Amazon Fire TV

Amazon Fire TV is the control app that helps a phone act like a remote for Fire TV devices, and by our assessment that is exactly where it earns its keep. The best thing about it is simple navigation: typing search on a phone is faster than pecking at a television remote, and the app can make browsing feel less clumsy. Its downside is also the downside of most companion remotes, because it only really matters once the Fire TV ecosystem is already in the room. In practice it is a utility app with a lot of little taps, useful for search, playback control and moving around menus when the physical remote is missing or awkward. Compared with a basic remote, it trades button simplicity for a screen keyboard and a more phone-like feel. Amazon Fire TV is most sensible for households that already live with Fire TV hardware, while everyone else has little reason to care. The app only becomes useful once the TV and device are already linked.