As you attempt to watch the World Cup this summer, you may have noticed that YouTube TV isn't performing as usual on your Roku streaming device. It's possible this could be due to a recent May update from Google. It's affecting many of the best Roku devices.

The degraded performance appears to affect Live Guide in YouTube TV, with both a restriction on your Live Guide list and pausing background play when you search in Live Guide.

I dug through the YouTube TV community support forums and complaints started appearing in late May when the last YouTube TV update went live. The complaints concern a shortened Live Guide list going from multiple days out to only a few hours at the worst.

What we found

According to one of the product experts in the forum, YouTube TV intentionally degraded performance and background playback to "prevent crashing and create a more seamless experience for those devices."

"A change was made recently for older and less powerful devices and smart TVs. For these TVs and devices, background play is no longer supported. The amount you can scroll into the future is also impacted," 'Diamond Product Expert' BryanGR86 has posted under multiple threads.

They claimed that it should only affect older, lower-end devices. However, I have seen reports from owners of newer Roku Ultra devices that are having the same problem.

Additionally, BryanGR86 mentions multiple devices including Apple TV 4K, Amazon's Fire Sticks, the Google Chromecast and more, but on the whole it appears this issue is mainly affecting Roku owners.

Recommendations: Consider upgrading

The advice is to upgrade your streaming device to the newest hardware to get the full YouTube TV experience. If you go that route we have picked the best streaming devices that will give you access to a wide range of services beyond YouTube TV.

It's unclear how many streaming devices this degradation actually affects. Google's compatibility page does note that "select devices with 512mb or less of memory may have a slightly different experience and some features may not be available."

Tom's Guide has reached out directly to Google and Roku about the degraded performance. We will update this article if either company responds.

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This week, media conglomerate Fox acquired Roku in a deal worth a whopping $22 billion. The deal won’t be finalized until sometime in 2027, but as someone who makes a living testing, reviewing and recommending TVs, I can’t help but ponder the short- and long-term ramifications for Roku-centric living rooms.

Beyond Roku TVs — which arrive with the brand’s excellent streaming software baked right into the TV — Roku makes some of the best streaming devices on the market. They, too, are built around the Roku experience, delivering an easy-to-use interface atop a vast library of downloadable apps.

If you use a Roku device on a daily basis for streaming movies, shows and live TV, the next few years of binge-watching and app-jumping could look different. Here are some of the changes that could be on their way.

An expansion of the Roku hardware lineup may be in the cards

This is purely speculation on my part, but we might see new Roku TVs, streaming sticks and several changes to Roku-branded hardware over the course of the next several years. It all depends on how viable Fox sees the Roku brand as a hardware entity, and how effectively its executives believe they can leverage said hardware.

Once upon a time, Roku TVs were, frankly, not very good — at least as far as performance goes. In recent years, Roku-branded TVs have seen substantial improvements. The best Roku TVs today often make use of Mini-LED backlighting, which is partly why their picture quality has gotten better of late.

While it’s tough to read the tea leaves about how this acquisition will reshape Roku’s hardware lineup, I don’t expect there to be a significant reduction in Roku TVs, streaming sticks (like the Roku Streaming Stick 4K) and Roku boxes. The reason for this is simple: Fox now has a direct line to the Roku home screen in millions of people’s homes.

With this connection, Fox can now effectively integrate its own apps and services into our collective Roku experience. It's a benefit that most other media giants don’t have.

The Roku Channel or other apps could be retired

As my colleague Malcolm McMillan outlines in his analysis of the Fox-Roku deal, there are a couple of Fox- and Roku-owned streaming apps that could be in flux.

The Roku Channel, as the name suggests, is a free, Roku-owned streaming app that comes preinstalled in Roku TVs and streaming devices. Tubi — a company acquired by Fox in 2020 — also offers free, ad-based streaming.

My colleagues are right to point out that, with Fox overseeing the entire Roku operation, there ostensibly isn’t much of a business-driven incentive to back two free streaming apps that serve a similar purpose. Given the greater popularity of Tubi, the Roku Channel could be the odd app out.

The same can be said for the Howdy app, which is similar to the Roku Channel but sits behind a three-dollar-per-month subscription. Fox executives may be more reluctant to retire Howdy if its subscription model has proven successful. But, as Malcolm mentions, “we don't have any hard data on how it's performing in terms of revenue or user growth.”

The future of Fox and Roku

As someone who recently made the switch from webOS to Roku for daily streaming duties, the future of this simple-but-powerful software suite is important to me. And, as a TV-reviewer, I’d love to have a clearer picture of where Roku hardware — both its TVs and streaming devices — are headed.

The truth is, we won’t have a deeper understanding of these details for a while. As mentioned, the acquisition won’t be finalized until next year.

On the hardware side of things, it’s likely that we wouldn’t see any shakeups to Roku TVs and device lineups for a few years, as these changes would take some time to develop, logistically speaking.

I suspect that the first bits of Fox-related influence that’ll be felt will come in the form of small changes to the Roku interface. This could be as simple as Fox-owned services getting favorable placement on the home screen (or in the form of dedicated buttons on the Roku remote).

Ultimately, however, I would hate to see this move detract from what I love about the Roku experience: a simple interface with minimal ad placement.

If Fox plays its cards right, Roku could become more popular than ever. I just hope it doesn’t lose its way in the process.

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Fox just announced a deal to acquire Roku, and it could shake up the streaming world in a major way. The deal, which is a $22 billion megadeal, is set to go through in the first half of 2027, so its impacts won't be felt right away. But once it closes, it could eliminate one of the best free streaming services entirely.

The issue here is that Fox owns Tubi, which is probably the best free streamer out there at this point. Roku, meanwhile, owns the Roku Channel, which is good, but not quite as good as Tubi.

If Fox does close this deal, it wouldn't make sense for them to have two free streaming services. They would almost certainly shutter one of them, and while Roku is a household name for streaming devices, Tubi has far more brand recognition among streaming services. So it'd likely be the Roku Channel that ends up on the chopping block.

On the one hand, Tubi has a better app, so I won't be heartbroken if the Roku Channel disappears as an icon on my home screen. But these streaming services acquire different shows and movies for their libraries; there's a lot of overlap, but there are plenty of titles only available on one or the other.

So to be clear, losing the Roku Channel would lead to less free streaming content available to consumers. That's a loss, no matter how you feel about the quality of the services themselves. And, it's not the only streaming service that might get shown the door in this massive deal.

What about Howdy?

To recap, with this Fox and Roku deal, we'll likely lose the Roku Channel. We probably won't lose Roku's hardware lineup. Some tweaks might be made, but Roku streaming devices and Roku TVs are surely why Fox bought the company in the first place.

But then, there's Howdy. This is a budget streaming service that gives you 10,000+ hours of shows and movies without ads. It costs $2.99 a month, and it's fairly new. Roku's CEO, Anthony Wood, has been positive about the service in earnings calls, but we don't have any hard data on how it's performing in terms of revenue or user growth.

I've used Howdy a bit, and it's good. I'm not sure I want to pay $3 a month just to eliminate ads, but in terms of the app, the available shows and movies, etc., it's decent enough.

But is "decent" enough to justify Fox keeping the streaming service? That's a trickier question. Especially since Fox relies on carriage fees on cable networks and its new streaming service, Fox One, to generate revenues.

Howdy doesn't really compete with Fox One, which is tailored more around live sports and Fox News. But it could arguably compete with cable for some cord cutters. After all, if you just flip through channels looking for anything to watch, $2.99 is much cheaper than any cable bill.

Ultimately, I think Fox will make a decision on Howdy based on data that we, the public, don't really have. If they look at Roku's books and see Howdy brings in profit, or brings in user base growth, they'll likely keep it around. If it's a money loser and not really growing, they might use the acquisition to shut it down. But it doesn't directly compete with any of Fox's current offerings, so there's no reason it couldn't stick around.

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Roku just announced the biggest redesign of its Home menu in over a decade. But the company promises that it should feel familiar to long-time users. The update is coming to the best Roku TVs and the company's streaming devices.

Roku describes the updated Home Screen as a more dynamic and smarter experience with more "relevant recommendations and faster pathways to content."

Roku says the extensive redesign was built via extensive testing and viewer insights.

“When we set out to rethink the Home Screen, we knew we should listen to the people who use it every day. So we talked to the viewers, we tested extensively, and we pushed until the design and the data lined up for a meaningful update,” said Anthony Wood, Founder and CEO of Roku.

In total, it looks like you'll see a change in seven different areas of the home screen. Here's what they are and how they work.

What's new in the Roku Home Screen

One of the more noticeable changes is in the app screen with the new Quick Access that automatically surfaces your most used apps. This is supposed to let you hop right in without scrolling.

Quick Access is AI-powered and Roku says it will "continually adapt" to your routine to get your favorite apps faster. Though you can add or remove any app you want.

Alongside the favorite apps, a new section called Top Picks for You will appear at the top of your Home Screen. This section will recommend shows and movies for you based on what you've watched, what's trending on Roku and what's hot in general.

For You is meant to offer more personalized picks. It's also getting a new "real-time" row called Your Daily Scoop that is AI-powered. The Scoop gives you a curated digest of trends, hot shows and more.

It will offer recommendations from all of your subscriptions in one place when you click on one of the topic cards that the Scoop surfaces.

If you're in the mood for hunting, there's a new "Destinations" section that offers curated hubs and moods. These include genres like "Horror" or "Kids & Family."

Roku says that it's streamlined the Home Screen Menu to stay tucked away until you need it. From there, you can jump to new hubs like Destinations, and your Settings, Inputs and Search menus.

Shortcuts keeps features like Continue Watching, Sleep Timer and Save List easy to find, and Roku says your favorite ones will appear in the Quick Access feed.

Finally, a new Home Screen tile will take you straight to the an interactive version of the Roku City screensaver. This includes Daily Trivia, Roku City Dash, Roklue and more.

Roku Home Screen redesign availability

Roku says the updated Home Screen is rolling out now in the U.S. with more countries to follow. The update should arrive automatically.

Of course, if you're worried that the update might brick your Roku TV, you can try turning off automatic updates until it reaches more people.

Meanwhile, have you received the update? What do you think? Does it feel more intuitive and get you to shows and movies you want to watch faster? Let us know.

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Did you know that May 20 is Streaming Day? I didn't, but Roku does and is celebrating by offering up to 90% premium channel subscriptions via its Roku Channel (it helps when you create the day in question).

You have to act fast since the deals only last until Monday, May 25. But the deals on offer are available for more than 30 streaming options, including some of the best streaming services available. Some of these deals will get you a subscription for as low as $1 a month.

To take advantage of these deals, you'll need one of the best Roku TVs or a Roku streaming device.

The Streaming Day deals celebration offers subscriptions for more than 70 services, 30 of which are for premium channels like Apple TV, Starz, Hallmark Plus and AMC Plus. You can see the full list here, just scroll through the different categories.

Catches and caveats

There is a big catch: not every deal is equal. Every subscription has its own price and deal length. For example, Howdy will only get you a 7-day free trial, while MGM Plus is giving you two months for 99% off per month.

Most deals are capped at two months, with a couple like Crunchyroll going for three months. From what I can tell, the longest-lasting deal is SiriusXM for 12 months and costs $5 per month.

However, it's still a great time to give a service like Apple TV ($6 per month for two months) or Starz ($2 per month for two months) a try. Binge the shows and movies you want and then cancel right before renewal.

Nicely, the deals save you a bunch of money for a couple of months, but you can get access to all of the subscriptions through Roku without needing separate passwords or accounts.

With streaming services seemingly constantly raising prices, this is an opportunity to actually try out a service or multiple without blowing up your bank account.

Remember, you only have 5 days to take advantage of Roku's Streaming Day deals. So act fast if you're interested.

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This week, Roku is starting to roll out its major Spring update to the best Roku TVs and best Roku streaming devices. It's unclear if any new features will launch with this update, but it should largely be a boon to performance.

Roku OS 15.2, confirmed by Cord Cutter News, will feature mostly under-the-hood changes. On the front end, that should translate to smoother navigation, faster launches and better video playback.

This update primarily features changes aimed at developers, which should mean improved performance down the line. One update enables identifying which components of an app are most memory-intensive. Those could be optimized to improve performance efficiency.

Roku rollouts are apparently quite gradual, meaning you could receive the update immediately or up to a month from now. This lets the company monitor how the update is affecting devices.

A rough time to launch an update

The Roku OS 15.2 rolls out at a controversial time for Roku. The company and manufacturing TCL are facing a class-action lawsuit over updates that have allegedly "bricked" TCL-made Roku TVs.

Tom's Guide readers responded to the news, with one reader saying, "I just tossed a 43" TCL Roku that just would not come back on after updates."

Roku did tell Tom's Guide that it believed the lawsuit is without merit.

If you're nervous that this update might cause problems with your Roku device, it might be in your best interest to wait until it's more widespread before installing it. That should give the company time to implement any necessary fixes to the update.

However, it's worth noting that Roku devices will typically update automatically when connected to the internet. You can also check for updates in the settings by manually starting a software update check.

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Roku and TCL are being sued in a class action lawsuit that claims software updates released by the companies have been "repetitively defective," making TVs unusable.

Update: We reached out to Roku and a spokesperson said, "We believe the claims are meritless." We've also reached out to TCL and the company declined to comment.

Roku is most known for making some of the best streaming stick devices and its platform has been featured on some of the best TVs we've tested, while TCL makes a variety of televisions. The two companies have a partnership where Roku's OS powers the smart capabilities of many affordable TVs. TCL is one of Roku's biggest clients.

The complaint was filed in a federal court based out of southern California, where the companies were accused of releasing software updates that cause the smart TVs to freeze, restart over and over, not turn on at all or degrade the experience.

As seen by Top Class Actions, the plaintiff, Terri Elise, accuses the companies of knowingly releasing poor updates.

“Despite consumers’ persistent complaints of repeated system failures, often leaving their TVs completely inoperable, defendants offer no recourse,” the Roku class action lawsuit reads. “This is inconsistent with representations made in express warranties, which promise to repair, correct or otherwise remediate the software defect.”

The suit lists the Roku Select Series, Roku Plus Series, and the TCL 3, 4, 5, and 6-series models that run RokuOS.

The complaint demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief plus an award of actual and statutory damages and restitution for members of class action. The initial filing does not have a specific number, but that will come about as the case either settles or goes to trial.

What TCL owners are saying

There are several comments under the Top Class Actions post with people noting that they've experienced issues with Roku TCL sets.

"I was watching my TV and it just stopped showing pictures," one owner claimed. Another said they have the TCL QM8 which would get blacked out screens or just shut off after software issues.

On the Roku and TCL subreddits we were able to find multiple posts about software updates breaking TVs going back at least two years, which matches with the timeline presented in the lawsuit.

For example, this post from four months ago decries a forced firmware update that disabled connectivity features. Or this one from the Roku subreddit where the poster claimed their TCL TV refused to update its operating system.

This lawsuit is in its initial stages so it may be some months before a resolution or settlement is reached. We have reached out to TCL and Roku for comment and will update this article should we hear back.

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One of the best free streaming services just got better, as The Roku Channel launched 22 new live channels on its platform. The channels, part of the platform's selection of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels, run the gamut from classic shows and franchises like 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Inspector Gadget' to reality TV and niche sports. A couple channels are more family-friendly with animated fare and several options focus on history and nature.

All of the new Roku channels were first reported on by Cord Cutters News, and are available via Roku streaming devices or TVs with Roku, such as the Roku Pro Series TV.

There are also a few non-English language channels like one focused on the Turkish show Kanal D Drama, and another which appears to be a Spanish jail-based reality TV show, plus MTV Español. Here's the full list:

• The Beverly Hillbillies
• Complex TV
• DP World Tour
• FloRacing 24/7
• Game & Fish TV
• Grizzly & The Lemmings
• The Hunger Games 4-Film Collection
• Ink Masters Pluto
• Inspector Gadget
• Jail En Español
• MotoGP Channel
• MTV en Español
• Nat Geo History
• Nat Geo Animals
• Nat Geo Travel
• Property Brothers
• Rawhide Pluto
• Roku Moods Nature
• Salem News Channel
• Scripps Sports Network
• Tosh.0 Pluto
• Vive Kanal D Drama

The Roku Channel has over 500 channels that offer just about every type of TV show or movie that you can imagine. The service kicked off in September 2017 and has steadily grown over the last nine years.

Today's 22 join 16 that the platform added in February. Plus, Roku has made an effort to stream more live events like this past weekend's PGA The Masters tournament.

If you're looking for a FAST service, the Roku Channel is one of the best free streaming services available.

As a reminder, like Tubi or Pluto, The Roku Channel does feature ads which are often unskippable.

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Roku has steadily gained a foothold as the go-to destination for affordable entertainment, but now it's taking a page from cable TV that even those of us who've already cut the cord are celebrating. Roku recently rolled out an upgrade to its Live TV experience, adding a new feature to the Live Guide that makes browsing channels easier for anyone watching over-the-air antenna channels or live streams.

