Apple TV 4 vs Roku 4
Almost three years ago I wrote a post about how I "cut the cord" and went to exclusively online TV content providers. I bought a Roku and Apple TV, both "generation 2", and reviewed my likes and dislikes about both. Much has happened in this space since my post was published:
- 4K TVs are available and have become quite affordable quickly
- Showtime and HBO are now available as standalone services
- You can get ESPN and a host of other channels via Sling TV
- Apple seems to have renewed interest in TV
- Amazon entered the arena with Fire TV
I've recently purchased an Apple TV 4 and a Roku 4 and have some thoughts on each after a week of using both extensively.
Apple TV 4
- As you would expect from Apple, the interface is beautiful and easy to use
- The touch remote is excellent, especially when rewinding/forwarding video
- Apple doesn't allow its iPhone Remote app to control Apple TV 4 so the user must enter their credentials by swiping and tapping on letters. It's a fucking nightmare. Apple needs to remedy this quickly. Typing in a mixed case email and password is the most tedious thing I've experienced in my life.
- Siri has been nice and fairly accurate. Somehow, however, it doesn't find "Penny Dreadful" on ShowTime when I request it, instead providing me an old B movie from Netflix.
- Not supporting 4K, however few content providers there currently are, is a frustrating omission from Apple TV 4. Supposedly the hardware (A8 chip) is powerful enough to support 4K and a firmware update could unlock 4K support. Something tells me the big upgrade in v5 will be 4K support, which will be infuriating.
- I was expecting more apps in the store at launch but the biggest apps (Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc.) are there so I guess I don't know what more I was expecting...
- ...I certainly wasn't expecting Amazon or Pandora, of course, so no surprise there.
- Being able to control the volume via the remote is a new bonus
- Its flagship game appears to be Beat Sports which I would consider just average. You can't help but compare it to wii Sports and I consider the Nintendo game miles better. It's a great showcase of what the remote can
- ...although Asphalt 8 is awesome. Best game I've found so far.
- I made fun of Apple for featuring them as a great new feature but, to be fair, the new screensavers are pretty cool
Roku 4
- Being the first A-level device with 4K support speaks greatly for Roku
- The setup process does its best to detect 4K and also suggests a 4K Showcase app which aggregates 4K videos from Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services. Awesome!
- Voice search is better than Siri... if you know the exact title you want. If you search something like "Vin Diesel movies",
you should reevaluate your lifeyou're out of luck. But for basic voice-to-title search, I find Roku better. - Only $20 cheaper than the 32GB Apple TV
- The Roku remote lets you control volume but also provides a headphone jack for covert listening -- a very nice touch
- Roku added game abilities years ago but I don't see any worth having, to be honest. Disappointed in Roku's game offering despite their head start.
- You can't help but think that Roku needs to hire a premier designer to make the interface more elegant and refined. The Roku still feels a bit like "let's just make it work" instead of "let's make it pretty too."
- After using touch devices (of all brands) for several years, and now with the Apple TV having a touch remote, using the button remote seems a bit legacy. The remote does work well though -- touch remote, you'd think, would be a v5 feature.
- The Showtime app has a major flaw: when you select a series to watch, the episode listing shows you the latest episode first. The problem? If the series has ended, you may read the series ending summary before you can event start the show. How about a SPOILER ALERT?!
- The iPhone app to control any of your Roku's is so clutch -- mobile phone keyboard controlling the Roku input a joy to use
General *-TV Thoughts
- Samsung's "Smart TV" OS is garbage. The OS freezes constantly and HBO Now and Showtime aren't available, months after available on other platforms. Never trust a Smart TV's OS -- always get something like a Roku or Apple TV so that you have a device that the content providers prioritize first.
- I can't cut the cord on DirecTV because I want to watch live sports (Barclay's Premier League and NFL). Once these devices get live sports...the game is over for cable companies.
- Worth noting that Apple is still selling the $69 Apple TV 3....
- HBO Now really needs a "Live TV" feature like Showtime does. I don't want to wait until after a live show has been recorded to see it, most times the next day. Boooo.
- I've been really disappointed with the Fire TV, especially its interface. I don't see any value in it.
- I'd love to see Roku as the native TV OS on more known brands like Samsung and Sony. We have a JVC Roku smart TV and it's great -- everything we need on one remote!
- I have a Chromecast and I've used it maybe 5 times, all for sending a soccer game stream from my Mac. The thing is...when I want to watch Netflix or HBO on my TV, I don't want my first thought to be "where's my laptop?"
- DirecTV charges a monthly $10 fee for providing HD. In 2015. Unreal.
- Feel sinful that these devices don't include an HDMI cord. WTF.
Verdict
I keep getting asked which of the two devices I would recommend people get. It's impossible to answer that question without knowing what you want to use the device for.
You'll prefer an Apple TV if you:
- are generally hooked into the Apple ecosystem
- want the promise of quality games
- require an elegant interface
- desire a touch remote
- trust Apple's history of innovation
You'll prefer a Roku if you:
- want 4k support
- require access to Pandora and Amazon TV
- want to support an open ecosystem
- desire "adult" apps
You can't lose with the Apple TV 4 or the Roku 4. They are both massive improvements on previous generations, go for about the same price, and are miles ahead of the competition.
