Gadgetory

what's up prize five fans i'm brian tong in the battle for streaming box supremacy never stops it's a prize fly put out between the new Apple TV and the Roku for our judges for this fight our section editor David the gun show chats Meyer and you-know-who reeling a ding dong we'll take each round score and average them out to the nearest tenth of a point the final prize fight score will be an average of all rounds using the same system let's get this party started round 1 is designed Apple TV brings the same Apple TV design but this time it's taller it feels more solid and they've ditched optical audio its touchpad remote has a high-end feel to it with a rechargeable internal battery and that touchpad navigates as smooth as butter the Roku 4 brings an all-new design with a thinner but much larger footprint and it's optical audio is still here the remote is still the same with its d-pad and its buttons that directly launch apps you'll need to eventually replace its batteries but it's nowhere as sleek as the Apple TV's the Apple TV takes this round with a perfect 5 and the rope who gets a 4.3 next round is user interface and navigation Apple has improved its UI with a glassy transparent feel that's speedy the touchpad remote feels excellent to navigate with and it's the smoothest UI on a streaming box you'll find scrolling through video to the very second with the touchpad makes all the difference when you're watching series voice control can really drill down to be more specific but it only applies to TV shows and movies action movies from the 90s it's not integrated into Apple music or really any other major apps and you'll have to learn what it can and can't do the top row on your home screen is also now fully customizable unlike the previous Apple TV's now the UI and home screen for the Roku 4 hasn't really changed that much it still has the same look and feel and it's just as customizable as before but it feels stale compared to what Apple has done this time around video channels on the Roku 4 can look very different stylistically and it's visually jarring and just not as elegant Roku's my feed lets you follow upcoming movies TV shows and actors and notifies you when there's new content its voice search is linked to its Universal Search that shows you all the absent prices to find that content Apocalypse Now but you can't drill down to something like funny Jim Carrey movies from the 90s with Cameron Diaz or you could just save the masks Apple takes it with a perfect 5 and Roku gets for dr. Abdul two rounds the new Apple TV leads round three is features if there's one killer feature on the new Apple TV it's the App Store the touchpad remote is great Siri is pretty good but needs support across all the apps you can still airplay content from other Apple devices and it supports bluetooth headphones and gaming controllers it even supports 3d gaming with a 3d TV out of the box and yes there is still no 4k support but it always comes down to the apps this new Apple TV is like getting an iPhone connected to your TV and although there aren't a ton of apps right now the ones that are here are enough to show its huge potential and really it's just a matter of time for the developers now the Roku 4 brings features that you can use right now it has 4k support with a video section that features content and movies that are viewable in 4k but we're still not at the point where it's a standard in the household its Universal search is still tops the headphone jack directly on the remote for private listening is still brilliant but they went another step further with a remote finder feature that lets you press a button on the Roku box and a sound emits from the remote so you'll never lose it the Roku takes round 3 with a 4.8 and the Apple TV gets a 4.3 next round is content content will always be king and if you're locked in the Apple ecosystem you can't go wrong here but you'll also be missing a whole lot that's outside of Apple's walled garden it has the core of Netflix HBO Go Hulu and YouTube like everyone else and airplay can help make up for some of the services it's missing the App Store will be huge in the future but is just starting out and there's still no streaming TV subscription service in place now the Roku 4 has been the king of streaming boxes because of its 1000 plus channels of content Amazon Vudu sling TV crackle Spotify Pandora RDO and more you won't find any of those on the Apple TV and there's also this app called CNET that I really like now Roku takes another round with a perfect 5 and the Apple TV gets a 4 so after averaging 4 rounds the Apple TV still leads by a hair the final round that decides it all in value the applet Eevee starts at 149 and it's the most expensive streaming device on the market right now with Apple's premium price if you're an Apple fanboy or fangirl that's in the ecosystem it's a better value for you now the Roku 4 is $129 you're really paying for the 4k compatibility and it's the most expensive Roku to date but the judges still think it's a better value in the final round the Roku 4 gets a 3.8 and the Apple TV gets a 3 so let's average out all 5 rounds and after Apple took the first 2 Roku came back strong taking the final 3 and barely takes this battle 4.4 to 4.3 and is your prize fight winner now seen it actually rated the Apple TV slightly higher but this always comes down to what you're looking for if you're in Apple's ecosystem the touchpad navigation and the potential of the App Store makes it a no brainer but if you want the device that brings the most content possible on planet Earth that's jam-packed with features then the Roku 4 is for you I'm Brian Tong thanks for watching and we'll catch you all next time for another prizefight you