I replaced my Apple TV with a Roku Ultra, but I’m going back

Using a smart TV in 2025 is pretty much unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean you have to use the software included with the TV. While it’s fine at first, you’ll find it becomes more sluggish over time, and after a year or so, you might be ready to start searching for a new TV. Instead of dropping hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on something, you can pick up a streaming device that’ll make your TV feel brand new again.

There are a lot of options today, whether it’s something from Apple, Google, Roku, or Amazon. I have a first-gen Apple TV 4K that dates back to 2017, and it’s starting to show its age. Slowdowns and freezes are becoming more frequent, but most importantly, it’s been missing out on the latest updates. I want something to replace it, and that’s part of why I picked up a 2024 Roku Ultra. I thought that would be more than enough for me, but after using it as my main device, the Ultra wasn’t able to replace my Apple TV.

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I still like my Roku Ultra

It’s just not as good as Apple

Roku / Pocket-lint

The Roku Ultra does a lot of things right, and for many people, it’s a perfect device. It supports audio passthrough, something my Apple TV 4K frustratingly doesn’t, so it even has a clear advantage in some areas. The Apple TV 4K is also the only Apple product I own, so having a dedicated button on my Roku to find my lost remote is a lot more handy than needing an iPhone to find my misplaced Apple TV one. Unfortunately, the benefits don’t outweigh the negatives for me. My Roku Ultra has since been moved into my bedroom where I get to spend a little bit of time in Roku City before going to sleep.

The main reason for this is speed. Miraculously, my first-gen Apple TV is still snappier than the Roku Ultra. I find myself having to wait a few seconds to load up an app, and while it’s not the end of the world, and something I likely wouldn’t care about if I only had the Ultra, it’s noticeable. Roku claims this iteration of the Ultra is the fastest one yet, and while that may be the case, it’s still not as fast as my Apple TV. Aside from that, it boasts many of the same features and apps, so the gap is closer than I’m making it sound. It’s just difficult to leave something I like better behind, so I can’t retire my Apple TV 4K just yet. When the time finally comes for me to ditch my old Apple TV, I suspect a newer Apple TV 4K will be what replaces it.

For what it’s worth, the Roku Ultra works quite well in my bedroom. It’s way better than my TV’s built-in apps, and it has access to all of the streaming apps I could ever need, and then some. For its price of $100 brand new, it’s competitive enough with a new Apple TV 4K that I think a lot of people could stand to save a few dollars and go with Roku. Just don’t expect the Roku Ultra to replace your current Apple TV 4K as it’s still not to that point yet.

I guess the greatest thing working against the Roku Ultra, and all other products for that matter, is that they aren’t Apple TVs. That’s through no fault of their own, and it might not be what Roku is even trying to target. An Apple TV 4K costs either $130 or $150 depending on the model, so a Roku Ultra is cheaper no matter how you slice it.

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Speed isn’t the only way Apple comes ahead

A league of its own

Apple

Something the Apple TV offers that no other streamer has is an ad-free experience. I didn’t realize it at first as the Apple TV was all I had, but it became abundantly clear once I picked up a Roku Ultra and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Those latter devices are riddled with ads all throughout the UI, and it’s impossible to navigate without running into something.

Amazon’s Fire Stick is a much worse offender than Roku, in my opinion, but neither of them are good on that end. Apple’s clean display has a much more user-friendly interface, and it’s difficult to leave behind if it’s all you’ve ever known. Considering that Roku keeps threatening to add more ads in the near future, I’m happy with how Apple is running things. There’s also the issue, self-inflicted mind you, of a digital library. I’ve started purchasing things through the Apple Store, and those are only playable on Apple devices. Anything I bought doesn’t show up on my Roku, so I’m encouraged to stick with the same platform. This is absolutely a me problem, but it’s something anybody would run into if they decided to switch companies.

Something I’ve seen with the Apple TV is that it’s more of an enthusiast product instead of something designed for the everyday person. That doesn’t mean anybody can’t use one, but people who have high-end products will get the most out of it. For example, a tvOS update from last year added varying aspect ratios, something somebody with a TV can’t take advantage of. It’s an update geared toward people with projectors, so that’s a feature that not everybody can take advantage of.

The cost of an Apple TV 4K makes it so most people are effectively priced out, especially since a Roku Ultra or Google TV Streamer largely do the same things at a lower cost. If you want the cutting-edge, then the Apple TV 4K fits that bill. If you’re not in the greater Apple ecosystem, you can’t even take advantage of everything the product has to offer, such as the aforementioned Find My Remote function or FaceTime. To be fair, it works fine as a standalone device as that’s how I’m using it, but it’s clear the full value comes with owning other Apple products.

In the end, my Roku Ultra lives on in the bedroom where it still offers plenty of practical use. Even if it’s not as good as an Apple TV 4K, it’s still far better than the Google Chromecast 4K I had plugged in before. At the very least, having a remote is a huge upgrade.

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