As first confirmed by Cord Cutters, this update lets Roku TV users hop back to the last channel they watched with a single press of a button. Previously, the "jump back" button (the little circular arrow on your remote) was used to rewind back a few seconds, provided you had some kind of USB storage device connected to the TV, to quickly replay moments you might have missed.

With the latest update, this functionality has been replaced. Now the "jump back" button instantly switches over to whatever channel you were last watching, a sort of quick-toggle that nixes the need for fussing with entering channel numbers or opening the full guide.

Another Roku TV headache gone

This seriously streamlines the viewing process for any chronic channel flippers out there (guilty as charged), making it simpler than ever to hop between multiple games or programs during peak viewing times. It also makes using a Roku TV feel more like a traditional over-the-air setup, complete with the “last channel” button, to further merge classic broadcast viewing, keeping free antenna TV simple and convenient in an increasingly hybrid entertainment landscape.

The feature is expected to roll out automatically to supported Roku devices. It also works with both antenna-based channels and supported live streams within the Live Guide, so it's especially handy for households that use a combination of free broadcast TV and the best streaming services.

The new functionality marks Roku's latest overhaul of its Live Guide, its hub for free live TV programming. Earlier this month, Roku added a dedicated search section so that navigating Roku's extensive collection of hundreds of free, ad-supported live channels is no longer the headache it once was.

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Want to take in a great new movie on one of these cold winter nights? Don't even think about subscribing to a new streaming platform. As much as we sing the praises of the best streaming services, they don't come cheap. Don't bother when you can catch plenty of free movies on The Roku Channel — no sign-up, no subscription, no nothing.

The Roku Channel's library spans hundreds of TV shows and movies that are completely free to watch. The only trade-off is you'll have to sit through a few ads. It's part of why we rank the Roku Channel among the best free streaming services on the market. With so much coming and going from The Roku Channel's catalogue, narrowing down which new movies are worth your time can quickly become a headache. Not sure where to start? Check out some of our favorite free movies that just landed on The Roku Channel for your next weekend watch.

'Ophelia' (2018)

Claire McCarthy’s “Ophelia” is the ultimate take-back-the-narrative movie, reframing Shakespeare's iconic tragedy "Hamlet" through the lens of its female characters, most notably the eponymous lady-in-waiting herself. Daisy Ridley of "Star Wars" fame stars as a rebellious Ophelia who's taken under the wing of Queen Gertrude (Naomi Watts) and slowly wins the heart of Denmark's doomed prince. Think of it as the power version of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," with enough gorgeous cinematography and solid performances all around to keep you invested.

Watch "Ophelia" on The Roku Channel now

'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016)

War movies aren't usually my thing, but "Hacksaw Ridge" is the rare exception that I recommend whenever I get the chance. Andrew Garfield brings an infectious southern charm and genuineness as Desmond Doss, a real-life World War II medic who served in the Battle of Okinawa without ever firing a weapon. A devout Seventh-day Adventist, he refuses to carry or use a gun, which earns him significant opposition and ridicule from his fellow soldiers. The movie's climax occurs during the fierce battle on Hacksaw Ridge, where Doss ignores orders to retreat to instead rescue wounded soldiers, single-handedly lowering them down a steep cliff until reinforcements arrive.

Watch "Hacksaw Ridge" on The Roku Channel now

'Fences' (2016)

Reprising the role that won him a Tony on Broadway, Denzel Washington both directs and stars in this movie adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. With such celebrated source material and a Hollywood titan on both sides of the camera, it’s no surprise the film chalked up a slew of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Troy Maxson (Washington) works as a garbage collector in 1950s Pittsburgh after his pro baseball career fell short of the big leagues. Though he tries to provide for his family, long-simmering frustrations and regret over his lost dream threaten to boil over, especially after his son (Jovan Adepo) gets offered the opportunity he never had.

Watch "Fences" on The Roku Channel now

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Roku is getting even more free TV. After adding 6 new channels last month, including gameshow staple "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and 2000s sitcom "My Wife & Kids," it's gaining nine more. The new free channels, which function similarly to old-school cable channels, commercial breaks included, are currently live in the Roku Channel app.

This latest batch adds new channels for sitcoms, sports coverage, and more. And, just like all of The Roku Channel, they're completely free with the trade-off being you'll have to sit through a few ads. You don't need a Roku TV to watch them either. You can tune in via The Roku Channel website, on the Roku app on Amazon's streaming platform, including Amazon Fire TV Sticks and Cubes, or on one of the best Android or Apple phones using the Roku app.

The new free channels on The Roku Channel

• 197 Willow Sports: Live coverage of international cricket matches
• 371 Felicity: '90s coming-of-age drama
• 372 Fuel TV: The global home of action sports
• 429 Pokémon: Nonstop streaming of the popular children's animated series that's run for nearly 30 seasons
• 496 MeatEater: Dedicated to hunting, fishing, and outdoor adventures
• 822 America’s Funniest Videos: Nonstop streaming of ABC's timeless fixture in American broadcasting
• 823 The Bernie Mac Show: Episodes of the comedian's early 2000s sitcom
• 829 Cougar Town: Sitcom about a divorced mother diving into the dating pool once more
• 832 Blossom: '90s sitcom starring Mayim Bialik

How to access Roku's new free channels

To tune in, head to the Roku Channel app on your TV, select "Live TV" from the menu on the left, and then search for what you want to watch. You can also check out your favorite channels from the recently watched section.

For the most part, Roku keeps things simple, and that's a big reason why its devices are among the best streaming devices on the market. The interface is clean and easy to navigate, prioritizing apps above all else. But open up The Roku Channel, and you’ll find an entire ecosystem of free, ad-supported streaming TV with over 350 channels. As The Roku Channel levels up with even more free TV, it's steadily gaining a foothold as a go-to destination for affordable entertainment.

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If you're streaming Super Bowl 2026 today, there's a good chance you're using a Roku device. Roku streaming devices are among the best streaming devices we've tested, and they all have access to the best streaming services and the best cable TV alternatives.

If you're still looking for a Roku device to stream the big game, our top pick is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. It's the perfect device for most people, offering 4K streaming, premium features, all at the affordable price of $34.34 at Amazon (normally $49.99). That leaves you money leftover for pizza and wings for when you stream Super Bowl 2026 in 4K or head to YouTube to watch all the Super Bowl LX commercials and Super Bowl 2026 movie trailers.

Of course, you could ditch the need for a streaming device and get a Roku TV instead. These TVs integrate Roku's features and smart TV operating system with a gorgeous Mini-LED display. Right now, the Roku Pro Series Mini-LED TV is our top pick amongst the best Roku TVs, and it's ideal for the Big Game.

Once you have the perfect Roku device or a new Roku TV, you'll need to know which Roku apps to use to stream Super Bowl LX. Our top (and only) streaming service pick is Peacock Premium, which will give you a 4K stream of Seahawks vs. Patriots for $10.99 a month. If you already have a live TV streaming service, you likely have access to NBC, which will be broadcasting the game. Our top pick is YouTube TV, which streams the game in 1080p normally, but offers a 4K HDR stream with its 4K Plus add-on (for an additional charge).

That gives you a good outline, but let's dive into the details. Here's everything you need to know to watch Super Bowl 2026 on Roku.

Super Bowl 2026 on Roku: Which Roku device is right for you?

We've test all of the best streaming sticks and devices we can get our hands on to make sure we're only recommending the best. And right now, our top pick among all streaming devices is a Roku. Specifically, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K.

Right now, you can get the Roku Streaming Stick 4K at Amazon for just $34.34. This tiny workhorse is a great choice for streaming 4K content, and its built-in Wi-Fi extender ensures you get crisp, uninterrupted streaming quality throughout the entire event.

Super Bowl 2026 on Roku in 4K: Which app is right for you?

If you want to stream the Big Game in 4K, there are a few options. You can opt for a streaming service, like Peacock, or you can use a cable TV alternative like YouTube TV. They have pros and cons; if you just want to watch the game, Peacock has a far lower price point, but YouTube TV will give you a more cable-like experience with 100 channels, including NBC.

If a streaming service is more your vibe, then you only have one choice. Peacock is the exclusive streaming home of Super Bowl 2026, and right now, you can get it for $10.99 a month.

If you want something that can truly replace your cable package, then YouTube TV is our top choice. It's great for sports, thanks to features like Multiview and Catch up with key plays. If you're looking to stream the game in 4K, that's an option too, though you'll need to spring for the 4K Plus add-on, which costs an extra $9.99 per month.

Right now, we're offering YouTube TV for $62.99 a month for your first five months. That's a total savings of $75, which is better than what YouTube TV is currently offering most customers. Plus, if you haven't already signed up for the 4K Plus add-on, you can try it for free right now for 30 days.

Now, if you want the cable TV experience but are looking to save some money, Sling TV is an alternative worth considering. Starting at $29.99 for your first month, Sling Orange & Blue gives over 50 channels, including NBC in some markets. Or, you can check out Sling Select, starting at just $19.99. This package offers a lot less; just 10+ channels. But it also costs a lot less.

While Sling can be great, there is one major catch. Sling might not offer NBC in your market. For example, in Atlanta, I can't get NBC through Sling. So using it to watch the Super Bowl is a no-go for me.

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If you're streaming Super Bowl 2026 later this week, there's a good chance you're using a Roku device. Roku streaming devices are among the best streaming devices we've tested, and they all have access to the best streaming services and the best cable TV alternatives.

If you're still looking for a Roku device to stream the big game, our top pick is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. It's the perfect device for most people, offering 4K streaming, premium features, all at the affordable price of $34.34 at Amazon (normally $49.99). That leaves you money leftover for pizza and wings for when you stream Super Bowl 2026 in 4K or head to YouTube to watch all the Super Bowl LX commercials and Super Bowl 2026 movie trailers.

Of course, you could ditch the need for a streaming device and get a Roku TV instead. These TVs integrate Roku's features and smart TV operating system with a gorgeous Mini-LED display. Right now, the Roku Pro Series Mini-LED TV is our top pick amongst the best Roku TVs, and it's ideal for the Big Game.

Once you have the perfect Roku device or a new Roku TV, you'll need to know which Roku apps to use to stream Super Bowl LX. Our top (and only) streaming service pick is Peacock Premium, which will give you a 4K stream of Seahawks vs. Patriots for $10.99 a month. If you already have a live TV streaming service, you likely have access to NBC, which will be broadcasting the game. Our top pick is YouTube TV, which streams the game in 1080p normally, but offers a 4K HDR stream with its 4K Plus add-on (for an additional charge).

That gives you a good outline, but let's dive into the details. Here's everything you need to know to watch Super Bowl 2026 on Roku.

Super Bowl 2026 on Roku: Which Roku device is right for you?

We've test all of the best streaming sticks and devices we can get our hands on to make sure we're only recommending the best. And right now, our top pick among all streaming devices is a Roku. Specifically, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K.

Right now, you can get the Roku Streaming Stick 4K at Amazon for just $34.34. This tiny workhorse is a great choice for streaming 4K content, and its built-in Wi-Fi extender ensures you get crisp, uninterrupted streaming quality throughout the entire event.

Super Bowl 2026 on Roku in 4K: Which app is right for you?

If you want to stream the Big Game in 4K, there are a few options. You can opt for a streaming service, like Peacock, or you can use a cable TV alternative like YouTube TV. They have pros and cons; if you just want to watch the game, Peacock has a far lower price point, but YouTube TV will give you a more cable-like experience with 100 channels, including NBC.

If a streaming service is more your vibe, then you only have one choice. Peacock is the exclusive streaming home of Super Bowl 2026, and right now, you can get it for $10.99 a month.

If you want something that can truly replace your cable package, then YouTube TV is our top choice. It's great for sports, thanks to features like Multiview and Catch up with key plays. If you're looking to stream the game in 4K, that's an option too, though you'll need to spring for the 4K Plus add-on, which costs an extra $9.99 per month.

Right now, we're offering YouTube TV for $62.99 a month for your first five months. That's a total savings of $75, which is better than what YouTube TV is currently offering most customers. Plus, if you haven't already signed up for the 4K Plus add-on, you can try it for free right now for 30 days.

Now, if you want the cable TV experience but are looking to save some money, Sling TV is an alternative worth considering. Starting at $29.99 for your first month, Sling Orange & Blue gives over 50 channels, including NBC in some markets. Or, you can check out Sling Select, starting at just $19.99. This package offers a lot less; just 10+ channels. But it also costs a lot less.

While Sling can be great, there is one major catch. Sling might not offer NBC in your market. For example, in Atlanta, I can't get NBC through Sling. So using it to watch the Super Bowl is a no-go for me.

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• How to watch Super Bowl 2026 for free from anywhere
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My streaming quality used to be terrible. Netflix looked blurry, Disney+ kept buffering, and I assumed the only solution was paying my internet provider for a faster plan or upgrading to one of the best Wi-Fi routers. I was ready to call them and upgrade when I decided to try a few things first.

Turns out, I didn't need faster internet at all. A few simple adjustments — some took five minutes, others just required changing a quick setting, improved my streaming quality without costing anything. Streaming looks better now, buffering has stopped, and I'm not paying an extra cent each month. Here's exactly what worked.

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As a TV reviewer, a big part of my job is to dive deep into the digital nooks and crannies of every TV I cover. But when I’m done for the day and ready to catch up on my shows from the comfort of my living room, I don’t want to explore software anymore — I just want to stream in peace. I yearn for a frictionless experience, and unfortunately, my LG TV’s built-in webOS smart platform wasn’t cutting it as my daily driver.

Now sure, LG OLED TVs are some of the best TVs you can buy, but in recent years, I’ve found webOS to be a frustrating software suite for everyday streaming. Recently, I made the jump to a dedicated streaming device: the Roku Ultra. I’m now a certified Roku enthusiast, and I’ll never go back to webOS.

Roku isn’t inundated with ads and recommendations

As is the case with all streaming platforms, there are ads nestled into the Roku interface. Unlike the vast majority of its competitors, however, Roku’s ad output is downright minimal.

LG’s webOS is a different story. By default, webOS plasters a gigantic banner ad that takes up about a third of the real estate across its home screen. An entire section of the home screen is dedicated to recommended content.

By comparison, Roku is a breath of fresh air. Typically, there’s a rectangular ad on its home screen, and while it does take up a big chunk of the Roku home screen, you don’t have to scroll through it in order to reach certain menu items. Roku also lets you turn off all of its recommended content, leaving you with just the apps you need across its only screen.

On webOS, some of the sponsored and recommended elements can be hidden or shuffled around by disabling Home Promotion and Content Recommendation via the Home Settings. Unfortunately, the UI still stretches unimportant content across the places where ads and recommendations would be.

Even with a highly customized home screen, the general vibe of webOS is that of a pushy person prodding you into pressing buttons. I don’t need shortcuts to LG’s Home Hub or the User Guide at my fingertips at all times, but webOS seems to think I do.

That brings me to my favorite aspect of Roku: its clean, zippy UI.

A fast and easy interface that makes streaming simple

By setting my LG TV’s Power On Screen setting to Recent Input rather than Home, it brings me straight to Roku’s HDMI input when I turn on the TV. I skip the garish, neon-colored clutter of webOS’s home screen, and instead, I’m treated to the clean, simplistic grid of tiles I’ve come to love about Roku.

On the left of this grid of apps is a straightforward menu with settings and customization options. Everything is laid out where I expect it to be, and the main focus is my curated list of apps.

Now that I’ve turned to a Roku Ultra for every-day use, I probably stream more movies and shows than I did before. I’m willing to chalk that up to the approachability of Roku.

But it’s not just the big tiles and simplistic navigational experience that makes Roku so easy to pick up and learn. It’s also super speedy.

I find most TV operating systems to have somewhat of a chunky feel to them. There are stutters between screens, buttons often require repeated inputs, and sometimes, apps take a while to load. I’ve seen this on webOS, Samsung smart TVs and across Fire TV-based products, too.

Roku, meanwhile, almost never misses a beat. Apps boot up quickly. I’m in and out of menus lickety-split.

When you combine a simple, uncluttered interface with zippy performance, you end up with that flowy, frictionless experience I yearn for when all I want to do is just watch some TV.

Useful (not superfluous) features

Another secret ingredient in this satisfying formula are a handful of Roku features I suddenly can’t live without.

For example, did you know that there’s a physical button on top of the Roku Ultra that, when pressed, prompts the remote control to call out with an unmistakable whistle sound? It’s helped me locate my lost remote on, frankly, an embarrassing number of occasions.

If I’m watching a loud action movie past my partner’s bedtime, I simply jam a pair of wired headphones into the Roku remote’s 3.5mm headphone jack and voila: a private soundscape without the need to fumble with Bluetooth.

Roku’s Universal Watch List feature lets me collect all of my favorite shows into one easy-to-access menu — regardless of which streaming service hosts them.

A few of Roku's best features exist in some capacity on rival operating systems, but none of them blend their usefulness with Roku's simple approach. Meanwhile, many new smart TVs — particularly LG's and Samsung's — are shipping with features I have no use for.

I don't need to make a viewing profile on webOS in order for it to learn my preferences and shove TV show recommendations into my face; I watch "Jeopardy!" every night at 7:30 and baseball games during the spring and summer. I know when a new season of "The White Lotus" is about to start.

