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Google and Amazon are not direct competitors, but they do compete in certain niche markets. One being their virtual assistants. While Amazon burst onto the scene with Alexa built into their Echo speakers—and later built into seemingly everything else the company makes—while Google has built Assistant off the back of their search engine, making for one of the most powerful voice assistants you can use in 2019. Of course, with the two companies often competing with each other in various categories, you might not expect your Amazon Fire Stick to work with a Google Home speaker.

While the two devices don’t work together natively, you can use a workaround to get your Fire Stick and your Google Home to work together. Let’s take a look at what’s possible.

Pairing Fire Stick with Google Home

Unlike when you pair devices together under the same brand name, your Fire Stick and Home speaker aren’t going to recognize each other within their respective apps. There’s no way for you to ask Google to stream Stranger Things on your Fire TV; you’ll need a Chromecast to be able to make that to work. Still, if you’re looking for a neat party trick, it is possible to get the two devices to work together in some respect. Because both devices support Bluetooth, it’s totally possible to pair them together—with a major catch along the way.

The first thing you want to do is make sure that your Google Home is powered and in pairing mode. To make it discoverable, use the voice command “OK Google, Bluetooth pairing.” When it recognizes the command, it will be discoverable by nearby devices for the next few minutes. You can also do this from the Google Home app. Access the Settings on the app and scroll down to “Paired Bluetooth Devices.” In the Devices screen, tap on “Enable Pairing Mode” to prepare the Google Home for pairing.

Once the Google Home is ready, access your Fire TV and follow the steps outlined below.

1. Press the “Home” button and go to the “Settings” menu.
2. Scroll through the settings to find “Controllers and Bluetooth Devices.”
3. In the Controllers menu, you should see a list of all discoverable devices that are nearby. Find the Google Home, which will be listed by the name you’ve set for it. Select it and allow it to pair with the Fire TV.

Here’s where the catch comes in. When you pair any device with your Google Home over Bluetooth, that device sees it as a Bluetooth speaker—not a smart speaker. In fact, your Fire Stick will tell you as much when you pair. Our Fire Stick is running on our 2.4GHz home network, and a warning appeared after pairing the devices together specifically calling our Google Home a Bluetooth headset. That means all sound from your Fire Stick will be rerouted to your Google Home instead of your televisions speakers or your home theater equipment.

Still, there are some benefits to this. We loaded a film up on Netflix, and while the sound did come out of our Google Home as any Bluetooth speaker would, we were able to issue simple voice commands like play and pause to control playback. You won’t be able to ask your Google Home to find content on Netflix, and you’ll still have to use your Fire Remote to navigate around the interface. So while this might not work super well with a standard Google Home or Home Mini, we can imagine a lot of ways you could use Bluetooth pairing for your benefit. For example, if you were to pick up a soundbar with Google Assistant built-in, you could pair over Bluetooth, use basic voice commands with your Fire Stick, and still have a great sounding experience.

Of course, if you’re going to spend that much cash, you’re better off picking one ecosystem over the other.

Other Ways to Control your Fire TV

As highlighted above, using the Google Home to control a Fire TV isn’t something that either Google or Amazon tests for. For both a better and a more reliable experience, you’re better off using Alexa instead.

If you have a single Fire TV device, Alexa should be able to recognize it and pair with it automatically. If this doesn’t happen, or you have more than one Fire TV, follow these steps:

1. Access your Alexa app on a mobile device and go to the Settings.
2. In the “TV & Video” section find “Fire TV.”
3. Continue with the on-screen instructions and then select “Link Devices” to finish the process.

Your Fire TV should be linked with Alexa. You can use a variety of Alexa commands to control the Fire TV. You can find a list of commands on Amazon’s Alexa page but they’re mostly intuitive.

Other Options for the Google Home

Conversely, if you want to make the most out of your Google Home, you’re best off using Google’s media player — the Chromecast.

Chromecast is very similar to the Fire TV and is available in roughly the same price ranges. To pair up the Chromecast with your Google Home, use these instructions:

1. Connect the Chromecast to your TV and set the TV to the correct input
2. Download and open the Google Home app on your mobile device
3. Find the Devices icon in the top-right corner of the home screen on the app
4. In the Devices menu, tap on “Add New Device”
5. Connect your phone to the Chromecast Wi-Fi, which will be named “Chromecast” followed by a 4-character string specific to your device.
6. Return to the app and follow the on-screen instructions.
7. For the final step, you’ll be asked to sign in to your Google account, once you’ve done that your devices should be paired.

