The Alexa Voice Remote Pro ($34.99) is a new remote that works with any recent Fire TV device and adds a remote finder feature, two shortcut buttons, and a headphone pairing button. Disappointingly, however, it has the same press-and-speak microphone as the standard remote, meaning it falls short of the Roku Voice Remote Pro ($29.99), which incorporates a mid-field microphone that lets you control your Roku device without using your hands. This functionality is what sets the Roku Pro remote apart from the company's other remotes. Without a similar new feature in the Alexa Voice Remote Pro, there’s little reason to upgrade.

Similar, But More Solid

The Alexa Voice Remote Pro looks and feels like a slightly more premium version of the standard Fire TV remote. It keeps the same narrow black wand design, but with a deeper, heftier profile that makes it feel more solid. It has a large, circular navigation pad near the top with Alexa and power buttons, a new headphone button, and a pinhole microphone that doubles as a small speaker for the remote finder function. The headphone button initiates Bluetooth pairing for your Fire TV device, so you can listen to whatever you’re watching through headphones instead of your TV speakers.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The standard menu and playback controls sit below the navigation pad along with volume and channel rockers, and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix. The remote removes the Recent button on the standard Fire TV device remote, but adds two programmable shortcut buttons similar to those on the Roku Voice Remote Pro. The lack of a Recent button is a bit annoying, since it would otherwise bring up both your most recently used apps and recently viewed content in one menu. Worse, there seems to be no shortcut or setting to restore that menu, though your recent apps and content do still appear in the top rows of the Fire TV home screen.

All the buttons except the Alexa key and navigation pad automatically glow when the room is dark, which lets you easily see the controls if you bring the lights down to watch a movie. The sensitivity of the remote’s light sensor can’t be adjusted, and you can’t set the light to always be on or to have it light up with movement or sound.

The remote finder feature is helpful if you have a Fire TV Cube or a Fire TV television with hands-free Alexa, like the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. Just say, “Alexa, find my remote,” and the remote will chime so you can find it. It’s less helpful if you have any other Fire TV streamer, since they don’t have hands-free Alexa (and require the remote to use Alexa in the first place). However, you can also activate the remote finder from any Echo smart speaker or smart display in your home, or with the Fire TV mobile app.

The remote performed its normal tasks well. It paired effortlessly with a Fire TV Cube, and all its features such as the remote finder and shortcut buttons worked as intended. Menu navigation and playback control were instantaneous, as was using Alexa via the remote-based microphone.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Where Are the Hands-Free Controls?

Amazon Fire TV media streamers and TVs all come with an Alexa Voice Remote that doesn’t just let you control your TV, but also use the Alexa voice assistant by pressing the Alexa button and talking into the microphone on the remote. It’s simple, functional, and standard among media streamer or TV remotes.

The biggest disappointment about the Alexa Voice Remote Pro is what it doesn't do. Specifically, Amazon didn't add a mid-field microphone for hands-free access to Alexa. As with the standard Alexa Voice Remote, the Pro requires you to press the Alexa button to access the voice assistant. This leaves it seriously lacking when compared with the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which does offer hands-free control. Granted, Roku's voice controls don't include a full-featured assistant like Alexa, but they still permit hands-free use of the platform. Moreover, Roku's Voice Remote Pro uses a built-in rechargeable battery, rather than rely on AAAs, which the Alexa Voice Remote Pro requires. These added features make the Roku Voice Remote Pro an appealing upgrade over the standard Roku remote.

In comparison, without more advanced features like these on board, the Alexa Voice Remote Pro is ultimately just a slightly nicer-feeling remote with backlit buttons, two shortcut buttons, and a remote finder feature.