Product catalogue

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Still the easiest streaming stick to live with, and the one to pick if you are not already deep in Amazon's ecosystem or you want Dolby Vision without paying for a full set-top box. Buy it for the app-first interface and the neutrality, but go in knowing Roku is monetising the home screen harder every year.

Resolution

Up to 4K, 60fps

HDR

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Wi-Fi

Dual-band 802.11ac with long-range receiver

Remote

Roku Voice Remote, with TV power and volume control. Runs on 2x AAA

Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022) Wi-Fi 64GB

The best streaming box, and the wrong Apple TV for most Matter and Thread households. If you want an Apple TV to act as a Thread border router, pay the extra and get the 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet version, which is the model with the Thread radio. Buy this 64GB one if you want the fastest, cleanest, ad-free streaming experience on your TV and you are happy for its smart-home role to be a Home hub over Wi-Fi.

Typical price £199

Chip

A15 Bionic

Storage

64GB

Video

4K, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio

Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (newest generation)

Buy it for the app catalogue, the speed and the format support, and go in knowing you are renting screen space to Amazon in return. If ads on a device you paid for will irritate you every single evening, that is a real cost and you should buy a Roku or an Apple TV instead. If you are already deep in Prime, the interface is arguing for content you were probably going to watch anyway, and the annoyance is much smaller.

Resolution

4K UHD, up to 60fps

HDR

HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG

Audio

Dolby Atmos

Processor

2.0 GHz quad-core