When you finish the procedure, you can start controlling the Chromecast with voice commands through Google Home.

Amazon and Google, Best Frienemies

If you bought a Fire TV hoping to use it with your Google Home, or vice-versa, there’s good news and bad.

Yes, Google Home can provide some limited control over your Fire TV device. However, that control will be very limited and only basic commands will be recognized. If you want to improve your experience with either of those devices, you’re better off getting their branded counterpart.

For Fire TV that’s going to be Alexa (and the newer Fire TV models even have it built into the remote). For Google Home you want to look for a Chromecast device. If you’re happy with what Google Home can offer on the Fire TV then, by all means, enjoy.

Now that Chromecast with Google TV finally made right the holy mess that has been the original Chromecast, it finally has the chops to tough it out with other Smart TV boxes such as Amazon’s Fire TV stick.

The latest iteration of the Chromecast boasts a voice remote powered by Google Assistant and an actual interface, unlike previous Chromecasts. Why Google would avail the Android TV OS with Chromecast built-in to all and sundry all the while peddling their customers an empty shell (also called a Chromecast) of a streaming box is anybody’s guess.

But anyway, all is forgiven. Now that the Chromecast is no different from other Android TV boxes, let the games begin. We have pitted it against the modest Amazon Fire TV stick and the results are in.

Design

Chromecast with Google TV went with a palm-sized pebble design with a short HDMI cable attached along with a USB C port. The big G logo is engraved in the center keeping in line with previous Chromecast devices.

As for the Amazon Fire TV stick, it went quite literal with this one. It looks like an over large flash drive but instead of a Type A connector, you get HDMI in all its glory. And you don’t get to store anything on it either, as its not its intended purpose.

Design-wise, it’s too close to call. Given its clunky shape, the Fire TV stick comes with a separate HDMI extender. The stick will undoubtedly decommission other HDMI ports that are often crammed into a small area on the TV unless you plug in the HDMI extender first. That said the flash drive shape offers more durability than the cable on the Chromecast that could sustain damage and ruin the role setup.

The Fire TV stick one-ups the Chromecast when it comes to power usage. The Chromecast with Google TV is more power-hungry than its predecessors and hence draws power straight from a socket. The Fire TV stick is minimalistic enough that juice from a TV USB port is enough to power it up without issue. I did get a message that installing Fire OS updates might require connection to a socket but it still went ahead and installed just fine.

Winner: Tie

Boot-Time

Boot time We noticed that on boot up, the Chromecast with Google TV identifies as Chromecast Go. From what know of Android’s Go apps, they run on devices with entry-level specs. And true to form, the Chromecast took a whopping 50.6 seconds to boot up as we fiddled our fingers in anticipation. Of the Android TV boxes I have used and reviewed, the Chromecast is the slowest.

The Fire TV stick fared much better in comparison. At 35.83 seconds, the Fire TV stick loads faster, has a better animation booting up with accompanying sound, and populates its apps quickly enough to be impressive. Only the Roku Streaming Stick loads faster of the TV boxes I had on hand.

Winner: Amazon Fire TV stick

Setup & Ease of Use

When it comes to setup, the Chromecast takes this one hands-down. The Fire TV stick stands no chance against the sheer scale of Google/Android’s ecosystem. Armed with the Google Home app, setting new devices is simply a breeze. I didn’t have to go clickity-clack on the remote to set up my password, set up my Amazon account, and what-not. On a smartphone, everything is much more streamlined and cuts down the setup process by more than half.

Perhaps owing to my clumsiness, but I got two Amazon accounts locked while trying to add my VISA card. It was only on the second try and a strong mug of African tea that the powers that be deemed my information good enough to let me in. These are third-world sign-in problems we face when we live outside the US.

Also, it’s quite galling that Amazon has to email me every time I download an app. I would love to unsubscribe from these notifications but also have a fear my money might be deducted without my knowledge. Thank you Amazon for sending me a zero-charged transaction order for downloading YouTube.

Winner: Chromecast with Google TV

Performance

After the boot time beat down, the scales are evened out almost immediately thereafter. The Chromecast’s boot-time struggles don’t impede its buttery smooth performance one bit.

On paper, Chromecast with Google TV does have more souped-up specs than the Fire TV stick. What with the 2GB RAM to the Fire TV stick’s 1GB and Bluetooth and an IR blaster where the Fire TV stick has just Bluetooth. Also, the 1080p picture output doesn’t do the Fire TV stick any favors either.

