Amazon Fire TV Cube review

If you have a TV entertainment system with a bunch of devices, a universal remote like the venerable Harmony is the still best way to make it easy to use. But the new girl in town, Alexa, is now a close second, thanks to the Fire TV Cube ($119 at Amazon.com).

With the Cube installed, saying "Alexa, turn on the TV" from across the room will power up your television, and AV receiver or sound bar if you have one. Whatever you were watching last -- say, TV from your cable box -- appears on the screen, and audio comes through the speakers.

"Alexa, switch to Xbox" switches inputs so you're ready to pick up the controller and mow down some enemies. "Alexa, watch Stranger Things on Netflix" switches inputs again and starts streaming the Upside Down immediately via Fire TV (in 4K and HDR, if your gear supports it). "Alexa, tune to CBS" switches again to your cable box, changes the channel and boom -- hello, Judge Judy.

"Alexa, play Talking Heads" fires up the Spotify app and Psycho Killer plays through the speakers on your TV, receiver or sound bar -- bypassing that cruddy Alexa speaker -- and the Talking Heads playlist appears on-screen. "Alexa, next" plays the next song, This Must Be the Place. "Alexa, volume up" cranks those speakers even higher. Finished? "Alexa, turn off the TV" powers everything down.

If you're used to pressing buttons on a remote, or God forbid, more than one remote, using Alexa on the Cube can make you feel like Gandalf himself.

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The Cube includes an Ethernet adapter, additional IR emitter and the standard Fire TV remote.

Get to know the Cube

• The $120 Fire TV Cube is designed to sit near your entertainment center because it plugs into your TV, receiver or sound bar via HDMI.
• It has all the capabilities of the $70 Fire TV streamer, including 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos sound. It lacks HDR10+.
• It also has all the capabilities of the $50 Echo Dot speaker, including a built-in speaker and a mic array to pick up your voice commands. It's always listening for the "Alexa" wake word.
• Audio from music, TV shows and movies are piped through your TV, sound bar or AV receiver speakers by default, significantly improving audio quality. Often Alexa's voice is, too, but sometimes she comes through Cube's built-in speaker.
• Includes a Fire TV remote, which also accepts voice commands when you press the mic button and speak into it (you don't have to say "Alexa").
• Built-in infrared emitters inside the Cube blast the room with infrared signals to control your gear.
• Includes a separate corded IR emitter with an 8-foot cord to reach gear behind cabinet doors, and an Ethernet adapter in case you don't want to use Wi-Fi.
• The sides are glossy black plastic and a bright Alexa LED response strip is along the top front face. Top keys control volume, mute, and activate, just like a late-model Echo speaker.
• It's small -- somewhere between a Dot and a full-size Echo -- but not a perfect cube, measuring 3.9 inches wide and deep by 3 inches tall.

It's only available in the US for now, but the $120 price converts to about £90 or AU$160.