I'll be the first to admit that Roku isn't perfect, but it's the best-oiled machine for streaming movies and shows in 2026. Other brands should take note.

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Streaming Sticks make up some of the best streaming devices largely because they're easy to set up while still providing you access to the best streaming services. However, if you have awkward-to-reach or tight HDMI ports, they can be hard to plug in directly.

Fortunately, Roku is quietly offering a free HDMI extender to relieve that annoyance. As reported by Cord Cutter News, Roku doesn't offer extenders with its devices ike the Roku Streaming Stick 4K or Roku Streaming Stick Plus, opting instead for an "on-demand approach."

If you're unfamiliar, the HDMI extender is a short cable that connects your streaming stick to the HDMI port without blocking other ports or requiring an awkward position. It creates a bit of space between your TV and the Stick and could help it perform better by allowing it dissipate heat better thanks to more airflow.

Unlike Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which comes with an HDMI extender, Roku apparently wants to reduce packaging costs. That said, more recent Roku streaming sticks are much slimmer, so you may not need the extender as much.

How to claim your free HDMI extender

It's pretty simple, thankfully. All you have to do is fill out a form.

Click here for the Roku Free HDMI extender short online form. The form will ask for your address, email, the serial number of your device, and a telephone number.

Here are several ways to find your device's serial number:

• Check the bottom of your Stick; it should be labeled SN.
• In the Roku mobile app, go to the devices page, tap the three dots next to your device and then select View System Info.
• On your TV, go to the home screen, then select Settings, then System, and finally About. The serial number will be below the model name.

That's it; you can send the request and get your HDMI upgrade at no cost.

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Folks who use one of Amazon’s Fire TV-enabled devices are waking up to dozens of new, free streaming channels thanks to a Roku brand partnership. Users of Amazon’s streaming platform don’t need to sign up for anything to start watching — they’re readily accessible to anyone who uses Fire TV.

While a relatively minor development in the grand scheme of things, it’s the latest step in what seems to be a revitalization effort for Amazon’s streaming platform in 2026. The new channels are refreshingly easy to access, too.

Where to find The Roku Channel on Fire TV

As mentioned, Fire TV-users don’t need to buy or subscribe to anything in order to start watching these free channels. According to TechRadar, around 50 new channels are now available via the newly added Live Guide tab.

From the Fire TV home screen, select the Live Guide button (marked by a small TV icon) to access live channels. This will whisk you away to Fire TV’s main hub for free, live streaming apps, which now includes The Roku Channel.

If you’re unable to find the Live Guide option, you likely need to update your Fire TV software. To check for an update, simply bring up the settings menu, navigate to My Fire TV and locate the Check for Updates button.

Is Fire TV getting better in 2026?

As a TV-reviewer, I’ve had lukewarm feelings about Fire TV for as long as it’s been a regular feature in streaming devices and smart TVs. This is mostly because I’ve found the interface to be cluttered and the navigational experience to be cumbersome.

In fact, when an otherwise-great TV is built around Amazon’s smart platform, I usually frame its inclusion as a caveat. Such is the case with the Hisense U65QF, one of the best budget-friendly Mini-LED TVs you can buy. The U65QF is brighter than just about everything in its class, but unless you’re an avid Alexa user, you might feel the same way that I do about Fire TV.

This year, I’m getting the impression that Amazon is determined to revitalize Fire TV. If it’s successful, Fire TV devices — and TVs that leverage the software, like the U65QF — could see their stock rise.

At CES 2026, the brand tossed its hat into the lifestyle-TV ring with the announcement of the Amazon Ember Artline, an affordable, gallery-inspired TV that competes with Samsung’s The Frame. Along with the Ember’s debut, Amazon promised a full refresh of the Fire TV platform — including a reported 20-30% speed boost and changes to the user interface.

Seeing as how overall speed and usability have been my primary pain points with Fire TV in the past, this update (set to go live in February) could be a game-changer.

When taken as a whole, these developments — the upcoming Fire TV refresh, the launch of a new lifestyle TV and the latest The Roku Channel rollout — signal that Amazon is serious about boosting its reputation among streamers and smart TV owners in the coming months.

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Roku has launched a new update to its mobile app that makes navigation much simpler than using the previous built-in virtual remote. Roku's new app controls let you use touchscreen swiping for simpler navigation, so you don't have to manually press directional keys like you would on a normal remote.

It's a nice change, making it leagues easier and faster for you to find your favorite content more quickly. The update also brings several other changes, including cosmetic and security updates, to the Roku app to bring it more in line with the rest of Roku's ecosystem. It's already available across major devices, including iOS and Android app stores.

Swipe to navigate

Instead of tapping directional keys, the new Roku app lets you swipe to navigate in various directions, making content curation a breeze.

It's meant to eliminate finger fatigue, which was a common problem for those using the remote regularly. You can now easily navigate the libraries of the best streaming services and even those on Roku's free live channels, all on your phone.

Roku has even added haptic feedback to the swipe functionality, so there's a tactile response. Cord Cutters News claims that Roku's "internal testing showed that users completed navigation tasks up to 30 percent faster," though where they got this information is unclear.

Just note that in order to switch to this navigation method you need to pull up Settings and then toggle the remote type from Traditional to Swipe. And you can choose to move only one position at a time with each swipe or one or more positions depending on the length of your swipe.

Other Roku app upgrades

Navigation is one thing, but Roku has also given its app several cosmetic changes, highlighting a variety of necessary information at the top of the page with handy shortcuts for tons of apps. You'll also know specifically which Roku device you're connected to, which relieves a lot of the previous stress if you own multiple Roku devices in one household.

Roku aims to make the mobile app a one-stop shop for everything within its ecosystem, creating a space that not only looks and feels clean but also is secure and easy to use. A new end-to-end encryption protocol has also been added to the system, ensuring users feel safe in the face of Roku's data breach last year.

All of these changes are available right now in the Roku iOS app and Roku Android app. Check your mobile device's app store to ensure your Roku mobile app is up-to-date.

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For a short time, you can snag a new Roku 1080p projector for $150 on Amazon using the built-in coupon. It's called the Aurzen D1R, and it's technically the second model we've seen in 2025 to use Roku's smart platform. As you'd expect, it comes equipped with the best streaming services, including Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney Plus.

It might top out at a 1080p resolution, but its picture can stretch up to 150 inches, and it comes with support for Dolby Audio and smart home-ready connectivity. Did I already mention that it's currently $150 after a coupon?

A budget projector for big-screen movie-nights

The Aurzen D1R isn't going to take over our list of the best projectors, but its budget pricing more than makes up for that.

One standout feature on the D1R is its Auto Focus and keystone correction features, which ensure you get the best picture possible right from setup. You won't have to fiddle with focus or mess with the projector too much, and even if someone accidentally bumps into it, it will automatically correct the image. It's a total lifesaver and time saver.

If the included streaming apps weren't enough, it also supports Apple AirPlay, so you can cast content from a compatible smartphone and watch with ease. You can also even control various smart home devices using the supported Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit functionality.

A major setback is its minimal brightness, which tops out at just 280 lumens. This means it won't work very well in sunnier rooms. It's equipped with Dolby Audio but only uses dual 5W speakers. I wish they were a bit larger, but they'll get the job done.

Need the perfect holiday gift for the big-screen movie fan in your life? This affordable 1080p Roku projector is exactly what you've been searching for.

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Roku is enhancing its platform with new features, AI functionality, real-time sports alerts and more. The changes not only aim to make search and discovery faster, but also pave the way for Roku OS to remain the best place for content curation and experiencing that content.

Announced on Wednesday in a blog post, Roku is updating its Voice Search with AI, allowing you to make more conversational queries on a wide range of topics. Some examples include: "What kind of fish is Nemo?" and "How scary is the Shining?"

A new "Ways to Watch" button also lets you dive right into content from the trailer. Roku is also adding search functionality to its Live TV Channel Guide and Live TV Zone to simplify content curation even more.

Sports fans can also rejoice with real-time updates that offer dynamic info on their favorite teams at a moment's notice, so you'll never miss that touchdown again. All of these changes and more are available right now with Roku's newest software update. Here's all the new features you need to know.

Voice Search with AI is here

Roku OS is finally getting in on the AI action with a voice integration that will make one of the most streamlined interfaces even easier to use. With the new software update, you'll be able to converse with Roku's voice assistant in various ways, asking questions regarding on-screen content and searching for content far faster.

Mirroring other similar conversational AI algorithms, Roku's new voice assistant will be able to keep up with the queries, so you never have to repeat yourself. If you're asking a question about the best horror movies, then you want to dive into "Halloween," Roku's AI will recognize the flow of the conversation and get you to your content faster.

It's a massive change for Roku users and amplifies the interface against other major competitors, such as Google TV and Fire TV. Additionally, Roku is simplifying content discovery with slight tweaks to the OS, including a "What to Watch" destination that aims to show where content lives across the best streaming services.

Search is also getting added across Roku Live channels, making it easier for you to find trending and on-demand content. You'll find the Search bar in both Live TV Zone and Live TV Channel Guide, allowing you to dive into your favorite broadcasts in a pinch.

Roku lasers in on sports fans

AI and improved search functionalities aren't the only things coming to Roku, as it's also adding real-time sports updates to the list of exciting updates. This will give sports fans simplified highlights of every game, creating less friction when you simply want to kick back and watch the NFL, NHL, or NBA.

The two alerts come in the form of Reminders and Live Scores. Reminders are self-explanatory, alerting you to any upcoming games right on your TV screen. You can also set mobile notifications if you want more direct alerts, so you never miss a beat on game day.

Roku also allows you to set various reminders depending on the content type, whether it's the first pitch in an MLB game, kickoff for NFL or college football, or similar.

Live Scores give you simplified highlights of games from your favorite teams, noting results from a wide range of events, all in one simple location. It's a handy tool for college football fans and anyone keeping track of the NHL standings.

Other big Roku changes

Bluetooth Headphone Mode is finally coming to the Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick Plus, allowing you to experience your favorite shows and movies using the best wireless earbuds. Now, you won't have to worry about bothering your roommates or loved ones with seamless audio connectivity.

The Roku Mobile app is getting several notable updates as well. Shortcuts will be added to the app in the coming weeks, as well as various other tools, such as Find My Remote, Closed Captions, Sleep Timer, and Daily Trivia. A new Rate button will also let you Like or Dislike content, making it easier for Roku to serve you better suggestions.

The For You page will also be streamlined for simpler navigation, separating content across categories, such as Sports, Mobiles, and TV Shows. This will make the For You page far more simplified and easier to navigate.

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As the price of everything seems to be going up these days, you have to look for savings wherever possible. We'd all like to drop cash on one of the best TVs, but what if your budget doesn't allow for something like the LG C5 OLED? Fortunately, there are plenty of inexpensive displays that offer excellent performance, and there are even some options that are perfect for smaller spaces.

TV size is an important factor. Despite their growing popularity, big-screen TVs aren't for everybody, especially if you live in a small apartment and have limited space. And with optimal viewing distances in mind, it also doesn't make practical sense to have a massive screen if you're watching TV in a tighter environmen.

There are several TV and audio upgrades built to be great compromises for smaller living spaces. I've included all of my favorite TV and audio picks below to meet those tighter apartments and living quarters, all while saving some extra cash where it matters most.

Finding the right TV for your small space

It's not always easy to find the TV that suits your living space and budget. If you're concerned about how a TV might look in your living room, consult our guide on what size TV should you buy for a broader perspective on distances and screen size to deliver the best viewing experience.

Using this knowledge, consider models that meet your size and price range. Most TVs under 40 inches are hard to recommend, as they typically have poor picture quality, whereas TVs over 43 inches usually have the best performance for the price.

For instance, the 43-inch Vizio V-Series TV is a solid start. It's one of our best Vizio TVs and offers an incredible value for just $220. It won't net you OLED levels of picture quality as it is just an LED TV, but it's not a bad option if you're working with a smaller space and a limited budget.

If you're willing to spend a little more, you can get the 50-inch Vizio Quantum Pro. This TV offers a slight edge over the V-Series thanks to its QLED panel, and it's just under $500. However, if you can spare a bit more space for a 55-inch TV, I recommend the Panasonic W95A Mini-LED TV.

Despite being a year old, Panasonic's budget Mini-LED TV is probably the best value in the budget TV realm. It was one of my favorite TVs last year and offers a slew of excellent features. The W95A has dropped in price since launch, making it an utter steal across the entire range.

Another great pick in the sub-$500 range is the 55-inch TCL QM6K Mini-LED TV. It's available for just $497 right now, making it one of our best budget TVs. That's not even mentioning its slew of awesome gaming features that will amplify your entertainment setup for current releases, like Silent Hill f, Ghost of Yotei, and Pokémon Legends Z-A.

If you're budget isn't too limited but you don't have a ton of space for a 50- or 55-inch TV, you could even get a 48-inch LG B5 OLED. It's available for $699 on Best Buy right now, which is a remarkable price for an OLED screen. In fact, at the price, it's even cheaper than last year's model.

These are just a few options to consider in the small TV category. Price is a major consideration, but you'll also want to get a TV that fits your home environment. If it's too small for your space, it might not look great, depending on how close you're sitting to the screen.

The small room audio upgrade

Audio can often be the most expensive upgrade to a home entertainment setup. From the best soundbars to AV receiver systems, you can go all-out in building the most bombastic speaker arrangement for your living room.

But with limited space for that floor-shaking experience you might want, you'll have to make a few compromises. You also don't need the most sophisticated audio system in a tighter space, which makes something like an AV receiver system overkill.

Fortunately, there are several budget soundbars and speaker systems to consider if your TV audio isn't cutting it. Roku is home to many well-rounded audio systems that are particularly well-priced. The Roku Streambar SE doubles as a soundbar and streaming device, making it a perfect pairing for the Panasonic W95A if you're not too keen on using Fire TV.

It's also an excellent stand-in if you don't have the funds or space for a new TV yet. It's available for just $79, allowing you to upgrade your current TV with smart functionality built on the Roku ecosystem and great sound for the price. You can even add the Roku wireless speakers for an additional $149 for all-around sound coverage.

Vizio also offers many budget soundbars with excellent audio performance. You won't get Bose or Sonos-level quality from these speakers, but they will add that extra kick to your home entertainment setup without the hefty premium. A strong option I recommend is the Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which is just under $200 and comes with a subwoofer and two rear speakers. You can also save $50 and get the Vizio 2.1 soundbar if you're looking to save even more money.

The small apartment entertainment setup

You don't need one of the best OLED TVs to give your small apartment a major performance upgrade. Roku, Hisense, Panasonic, and TCL offer excellent TVs in smaller sizes that are totally worth the price.

If it were up to me, I'd go with the TCL QM6K for this kind of setup. It's one of the newest TVs I recommended, which should ensure you get the longest use from it and the best picture performance. It's also well-equipped to meet the demands of most modern games at just under $500, and that's hard to beat.

Pair the QM6K with a Vizio soundbar, such as the 2.1 model bundled with a subwoofer, and your home setup is geared for incredible picture performance on a wider soundstage to meet everything from "Oppenheimer" to "Barbie."

It's a surefire win, turning your small space into an IMAX theater for well under $1,000.

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A longtime staple in the UK TV market, the Philips Ambilight TV is finally coming to the US thanks to a new partnership with Roku.

The new TVs run on Roku OS and are equipped with Philips Ambilight technology, which is a special lighting attached to the back of the TV that elevates the entertainment by syncing its back LEDs' colors with the on-screen content.

The Philips Ambilight lineup is available in sizes between 43-inch and 65-inch, starting at just $229. You can score one right now at Philips' online store or in any Sam's Club across the US.

Philips Ambilight finally hits the US market

Featuring a stunning array of lights that immerse you in the on-screen content, Philips' Ambilight TVs are among the sleekest sets on the international market — and now you can finally buy one in the US.

Here's a breakdown of sizes and prices for the Philips Roku Ambilight TVs:

• 43" - $229
• 50" - $259
• 55" - $329
• 65 - $389

Mirroring some of the best Roku TVs, the new Ambilight range will also come equipped with incredible Roku features. These include access to Backdrops, which is similar to Samsung's Art Store, offering a versatile tapestry of artworks and photos to use as screensavers.

You'll also be able to seamlessly connect with other Roku devices, including soundbars, subwoofers, and wireless speakers. Unfortunately, the Philips Roku Ambilight TVs only have HDR10 support, which means no HDR10+ or Dolby Vision.

It's also a shame you won't be able to buy the TV in sizes higher than 65 inches. That's a major letdown for buyers with a hankering for big-screen value, but at least US customers will finally get the chance to buy into the Ambilight ecosystem.

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Roku’s first smart projector has finally arrived, offering 1080p visuals on screen sizes ranging from 40 inches to 150 inches.

Called the Roku D1R Cube, the projector was developed in partnership with Aurzen, which made headlines earlier this year with its Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold triple-laser projector.

This first Roku projector model is available starting today at select retailers. You can find the white version on Amazon for just $249 with a $70 coupon to boot, and more colorways are launching at a later date.

