APPLE TV & ROKU: THE 4th GENERATION

Both Apple TV and Roku on their 4th generation, so how do these new devices compare to their predecessor and each other?  Let’s take a look.

The long awaited Apple TV is finally here and as promised it does have an app store. Now that your downloads are no longer limited to media, the new Apple TV offers additional storage.  You can choose between 32 or 64 GB. However this does cause the 4th generation to be slightly thicker by 12 millimeters, a little less than half an inch.

One of the biggest changes between the generations is the remote.  The new remote ditches the circular hard button controls for a directional touchpad.   It keeps the menu and play/pause buttons and adds a home button, volume up and down feature, as well as a hard button to access Siri.  Unlike its predecessors, if you lose this remote, you can use an app on your phone to replace it.

Other updates include the addition of Apple Music, Bluetooth 4.0, and an upgrade from a single –core A5 chip to a duel-core A8 chip.  For those of you who have an Apple TV as a staple in your home theater, the audio capability has increased from 5.1 surround sound to 7.1 surround sound.

The Roku already featured voice control, an accompanying app, additional hard buttons, and the ability to play games.  The 4th generation Roku features a quad-core processor, duel-band wireless, and 4K video, which Apple TV does not have.  Voice search is now available on the Roku app and a remote finder has been added.