Most of us have a short list of requirements for a video streaming device. We just need something that easily delivers content worth watching and works seamlessly with all the other devices in our living rooms.
In most cases, a good streaming joystick will help. There are several reasons why someone would want to pay for a more expensive set-top box: for example, the Apple TV 4K doesn’t put ads on its home screen, while a device like Nvidia’s Shield TV Pro gives you more ports for local media.. streaming and enough power for gaming. However, most people don’t need to spend more than $50 on a streaming device to have an enjoyable and often excellent experience. Google, Amazon, and Roku, the three biggest names in the field, offer useful and competitive options at this price point.
Google Chromecast with Google TVNew Fire TV Stick 4K MaxFire TV Stick 4KRoku Streaming Stick 4KRoku Streaming Stick 4K+
The Google Chromecast hardware has not changed since its release in September 2020. In our 2021 comparison, it easily outperformed Roku and Amazon when it came to finding and providing useful content suggestions. Google’s interface also looked better, and the joystick was easier to work with in almost every way. In other words, Roku and Amazon have had plenty of room to catch up with their latest OS updates. Below, we take a fresh look at how the main streaming sticks of each of the major players now compare.
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- Google’s Chromecast with Google TV is still the best flash drive you can get for $50. It has wide app, platform and device compatibility, high performance, simple and smart remote control, and support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. With a price tag that’s a third of what an Apple TV costs, it even beats an Apple streaming box for the money. It outperforms Roku and Fire TV devices with a better and more efficient user interface that expertly delivers content you’ll enjoy watching.
- The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is easy to use, but compared to the Chromecast, finding quality content becomes more of a challenge. It may still look like a device designed to watch Prime Video. You can go to Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and others to find a specific program, but if you’re just browsing the user interface looking for something to watch, you’re usually nudged to Amazon’s video streaming service. Prime Video has a large movie library, but this setup can leave you with limited, low-quality options for finding new content. However, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is still fast, has all the essential apps, and supports useful features like Dolby Vision HDR.
- The Roku Streaming Stick 4K doesn’t suffer as much from a biased user interface as the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, but that’s mostly because its user interface is lackluster. It’s not built to be viewed – or at least not very well. The Roku device gives you a basic grid of apps on the home screen and that’s it, so it’s most useful if you know exactly what you want to watch before turning it on. Some may prefer this serious approach, and the Streaming Stick 4K still has all the essential streaming services and useful features like AirPlay 2 support, Dolby Vision HDR, and screen mirroring on Windows and Android. But if you’re suffering from an ever-threatening existential crisis of what to look next, Roku OS may fail.