Roku's first projector is fittingly budget and ultra-portable

Portable projectors are a dime a dozen, but the new Roku D1R Cube has some serious spunk. Built with the Roku ecosystem, it not only has access to all of the best streaming services but is also home to some of Roku's own awesome apps, including Roku Smart Home, Howdy, and more. You can also use hands-free voice command controls with the app in conjunction with the projector.

The Roku projector offers only up to 1080p resolution, but you can hit a screen size as large as 150 inches. The Roku Pro Series can't reach those heights. It can also hit just 331 ANSI lumens, which isn't the best for handling ambient lighting.

For audio, you get two 5W speakers that are equipped with Dolby Audio. It also has Bluetooth 5.2 support, enabling you to connect headphones without disturbing those around you. The D1R can even seamlessly pair with Roku wireless speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers, allowing you to bump its sound stage without any hitches.

For just $250, the Roku D1R portable projector isn't a bad deal. If you're a fan of the Roku ecosystem and are in the market for a budget portable projector for casual barbeques or camping trips, it's a solid new entry and the perfect place for Roku to shine.

Roku lasers in on the projector scene

Roku isn't just leaning on some of the best streaming devices and even value TVs to bolster its product lineups. It's now seeking new avenues for getting the Roku ecosystem into households, and projectors seem like the perfect fit.

It first gave hints of these changes earlier this year, and at the same time, it announced its newest streaming sticks and refreshed TVs. While you could previously just use one of its multitude of streaming sticks with a projector, now it's offering more ways for projector makers to collaborate with the brand.

This should allow the Roku OS and its ecosystem to cast a wider net, but also bring some diversity to the projector space, which is dominated by Google TV and Android. Although it has changed in the past few years, some streaming services, such as Netflix, didn't work on the Android platform, as is the case with the Formovie Theater.

Roku's future partnerships could potentially introduce more cost-effective devices to the market as well. It's a long shot, seeing as projectors can be expensive, case in point being Epson's new portable projector that starts at $999. But, Roku's set its sights on a still-budding arena that's open to competition, and I'm all in to see what it brings to the table next.

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Just in time for the NFL season and the return of the NBA in October, Roku has announced a new partnership with YouTube TV that integrates the streaming service with Roku's Sports Channel. Roku says the integration will make it easier to watch live sports, including NFL games via NFL Sunday Ticket.

The integration is starting to roll out today, September 5. YouTube TV joins several other services that offer live sports streaming, including DAZN Live Sports, the recently launched Fox One, Frndly TV, Spectrum TV and Xfinity Stream.

Roku Sports experience launched in 2022 as a centralized hub that was meant to help users find sports content and live games based on streaming apps you subscribed it. It features branded zones for a number of professional leagues such as the NBA, NFL, NWSL and the MLB. Since then, the sports hub has added over 35 FAST channels for a number of leagues including the PGA, NHL and Tennis.

The Roku Sports Channel launched in 2024 as free ad-supported streaming tv channel. It's housed in the Roku Sports hub.

"Partnering with YouTube TV is a major step in delivering a comprehensive fan-centered experience that simplifies sports discovery and puts live action front and center for millions of fans," Roku's head of sports, Roku Media John Franzetta said in a press release.

If you have a YouTube TV account, clicking into a game will take you to the service where you can find other games, highlights and watch up to four games with multiview, the service's best sports watching feature.

Depending on what services you're subscribed to, the Roku Sports Channel is designed to help you quickly find the games you want to watch without having to open up several different apps in your search

According to a Roku statement, other YouTube TV offerings will eventually be offered in other discovery locations in the Roku platform giving users access to other live programming beyond just sports.

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If a smart platform exists, I've used it extensively.

In over ten years of testing TVs, I've spelunked the depths of Samsung's Tizen software and weaved through the tangled nature of LG's webOS. I've reviewed so many TCL, Sony and Hisense TVs that I can navigate Google TV with my eyes closed.

Smart platforms have become the central nervous system of every smart TV on the market. And, since all TVs worth buying are smart, you pretty much can't avoid using them. But of all the software suites you'll come across in 2025, none of them come close to the convenience and good vibes of Roku. Here's what sets it apart from the rest.

The Roku interface is easy to use and mostly ad-free

When you boot up Roku, you’re immediately presented with basic, straightforward menu options and a grid of big, bold tiles that represent your app choices.

There are no ribbons of recommended content to scroll through and only one page to interact with. It’s as basic as UIs come; there’s a list of menu options on the left and a bunch of clearly marked icons on the right.

For the most part, Roku keeps this minimal look free of auto-playing trailers, sponsored banners and bloatware. There’s typically never more than a single ad on the screen at one time and it usually comes in the form of a static, easily avoidable banner.

I can’t stress enough that this is precisely what my brain wants to experience when I turn on my TV. Instead of distracting me with flashy, digital billboards or automatically dumping me into a feed of free, live TV channels, Roku calmly invites me to chill for a bit. When you get down to it, isn’t that what sitting in front of the TV is all about?

On top of its incredible usability, Roku features a larger library of apps than most of its competitors. In fact, I can’t recall a time where I sought to install an app and couldn’t find it in Roku’s Channel Store.

Another benefit of app-makers putting Roku at the top of their development list is that software updates also make their way to Roku relatively quickly, which usually means that these apps are improved (or fixed) in short order.

The Roku remote has some nifty features

The best Roku device for each viewer ultimately comes down to preference, but regardless of which Roku device you choose, you'll be getting a Roku remote control, too.

Yes, it's another remote control to keep track of, but I don't mind using it. It's relatively slim, easy to hold and responds quickly to inputs. That goes a long way.

At home, I use my Roku remote's built-in headphone jack whenever I want to sink into a loud soundscape without disrupting my partner in the other room.

If you're a serious Roku power user, the brand even offers an affordable upgrade to the basic remote: the Roku Voice Remote Pro.

As the name implies, the Voice Remote Pro is built around a microphone that listens and responds to voice commands.

It's got a built-in, rechargeable battery and a backlight — two features that should be standard on every remote control. You can also program some of its buttons and customize the Roku experience even more.

Roku TVs are less prolific — but better than ever

There's no way around it: If you want one of the best TVs money can buy, you'll need to plug in an external Roku device to get the full Roku experience. Right now, the best-performing TVs don't come with the Roku platform built right in.

But Roku TVs are still available, and in many ways, they've never been better.

We're currently testing and reviewing the 2025 Roku Pro Series, the newest version of Roku's top-performing Mini-LED TV. It's a significant step above the cheaper, less-capable Roku TVs I reviewed several years ago, and the addition of Mini-LED backlighting is a big reason why.

This year, the previous Roku Pro Series (which debuted in 2024) has been my go-to recommendation whenever someone has asked me for advice finding a mid-range TV with easy-to-use software.

As a year-old TV, it's still every bit as good as it was last year, but now it's price has completely crashed. In other words, it's a steal.

Roku's 2025 TV lineup is shaping up to be one to watch as we head into the holiday shopping season.

Not only are they competitively priced within their respective classes, but they're built around one of the best software suites I use on a daily basis. They're easy enough for anyone to master and the 2025 Roku Pro Series appears poised to give mid-range Mini-LEDs from TCL and Hisense a run for their money.

Maybe one day I'll even get my hands on an elusive Roku OLED TV.

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Streaming services are getting out of hand of late. With prices going up and ad tiers becoming more popular, various roadblocks are making even some of the best streaming services riddled with friction.

Luckily, there are loads of ways you can skirt past them. Your 4K TV is home to a multitude of free content that you might not know even exists, whether it be built into the OS (operating system) or via other means, like using one of the best antennas or free streaming apps.

Whether you're looking to lose some of those monthly costs on streaming apps or cut the cord on cable, here's all the ways you can get free 4K channels on your TV.

Free TV OS channels

Most TV interfaces have their own slew of free channels to dive into. These instantly get your foot in the door on free content, wrangling channels that focus on comedy TV shows, news, movies, sports, and so much more. There's a wide swath of options to choose from, but what you might have access to all depends on the TV you're using.

Here's a full list of what each TV interface has to offer in terms of free channels, particularly when it comes to 4K content.

Samsung TV Plus

Arguably one of the best repositories of free content is Samsung's aptly-named TV Plus collection. It wrangles nearly 3,500 live channels, offering a huge swath of content for users to enjoy — all at no extra cost.

Here's a full list of Samsung TV Plus channels, where you can find all sorts of genres. What makes Samsung TV Plus stand out is that you don't have to download anything. It comes pre-installed on every Samsung display, netting you instant access to content like the PGA Tour, A+E Networks, Pokémon, and more.

To find specific 4K content on Samsung TV Plus, check the channel list and look for the options that have a 4K tag. Such channels include Bloomberg, Love Nature, Clarity 4K, and more.

Google TV Freeplay

Located under the "Live" tab on its TV interface, Google's own collection of free live channels is particularly robust. It's one of the main reasons why we recommend the Google TV OS over most of its rivals, added to the fact that Google TV is available on many of the best TVs, including Sony, Hisense, and TCL sets.

But the neat part about Google TV Freeplay is that it can be watched on practically any display thanks to the Google TV Streamer. Using Google's $100 set-top-box, you can add this list of over 170 free channels to any TV in your home. Plus, Freeplay lets you collate other free ad-supported streaming apps into the mix, like Tubi, Plex, and Pluto TV.

And, while free 4K content is the main crux here, you can always up the ante with paid subscription services through Freeplay. It provides access to both YouTube TV and Sling TV, so if you want all of your live content in one easy-to-access place, it's not a bad bargain.

Several channels on Google TV Freeplay offer 4K content, such as Fox Sports, Discovery, ESPN, Nat Geo, and others. However, some channels might require a YouTube TV 4K Plus subscription to get the higher resolution.

The Roku Channel

Just like Google's Freeplay, the Roku Channel is home to a wide swath of free content built directly into the Roku ecosystem. And, mirroring its Google counterpart, you can take all this free content with you anywhere using any of the best Roku devices, like the Roku Streaming Stick Plus.

The Roku Channel is home to over 500 free live broadcasts, which includes Roku Originals, on-demand content, news, sports, and more. Here's a full rundown on all the Roku Channels, some of which do offer 4K broadcasts, like CuriosityStream and Smithsonian Earth. (Though, you will need a 4K capable device to watch them provided you're using a Roku streaming device.)

What makes The Roku Channel particularly appealing is its availability. You don't even need a Roku product to gain access to the fruits of its free content, as the Roku Channel can be downloaded as an app on several other TV interfaces and even smartphones. This makes the Roku Channel one of the best free content providers, as you don't even need a TV to enjoy it.

Vizio WatchFree+

Vizio also has its own repository of live broadcasts under the WatchFree+ banner. The service, like Roku Channels, is available not only on Vizio TVs but also on mobile, though you can't get it on other displays. This makes it a bit hard to recommend, but at least it is home to over 300 channels and around 15,000 on-demand shows and movies.

A major letdown for Vizio WatchFree+ is that it doesn't offer any 4K content. This could change in the wake of Walmart's purchase of Vizio for $2.3B, but we'll just have to wait and see.

For now, you can still access its myriad of content without paying a dime, which is great if you already own one of the best Vizio TVs or are planning on buying one. Here's a full guide on all the Vizio WatchFree+ channels.

LG Channels

Similar to Samsung TV Plus, LG also has its own slew of free channels built on its TV interface, called webOS. This means most LG TVs will have access to its collection of nearly 4,000 channels and content library, but you will need a LG TV with webOS to access them.

Here's a full lineup of content within LG Channels. Just like Samsung TV Plus, it's a bit hard to pin down which channels offer 4K broadcasts, though some might require a dedicated subscription for the improved resolution.

Free Streaming Apps

There are a number of free streaming apps that offer free live broadcast, some of which are in 4K. The list might be limited and, for the most part, might require a subscription to get 4K content, but it's better than paying Netflix for a whole slew of movies you'll never watch.

Here's a full rundown of all the free streaming apps that offer live, on-demand channels.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV is home to over 425 free channels, like CNN, NFL Channel, Hell's Kitchen, and more. Unfortunately, the service doesn't provide any dedicated 4K broadcasts at this time, but it does have some on-demand 4K content. Here's a full list of channels available on Pluto TV.

While a great free service for those looking to dive straight into tons of assorted content, Pluto TV is a bit lacking in terms of its library. In our review, we also bemoan the frequent ads that can detract from the experience.

Tubi

Similar to Pluto TV, Tubi also offers tons of free content on its streaming platform. It also lacks any 4K content, and the big kicker is that most of its shows and movies are streamed in 720p, not even 1080p. That's a major bummer, especially seeing that it offered Super Bowl 2025 in live 4K.

Seeing that the platform is totally free, these limitations do make sense. Hopefully, Tubi can deliver more live 4K broadcasts in the future where available. For now, you'll just have to live with its multitude of shows, movies, and broadcasts. Here's a complete live channel guide for all channels available on Tubi.

YouTube

You'd be surprised at what you might find on YouTube. While it's not quite like Tubi or Pluto TV, it still plays host to a multitude of free content for users to dive into. It is, after all, a melting pot of user-generated content, many of which are old and new pre-recorded broadcasts.

Case in point are old Toonami broadcasts uploaded by various users. If you're ever hankering for a dash of some Saturday morning cartoons, these offer you a sweet escape to nostalgia town. If you're more of a sports fanatic and want to relive some of the best NFL highlights from previous years, the NFL YouTube channel has you covered.

It's no secret that YouTube is the most-watched streaming platform, which is backed by Nielsen. You'll never know what you'll find on YouTube, and a good portion of it is in 4K. You can also rent movies and shows through the service with ease, and even find music, which isn't offered on any of the other platforms listed above.

Free OTA channels

One of the best ways to get more free channels on your TV is by buying a digital antenna. This will net you access to OTA broadcasts, which will largely depend on local availability. I recently added an HDTV antenna to my TV and gained access to over 6o additional live TV channels, offering me a more intimate glimpse of the content provided in my local neighborhood.

It's a nice addition for those who want it, and can provide you with loads of content that you can save using various means. Some TVs also let you pause and rewind content, which is nice if you're not too keen on ads taking up all your viewing time.

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Roku has officially launched its new streaming app called Howdy, but you might have noticed you never actually downloaded anything.

That's because Roku stealthily dropped the app across all of its TVs and devices, adding yet another platform for you to navigate through in search of your next show or movie.

For some, this might not be so annoying, but for others you might want to get rid of the app. Whether it's to limit the memory on your device or make searching content easier, here's how you can uninstall Howdy from your Roku OS.

What is Howdy?

With some of the best streaming services charging a fortune these days, Roku sought to bring a cost-effective approach to the formula with no ads. It's an interesting new app that caters to fans of the Roku Channel, costing $2.99 per month.

That's not a bad investment, especially if you're already using some of the best Roku devices. The problem is, there are a variety of already-existing free apps, including Pluto TV and Tubi, though these do come with ads.

Howdy is at least equipped with a string of great content, but nothing quite new. Your options include the likes of "The Blind Side," "Mad Max; Fury Road," and "Weeds." Roku claims it sources 10,000 hours of licensed content, which is a healthy amount of shows and movies.

But not everyone may want Howdy on their system. Here's how you can get rid of it.

Here's how to say goodbye to Howdy

Deleting Howdy from your Roku TV or device is pretty simple. First, start on your home screen with all the tiled apps, then find Howdy, which should be somewhere closer to the bottom, where most newer apps get added to the platform.

Hovering over the Howdy app, click the star button on your remote and select "Remove channel." You'll have to confirm this with Roku first, then it will be deleted from your device.

You can always re-download Howdy if you decide on opting in to the $3-a-month service later down the line. To find it again, just navigate to the Roku Channel Store and reinstall it after a quick search of the app.

Howdy is thus far only available on Roku streaming products, which includes TVs, set-top-boxes and sticks, as well as the Roku mobile app.

It's unclear if it might be added to alternative TV interfaces at this time, though it could make its way onto Google TV given that The Roku Channel was added to the platform in 2023.

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Roku just announced Howdy, a new streaming service that's the company's latest foray into the streaming landscape.

The service will cost $2.99 a month and is a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service, a la Netflix or HBO Max. It aims to offer "ad-free, high-quality entertainment" for "less than a cup of coffee," as Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood put it in today's announcement.

But that wasn't all Wood had to say. "Howdy is ad-free," he continued, "and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services.”

After reading through the press release, I agree with Wood — this can't compete with premium services. However, I'm still scratching my head because I'm not sure it can compete with free streaming services either.

Howdy seems to just be The Roku Channel without ads

Currently, there are two types of streaming services focused on delivering you thousands of hours of shows and movies.

First, there are services like Netflix and HBO Max, which charge anywhere from $7 to $20+ a month and offer original shows and movies, live sports and deep libraries of content.

Then there are free streaming services like Tubi and Pluto TV, which offer deep libraries of shows and movies for free, but instead of charging you a monthly subscription, they make you watch ads.

Howdy appears to sit somewhere in the middle. It charges you money, like Netflix, but it doesn't offer the same variety of content. It offers older, licensed content from partners like Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise, such as “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Blind Side,” “Weeds” and “Kids in the Hall.” There's also mention of some Roku Original titles, which largely consist of reality and unscripted programming.

That content mix is on par with what you get with a free streaming service. In fact, Roku already offers a free streaming service that offers most (if not all) of this content: The Roku Channel.

