Fire TV Cube, 4K Ultra HD

I don't even know where to start. I have had this FireTV Cube for a couple years now. I bought the first iteration of the Echo so I'm no stranger to Alexa and all her peccadilloes. I even teach senior citizens how to use these devices. But this FireTV Cube, while being an excellent concept, fails in application. I'll start with what I like. 1. Hands free operation is a real benefit. Sometimes I'm up to my elbows in dishwater and it's time for the news or a favorite program, so I can just (walk closer to the tv and) say “Alexa, play CNN on Hulu,” and it does it! I love this! 2. When searching for a movie or tv program, it searches across EVERYTHING, not just Prime Video. This is why I attach a FireTV to my Smart TV because the ability to find obscure programs is better on FireTV than with any others I have used. 3. The storage space on a FireTV Cube is about 5 gB more than on a FireTV stick. This is one of the main reasons I opted for the Cube - because by the time all the unwanted Amazon junk is loaded onto the stick, it doesn't leave much more room for the apps you may want to add. 4. Setup is super easy, just like a FireTV stick. 5. You can also pair a host of Bluetooth devices with it, to include other Echo devices. I am mildly hearing impaired so if I am working in the kitchen and want to hear the TV better, it pairs with my Echo Show in the kitchen and I don't miss anything. Now, here's what I don't like: 1. It turns on the TV and autoplays previews from the highlighted programs. At 3:00 am or just about anytime during the night, scaring the bejeebers out of the pets and me. And, because the TV is connected to a sound bar that is set to power on when the TV powers on, we get the full Dolby experience, whether we want it or not, while we're trying to sleep. The only way to avoid this is to either not allow it to control the TV, which negates the entire reason for having it, or connect it and the TV to a power strip that is turned off when not in use. I use a smart power strip that I can have Alexa turn on or off through another device locate in the kitchen. So, there's the cost of the cube, plus the investment in a smart power strip to prevent that Cube from waking up, waking the TV up, and waking all of us up. It's like toddler proofing the TV. 2. If you think you can use the functionality of Alexa while watching TV, I can only say this: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, bless your li'l heart. I have reminders and timers set on that Cube, so I don't forget important things like closing the chickens in their coop, or to take a cake out of the oven, you get the idea. So, the timer goes off, blocking off the ENTIRE viewing screen. It gives you two options: Snooze or Dismiss. If you select Dismiss, it dismisses not only the alarm, but whatever you're watching as well, and foes back to the home screen. If you like to pause the football game or movie to run to the bathroom real quick, and are then watching that live program a few minutes behind when those notifications go off, forget being able to catch up on what you've missed. Now you have to go back to your live TV app, open it up, and get back to whatever you were watching. 3. If you are watching YouTube, there's a whole different set of issues, the most important being that you can't use Alexa for anything other than controlling YouTube, and YouTube ONLY. For example, let's say you're watching a video of the Presidential Debate. You pause the video, and say “Alexa, what's on my calendar tomorrow?” Alexa's response is “Getting that from YouTube,” and it takes you to the YouTube search screen with search results for “What's on my calendar tomorrow?” Or, Alexa, what is two plus two?” Alexa responds with “Getting that from YouTube.” In other words, it can't walk and chew gum at the same time while on YouTube. It seems okay with other apps, though. 4. Like MicroSoft Windows products on a PC, there is a lot of junk pre-loaded onto the Cube that eats up a storage space, and you can't uninstall it. The same is true of the FireTV Stick which has much less storage space than the Cube. 5. In notifications it gives all these weird things like “progress notification: progressing.” Um. Okay? 6. Even with “Volume leveler” turned on, the volume is inconsistent across apps. One app I need to turn way down and another I need to turn way up. So, volume leveler…doesn't. 7. The option for Alexa to “Favor this device,” doesn't. It's hit and miss. 8. No “sleep” option - to have it power down and sleep after a specified amount of time. And there's no command to have Alexa do it unless you create a routine. And even then, it still pops back on in the middle of the night. CONCLUSION: This device is not worth the cost, overall. The better VALUE is a simple FireTV stick. It will give you the same benefits and the same problems for a fraction of the cost.