Until recently, Roku was unique in the media streamer space. It was the only major player that made that streamers its primary product, instead of treating them as an offshoot. Sure, it operates the Roku Channel, and even sells speakers and smart home accessories — but these are all in service of keeping you hooked on its add-ons or Roku-based TVs, where you’re also exposed to a steady stream of advertising.
No more. In June 2026, news emerged that Roku agreed to a $22 billion takeover by Fox, which — apart from creating a massive amount of movie and TV content, including Fox News — already has a deep footprint in streaming by way of its namesake services and ownership of Tubi. Assuming the takeover passes legal approval, Fox is poised to gain a captive audience, and access to Roku’s first-party data.
If you’re considering ditching Roku for privacy or political reasons, there are a relative handful of viable alternatives, some of which might be controversial for their own reasons. Still, it’s better to know what’s out there.
The Apple TV 4K
You may want to wait (a little bit)
Let’s not romanticize Apple too much here. It’s a nearly $5 trillion megacorporation that’s amassed its own share of controversies over the years, such as union-busting efforts in the US. But there is one thing that differentiates it from the likes of Roku, and that’s its focus on hardware and subscription sales. Because it doesn’t particularly care about advertising revenue, it can make privacy a selling point, and avoid bombarding you with ads the way a Roku device might.
Apart from that, the Apple TV 4K benefits from having an ultra-slick interface, deep integration with other Apple devices, and far more power than it needs. The 2022 model is so powerful that unlike most of its rivals, it can handle 3D games, even if they’re not going to be as impressive as what you’ll find on a Steam Machine or a PlayStation 5 (more on this later).
If you can, hold off until Apple’s September press event. The company is widely expected to announce a refresh in 2026, its flagship feature being support for Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. That should give the box a lot more power in voice control, for instance letting you explain the mood you’re in and getting tailored recommendations, instead of hunting for a specific actor, director, or genre.
- Brand
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Apple
- Bluetooth codecs
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5.0
The Google TV Streamer
The best of the rest?
Google is automatically a more controversial corporation than Apple, considering its privacy issues and its military contracts. Still, it has improved on the privacy front, and if you want a cheap media streamer, the only real option after Apple, Google, and Roku is Amazon — a business that’s far from spotless.
If you’ve ever seen a Google-based TV, you’re getting the same thing here. That means dealing with UI ads. The Streamer can potentially be faster, however, and the Google TV platform is simple enough, with Gemini voice commands being icing on the cake. Another bonus is that the Streamer doubles as a Matter controller and Thread border router for your smart home. Matter is a universal pairing standard; Thread, meanwhile, is a low-power mesh format for accessories like light bulbs and sensors.
A mini PC (including Macs)
When your budget is flexible
You may or may not have considered this, but it’s increasingly practical to use a TV as a computer monitor. Many new TVs offer 4K, low latency, high color accuracy, and 120Hz refresh rates as a baseline. Given that even an entry-level mini PC can crush the specs of an Apple TV 4K, there’s the potential for one to become the ultimate media hub.
There are some catches of course, the most obvious being that “entry-level” is a relative term. Anything worth owning is probably going to cost upwards of $300, and a new Mac mini will set you back $800. That’s without peripherals you’ll need, like some sort of wireless control. If you want your PC to double as a game console, expect to spend upwards of $1,000 for something with proper graphics performance.
Most people should choose a Mac or Windows PC, which despite being complicated in their own ways (see the guides I’ve linked) are at least familiar. If you’re willing to be a little more adventurous, it’s relatively easy to add streaming services to Valve’s game-focused Steam Machine — but that’s Linux-based, despite running Windows games. If you want to get some work done, you may have to educate yourself on the productivity apps that work in its desktop mode.
- 4K Capability
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Yes
- Brand
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Valve