As far as I can tell, that makes Howdy just The Roku Channel without ads, which begs the question: Who would pay $3 a month to remove ads from The Roku Channel?

The answer I keep coming back to is, nobody. I can't think of anyone who would do this.

However ...

Amazon does offer similar tiers for its Prime Video streaming service. While you can subscribe to Prime Video a la carte, most people get it included with their Amazon Prime subscription.

So, for this argument, let's say it's "free." But it comes with ads. If you want to remove ads, there's a $2.99 fee you can pay to remove ads.

Maybe this is Roku's calculus. People do pay to remove ads on Prime Video. Lots of people. So maybe Roku thinks $2.99 is the magic number people will pay to remove ads.

If that is the streaming company's calculus, though, I think they've made a grave error. Prime Video offers movies fresh out of theaters, original shows, etc. Think "Reacher" and "The Summer I Turned Pretty." Prime Video is one of those "premium services” that Wood says Howdy is designed to complement, rather than compete with. It's precisely those premium offerings that convince people to pay to remove ads.

I'm not alone in being concerned about the business model either. Vikrant Mathur, Co-Founder of advertising streaming platform Future Today also has concerns.

“Roku has long served as a central hub for both SVOD and AVOD streaming," Vikrant told Tom's Guide, "cementing its position as one of the most influential CTV platforms in the market. As streaming costs continue to rise, an affordable, ad-free tier like Howdy can potentially offer a compelling alternative for budget-conscious viewers. That said, the service needs to offer clear value; simply repackaging content that is available in ad-supported environments won't cut it. The strength and exclusivity of the content offering while keeping the price point low will ultimately determine success.”

Again, the issue here is does Howdy provide subscribers with "clear value." At present, there's nothing I've seen that should convince people to say hello to Howdy and add it to their streaming services budget. I certainly won't be paying for it.

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Your Roku does way more than just stream Netflix and Hulu. Beneath its familiar interface lies clever features and shortcuts that can improve your streaming experience in surprising ways.

Most people never discover these lesser-known tricks, missing out on convenient tools that save time and frustration every day. Some features help you navigate more efficiently, while others solve common problems you didn't even realize had solutions.

There are also hidden settings that protect your privacy and secret screens that aren't mentioned anywhere in the official documentation. Whether you're a longtime Roku user or just got started, these hidden features will improve your experience with one of the best streaming devices.

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Roku just launched its 2025 refreshed TVs in the US, with availability spanning several major retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

These TVs include new iterations of the Roku Pro, Roku Plus, and Roku Select Series TVs, each of which have ranked among the best budget TVs on the market.

Here's everything you can expect from the new lineup, which starts at just $130.

Roku Pro Series 2025: The star of the show

At the top of the list is Roku's newest Pro Series TV, which comes equipped with Mini-LED backlighting. Roku claims the new Pro Series offers a 75% boost in high dynamic contrast, owing to its new Smart Picture Max feature that dynamically adjusts picture performance depending on the scene.

That means you can expect better highlights and less blooming, which was a major sticking point on the original Roku Pro Series that launched last year.

Like the Roku Ultra, one of the best streaming devices, the Roku Pro series comes equipped with the Roku Voice Remote Pro. It will also have a super slim profile and an accompanying wall mount kit that you can purchase separately.

Roku Plus 2025: Improved audio and Mini-LED backlighting

The Roku Plus is getting some exciting changes as well. Namely, Mini-LED backlighting. A new built-in subwoofer also ensures you get incredible sound right out of the box — though, you will still probably want one of the best soundbars for better audio performance.

Roku's also giving the Plus its Smart Picture Max functionality found on the new Pro Series TV. It's unclear how much of an improvement this might bring to the Plus Series overall, but it should help to mitigate blooming and improve shadows.

You'll also find a new button on the TV itself, which will help you find the remote if it gets lost in the couch or elsewhere. As someone who loses the remote constantly, this is a handy feature — but it should also be available on Roku's app.

Roku Select 2025: Your super-sized 85-inch Roku TV has arrived

While the Roku Plus is getting an improved processor and the Roku Pro has some exciting new features in store, the Roku Select Series is the catch-all series that spans HD, FHD, and 4K resolutions, depending on which screen size you buy.

The good news of Roku's scattershot approach to the Select Series is that there's now an 85-inch size to the Select range. That's a huge win for sports and gaming fans, plus the Select series will also now have support for Dolby Audio on all models and HDR10+ support on the 4K screens.

Where to buy Roku's 2025 TVs

You can pick Roku's newest TVs starting right now, available at Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Amazon. As mentioned, prices start at just $130, making these prime savings for those looking to get a new screen.

The Roku Select, its cheapest of the bunch, is available in sizes ranging from 24-inch to 85-inch. The Roku Pro and Roku Plus, on the other hand, will only be available in 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch configurations.

That's a major disappointment in the face of big TVs becoming ever-popular, but the upgrades are suitably interesting for Roku OS fans.

We'll be sure to get these new Roku sets in for testing to find which among them fits among the best Roku TVs given the 2025 improvements.

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Nothing kills the vibe during your favorite show quite like that spinning asterisk of doom. Your Roku TV starts buffering mid-scene, stutters through dialogue, or freezes completely at the worst possible moment.

Before you consider replacing your device, try these quick fixes that can restore your streaming experience to its former glory. Even the best Roku TVs accumulate digital clutter over time: temporary files and cached data that gradually slow performance.

The good news is the majority of streaming issues can be resolved with simple troubleshooting steps that take just minutes to complete. These methods target the most common culprits behind sluggish performance and improve your experience.

Here's five ways you can instantly improve your Roku TV experience.

Now you've learned how to improve your Roku TV experience, why not take a look at some of our other useful guides?

Check out how to access the secret Roku menus and how to use screen mirroring on Roku. And if you want to know the best Roku channels to stream on your device, we have an article for that.

Streaming devices are a dime a dozen these days, with new iterations launching almost monthly. One such device is the newly released Roku Streaming Stick Plus, a budget, no-frills stick that offers excellent 4K 60fps performance for just $39.

But how does it stand against the $99 Google TV Streamer? Google's box launched in September of 2024 and is part of a broader effort to expand its Gemini AI platform across several new devices. It's also built with a thread board router, giving it extra legs for all things smart home.

Although both might be among the best streaming devices, lets see which one is actually worth your hard-earned dollar.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus vs Google TV Streamer: Specs compared

Roku Streaming Stick Plus vs Google TV Streamer: Design  

From a design standpoint, these two devices couldn't be further apart.

While Roku's is built to slot in nicely behind the TV directly in an HDMI port, the Google TV Streamer takes up more space on the surface nearest your TV.

If you’d prefer not to see wires dangling from the back of the TV, you could always try to secure the Google TV Streamer to the back of the TV in some way. However, even if you go this route, you'll still have to contend with the power cord. Unlike the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, Google's streamer can’t be powered by TV's USB port.

This is what makes the Roku model especially appealing for certain buyers. The fact that it’s so small, coming in just 35% slimmer than other streaming sticks in the market, makes it a convenient option. But, that doesn’t mean it can fit behind every port on the TV, and Roku does not provide an HDMI extension (nor does Google, for that matter).

Their remote controls are quite similar. The big kicker on Google’s is that you don’t have nearly as many quick-access buttons to some of the best streaming services.

Roku, on the other hand, lets you instantly jump to Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video and Apple TV Plus.

They both feature hot keys that you can program to your liking, though, which is pretty useful.

One of the Google TV Streamer's major advantages is its built-in Ethernet port. It’s not just any Ethernet port, either — it also serves as a thread broad router. means you get a broader (and instantaneous) Matter compliance with smart home devices.

That’s a huge win for users who have their whole home wired up with Google's speech-enabled devices. By comparison, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus only has access to a camera app with minimal smart home integration.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus vs Google TV Streamer: Performance 

When it comes to streaming devices, performance is generally dependent upon the type of TV you’re running.

Both the Google TV Streamer and Roku Streaming Stick Plus support playback up to 4K and 60fps. That said, the Google model is leagues faster.

During navigation, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus sometimes pauses or skips, which simply doesn’t happen on the Google TV Streamer.

Search functionality is largely the same on both devices, but Google has Roku beat when it comes to content descriptions. Google’s Gemini works to summarize the show or movie’s plot, and critical reviews, giving you a broader understanding of what you might want to watch.

The Google TV Streamer also supports the most popular HDR format, Dolby Vision. The Roku model only supports the royalty-free version of Dolby Vision, HDR10+.

If you want to make the most out of Dolby Vision-mastered content across streaming platforms like Netflix and Apple TV+, Google's streamer will get you there. Dolby Vision content will still be in HDR on Roku's stick, but it the device won't be taking full advantage of Dolby Vision's benefits.

Plus, Google’s powerhouse of a streaming device comes with Dolby Atmos surround sound. That’s a bit overkill, as I doubt there’s a ton of users going out of their way to find a streaming box with ample surround sound support, but it’s an option if you want it.

Thanks to improved Gemini AI functionality, Google's also leading the way when it comes to screensavers. You can design your own screensavers using your own creative prompts, which are then brought to life right before your eyes. (You can see U.S. Editor-in-Chief Mike Prospero’s abomination of a screensaver above, if you need any evidence that the sky’s the limit.)

Meanwhile, Roku offers a Backdrops feature, but it‘s relegated to art and photographs as opposed to generative AI. This means you might run out of new and things to see, despite the fact that there are over 3,000 pieces to find in its store.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus vs Google TV Streamer: Outlook 

Ultimately, it’s tough to put a $40 stick up against a prominent streaming box that carries over twice the cost. Roku might be one of the most well-known brands with a famously simple user interface, but it still lags behind Google in terms of major features, namely Dolby support and compliance with some of the best smart home devices.

But with the Google TV Streamer, you're paying a pretty hefty premium. It rarely goes on sale, but it’s definitely worth it, particularly for those folks who are well-situated in the Google ecosystem.

The Google TV Streamer is the major winner here, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give the Roku Streaming Stick Plus some credit for its extreme portability and expert pricing.

If you don’t have a TV that supports Dolby Vision and want to save $60, go with Roku's model. If you want to cast the widest net for features, Google's TV Streamer is the way to go.

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It's a daunting thing, navigating that Roku interface to find a quality title to watch next amid the streamer's seemingly unending array of options. That very breadth is what makes the Roku Channel one of the best free streaming services around and a great way to enjoy free TV shows and movies online.

The channel's selection of media is forever changing, with new content being added monthly and joining the tens of thousands of movies and series already available, all free to watch thanks to the support of periodic ads.

The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, as well as on select Samsung TVs, Amazon Fire TV devices and web browsers at TheRokuChannel.com, which makes it very convenient and foolproof to kick off with a great show.

To help you sort through that sprawling selection of series, here is a trio of free TV shows we recommend watching on the Roku Channel, including a horror classic, a crime drama and a BBC miniseries.

'The Equalizer'

Sadly, the Queen Latifah-led thriller "The Equalizer" was recently canceled by CBS after five seasons, but that now means that the entire series is up for a binge-watch on The Roku Channel.

A reboot of the 1985 series of the same name, the crime drama sees the multihyphenate Latifah star as Robyn McCall, a divorced single mother and former CIA operative with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.

The first episode aired after the 2021 Super Bowl and scored more than 20 million live viewers, and though future ratings never quite repeated those highs, the series was certainly popular enough to have a solid 74-episode run across four years.

Latifah's lead performance was particularly praised: the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads, "Queen Latifah returns to the small screen in full command of her craft—if only 'The Equalizer's' overly-engineered early episodes were on her level."

Watch on the Roku Channel

'Little Women'

Louisa May Alcott's classic coming-of-age drama — which centers on four sisters as they embark on the journey from youth to adulthood during the American Civil War — has served as the source material of many a big-screen adaptation over the years, from Gillian Armstrong's 1994 drama starring Winona Ryder and Claire Danes to Greta Gerwig's 2019 masterpiece led by Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh.

But one of the loveliest versions of Alcott's beloved tale was actually made for the small screen: the 2017 BBC miniseries "Little Women", with Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Kathryn Newton and Annes Elwy playing the plucky March sisters.

Told over three one-hour episodes, the Heidi Thomas-adapted, Vanessa Caswill-directed series "offers a charming, intimate, and decidedly loyal adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's original story," per Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus.

Watch on the Roku Channel

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'

If it's a good spine-chilling thriller you're after, you can't go wrong going to the Master of Suspense himself. Yes, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" — the groundbreaking television series from famed horror filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock ("Psycho", "The Birds"), which was voted as one of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time" by Time magazine — is available to stream for free on The Roku Channel.

Running for 10 seasons from 1955 to 1965, each installment of the creepy anthology began with that iconic title sequence (featuring a caricature drawing of a man in profile and Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette") before segueing into a hair-raising story of terror and suspense.

Stand-out episodes include "Lamb To The Slaughter", "Man With A Problem", "Bang! You're Dead" and, arguably the most famous of them all, "Man from the South" written by Roald Dahl and starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre.

Watch on the Roku Channel

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Roku's back at it again with a whole new entry in its ever-growing lineup of streaming devices. The Roku Streaming Stick Plus, a redesign of its 2021 model of the same name, is a serious new entry that leverages Roku's interface to excellent precision.

Built as a 4K/60fps HDR powerhouse at just $39, the new Streaming Stick Plus delivers where it counts. It's one of the sleekest, cheapest, and slimmest devices on the block, with Roku claiming it's as much as 35% smaller than its rivals.

Even despite that size, it's still a potential shoe-in among the best streaming devices thanks to its slew of awesome features, like HDR10/HDR10+ support, Roku Smart Home compatibility, and Backdrops, to name a few. Let's get into what makes the Roku Streaming Stick Plus a considerable step up over not just its predecessor but several of its rivals.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Price and availability

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus went on sale on May 6 for $49/ £39. It’s currently available at Roku's online store in the U.S. and will be launched in EU regions come June 2. It serves as a major refresh over the original Streaming Stick Plus that launched in 2021 at $49.

Roku also launched a new $29 Roku Streaming Stick, which drops 4K HDR support. You'll know the difference between the two aesthetically as the base Streaming Stick spells out "Roku" on the body of the device in purple versus the more transparent black tones on the Plus model.

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus launches as one of the cheapest streaming devices in the market. It's cheaper than Amazon's newest Fire TV Stick 4K (though, that's currently on sale for $29), and the $99 Google TV Streamer.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Design

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus is not just Roku's smallest device but one of the slimmest streaming sticks in the market. It weighs just 0.90 ounces (26.0 grams) and measures 3.7 inches by 0.80 inches with an added 0.45 inches of thickness.

Roku wasn't kidding when it called this 35% slimmer than most of its rivals. Compared against the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus shows its thinness, but that doesn't mean it can fit into every crevice behind the screen.

On the front-facing side, which bears the Roku typeface, there’s a small status light to show when it's active. As for ports, the streaming device features an HDMI output and USB-C power port, which can be plugged into the TV for greater efficiency.

It would be nice if Roku also added in an HDMI extension, like Amazon does with its Fire TV Stick 4K, in times where its device might not fit into tighter inputs. Given its extreme slimness, I'll give Roku a pass here.

Roku's also packed within the box a rudimentary remote that requires two AAA batteries (which it supplies inside). The same layout and functionalities remain the same, with navigation keys at the top below the Power, Home, and Back buttons. You also have quick access to some of the best streaming services, namely Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, and Prime Video.

It's a bit of letdown, seeing how much we love the Roku Voice Remote Pro, but given the pricing here it makes sense. You can always buy the second gen Pro remote for an extra $29 to get the best possible Roku streaming experience (and never have to worry about batteries again).

Another letdown is no Bluetooth compatibility. Neither the device itself nor the remote offer wireless listening, which means you have to rely on the TV for this functionality. It's a major blow to parents of newborns or users who might like watching content late after their significant other has fallen asleep.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Setup

It's as plug-and-play as it gets with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, made all the better given it can use your TV's USB port for power delivery. This means you don't need to find a power outlet that's close to the screen, keeping your home entertainment setup looking relatively wire-free and the device itself tucked neatly behind the TV.

Once the device is plugged into your TV, you'll need to pair the remote and then go through the set up process. This should only take maybe ten minutes or less, depending on if you already have an account with Roku or not. I recommend using the QR code step, so you can do most of the heavy lifting on your smartphone or tablet as opposed to typing things out using the remote.

The longest bit for me was waiting for the device to fully reboot and download a software update, but again it shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes at most. You will have to sign into all of your streaming apps, which might take a few extra minutes.

As for settings, I recommend turning off the "Auto-play video" option under the Accessibility tab so ads don't start playing in menus. And, although it is automatic, I'd head to "Display type" to make sure the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is properly set to the resolution and HDR format provided by your TV.

It would be a killer feature if Roku (and other streaming devices) offered you the ability to move settings and even app sign-ins across devices. Some might see this as a privacy concern and it's likely few users switch their streaming devices as often as I do, but it would streamline this entire process.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Performance and interface

There's so much to love about Roku's interface. It's super simplified, easy to navigate, and lets you customize it to suit your liking. For instance, I like jumping into my favorite apps immediately upon turning on the device, so I tend to set the Recommendation rows to "hide" in the settings.