I think you may also want to look at Nexus Player and amazon fire TV
if you really want to cut cables and sports stopping you then look at Sling TV
Sling TV is fine for ESPN but they only have one NFL game per week and no Premier League games.
re: Chromecast…
What about using your phone for Netflix/HBO?
Two reasons:
1. Again, I don’t want to search for one device to use another device. When I want to watch TV, I want to reach for a remote, not find my phone.
2. What if my wife wants to watch something? Or my in-laws? Or my kid(s)? I don’t want to set up lots of remotes and I don’t want to configure each of their devices to control the Chromecast. It’s the dependency that’s the problem.
Actually this is the main reason I prefer Chromecast. I hate to find a remote (typically the interface is not as robust as a smart phone along with a real keyboard). Remotes also get lost in the cushions of the couch and there is typically only one that I have find where my life laid. The phone on the other hand… well you can have multiple phones which we all own anyhow to control the content.
Another thing you didn’t mention was comparing not just with the Roku but the Nvidia Shield. This is light years ahead of Apple TV and includes Google Play movies as well. The number of apps (both media and gaming) is also light years ahead of ATV4. It is 4K, has SD card support, the specs all surpass the ATV4 and gaming on Android TV has been there for awhile and not just starting like we have with ATV4. Check the many reviews on Youtube comparing the 2 and they all give the NVidia Shield much higher marks. It now includes 2 remotes (gaming and applish remote that controls tv volume). It also has a more robust voice command with Google.
Regarding your above 2 point.
In Chromecast anyone can stream if they connected to your WiFi. Some advantages
1) I do not need to pass on the remote to everyone
2) Even guests can stream whatever they want without logging in
But they are some disadvantages of this
Regarding Apple TV, don’t know if you know it but you can long press on a letter to bring up the uppercase version, accented variants, and a delete key. I found this really helped when entering passwords.
Also you can set s four digit passcode for purchases and allow you to keep some security while avoiding having to enter your Apple password for purchases and rentals.
For touch remotes for roku, I use the ‘Roku’ iOS app, which gives me a touch remote on roku. It discovers all your roku’s, even older roku 2 and roku 3, without any configuration and you can walk around room to room controlling them with your single iphone or ipad. Plus it has other features like voice search.
What about nvidia shield?
http://shield.nvidia.com/android-tv/shield-androidtv-vs-appletv-vs-roku-vs-firetv
Wow, had never heard of this. Will check it out!
Just got it… amazing device… about everything is better than the new ATV4. I have both and will compare today though.. return the one I don’t want. Bad thing with Apple though is Siri is only on the remote or you have to have an iPhone/iPad. Google on the other hand uses Google Now and Chromecast for casting… which is available not only on the remote but ANY Android… AND IOS device so not near as limiting.
I just ordered an Apple TV and now i’m thinking of returning this LOL.
Good history. Once upon the we ordered black cord for our MAC. We received it damaged. But They sent us a new one.
Hello David,
I appreciate this review since I’m planning on buying one of this devices for my family.
But I was thinking on the Amazon Fire TV. But I might get them the apple one. But I’m not totally sure cause of the following reasons:
* Apple TV is closed, so I can’t really install things that my parents will use.
*On Amazon, it’s a tedious process at first, but you should try sideload (check xda.com for that) Dropbox, then you can install any android app, meaning you can install Kodi. Once you discover Kodi, your need of live games would be fulfilled, plus having all the other apps you use (Netflix, Showtime…)
* And regardless th interface, you could check FireStarter, which is a home replacement that make things easier.
Thanks for the review!
Have a nice evening.
Minkiu
Apple has a name for coming up with latest upgrades for their every single product, and Apple TV has not become successful in its performance, there are so many others which are doing better and are cheaper too like FireStarter.
Nice article David.
One thing that may sound a Little stupid but im considering to buy the roku for the headphones plug into the remote and the soptify option to play music in the living room as well. twoo things that Apple tv can’t do at this point. My struggle is that I am an Apple user and i want air play too.
will see thanks
Tried Roku, Fire stick, Google TV and Chromecast. Sold all except Roku. Still deciding should I try Apple or not. I just dont like the idea of connecting my Apple id which also has my CC attached. Also apps are very limited compared to Roku. Got 2 Roku device so far and planning to buy Roku 4 again. My personal opinion – Fire TV and Chromecast and Google TV is crap – no offense.
Basic question – why get all these “streaming services” if you have a cable TV with literally thousands of channels?
Because with streaming you get to:
– Watch shows on demand
– Choose which channels you support
– Pay less than cable subscriptions
– Get better content from custom channels
– More and more and more
FYI: Apple TV 4 offers NFL Sunday Ticket. You can stream NFL SUNDAY TICKET games on the new Apple TV 4th Generation version only. The NFL SUNDAY TICKET App will be available for download in early September before the start of the regular season on Apple TV 4.
So, Apple TV 4 wins.
My Roku 4 gets hot and stops working. Poorly engineered. Go with Apple TV.