Apple and Google preserve attempting to take Roku down, nevertheless it’s the largest identify in US streaming for these 6 causes

I primarily personal Apple units. As such, I’ve an iPhone, iPad, Mac, and lots of different Cupertino units. This listing additionally consists of an Apple TV. And but, I can see the enchantment of Roku streamers. In truth, I’ve a Roku Streaming Stick (primarily for testing) and discover it glorious {hardware}.

Google has spent years getting Google TV onto extra televisions, and in August 2026 it gave its free Freeplay service an on-demand library for the primary time. Apple nonetheless sells the Apple TV 4K because the premium field for individuals who need one of the best image and the tightest iPhone integration. Neither push has moved Roku off the highest spot in American dwelling rooms.

Roku passed 100 million streaming households worldwide in April. Parks Associates analysis launched this spring places Roku OS at 28% of TV working system utilization in US broadband houses, forward of Samsung’s Tizen at 23%. Apple’s tvOS and Android TV rank decrease, with smaller shares. A separate report Android Headlines lined in July put Roku at 37% of the US streaming OS market, with Google TV at 14% and tvOS at 8%.

Those gaps didn’t occur by chance.

It’s nonetheless the most affordable option to stream in 4K

Every field acquired pricier this yr, however Roku’s ground stayed lowest

Memory chips acquired costly this yr, and each streaming {hardware} firm handed the associated fee alongside. Apple went first. On June 25, the 64GB Apple TV 4K jumped from $129 to $199, and the 128GB mannequin with Ethernet went from $149 to $249. Google moved the Google TV Streamer from $99.99 to $149.99 on the finish of the summer season.

Roku raised costs as properly. In late July, the basic Streaming Stick went to $39.99, the Streaming Stick 4K to $79.99, and the Roku Ultra to $149.99.

Even after the rise, a Roku Streaming Stick 4K lists for $120 lower than the most affordable Apple TV 4K. That stick handles Dolby Vision and HDR10+. For somebody outfitting a visitor room or changing a useless stick on the bed room TV, the value settles the query earlier than options ever come up.

I paid simply $45 for my Roku Streaming Stick 4K as a result of it was on sale.

Roku TV is constructed into the TVs individuals truly purchase

Most viewers decide a platform the day they decide a TV

Plenty of individuals by no means store for a streaming platform. They purchase a TV at Best Buy or Target, and no matter software program it boots into turns into their platform for the subsequent six years.

The multi-functional Roku wins a whole lot of these purchases with out promoting a stick. In its early-2025 shareholder letter, the corporate stated its TV OS had been the No. 1 selling TV OS in the US for six straight years, with gross sales higher than the No.2 and No.3 platforms mixed. Licensed Roku TV units from associate manufacturers make up the most important share of its unit quantity, and Roku now builds its personal TVs too.

The reminiscence scarcity could assist Roku right here. In its Q1 2026 shareholder letter, Roku stated its TV OS wants considerably much less RAM and flash storage than competing platforms, and that it expects new TV model companions to start out delivery Roku TV fashions within the second half of this yr. When reminiscence prices extra, a TV maker that may ship with much less of it retains extra margin on a $300 set.

Google TV has sturdy companions in TCL, Hisense, and Sony. Apple doesn’t license tvOS to anybody, so its solely path right into a front room is a $199 field.

The Roku Channel leads free streaming on TV

Google’s Freeplay is rising quick after beginning years behind

Many viewers have moved to free, ad-supported streaming, and Roku acquired there early. In Nielsen’s May report, The Roku Channel hit a 3.1% share of all US TV viewing, sitting simply behind Amazon Prime Video at 4.5%. On Roku’s personal platform, it was the No. 2 app by engagement in the second quarter.

Google is catching up on paper. On Aug. 11, it added greater than 10,000 free on-demand movies and shows to Freeplay and grew the dwell lineup to greater than 300 channels. By comparability, the Roku Channel presents greater than 80,000 on-demand titles and over 500 dwell channels. Freeplay solely runs on Google TV units within the US. The Roku Channel additionally reveals up as an app on different platforms.

Apple doesn’t run a free, ad-supported channel service. If you need one thing to observe with out paying, the Apple TV field sends you to another person’s app.

Roku works with each iPhone and Android

You get the identical expertise whichever telephone is in your pocket

Apple TV shines when everybody in the home carries an iPhone. Google TV leans in your Google account, Gemini, and Google Home. Both make good sense in case your family already lives in a kind of ecosystems, and so they get clumsy when it doesn’t.

Roku stays impartial. Many Roku units help AirPlay, and the Roku cellular app works as a distant on each iOS and Android.

That neutrality extends to the apps. Roku carries the Apple TV app, YouTube, and just about each service that issues. It even sells subscriptions on behalf of its rivals: Roku added Apple TV and Peacock as premium subscription partners earlier this yr, so a few of Apple’s streaming turnover now flows by Roku’s billing.

Roku’s residence display screen is straightforward to make use of

The tile grid has barely modified, and loads of individuals prefer it that approach

Roku’s app-tile grid has seemed roughly the identical for a very long time. Some individuals discover it dated. Plenty of others, together with the kin you arrange a TV for over the vacations, like that it by no means surprises them.

Google TV’s residence display screen, against this, facilities on suggestions pulled from throughout your providers. It’s helpful when you study it. It additionally means extra rows of content material between you and the app you meant to open.

Roku isn’t freed from litter. Its residence display screen carries advertisements, and the corporate launched a redesigned home screen earlier this yr.

Roku sells streaming {hardware} at a loss

Ads and subscriptions pay for a budget sticks and TVs

Apple must earn money on each Apple TV it sells. Roku doesn’t. In the primary quarter, Roku’s units phase ran a negative gross margin of 16.3%. The firm was deliberately dropping cash on {hardware}.

It makes cash from advertisements and subscriptions. In the second quarter, Roku’s platform turnover reached $1.22 billion, up 25% year over year, and folks streamed 37.9 billion hours on its units. More households imply extra advert stock, which pays for the subsequent spherical of low-cost sticks and TVs. Google runs the same mannequin with Google TV, nevertheless it has by no means matched Roku’s US attain. Apple has by no means tried to.

Fox’s Roku acquisition might change the image

The greatest risk to Roku’s place may not come from Apple or Google. In June, Fox agreed to buy Roku for about $22 billion, a deal anticipated to shut within the first half of 2027. Fox already owns Tubi, one in every of The Roku Channel’s closest free-streaming rivals. Both firms say Roku will keep an open, partner-friendly platform.

Neutrality is an enormous a part of why the ever-tricky Roku acquired this huge, so how Fox handles it is going to matter greater than any new streaming field from Cupertino or Mountain View.