This makes my apps the first thing I see when I turn on the device. However, I will note that powering on is a bit time consuming. I'm more accustomed to instantly jumping into the Roku OS as I use the Roku Ultra in my bedroom, but the Roku Streaming Stick Plus does take a minute or two to boot up over rivals.

It's also a bit slower and can skip on navigation every now and again. These drawbacks don't ruin the overall experience, though, they're just minor inconveniences I noticed while using the device over time.

Roku's added a bit extra flavor to its OS, too. These new options include Sports and Daily Trivia. While the latter isn't for me, it is a nice touch and something of a way to add legs to its interface in the face of limited gaming options. There's also a new What to Watch section that lets you dive into regularly-watched content across your favorite streaming apps.

One of Roku's biggest draws is its free channels, which proves a major selling point here. The Roku Channel is home to a wide swath of free content to enjoy in the event that you're all caught up on shows like "Andor" and "The Last of Us" twice over.

While there isn't anything like Google's Gemini powering movie and TV show summaries, Roku's adept voice controls are a major highlight. Commands like "Open Netflix," or "search for horror movies" brings me directly to the content I want to see and that's a serious improvement over middling rivals like Samsung's Bixby assistant.

With AirPlay support, you're also not locked into the content on offer solely bound to the device. I could easily cast content from my iPhone without any constraints and it worked flawlessly. It's a huge enhancement to older sets that might be missing modern features you've longed for.

I paired the Roku Streaming Stick Plus with my Samsung S90D OLED TV, which was a stellar option largely due to the device's HDR10+ support. Where it might fall flat for some is in its foregoing of both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but picture performance still remains strong with this device.

Plus, the Streaming Stick Plus even offers 4K upscaling for TVs that support it. This means that 720p and 1080p content can be upscaled to 1080p and 4K, respectively, in certain scenarios. That's a major win if you're running a much-less powerful set but still want ample picture performance.

As for audio, it merely has support for DTS Digital Surround and Dolby-encoded audio via HDMI, which might seem lacking but is par for the course on this type of device. Most users probably won't be running premium surround sound systems with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, so it's not a major boon.

Of course, you will have to contend with a myriad of ads on Roku OS. It's not so bad, but they can be in your face at times. Like I said, make sure to turn off automated videos so you aren't bombarded with audio-intensive ads on startup and you should be fine.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Backdrops

Don't expect any fancy AI generated art or something on the level of Samsung's Art Store when it comes to the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. Instead, you'll find a neat Backdrops feature that will replace the blank, black screen with a fresh screensaver that can be tailored to your liking.

I've discussed my love of Backdrops before and it's no different here. It's an ingenious new addition for Roku, providing loads and loads of art for users to personalize their TV standby settings in a myriad of ways.

Backdrops can be selected across a wide variety of different verticals, including general photos, artists, photographers, and institutions. Some of my favorite artworks include the "Morning after a Snowfall at Koishikawa" by Katsushika Hokusai, "El Jaleo" by John Singer Sargent, and "Impressions, Sunrise" by Claude Monet.

The list is quite extensive, and you can set different favorites so you never lose them or set various art as your Backdrops so it always shows up when the TV's idle. It might not be some AI-infused creation, but that's honestly what makes this so much more gratifying. As a lover of pure art, it's a welcome change against the current focus on all things artificial.

It's important to note that if you're using one of the best OLED TVs with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, be careful using Backdrops. OLED burn-in is a serious issue on these types of sets, and Roku does a great job of warning of this very issue when setting it all up.

And, even if Backdrops isn't your cup of tea, you've always got Roku City to lose yourself in.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Smart home controls

Unfortunately, Roku's smart home accessibility is sorely lacking in comparison to other major rivals, namely Google. But that doesn't mean the Roku Streaming Stick Plus can't still have its own smart home concepts, which rears its head in the Roku Cameras app.

It's here where you can check up on your Roku camera devices, like the Roku Indoor Camera SE, viewing feeds and Events, which are essentially favorited recordings. You'll have to pay a monthly fee of $3.99 per camera or $9.99 for all cameras to gain access to Events, but live feed is free and works with a Roku Streaming Stick Plus so long as it's a Roku camera.

Beyond cameras, there's little else you have control over. It would be nice if Roku added a bit more leeway to its smart home ecosystem when it comes to its streaming devices and TVs, especially given just how intuitive voice controls are on the platform.

Unlike with the many Google smart home devices on offer in tandem with Google Home, Roku doesn't let you dim lights or set automations around the home. And it's not like Roku isn't ripe with its own slew of smart home gadgets. The major issue is that you can't use other options with its devices; you're relegated to Roku's own smart home models, which limits its overall scope.

If you're not a huge smart home enjoyer, this won't matter too much to you, but it would be nice if Roku gave Google a run for its money. Especially as Google Assistant is losing features to make way for Gemini.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus review: Bottom line

The world of streaming devices is a large one, but it's packed with a multitude of overpriced options you really don't need. Everything from the $149 Apple TV 4K to the $99 Roku Ultra have their uses, but the Roku Streaming Stick Plus packs most of the features you'd need on a 4K TV at just $39.

Add to that the fact that it's one of the smallest designs yet and you've got a serious winner. It not only serves as a perfect at-home solution for either non-smart and smart TVs, but it's also an apt travel companion, allowing you to bring all of your apps wherever you go. That's incredible versatility.

But maybe you want a device that casts a wider net for HDR support? You can always go with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which not only has Dolby Vision support but also Dolby Atmos for improved surround sound. And it's just $10 more (on sale at just $29 at the time of writing).

If you're looking to spice up an older TV or simply want to replace an existing one with the Roku interface, you can't go wrong with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus.

Roku just got a new update, and it’s causing major problems with HDR content on some of the best streaming services.

Reports across social media and internal forums suggest Roku software version 14.5 is the culprit, pitting streamed HDR shows and movies in washed-out colors. The problem seems relegated primarily to TVs running the Roku interface, primarily TCL and Hisense models.

At first, the washed-out colors were witnessed most prominently in HDR content on Disney Plus, proving a significant boon for Andor fans, but other users are noting a wider net being cast.

Other apps that are being affected include Apple TV Plus, YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and more.

While you might be quick to assume that it’s more of a problem with HDR via the particular app or HDMI input, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Several users have already noted that HDR content looks fine on other devices, like a 4K Blu-ray player and PS5, to name a few.

In the aforementioned Roku forum, community moderator RokuEmmanuel-D claimed that Roku is "investigating the Disney Plus HDR content that was washed out after the recent update.” If you’re affected by this, feel free to leave a comment citing what device or TV you’re using and which apps are most affected.

It’s unclear when a fix might land for Roku users, but one way to amend the washed-out HDR content concerns is by rolling back the update. Check out how to access the secret Roku menus page, then follow the instructions to undo an update. Otherwise, you can wait for Roku to push out its rollback or fix it shortly.

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Roku announced today (May 1) that the streaming platform is buying the streaming service Frndly TV.

It's another feather in the cap of Roku, which looks to have big year with new streaming devices and features coming in 2025.

The Frndly TV service is a relative newcomer having been founded in 2019 out of Denver, Colorado. Frndly offers its subscribers access to more than 50 live TV channels including A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, and the Game Show Network. It also comes with on-demand content and recording with an unlimited cloud-based DVR starting at $6.99/month.

“Frndly TV’s impressive growth and expertise in direct-to-consumer subscription services make it a compelling addition to Roku,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku in a press release. He added that Frndly TV's live content offerings are part of Roku's focus on growing the platform.

Frndly pitches itself as the "most affordable live TV streaming service in America." Based on what we could find the channels on offer are all ones that Frndly considers as offering "feel-good programming."

Currently, Frndly TV is available on several platforms including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Samsung, Vizio, and Roku as well as on mobile. Roku says that it will "continue to be available" in those places.

"We believe this combination will help us accelerate subscription growth, given the alignment in core customer demographics and Roku’s leadership position in the connected TV ecosystem," said Andy Karofsky, Frndly TV CEO and co-founder, who is supposed to stay on after the sale.

From what we can tell, the subscriptions tiers that Frndly TV offers won't change. Currently, the service offers three subscription levels; Basic, Classic and Premium. The basic level gets you SD quality video with live TV and on demand offerings. The Classic ($7.99/month) level ups the video quality to HD, two "simultaneous screens" and three months of unlimited DVR recording. The Premium ($9.99/month) gets 9 months of DVR recording and four simultaneous screens.

Every channel the service offers is available on each tier.

It's an interesting acquisition since Roku already offers a number of live channels alongside a rotating selection of free shows and movies and Roku Originals that can be streamed on the best Roku devices.

However, right now, Roku doesn't offer any DVR type services. That said, it isn't clear from Roku's press release how Frndly will be integrated with the Roku service beyond the existing app that is already available.

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Today, Roku announced a slew of new devices and software updates for 2025, including two new streaming sticks, a refreshed Roku TV lineup and upgrades that aim to make content discovery easier for Roku users.

Both myself and my colleagues appreciate the Roku smart platform for its easy-to-use interface and its robust app support, so we'll be keeping a close eye on the brand's dedicated hardware as the year goes on. For now, let's take a look at what Roku has in store for us this year.

New Roku Streaming Sticks for 2025

There are two new streaming sticks hitting shelves this year: the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. They will sit alongside the Roku Streaming Stick 4K — our current pick for the best streaming device — as the newest streaming sticks in Roku's lineup.

Roku boasts that these sticks are over 35% smaller than those of competing brands, and the entry-level Roku Streaming Stick starts at just $29.99.

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus, on the other hand, launches at $39.99 and supports 4K playback. (If you ask me, this feature is essential.)

Both sticks come with Roku’s voice remote. You can pre-order new Roku streaming sticks via the brand’s website, and their release date is set for May 6.

New Roku TVs for 2025

The Roku Plus Series and the Roku Pro Series are among our favorite budget-friendly sets, and this year, they’re getting some significant upgrades.

The mid-range Plus Series is getting a big backlight boost in the form of Mini-LEDs. Previously, its predecessor offered local dimming functionality, but if you wanted Mini-LEDs, you had to spend up on the Pro Series. With Mini-LED backlighting, the Plus Series will hopefully deliver better brightness and contrast control.

It’s not immediately known if any hardware upgrades are coming to the newest version of the step-up Pro Series, but it will arrive with an all-new, custom factory calibration. Roku says that this calibration will result in a “stunning” out-of-the-box picture, but we’ll have to put the Pro Series through some tests before we determine the accuracy of this factory calibration.

Lastly, Roku announced that its Select Series — the brand’s entry-level LED TV — is getting a gigantic, 85-inch variant in 2025. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, as the popularity of larger TV sizes continues to grow.

As for pricing and availability, not much is known at the moment. According to my colleague Ryan Epps, a Roku representative estimated an official release in the next few months, but we’ll update this space when we learn more.

New Roku features: Daily Trivia, sports notifications and more

Whether you access the software by way of a TV or a streaming device, some changes are coming to the Roku experience in 2025. Here's a quick rundown of what you can expect.

• Daily Trivia: Fans of Roku's popular trivia game were shocked to see it disappear from the Roku home screen recently, but Roku has confirmed that it will return with a refreshed hub and an archive of previous trivia questions.
• Sports Zone: Roku's dedicated sports channel is getting a refresh, too, which includes a row of personalized sports highlights showcasing your favorite teams. A new notifications system will ping your mobile device with team updates, as well.
• Roku City: The fan-favorite, purple-tinted cityscape is getting a dedicated tile for easier access.

Roku didn't drop any specific timeline for the roll-out of these new features, but we've been told that we can expect to see them "in the coming months."

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Roku designs some of the best streaming devices, but they are home to several annoying advertisements that are becoming more intrusive than ever before.

Case in point: Several Roku users are citing the introduction of pre-roll video ads playing right before they even land into the home screen.

The main culprit at the time of writing seems to be a trailer for "Moana 2," which is yet another entry in a long line of intrusive ads by the company, including dynamic home screen promotions to in-video banner ads.

A Roku spokesperson told Ars Technica the pre-roll videos playing for users is no fluke, but an ongoing test by the company in the hopes of amplifying its promotional prowess. According to the spokesperson, it's not as of yet intended to be a permeant feature for the Roku ecosystem.

Roku's ad era

Roku has always maintained big plans for its advertisements. After all, it's one of its largest sources of revenue, o why not bolster that part of its empire? Last year it rolled out video ads to most of its TVs and devices and now it's playing videos before users even load into the platform.

It's unclear just how many users are affected by these new startup ads, however. Roku has an ecosystem that spans across not only its own in-house devices and even some of the best Roku TVs, but also several older Hisense and TCL models.

The company was also reluctant to give ArsTechnica any additional details regarding why it decided to add these pre-roll ads and if they would remain a permeant fixture on the platform going forward.

A company spokesperson did specify that Roku "has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products," which isn't new for the brand.

Tom's Guide has reached out to Roku for additional comments on its new startup video ads and will update this page with more information as it rolls in. As of now, the major alteration is adding fuel to the fire of immense frustration for its users.

Roku is already packed with tons of different advertisements and this new change feels, for many of its users, a step too far. One user in particular stated on Roku's community forum that, if the ads persist in this way, they might end up trashing their Roku devices like they previously did with their Amazon ones.

To the dismay of many, this new wave of startup ads could only be the beginning. Last year, the company patented a way to show ads whenever you pause a show or game. While these types of ads haven't cropped up just yet, it's added evidence that Roku is and will continue to experiment in this field, which might mark now as the best time to get the ad-free Apple TV 4K.

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There's a seriously good-looking Roku TV coming to digital storefronts today — only, it's being made by a company you've probably never heard of before.

That company is called Skyworth, a Chinese TV manufacturer that recently inked a deal with world-famous electronics maker Philips for US branding rights.

Today, that partnership bears its first fruits with the Philips 65" Class 974 Series OLED, or simply the Philips OLED Roku TV for short.

The TV is already available on Sam's Club website for $1,299 and, despite it only becoming public knowledge today, there's already eight highly positive reviews for it.

The Philips name without all the Philips features

If you know much about TVs, a Philips-branded OLED might bring to mind glowing backlights — a feature the company calls Ambilight. While technology will certainly be included in the latest Philips OLED TVs in Europe (which itself is sold and marketed by a company called TP Vision), the US version won't have them.

Instead, we'll have to settle for a fairly basic 120Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium support, alongside Dolby Vision IQ HDR. These are great-to-have specs, for sure, but they pale in comparison to the Philips OLEDs with the latest four-stack OLED panel technology that you'll find in the flagship Philips OLED950.

On the plus side, the US Philips OLED uses Roku TV, which I find to be one of the most egalitarian and user-friendly of all smart TV platforms.

The Philips OLED Roku TV is also only $1,299 for a 65-inch OLED. Compared to the LG C4 OLED that sells for $1,496 on Amazon, it's a fairly good deal.

Philips Roku OLED alternatives

Despite some snags in the specs and the deliberate obfuscation of the manufacturer, the Philips Roku OLED is a solid value proposition. It's only the second Roku OLED to ever hit the US market (Sharp, which itself is majority owned by Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn was the first back in the final months of 2023).

Still, if you're a bit put-off by all the caveats, there are some good alternatives out there.

Roku itself has three series of TVs for sale, the most recent of which being the Roku Pro Series that came out in 2024. My personal favorite, the Roku Plus Series, is a bit older but it's one of the best TVs under $500.

Outside of Roku itself, there aren't a ton of TVs left out there that use the Roku smart platform. Hisense still has a few models rumbling about out there as does Walmart's Onn. brand, but those aren't high up on our recommendation lists.

If you want an OLED, however, choices are plentiful: The Samsung S90D OLED offers great value for $1,199 as long as you don't mind putting up with its Tizen smart platform, and the aforementioned LG C4 OLED has a lower-cost sibling called the LG B4 OLED that can be had for as little as $599 when it's on sale.

We'll be keeping an eye on the Philips Roku OLED with the hopes of getting it in for testing sometime in the near future, but if you need one of the best OLED TVs sooner rather than later, we can help you find it.

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Super Bowl 2025 is happening now, and you'll want to find all the best places across your Roku devices to experience it. Roku serves as a perfect gateway into the big showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, combining access to many of the best streaming services and cable TV alternatives all on some of the best streaming devices.

Our recommended pick this year is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. It's perfect for everyone, wrangling together all of the main features you would want for Super Bowl 2025, including streaming Super Bowl 2025 in 4K resolution, at just $49, making it a steal for NFL fans. (Pregame coverage kicked off at 1 p.m. ET, with the Super Bowl 2025 game itself starting around 6:30 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune into our Super Bowl 2025 live blog for all the latest action or our Super Bowl commercials round-up if that's more your speed.)

But it's not just streaming devices that let you watch Super Bowl LIX on Roku. Over the past two years, Roku has also started launching its own displays, with the Roku Pro Series Mini-LED TV being one of the best Roku TVs, and it's ideal for the Big Game.