However, much as the Fire TV stick has only 1GB of RAM, that’s actually DDR4 RAM which is 3x as fast as DDR3. Also, Chromecast with Google TV has Bluetooth and an IR blaster. You can scroll navigate just fine using Bluetooth, but to control volume, you need to be in the TV’s line of sight for the IR blaster. It’s quite confusing, really.

Performance-wise, both streamers are bang for the buck. We will call this a tie, mostly because the Fire TV stick is cheaper and still able to hold its own against the godfather of Android TV boxes.

Winner: Tie

Related: Chromecast with Google TV Review: As good as it gets

How To Use Amazon Fire Stick

Content

Firstly, when it comes to content, looking at numbers alone doesn’t give you the full picture. Install el capitan from boot usb. Most content, as a matter of fact, comes from a handful of streaming apps i.e Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO/HBO Max, Disney+, and Apple TV to mention a few.

Secondly, both Chromecast with Google TV and the Fire TV stick run Android TV albeit renamed to Google TV and Fire TV OS. Save a few titles that might be AWOL on the Fire TV stick (e.g DStv and Showmax in Africa), you will find most of the popular streaming services on both devices.

From my short time checking out the Fire TV stick, I am getting a niggling suspicion it’s primarily a platform for Amazon. Every search result circles back to Amazon content. When I search for something with Alexa, the results push Amazon apps like Prime Video and Amazon Photos. Google for its part is more liberal with how it dishes out its content.

The Fire TV OS lacks Google’s algorithms that give excellent suggestions on what to watch based on what you have added to your lists or watched. A viewer has to be deliberate to get what they want for the most part.

Winner: Chromecast with Google TV

Picture quality

The Fire TV stick is at a disadvantage when it comes to picture quality. As it supports only 1080p at 60fps, it’s nowhere near what Chromecast with Google TV’s 4K UHD at 60fps with Dolby Vision HDR. In consolation, the Fire TV stick does support HDR 10, HDR10+, and broadcast HLG. For a more beefed-up contender refer to Fire TV stick 4K.

Amazon Fire Stick Jailbreak

But that’s on paper. If you have yourself a modest 1080p TV screen, either choice should suffice. Lots of viewers who can’t afford to stream 4K without buffering will downgrade to 1080p and the world will continue to spin on its axis. Chromecast with Google TV takes this round, but I am not complaining about the Fire Tv stick’s output either.

Winner: Chromecast with Google TV

Remote Control

Both Chromecast with Google TV and the Fire TV stick have simplified remote controls from the usual fare. As is custom with streaming boxes, the remotes do the bare minimum and hence have fewer buttons than you would find on a TV remote or a set-top box. Chromecast with Google TV takes this a step further by getting rid of the Next /Pause /Play /Forward /Rewind buttons that you’ll find on the Fire TV stick remote. The directional pad ably serves all these commands.

The Chromecast with Google TV remote has dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix which the Fire TV remote doesn’t. That said, I don’t actually use those buttons. My focus is usually on the TV and I often find myself using the directional pad to get where I need to go.

Both remote controls have a mic for voice commands powered by Alexa and Google Assistant. The voice recognition is top-notch on both devices, although we noticed that Alexa shamelessly pushes Prime Video content over other streaming apps.

How To See Google Photos On Amazon Fire Stick

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Casting

The whole premise of Chromecast is casting, if the name didn’t give it away. Chromecast with Google TV taps into Google and Android’s ecosystem to allow you cast all manner of content from various devices onto the TV. If not via the Cast feature on your smartphone, lots of apps support Chromecast as long as you see the cast logo when on the same network.

Unfortunately, the Fire TV stick doesn’t enjoy the same privileges. I can neither use Miracast nor Chromecast to cast onto the Fire TV, which sucks in a major sort of way. My consolation before when I had the Roku Streaming stick was that at least Miracast can make do in the absence of Chromecast. The absence of casting support is another level of purgatory.

Winner: Chromecast with Google TV

Verdict

Amazon Fire Stick How Does It Work

At the end of the day, these are both excellent Android TV boxes. Nevertheless, there will be winners and losers. Chromecast with Google TV thrashes the Fire TV stick 4 to 1 on Ease of Use, Content, Picture quality, and Casting. The Fire TV takes one for Boot time and ties in Design, Remote Control, and Performance.

Price and where to buy

The Fire TV stick offers a comparable viewing experience at only $29.99 on Amazon. The few years on the block have worked in its favor you can chance deals and discounts here and there. An extra 10 bucks get you the Fire TV stick 4K at $39.99 on Amazon which is more than Chromecast’s equal. Chromecast with Google TV goes for a little bit extra at$49.99 on Target.