You don’t have to splash out on an Apple TV to enjoy Apple TV+ and Apple Music alongside all your other favorite streaming services. They’re now available on a whole host of brilliant third-party devices — many of which are on sale now.
Unlike Apple, the likes of Amazon and Roku are offering big Black Friday discounts that are already live. Here are our picks of the best Apple TV alternatives that you can buy today from just $19.99.
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Affordable Apple TV alternatives
About the only real advantage to buying an actual Apple TV is Apple Arcade, which is exclusive to Apple’s own hardware. But if that doesn’t interest you, other Apple services — including AirPlay — are available elsewhere.
And why spend upwards of $179 on Apple’s set-top box when you can spend as little as $19.99 on something that does mostly the same thing?
Photo: Amazon
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick needs no introduction. It’s been a leader in the streaming market for years, thanks to its incredibly affordable price tag, impressive feature set, and support for all popular streaming services.
In addition to Apple TV+, Apple Music and AirPlay, the Fire TV Stick offers Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, YouTube, Spotify, Deezer and many, many more. You name it — the Fire TV Stick has got it.
This 4K model, as its name suggests, offers Ultra HD display video, as well as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. What’s more, in Amazon’s Black Friday sale, it’s down to just $24.99 — less than you’ll pay for the budget Lite version.
Buy from: Amazon
Photo: Roku
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
If you’re not a fan of Amazon’s Fire TV operating system, there’s the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. It’s essentially the same device — providing access to almost all of the same services — but it runs Roku’s own software instead.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K also has another trick up its sleeve: It also provides access to Roku Originals — not available elsewhere — and more than 200 free live TV channels, right out of the box.
Roku’s stick also offers support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but it is a little more expensive than Amazon’s offering at $29 with a Black Friday discount.
Buy from: Amazon
Photo: Roku
Roku Premiere
If you can do without Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, there’s the even more affordable Roku Premiere. It does just about everything the Roku Streaming Stick does — including Ultra HD video — but without the additional frills.
It’s also considerably more affordable, with a Black Friday discount reducing it to just $19.99 for a limited time.
Buy from: Amazon
Look out for other discounts
Black Friday doesn’t officially kick off until Friday, November 26. If none of the above devices interest you, look out for discounts on other popular streaming devices, such as the Google Chromecast — which also supports Apple services.
And if you’ll only settle for an original Apple TV, you may even see discounts on those from third-party retailers. They likely won’t be big, and you certainly won’t get them from Apple, but the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo have offered smaller savings on Apple TV in the past.