Of course, once you have the perfect Roku device you'll need to know how to watch the Super Bowl on Roku. Below, we'll pull the curtain on all the best apps to catch the main event, which in 2025 seems to be either Tubi or Sling (in select cities). Roku even has an NFL Zone for those looking to get free info on all things Super Bowl LIX, located in your Roku's Sports section.

Of course, the beauty of Roku is that it has tons of apps that allow you to catch the Big Game. These include Fubo, which offers the Super Bowl 2024 in 4K to all subscribers of its Elite plan, and YouTube TV, which offers a 4K HDR stream on its 4K Plus package.

So without further ado, let's dive into everything you need to know to watch the Super Bowl on Roku.

Super Bowl on Roku: Which Roku device is right for you?

We've tested all of the best streaming sticks and devices you can find in the market and the $49 Roku Streaming Stick 4K is our pick for 4K content and beyond. What makes it a powerhouse for the next Super Bowl is its built-in Wi-Fi extender, ensuring you get crisp, uninterrupted streaming quality throughout the entire event.

If that's not enough for you, Roku just refreshed its $99 Roku Ultra to incredible fanfare. it's got everything you could possibly ask for in a Roku device, even coming equipped with smart home integrations. Its Ethernet port also means you never have to worry about a bad connection. Even better is the fact that the Roku Ultra is just $79 at Amazon right now.

Don't need Dolby Vision or Atmos for movies and TV? The $39 Roku Express 4K Plus is perfect for you, packing plenty of features at an unbeatable price. If you're in the market for a new TV, you can't go wrong with the 65-inch Roku Pro Series Mini-LED TV that's $799 at Amazon. That's a killer deal on one of Roku's newest displays, which likewise proves perfect for Super Bowl 2025 thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate and incredible brightness.

Super Bowl 2025 on Roku in 4K: Which app is right for you?

This year Tubi proves the best place on Roku to experience the Super Bowl as it's streaming the entire broadcast for free — in 4K to boot! You are required to sign up using a valid email address, but aside from that there are no strings attached. What more could you ask for?

Well, Tubi will also have the pregame and postgame shows, as well, plus the halftime performance led by Kendrick Lamar. If that wasn't enough, the ad-supported platform is also home to over 40,000 shows and movies and over 200 live channels, making it a hard bargain to pass up even well past the Big Game.

Sling Blue is also an excellent choice for those looking to watch the Super Bowl for less, as the package starts at just $46 a month — with half off your first month. While Sling Blue will give you Fox Sports broadcasts in 4K, it's only available in select markets. So make sure you have access to Fox Sports via Sling in your zip code before signing up, as it is the cheapest cable alternative for watching Super Bowl 2025 in 4K on Roku.

Another great way to experience Super Bowl LIX in 4K, especially for international fans, is the Fubo app from Roku's app store. It's nowhere near the cheapest option, as plans with a 4K stream start at $94.99. But for its premium price point, you get 295 channels, unlimited cloud DVR, 4K streaming and you can even watch content on up to 10 screens at once. Like other platforms, there's a 7-day free Fubo trial available, so if you time things right you could watch the Super Bowl for free on Fubo. Just don't forget to cancel your subscription at the end of your free trial.

Finally, YouTube TV is not only feature-rich on sports content, but it's one filled with so much content to digest it's hard to recommend. The platform is currently running a promotion offering a subscription cost of $69.99 per month for the first six months, then it bumps to $82.99 every month thereafter.

If you're looking to stream the game in 4K, you'll need to spring for its 4K Plus add-on that's an extra $9.99 per month. If you haven't already signed up for the add-on, you can actually try it for free right now for 30 days.

Like most cable TV alternatives, YouTube TV offers a seven-day free trial to get you through the big game. Sign up when you download the YouTube TV Roku Channel.

Super Bowl 2025 on Roku in 1080p

Finally, If you don't mind watching the Super Bowl in 1080p HD Hulu with Live TV is a great option. It's a remarkable value proposition, offering you over 85 channels, Hulu (with ads), Disney Plus (with ads) and ESPN Plus (with ads) all for $82.99 a month. The major kicker, though, is that Hulu's live offerings tap out at 1080p HD, meaning you won't be able to experience this year's Super Bowl in 4K using the service.

If you're willing to sacrifice the higher resolution, head over to Hulu to sign up, then download the Hulu Roku app to start watching. What's even better about watching Super Bowl 2025 on Hulu is that you can also get it totally free with a three-day free trial period, you just have to cancel when those three days are up.

I don't know if you've noticed, but we're enjoying a veritable golden age of spy thriller shows at the moment. This past fall had our watchlist overflowing with three killer new spy shows — "The Day of the Jackal," "Black Doves," and "The Agency" — across the best streaming services. And now Tubi is welcoming in the new year with one of the genre's GOATs, "Killing Eve."

This fun thriller pits Sandra Oh's dogged detective against Jodie Comer's glamorous assassin in a cat-and-mouse chase, and the chaotic chemistry between the leads is fascinating to watch. As the two clash in violent encounters and secrets unravel throughout the show, tension builds and the two develop a begrudging respect that blooms into something more. It's all very messy and queer with plenty of tongue-in-cheek dark humor mixed in with the action-packed sequences you'd expect, so if that sounds up your alley then this is definitely one to watch.

You can stream all four seasons of "Killing Eve" on Tubi as of January 15. The British spy thriller landed on Netflix last year, but now it's available on one of the best free streaming platforms as well. If you've heard buzz about this show and are curious about its storyline and whether it's worth adding to your watchlist of the top new shows, we've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about "Killing Eve" now that it's on Tubi.

What is ‘Killing Eve’ about? 

For fans of spy thrillers, the setup for "Killing Eve" will sound familiar. Eve (Sandra Oh) is a whip-smart MI5 agent who has grown weary of her desk job over the years, and her disregard for leadership ends up costing her job. Her fortunes change, however, when a mysterious MI6 operative Caroline (Fiona Shaw) offers her the chance to fulfill her fantasies of being a spy. The job is straightforward: Hunt down the very aptly named killer Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and the shadowy organization she works for called The Twelve. Simple, right?

Wrong. Both of their missions go out the window when they develop a mutual obsession with each other. The two become enraptured in a thrilling game of cat and mouse, each orchestrating increasingly cunning maneuvers to get the upper hand on the other. Watching the incredible character development unfold is part of what makes this series so riveting. Though the best part is the gradual exploration of queer identity that is revolutionary for this genre.

Should you stream ‘Killing Eve’ on Tubi?

If you missed out on the racy pop culture phenomenon that was "Killing Eve" the first time around, now's the perfect time to see what all the buzz is about.

“Killing Eve” earned high praise from critics when it was released in 2018, with the first season earning a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, before dropping down to 92% with season two. Granted, the last two seasons were more divisive, with season three and four sitting at a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80% and 52% respectively.

The Hollywood Reporter called it "massively entertaining" as well as "relentlessly engaging and surprising where it's least expected.” Meanwhile, Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx said its first season was "so surprising, so entertaining, and so full of life that I don't want to worry about the how or when at the moment.” Though it's worth noting that some critics didn't join in on the hype, especially for the later seasons. CNET's Jennifer Bisset wrote that "if anything, season 4 reminded us you can have too much of a good thing."

Still, while "Killing Eve" didn't exactly go out on a high note, there's still plenty to like about this spy thriller, from the chaotic love-hate dynamic between its two leads to its engaging plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So grab a seat, snag some popcorn, and binge “Killing Eve” on Tubi today.

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After waiting nearly three years for "Severance" season 2 to arrive, it's finally almost here. If you need to catch up on all the twists and turns, Apple TV Plus is making one of its most popular sci-fi shows available to stream for free ahead of the new season. Roku announced this week that the entire first season of "Severance" is now available for free with ads on the Roku Channel as part of an "exclusive fan experience," per The Hollywood Reporter.

The first season of "Severance" will remain on the Roku Channel through January 19, which is two days after the season 2 premiere. Viewers can find the fan experience directly from the home screen as well as a preview of the new season and behind-the-scenes material, including an exclusive cast interview. Some Roku users will also be eligible for three free months of Apple TV Plus if they're new subscribers.

“Partnering with Apple ahead of the highly anticipated Severance season 2 and being able to create an exclusive fan experience that is available to millions of U.S. households including offering Apple TV+ content outside of the Apple ecosystem, on the Roku Channel for the first time ever is incredibly exciting for us.,” Roku's VP of growth marketing nad merchandising Sweta Patel told The Hollywood Reporter. “Part of the magic of the Roku platform is that we can work with our brand partners to create bespoke experiences that our viewers love and achieve our partner’s goals.”

'Severance' streaming on Roku is a gamechanger

This is the second major push we've seen Apple TV Plus make so far this year to draw in more subscribers. Earlier this month, Apple made the streamer free for everyone for a three-day period so that new viewers could sample "Slow Horses," "Ted Lasso," and more of the best Apple TV Plus shows.

This partnership seems like a win-win for both platforms. Roku boasts roughly 90 million subscribers, three times that of Apple TV Plus, which is sure to draw a lot of new eyes to one of the best sci-fi shows on television. With season two remaining exclusive to Apple TV Plus, the streamer could see a huge subscriber boost once the new season drops as new and returning fans alike tune in to find out what happens next at Lumon Industries.

We can't wait to start streaming "Severance" season 2 when it lands on Apple TV Plus on January 17, especially since early reviews for the long-awaited sophomore season have already earned it a rare perfect critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Roku and Google TV serve as two of the most robust TV interfaces in the market, offering all of the best streaming services with tons of free content to explore. But one thing in particular is missing from these two TV operating systems that could make them even more appealing for a wide variety of users.

This feature, one that Samsung has touted since 2022, offers users far more ways to play their favorite games, a still-budding enterprise that ironically Google missed with its botched Stadia service. Still, video game streaming and, more broadly, a dedicated gaming station on Google TV and Roku, would make for an even more tantalizing experience.

There’s no question the TV interface race is heating up even more now with the introduction of new players in Whale OS, Titan OS, and soon even an ad-supported version out of Sonos called Ventura OS. That’s why it’s imperative now more than ever for Roku and Google to step up their game, especially in the face of rivals like LG gaining traction in this space with its webOS getting some game streaming services of its own.

How would this take shape and, more interestingly, what could both Roku and Google TV do to combat these developments in their own way? Let's see how Roku and Google TV should take on Samsung's Tizen OS with their own game streaming options and how they can make their platforms better for gamers.

Bring Stadia back from the dead

Okay, hear me out. Stadia was a pretty bad platform to start, but I think if Google did some tweaking to the service it could be a hit on many of the best Google TVs and beyond. It cut the cord on Stadia in January 2023, which isn't surprising, given that you had to buy the games on top of paying a monthly subscription fee.

But a revived Google Stadia that mirrors something like Nvidia's GeForce Now, where you simply have to already own the supported games on another market to stream them, might be worthwhile — especially as video game streaming becomes more popular on TV sets. It's witnessed best in Samsung's Gaming Hub, home to a plethora of game streaming platforms like Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now.

And it's not like I'm saying Google shouldn't also try and get these platforms on its interface. More options is better for consumers, but why not have its own platform akin to Amazon's Luna, which itself blends well with Fire TV ecosystem — so much so that it's even selling its own Cloud Gaming bundle that includes a Fire TV Stick and Luna controller.

Roku, on the other hand, might be better off simply teaming up with Amazon, Nvidia, or even Google. The pair recently announced the arrival of the Roku Channel on Google TV, making it easier for users to find more free content on Google TVs. What if Google brought back Stadia and announced a partnership with Roku in the same breath, bringing the revived platform to TVs with both the Roku and Google TV interface?

That sounds particularly interesting, highly doubtful as it might be. Still, it's obvious seeing so many other TV interfaces take such an emphasis on gaming that Roku and Google TV need to invest more in this area. And the buck doesn't simply stop at getting some form of a cloud gaming service on either of their interfaces.

A full gaming hub and optimizer

But it's not just the actual platforms and services themselves that Roku or Google TV needs. It's also a dedicated gaming bar built out with an optimizer that gives users far more control over how their TV displays their favorite video games. It's actually incredibly surprising to me how Google hasn't already introduced something like this, seeing as models that use it tend to be some of the best gaming TVs, one of which in particular being the Hisense U7K.

With a game bar and optimizer, users can easily change specific game-related settings, like toggling VRR or ALLM if the TV supports it, plus changing picture modes pertaining to specific game genres, like RPG or FPS. Even audio changes can be made much more easily on the fly and gives users a more robust experience.

Samsung's Tizen OS is a great emulator for this kind of thing. Its Gaming Hub is almost its own separate world entirely, giving you tons of customizability and features tailored specifically for gaming. It's taking the pastime so seriously that Samsung is even making its own games in such titles as The Six and Rivals Arena, the latter of which was developed in partnership with Return Entertainment.

Roku has a pretty good base for this. It already has a well-streamlined platform with its own interesting attention-grabs, namely its Roku City platform. Now imagine if Roku City was entirely interactive in some capacity? What if you could control the cars or make them drive faster? What if you could even design your own Roku City Easter eggs that only are shown only on your TV?

That's just one small concept Roku could work with in making its platform that much more engaging. As for Google TV, it doesn't have too much in terms of interactivity, but maybe it could hit the drawing board in building something kind of like Samsung's The Six, a super simple trivia game that requires nothing more than your TV's remote.

It is important to note that one of the major reasons Stadia died was due to Google's little to no knowledge in making games. As one Wired article notes, quoting several internal and external Stadia employees at the time, "[Google never could wrap its head around game development." So maybe game-making shouldn't be in its strategy, but working with external developers isn't off the table.

No matter how it takes shape, it's clear that both Roku and Google TV desperately need some kind of gaming hub. It's surprising how little both companies seem to give gaming any attention at all, with smart home features now proving more important in the face of new products like the Roku Ultra (2024) and Google TV Streamer, both of which forego any form of gaming features.

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Roku and Google leverage some of the best streaming devices on the planet, and both brands recently rolled out new $99 models built for serious performance. That's a relatively high price tag, but these models offer a wide range of features beyond just access to the best streaming services.

The newly-introduced Roku Ultra, a refreshed version of the premium model originally released back in 2015, offers up to 30% faster speeds than its predecessors. We'll have to give this a run for its money in an official review later in the month, but by all accounts, the upgrades seem promising.

As for Google's new entry, it's dropping the long-lived Chromecast with Google TV name in favor of the Google TV Streamer. The name is far less of a mouthful but one that reflects new nomenclature. It takes on a whole new design that extends even to its remote control. It also features several baked-in AI enhancements, namely a screensaver function to take on the Samsung The Frame TV.

Read on to find out which new premium streaming device is a worthy upgrade for your TV.

Roku Ultra (2024) vs Google TV Streamer: Specs compared

Roku Ultra (2024) vs Google TV Streamer: Design

Roku maintained the Ultra's minimalist look and hasn't added any new color schemes for its refreshed model. In fact, if you look at them side by side, you can't really see much of a difference.

The Google TV Streamer, on the other hand, is a completely new look for Google. It uses a sloped structure, almost like a small skateboard ramp, and comes in two colors: Hazel and Porcelain. Even the remote sees a major alteration with a longer design and volume controls that now sit on the front of the device.

Roku followed in Google's footsteps, including its redesigned Voice Remote Pro in the box. This bad boy is charged via USB-C and even has backlit buttons, putting Google's new remote to shame. (Who wants to constantly be changing batteries and fiddling with controls in the dark when you've got unlimited power and backlit buttons?)

Both streaming devices are rather bulky compared to their counterparts and will take up space somewhere close to your TV. They'll also show their wires, but you could get around that by stashing them conveniently behind your TV.

The Roku Ultra and Google TV Streamer make use of different ports. The Ultra leverages a USB 3.0, HDMI 2.1b and Ethernet that can only hit 100 Mbps of speed. Meanwhile, the Google TV Streamer has power and data connectivity with USB-C, HDMI 2.1a and Ethernet that hits up to 1Gb wired.

It's also important to note that the Roku Ultra uses WiFi 6 (2.4 Ghz / 5 GHz), while the Google TV Streamer sports just WiFi 5. The Google TV Streamer, however, offers a Thread board router for smart home connectivity and improved collaborations across your Thread and Matter-based smart home ecosystem. The Roku Ultra does not.

That's not to say the Ultra doesn't have smart home capabilities, though. They're just locked behind Roku's cheap smart home devices, meaning you have to use the Roku Light Strips, Roku Doorbell Camera, and more for proper functionality. Thus, if you're well-invested in the Roku ecosystem, the new Ultra might be the perfect match, but even with its better remote, the TV Streamer wins out.

Winner: Google TV Streamer

Roku Ultra (2024) vs Google TV Streamer: Performance

The Chromecast with Google TV 4K is now dead. Taking its place is the Google TV Streamer. It's a powerful little device with a ton of support beyond just entertainment needs, extending even into the smart home realm with a Thread board router. Gemini also makes massive strides with summarized reviews and overviews of shows, plus better recommendations to find your next favorite show or movie.

In our review of the new Google TV Streamer, we praised the redesigned remote, enhanced smart home controls, and AI screensavers. In terms of its general performance, it works as intended and does some incredible things for the $99 price point. Yes, that's more expensive than the Chromecast with Google TV platform, but the upgrades are there.

