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How to pick
Start with the honest question: does your TV already run these apps? Nearly every TV sold in the last several years does, and if the built in ones are quick enough you do not need to buy anything. The reason people do buy a stick is that the software in older smart TVs gets slow and stops being updated long before the screen wears out, and a thirty dollar stick makes a seven year old TV feel new again. That is the case for one. After that it mostly comes down to which company you already deal with. If everything you own is Apple, Apple TV fits best. If you buy from Amazon and use Alexa, a Fire Stick fits. If you are on Android or use Google everything, Google TV. And if none of that means anything to you, get a Roku, because it is the plainest of the lot and does not push its own shop at you nearly as hard. Two practical things: get the 4K version only if your TV is 4K, and check the remote has a lost remote finder if that is a recurring problem in your house.
What I recommend
Roku Streaming Stick or Roku Express
The one I hand to people who just want their shows without a fuss. The menu is a plain grid of apps, the remote has almost no buttons on it, and it does not spend the whole time advertising at you. If you are not sure which to buy, buy this.
- Menu
- A plain grid, very little clutter
- Remote
- Few buttons, easy to learn
- Get 4K
- Only if your TV is 4K
- Best for
- Anyone who wants no fuss
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Makes sense if you already shop with Amazon, have Prime, and use Alexa around the house, because it all ties together. The trade off is that the home screen leans heavily on Amazon's own content, which some people find pushy.
- Fits
- Prime and Alexa households
- Voice
- Alexa built into the remote
- Downside
- Home screen pushes Amazon content
- Get 4K
- Only if your TV is 4K
Google TV Streamer
The pick if your phone is Android and you use Google for photos, calendars and the rest. It pulls your recommendations together across services nicely, and casting from a phone works without thinking about it.
- Fits
- Android phones, Google accounts
- Casting
- From a phone, works seamlessly
- Voice
- Google Assistant
- Nice touch
- Pulls recommendations across services
Roku Ultra
The bigger Roku. Faster than the stick, has an ethernet socket if the Wi-Fi in that room is dreadful, and the remote can be made to beep when you lose it down the sofa. That last one sells more of these than any spec ever has.
- Speed
- Quicker than the stick
- Port
- Ethernet, for bad Wi-Fi rooms
- Remote
- Beeps when you lose it
- Best for
- A main living room TV
Apple TV 4K
Noticeably quicker than everything above and it will still feel quick in five years, which the cheap sticks will not. Fits best if you have an iPhone, use AirPlay, or share photos across the family. It costs several times what a stick does, so only worth it if you will use what it does.
- Speed
- Fastest, and stays fast for years
- Fits
- iPhone, AirPlay, Apple Photos
- Cost
- Several times a stick
- Worth it if
- You will use what it does
Related reading
Set it up and now nothing will sign in?
Getting all the accounts and apps back onto a new box is the bit people call me about. I can do the lot in one visit.