Best Streaming Devices | Apple TV 4K vs Roku vs Fire TV vs Chromecast

You've got a ton of options when it comes to choosing the best streaming stick or dongle or box. Too many, maybe. So we break down the best of the best. These aren't the cheapest — but they're what we'd spend our money on.

Read our full reviews

You can buy any of the products mentioned in this episode on Amazon:

00:00 Intro
01:33 Roku Ultra
04:18 Amazon Fire TV Cube
08:16 Chromecast with Google TV
09:31 NVIDIA SHIELD TV
10:03 Apple TV 4K

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[PhilNickinson]

My actual list:

1. Apple TV, for all the reasons I list in this video — and one I didn't. Apple Fitness+ is EXCELLENT on ATV.
2. Chromecast. It lives in my gear bag. Love it on the go. (For long stays I'll take my ATV.)
3/4: Roku and Fire TV, interchangeable. They're fine. They work great. They're not my favorites.

[AleksLazar]

Advertisement built into hardware when I already paid for device and subscription that’s the real dealbreaker for any of these devices

[Hookmeister]

Initially I was a big Roku fan. The last few years I’ve been very sold with Android TV, leaving Roku unused. Recently I invested in the Apple TV 4K and was shocked that I like it even better than Android. Even my Sony remote works with it just as well as the Apple remote. I can play, pause, navigate menus, adjust volume with both remotes. The Apple TV connects to my AirPods easily. Great quality and fast.

[joseluislopes]

As a mainly Plex user, nothing beats the Shield. Lossless audio support, ability to make it a server itself, and still the best upscaling algorithm to make 1080p content look the best it possibly can

[hhectorlector]

For me, the Apple TV 4K voice commands make it as strong as a contender as the Nvidia Shield. Unfortunately the Shield’s upscaling is too good to not use for non-4k content

[Barbarapape]

I have just upgraded from the previous Amazon cube to the new Apple TV 4K with ethernet.
It costs a little more than the new cube, but blows it away with spec and performance
and best of all no adds, i hope they keep it that way.
Thanks for confirming that i made the right choice.

[jonathanzappala]

I feel like I have to thank you for helping sound bar and tv shop. Since I didn’t use any affiliate links. I got a Vizio m512 for a great discount and then I needed a better tv, so I got a Sony X90k, for also a good discount. Thank you for the tv education and your review sold me on the sound bar for the discount it was on.

[michaelwyckoff]

Well I'm satisfied with the ROKU 4K streaming stick. It's inexpensive and works very well for me. I think it is perfect for the average consumer.

[ManBearPigoh]

The headphone jack on the Roku remote is low key a killer feature that I wish my chromecast had

[Skualo-]

As Always Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 with the USB 3.0 type A the tegra 1+ " Mariko" 3GB ram better Ai-Upscaling than the others 🔰🛡️

[shen]

Yes but you didn't mention that Chromecast has a usb-c input, meaning it's way more flexible than the rest. You can add external storage, play videos via external harddisks, sideloading, and add an ethernet a connection (which I use and it's great). It's a bit awkward like a dongle on a dongle (lol) but it can get pretty powerful.

[farzadjahanfard]

I have lg c9 and just got apple tv 4k and i am happy the picture quality is definitely better specially in dolby 👌🏼👌🏼 comparing to TV native apps

[LeeWoods]

The Chromecast with Google TV does have an Ethernet adapter that can be purchased from the Google device store.

[jeffrymj]

I've used Firestick and Roku for years on our TVs, but also added the original Chromecast dongles for easy casting. I just replaced all of them with the new Chromecast 4k now that it includes a remote, and life just got better! The interface is smooth, responsive, and easy to use. My TVs are LG with WebOS which can also compete in this category, but we leave the AV input on Chromecast because it's just better. Everyone in the house (including the non-techies) intuitively know how to use it. I also love how the screensaver scrolls through all of our recent Google Photos.

[grn]

Finally I hear someone say it about how much to spend! Spend about as much as you can because you get the most from your tech!!!

[LoveStallion]

It's not a fair fight without the Nvidia Shield, especially if Apple TV 4K is in the mix.

[Primal]

My Amazon fire tv is terrible. It was fine for the first year or so. Now it has trouble loading(very slow) the Home Screen and apps will crash sometimes. My Samsung tv also after a few years the smart tv is no longer working right. Any future tv I get I will not care whose smart tv is best and only care about the picture. I use Apple TV now and never have issues.

[itsval]

Question does anybody know if all these devices put out different quality/ colors to the same tv ?? For example if I play say stranger things on Netflix using the Apple TV 4K and then plug in a Roku 4K on the same tv with same picture settings & stranger things as well, will I see a difference in colors or anything??

[dtannenb]

I have the Apple TV, Roku Ultra and a Fire TV cube in my home. I do like the Apple TV the best for all the reasons you mentioned. We are on two eco systems in our family, Apple and Amazon Alexa. I am looking forward to seeing all the smart devices work well together and hope that Matter will make that a reality. Thanks for the video, it was very well done.

[atzedevries]

Sorry, but how you not name the gaming performance of a shield tv and mention it of the apple tv. Also the shield tv can function as a nas (or plex media server etc), this is actually the best device you can buy for your money unless your all in apple.