As for the Roku Ultra, while faster (and with additional features, like the Quick Media Switching function), its upgrades fall short of the Google TV Streamer. Sure, it offers better connectivity with Wi-Fi 6, but no 1Gb speeds over wired connection is a major let down, not to mention its locked Roku smart home ecosystem means you don't have nearly as many compatible devices to choose from.

The Roku Ultra and Google TV Streamer both boast the range of HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG (plus Dolby Atmos for audio). One thing the Ultra lacks, however, is a higher storage capacity. It isn't listed on any of its spec sheets, but the Google TV Streamer comes with a whopping 32GB of internal storage — nearly as much as an Apple TV 4K, which costs $30 more. Picture quality will, more or less, depend on the type of TV you're using.

The Roku Ultra comes in at exactly the same price as its predecessor and even the Google TV Streamer. Its 30% faster speeds and access to QMS, a rather niche function that works to mitigate "HDMI bonk" when content switches refresh rates, don't exactly justify its rather high price.

Winner: Google TV Streamer

Roku Ultra (2024) vs Google TV Streamer: Smart platform

When comparing Roku vs Google TV, it's important to remember that their interface designs are similar. Access to streaming platforms is made incredibly simple with user-generated rows and tiles. Both come with a slew of ad-heavy banners and annoyances, but these are easily overlooked in the face of more egregious culprits on the market (like LG webOS and Fire TV).

Roku has its beloved Roku City screensaver page that many users adore for its myriad Easter eggs and mini-advertisements. It's nothing as profound as what can be found on the Google TV Streamer and its AI-fueled screensavers, though.

Several makers of the best TVs from the likes of Sony, Hisense, and TCL, have moved away from Roku in favor of Google TV. The major problem with Roku is that its personalization options are limited and doesn't allow for more advanced features like Google TV.

Google TV's initial set up stage is convenient, as it pulls many of your long-existing sign-ins to instantly log you into most applications. It's also got a robust for you section that knows exactly the type of content you're looking for.

But the best Roku TVs wouldn't be so sought after without a well-rounded system in place. Those already invested in the Roku ecosystem find its simple design worth sticking with, but it's often missing apps (like Twitch). Plus, Google TV even offers the Roku Channel, meaning you still get all the same free stuff on the Streamer as you would on the Ultra.

Winner: Google TV Streamer

Roku Ultra (2024) vs Google TV Streamer: Verdict

Both the Roku Ultra and Google TV Streamer offer exceptional features for those looking to upgrade an outdated TV, or for people who just want to switch their existing interface with one that's more aligned with their smart home ecosystem.

With both priced the same, it really comes down to your own preference and general needs. If you like the Roku interface over Google TV, the Ultra might be a better fit, especially if you already use several other Roku devices around your home. But it's no secret that Google TV is now winning the TV race — and for good reason.

The Google TV Streamer unlocks far more potential for users outside of the Roku brand with its Thread board router, not to mention its 1Gb internet potential over wired connection. The Roku Ultra might be faster than its predecessors, and even in the face of a better remote, Quick Media Switching and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, its minimal upgrades aren't enough to overtake Google's more versatile streaming device.

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For those with Google TV, the Roku Channel is about to get much better and more integrated into the system.

Roku is rolling out an update to the Roku Channel over the coming weeks that will allow you to search for its content directly from the Google TV home screen.

The Roku Channel, one of the best free streaming services, is already available on Google TV, but this new update adds a number of new improvements that are meant to make using it a more seamless experience on Google TV. As of September 2024, Google TV and Android TV have over 270 million monthly active devices.

• Search the Roku Channel programming directly via the Google TV interface without having to switch between apps.
• Access to over 500 live channels from Roku's ad-supported lineup will appear in the Google TV "Live" tab — Google's hub for free live TV
• Pick up where you left off in Roku Channel shows or movies right from the home screen.
• Google TV will recommend content from the Roku Channel with new sections that highlight free live TV and on-demand shows and movies.

For Roku this is an expansion of free, ad-supported content since the Roku Channel was added to Android TV and Google TV last year. For those on Google TV, it means a new way to access more content without paying a subscription fee. The Roku Channel offers more than 80,000 licensed movies and TV shows, originals and live broadcasts such as select MLB games.

It's also the latest step in Roku's ability to offer the Roku Channel on other systems including Fire TVs, Samsung's smart TVs and the company's own app and website.

The FAST (free ad-supported television) market is booming, with players like the Roku Channel, Tubi and Pluto all rapidly gaining users and generating revenue. DirecTV recently launched its own FAST venture. Every month, 66% of TV content viewers in the U.S. are using FAST platforms, according to Horowitz Research’s latest annual report, State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Viewing Behaviors 2024.

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Hisense is leaning into the new era of increasingly bigger TVs with a 110-inch monster Mini-LED TV geared toward NBA super fans. 

Meet the Hisense 110UX Mini-LED TV. This larger-than-life TV features some of the most advance specs on the market, but it also comes with a $19,999 price tag.

Hisense’s newest TV is a courtside seat to the 2024 NBA season, delivering dynamic tone mapping pro, a 144Hz refresh rate, and up to 10,000 nits of peak brightness — a true star among the best TVs if it's truly that bright. 

Last seen breaking nearly every possible test metric at CES 2024, the 110UX Mini-LED TV is a testament to Hisense’s engineering ingenuity. It comes equipped with many of the same features you might see on other high-end models, including Dolby Atmos support, an ATSC 3.0 tuner, and IMAX Enhanced all built on the Google TV interface.  

With the NBA season beginning in just a matter of weeks, the 110UX Championship Edition is arriving just in time. It goes on sale starting today and can be purchased in the United States only at Best Buy and Amazon. 

Hisense's big screen rebound

Alongside TCL, Hisense is paving the way for massive entertainment displays, as seen with its ULED X series. These extra-large Mini-LED models, which represent of the best 85-inch TVs and over, are changing the game. 

Hisense reaches its pinnacle with the 110UX, a massive display built for the home theater. It's made all the more enviable with an NBA Championship Edition that's built with the 2024 NBA season in mind. 

An ultra low reflection panel and ultra wide view angle panel mean you aren't missing a single rebound or three-pointer in the midst of the action. A 102W 4.2.2 multi-channel audio speaker brings the sounds of the game to life (though it's still nowhere near the raw power of the Panasonic Z95A OLED TV's 160W 360 degree audio system). 

It comes with Dolby Atmos support and all of the HDR goodies, including Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+. The 110UX sets you up nicely for gaming, as well, with two HDMI 2.1 ports that hit up to 144Hz and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro — perfect for the PS5 Pro.

If you're hunting for a TV over 100-inch that nets you the next best thing to courtside seats, this is the one to get — that is, of course, if you have $19,999 laying around. 

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The TV OS landscape is changing and Google is at the forefront. Its smart platform, Google TV, can be found in many of the best smart TVs , and its grip on the market is getting tighter. According to a recent blog post by the tech conglomerate, Google now claims that it's corralled 270 million active monthly users.

In the face of major competitors like Roku, Samsung's Tizen, LG’s webOS, and Amazon's Fire TV, Google is seemingly on a fast track to ultimate dominance. While it doesn’t make its own TVs, Google’s interface has nevertheless found a home in some of the best TVs from Sony, Hisense, and TCL — not to mention in a slew of streaming devices. 

But can its reign be squashed? With newer TV interfaces on the rise (like the recently announced Whale TV OS) and popular players holding strong (like Roku), Google TV’s star power is being challenged. So far, it hasn't faded.

Let’s see how it currently stacks against the competition. 

Google TV vs Roku and Samsung’s Tizen

In February, Samsung announced as much as 22.7% control over the OLED TV market. Samsung challenged major players like LG and Sony on its way to claiming 1.01 million units sold through 2023.

This would mark 18 consecutive years of its continued success as leader in the global TV sector, giving Samsung's smart TV interface, Tizen, quite the push into millions of users' homes. 

It’s unclear exactly how many users it currently has, as Samsung is typically tight-lipped about such numbers. The last reported data is from a blog post dated 2022 that claims “around 200 million people from 197 countries are using Samsung smart TVs powered by Tizen.” Since then, we can infer that the number has gone up significantly, given Samsung’s track record in sales. 

In July of this year, Samsung put out a similar blog post that noted 270 million Samsung smart TVs running Tizen OS, but it’s unclear if this pertains to active users. Clearly, Tizen is neck and neck with Google TV, and that stems largely from Google’s business strategy of delivering not just TV-based interfaces, but of set-top boxes, too. 

Recently, both Google and Roku announced new additions to their streaming lineup in the Google TV Streamer and Roku Ultra (2024). These devices will pad the numbers of the brands' ever-growing userbase. Roku is even serving up its own in-house TVs to rival TCL and Hisense, like the recently released Pro Series Mini-LED TV.

In February, Roku announced that it had surpassed 80 million active accounts. The brand has lost big to both Samsung and Google in recent years, with Google gaining significant ground in 2021, when it added its own 80 million active accounts. Roku hasn’t exactly helped itself, either, with data breaches affecting thousands of its users earlier this year.

The race between Roku vs Google TV is a close one. For all of its faults, Roku enjoys a loyal customer base, which helped it rake in almost $3B in revenue last year, per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Google might be at the top of its game, but it’s not the only one reaching for the stratosphere.

Other major players on the rise against Google TV 

As maker of some of the best OLED TVs, LG  and its webOS ecosystem are the perfect foil for Samsung’s Tizen and Google TV. LG mostly keeps mum about its active monthly users, but in a Q1 2024 blog post, it announced that webOS powers as many as 200 million LG TVs globally. 

In January, LG announced a solid policy on keeping its webOS interface fresh for years to come. This so-called Re:New program aims to keep several of the best LG TVs regularly upgraded with newer features. The program focuses primarily on TVs dating back four years, and many of the best and latest upgrades can only be found on newer displays among the LG 2024 TV lineup. 

And then there’s Amazon’s Fire TV. Like Google TV and Roku, Fire TV can be found across a wide swath of devices and displays. In a surprising turn of events, Panasonic  recently returned to the US TV market, and its interface of choice is Fire TV. This makes Panasonic OLEDs the first to leverage Fire TV. The flagship Panasonic Z95A OLED TV, for instance, is a brilliant new addition to the market, and could add fuel to the competitive fire. Currently, all we know is that Fire TV claims more than 50 million users, and this was last reported in 2021. 

A 2024 report from Statista asserts that Fire TV had as many as 69.7 million users in 2022 (against Apple TV’s mere 26.7 million). To be clear, Apple does not disclose these numbers, and it’s hard to know how accurate they are without any official data. However, this alone should highlight the sheer breadth of Google’s dominance in the world of TV interfaces.

Meanwhile, newer players like the aforementioned Whale TV could prove to be a wrinkle in Google’s plan. Thus far, the Linux-based interface — previously Zeasn — is only available on Sharp, Philips, and Vestel TVs, which are primarily available in regions outside of the US. According to StreamTV Insider, it “currently powers 41.1 million monthly active TVs.”

Google is in an advantageous position right now. Its wide availability, along with the launch of its brand new Google TV Streamer device (which we rated quite highly in our review), makes it a tough challenger to overcome.

Samsung and LG seem the closest to toppling Google, but who knows? Perhaps one day, Fire TV (or even Roku) will be seen as the David to its Goliath.

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Roku first launched one of the best streaming devices, the Roku Ultra, all the way back in 2015, and today it's bringing it back with some serious upgrades. 

Simply titled Roku Ultra (2024), the new edition sports a quad-core CPU that Roku claims is 30% faster than both its original predecessor and all of the best Roku devices that came before it. It also comes with the new second-gen Voice Remote Pro. 

Although somewhat niche, Roku is also touting the new Ultra's Quick Media Switching feature, a design that has thus far lived solely on Apple streaming devices, particularly the 2022 Apple TV 4K. This means you can pair the new Roku Ultra with the Samsung S95D and some of the best LG TVs to mitigate that pesky "HDMI bonk." 

Roku is bringing the Ultra to the US and Canada starting in a few weeks set at $99. It comes at the most critical time as Google gears up to launch its new Google TV Streamer at the exact same price. 

A perfect foil for the Google TV Streamer 

The streaming device ecosystem just got spicy. Google and Roku are now going head to head with two premium streaming products that elevate the way we use our TVs on a daily basis. One such way is the inevitable evolution of your smart TV as the center of your smart home ecosystem, which the new Roku Ultra takes to heart. 

Specific Roku smart home products, like the Roku Doorbell Camera, will have seamless integration and access with the new Ultra design. This even extends to voice controls, which the Ultra (2024) will support. Roku gives one example as a simple "Hey Roku, show me the kid's room," with a pop-up window appearing directly on your display. 

These smart home controls also work in line with Roku's smart light strips and bulbs, making it the perfect smart home interface without the hefty price tag. Plus, you get the added benefit of a full streaming device with HDMI 2.1 compatibility and both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support. 

As mentioned previously, the new Roku Ultra will come equipped with the Voice Remote Pro second generation, a fantastic new remote that also comes with the Roku Pro Series TV. It uses a USB-C connection for simple and easy charging, meaning you won't have to keep buying batteries, and its backlit buttons make it easy to switch inputs in the darkest of dungeons.

Roku has also added Wi-Fi 6 to the Ultra (2024), which will alleviate any bottlenecks and undue stress on home networks. WiFi 6 ensures the device stays connected and you'll be able to use a wide swath of devices without lag. An ethernet connection also finally comes standard with the new design.

Roku claims the new Ultra is "30% faster than other Roku Players," which is quite the feat if true. We'll have to test this for ourselves, so stick to Tom's Guide for a full review and additional breakdowns of its prowess against other Roku products and even that of Google and Amazon Fire TV.

Roku has also retrofitted an interesting new machine learning algorithm that learns "to anticipate which app you are going to open next," which sounds intriguing. Of course, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ are all supported on the new design, as well.

You can expect to nab the new Roku Ultra at Roku.com starting today for $99. With its swifter CPU and several major enhancements, it could be a big win against the new Google TV Streamer, so long as the performance speaks for itself.

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Who needs the best streaming services when Google TV is offering all kinds of free content? To add on to its already extensive library of free shows and movies, Google TV is getting another shot in the arm with the integration of The Roku Channel into its search and recommendation database.

Last year, Google added the Roku Channel to its lineup to bring nearly 350 live TV broadcasts free to its users, but now those shows and movies will show up in the popular recommendation section of the UI.

In short, expect to see some nice new free recommendations from Roku if you use one of the best Google TVs like the Hisense U8N.

Are Google and Roku on the same team? Sort of...

While it might look like a race to see which interface is the best, with Roku vs Google TV being quite competitive, the two are working together to bring some awesome free content directly to your screen. 

The streaming costs in 2024 are astronomical. Hulu, arguably one of the best platforms around as the Emmys just proved, recently bumped its ad-supported tier up for some customers. That's already on the heels of several other rising prices out of Paramount Plus and Netflix, which makes better access to free content all the more enjoyable. 

And since we don't expect streaming service price hikes to end any time soon, this new rebranding for Google TV's free content is a good sign that easily-accessible TV shows and movies are likewise set to only grow. 

Don't own a Google TV? The soon-to-be released Google TV Streamer will pave the way for better in-house streaming, as well, and makes for a great combination with better access to the Roku Channel and subsequent free content. 

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Roku is releasing a new feature, Backdrops, which shows classic works of art or photo collections as a screensaver on your Roku TVs. Typically, if you leave your Roku device running, it will eventually switch to the familiar side-scrolling purple Roku city or an ad for PlutoTV. 

Instead, Backdrops turns your TV into a museum piece that will display images of classic works of art from artists like Jan Steen or Edouard Manet. You've just gotten a device like a Samsung Frame TV at a significantly lower cost. In its press release, Roku said tidbits of information will also be provided about the art you see, including the year it was created and a brief description.

Roku City isn't going away, you do need to enable Backdrops if you would prefer it instead of the purple metropolis.

You are not limited to paintings or abstract images; you can also choose to display landscapes or a collection of your photos via Google Photos or upload your own photos on the Roku website using your Roku account.

“Our TVs are more than a device for streaming shows and movies—they can now elevate the aesthetic of any room, with the ease of one click,” said Brian Pinkerton, SVP of Advanced Development at Roku. “Now, our customers can turn any TV screen into a conversation piece, and even better, it’s free.”

The feature will be available on Roku-branded TVs and third-party Roku TVs in the next couple of weeks. Those with streaming sticks or streambars will have to wait until later in the fall.

Roku seems to know that they're a bit behind in this kind of feature, cheekily calling it "revolutionary" in their slightly over-the-top ad for the feature.

If you have a Roku TV, Backdrops is enabled via the Settings menu or a separate Backdrops app, which appears in the app grid. From there, you can create galleries of art or photography and set the amount of time an image is displayed before it changes. There are also pre-generated galleries of specific artists and museums.

Backdrops aren't new, as the streaming company announced it as a free add-on to their new Roku Pro Series TV, Roku's version of a high-end TV that still comes in as one of the best TVs under $1,000. However, this is the first time the feature will be available on all Roku-branded TVs and third-party Roku TVs.

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