7 Reasons the Apple TV is Better than Roku

You can buy a Roku for as little as $30 or use the software that comes built into your smart TV for free

So buying an Apple TV 4K at $129 might seem ridiculous, but there are some compelling reasons why I might want to do that instead

Number one, Apple has a much better track record for protecting your privacy

A big part of the reason that every TV is a smart TV and these plug-in devices are so cheap

is because a majority of the money is made after you set up the device when it spies on your viewing activity to sell or market to data brokers

You can try turning all the tracking off, but honestly, it's like trying to put out a house fire with a garden hose

There's always going to be something you miss. The gigabytes of data that these devices are proven to report on their users can suck up all of your internet bandwidth

which can be actively harmful if you live in a rural area with a slow or metered internet connection

like I do. And you might think you have nothing to hide, but data from a smart TV can report your name

physical address, whether you have children, all kinds of personal information that can show up in a data breach

and can be used against you by scammers. Apple doesn't have the same incentives

to collect personal data. They make all of their money when you buy the device

or if you subscribe to Apple TV Plus. It's a more transparent business model

And just like the iPhone, there a single toggle switch you can enable Number two a superpower of the Apple TV is that you can use an iPhone or Apple Watch as a remote If you have a big living room and you left the remote way over there on a corner

table, you or anyone else in the room can open a virtual remote right from control center on the iPhone

You have all the same controls, a multidirectional touchpad on top, buttons for play pause

mute and back, and when you're playing a show or movie, with one button you can toggle subtitles

or skip forwards and back. If both the remote and your phone are out of arms reach

you can even use the remote app on the Apple Watch for quick access to the basic controls

You can even use your iPhone to find a lost remote if it's slipped between the couch cushions

or if someone left it in another room. Now there is a Roku remote app for iPhone

but it's a clunky process that requires you to create an account, sign in, give it all kinds of permissions

It's not nearly as easy to use as opening control center from your iPhone. Number three, if you're having a FaceTime call with the whole family

all of your housemates, or your D&D group, you want to make sure it's on the biggest screen

possible. Instead of having everybody crowd around an iPad or a Macbook sitting on a table

you can FaceTime from your living room on your Apple TV. Open the FaceTime app on your

Apple TV, make sure you have the right profile selected, then set up your iPhone or iPad

horizontally on your TV stand or coffee table. Now everyone can see the screen, and with Center Stage

the camera will automatically zoom in and pan around to make sure that everyone is perfectly visible in shot It should go without saying there no FaceTime app for Roku Number four if you have smart home devices using HomeKit or the newer standard matter

your Apple TV will automatically set itself up as the central hub to control it all

And the best part is there's basically nothing you have to do. Make sure it's using the same ICloud account as the one you have on your phone

and that you're the default user on the Apple TV. That way, when you're away from home and you want to make sure that

the doors are locked, the lights are off, and the thermostat isn't blasting the heat

the Apple TV is acting as the home server to control everything

Now, Roku's smart home system requires much more setup, and even charges you a lovely subscription fee to get all of the features

Number five. Now, the Apple TV is no replacement for a real game console

but it's more capable than you might think. Most of the games you can play on Apple Arcade

You can play on any Apple device, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and yes, the Apple TV

Even real racing games, like my personal favorite, Asphalt 8 Airborne. And because you can connect to PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch controller

gaming feels perfectly natural with whichever controller you're most comfortable with. And other games like Song Pop Party or the Jackbox Party packs are great fun to play when you have a lot of people over

A lot of this is thanks to number six, the Apple TV has a much more

powerful chip inside than what you get on basically any other smart TV or Roku device It has the same chip that powers the iPhone in a form factor that doesn have to worry about battery life

That means that navigating around the interface, launching apps, and even streaming videos all happens much, much faster

Every Roku device I've ever used feels clunky and slow in comparison

That also means that the Apple TV is going to last much longer. Every new Apple TV since 2015

approaching nine years ago, can still run the latest version of Apple's TVOS

Last but not least, for better or worse, when you have people over

nothing will draw your guests into the living room like moths to a lamp

quite like the Apple TV aerial screensaver. When you leave it setting idly for a while, or if you hit the back button one more time on the home screen

the TV will be taken over by these beautiful slow-motion videos of

scenic landscapes, gorgeous cityscapes, deep-sea creatures, and scenes from all around the world

It's a great way to liven up a room and turn your TV into a classy piece of art

And new videos are downloaded automatically in the background to keep it fresh

So those are the seven best reasons to buy an Apple TV. Did I convince you

Did I make you feel better about having already bought one? Leave a comment down below

Remember to like and subscribe. I'm DeGraffin-Jones with Cult of Mac