apple switched from Lightning to USB-C in its rechargeable remote for the 2022 Apple TV 4K. The streamer itself uses a standard non-polarized Type A (NEMA 1-15) plug for power. TiVo even equipped its Stream 4K dongle with both Micro-USB and USB-C.
Of course, USB-C is far from being the first thing to look for in a streaming device, but these devices have peaked in so many other ways that it feels like the one clear improvement left to make. Maybe next year.
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Author: Jared Newman
Jared Newman has been helping folks make sense of technology for over a decade, writing for PCWorld, TechHive, and elsewhere. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving money on TV service.