Roku and Google need to step up and create a true Apple TV competitor

There are now more options than ever before for people who want to ditch their smart TV user interfaces and go with something faster. Most of the big names, whether it’s Amazon, Apple, Google, or Roku, all have options. These vary in price, so it’s important to lay out what you need and go from there.

For a lot of people, speed is key as smart TVs typically become sluggish over time, while a streamer can still be snappy even a few years after you bought it. If speed is what you value most, the answer is an Apple TV 4K. If picture quality is what you value most, the answer is an Apple TV 4K. If longevity is what you value most, the answer, believe it or not, is still an Apple TV 4K.

No, the Google Streamer and Roku Ultra aren’t garbage, but they both leave a bit to be desired. I have a Roku Ultra in my bedroom that works just fine, but it’s noticeably slower than my 2017 Apple TV 4K despite being seven years newer. That kind of performance just doesn’t cut it, and when there are better options available, people will gravitate toward them.

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Apple is well ahead of the competition, and I don’t like it

This isn’t great for consumers

It’s never a good thing when one company is outperforming the rest. We see this playing out in the console world with PlayStation dominating Xbox and even the PC gaming space with AMD processors vastly outperforming Intel. It leads to one company being able to control the price since it’s either pay the toll or buy something inferior.

Let me be clear, the Roku Ultra, Google Streamer, and Fire TV devices all have their benefits. The Fire TV can play Xbox Game Pass games while the Roku and Google Streamer both play nice with smart home setups. The Apple TV 4K sees its biggest gains when it’s part of the larger Apple ecosystem, but it’s arguably still the best device even on its own.

Take it from me, a person who doesn’t own any other Apple devices other than the Apple TV 4K. I have a few Google Homes sprinkled throughout my house, and while the Roku Ultra integrates better with them, the Apple TV 4K has remained my main device. While the idea was to always put my Roku in the bedroom, I tested it for a few days in the living room and the speed difference was apparent. There’s no need to pull out a stopwatch or anything because I noticed the shift instantly, and while it’s not the end of the world, apps did take several more seconds on average to open when compared to the Apple TV 4K.

When it comes to apps, all the heavy hitters are shared across them all, and while Roku has the Cinema Box app, that’s just one example that might not appeal to a wide range of people. The reality is the Apple TV 4K is the best streaming device on the market, and that’s part of why it’s the most expensive. While Roku offers things like an Ethernet port on the Ultra, something that’s only available on the $150 Apple TV 4K, that’s just not enough to be a needle mover for me.

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Other companies need to ramp it up

Can’t be left behind like this

What’s most baffling to me is the Roku Ultra advertises having 30% increased speed over its predecessor. I don’t have an older model to test it against, but the fact that a 2017 Apple TV 4K is outperforming a 2024 Roku is bizarre to me. I can’t think of many reasons that’s the case, and I’m sort of scared to wonder how slow the older Roku was before the new Ultra came out.

Again, this might not be a deal-breaker for many people as the Apple TV 4K is by far the most expensive streamer out there. I picked up my Roku Ultra for nearly half the price of an Apple TV 4K, so I can’t expect it to match the performance. What I didn’t anticipate was the nearly decade-old device outperforming it, and I find it very difficult to defend that.

Instead of Apple being so far ahead of the competition, I wish Roku and Google could find better ways of closing the gap. Coming it at a cheaper price with features like Ethernet ports and smart home connectivity is a nice step, but I’d like to see the speeds be improved. As somebody who likes to switch between apps a lot, I love how the Apple TV 4K leaves them open for me to freely swap to. The Roku has to load them up each time I click on it, and precious seconds are wasted each time.

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Apple can rest on their laurels

I don’t want anybody to get complacent

The thing I worry about the most is Apple being so far ahead of the competition that it leads to less innovation. There’s no reason to remain on the cutting edge if you’re still far above the rest. That could potentially play into why there hasn’t been a new Apple TV 4K since 2021, but rumors suggest a new one is around the corner.

Luckily, Apple keeps on pushing the boundaries. A tvOS update that came late last year introduced a slew of new aspect ratios that are perfect for people with home theaters, so it’s not like Apple stopped coming out with new things just because they are a step above the competition. That could change down the road if there’s no real reason to innovate. The big thing left to come to the Apple TV 4K is Apple Intelligence. Alexa+ rolled out for select Fire TV devices, and it looks like it’s a game changer for how people find and interact with content on the service.

I’d like to see that same functionality arrive for Apple, and it seems like new hardware is needed to make that happen. Apple is long overdue for a hardware refresh, and I hope Google and Roku can force Apple to continue innovating instead of going years without anything.

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