Best streaming devices for 2024: Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, and more

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who use the built in operating system on their TV to access their favorite movies and shows — and then there's everyone else. And there's nothing inherently wrong with the former. Many smart TVs come with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Google TV running the show, in which case you're well covered.

And bespoke TV operating systems — like LG's webOS, Samsung's Tizen, or even Vizio's Home Screen — have gotten better in recent years. But there's still a reason to consider an external streaming device, be it a stick or a box or a puck. (The form factor doesn't really matter all that much.) Maybe you have an older TV but want up to date features and apps.

And current security, which perhaps is even more important. Or maybe you're just unhappy with what's built in to your TV. Or maybe you just want to have "the best" option. That's subjective, of course, but we get paid to make tough choices. So here's what we think are the best external streaming devices going into 2024.

Some are newer than others. Some will be replaced in the months to come. All will serve you well. But, yes, we do have a favorite. It's still the simplest, most consistent experience you can get, with a relatively open ended shelf life, and the late 2022 model has gotten that much better. And those in the Apple ecosystem can make use of some of the extra features, it's not just for those with iPhones and iPads.

In the world of $50 streaming sticks that absolutely can get the job done and get it done well, it's perhaps a little hard to recommend something that costs three or four or five times as much. And to be clear, Apple TV 4K doesn't do three or four or five times as much as its competitors. In fact, you can make the argument that it does a little less.

More on that in a second. But what it does do, it tends to do better — and with fewer headaches. What you get for that extra money is hardware that should darn near last forever. (Just ask anyone who's still happily using the .) It's tempting to say that the third generation model is nearly identical to what was released with Gen 2 in 2021.

And that's mostly true, insofar as what the end user sees. The box itself is a little smaller, having gotten rid of the fan that you probably never heard anyway. And the internals have been spruced up, too. It's now powered by the A15 Bionic processor, which provides plenty of headroom. And there's now support for HDR 10+, which is important if you own a Samsung TV.

(Samsung doesn't support Dolby Vision.) There also now are two models from which to choose. One has 32GB of storage and only uses Wi Fi for connectivity. . Probably. What you should really look at is the one that costs $20 more and includes Ethernet (of the super fast Gigabit variety), as well as support for Thread and .

Those latter bits are new standards for smart home connectivity, which allow devices to talk to each other directly. You might not care about that now, but it's the future of smart home tech. Between that it having double the on board storage capacity (and to be fair, 64GB is almost certainly too much, but nobody ever regretted having too much storage), this is the model you should consider.

And that's all followed up by software updates that will span years in the future. The fourth generation Apple TV — the last to top out at HD resolution and which is now referred to only as "Apple TV HD" — released in 2015 is supported on tvOS. So there's plenty of reason to believe that an purchased today should last at least five years, insofar as the software is concerned.

Apple's tvOS is even more simple than its current phone and tablet software. The home screen is app icons, and that's it. No real recommendations of shows or movies or live channels. No advertising. Nothing that overwhelms. That simplicity in and of itself may well be worth the extra money.

Those who are all in with Apple's ecosystem also will get the added bonus of things like AirPlay 2 and HomeKit — as well as ridiculously slick integration of using your iPhone or iPad for the on screen keyboard. But even if you're not, you'll still be able to snag all the apps you could possibly need for your home viewing experience.

And they're all done in accordance with Apple's developer standards, which are decidedly higher than other platforms on this list. Apple TV 4K isn't inexpensive. But it's still the best. This model is more than a year old going into 2024, and it wouldn't surprise us to see a new one in the coming year.

But the late 2022 model will remain supported for years. If you want one now, buy one now. The best hardware that's not Apple, plus a great option for gamers, the Shield (also often referred to as "Shield TV") has a history dating back to 2015. That ancient hardware, running Nvidia's Tegra X1 processor, was overpowered for the time and keeps that original box running just fine today.

The most recent Shield, released in 2019, comes in two flavors. Both add Dolby Vision into the mix, in addition to Dolby Atmos decoding. The non Pro model comes in a cylindrical body for some reason. The Pro has more RAM and doubles the onboard storage to 16GB (both models still allow for external storage) and is meant for gaming via Nvidia's G Force Now system.

And the Tegra X1+ processor is as good now as it was at release. Additionally, Nvidia does a great job at ensuring even more longevity to its devices with frequent updates that bring additional features and capabilities to the box. Frankly, we have no idea. It's amazing that Shield is still available, and even more amazing that it's still as good as it is.

That's a testament to the hardware. Roku is the grandfather of streaming, back before it really became a thing. It remains as easy to use as ever, with "Channels" taking the place of apps. They're really the same thing, and one Roku device works exactly the same as the next. It's just a matter of what specs and features you get at what price.

The Streaming Stick 4K and are identical, insofar as the sticks themselves go. You get 4K UHD resolution, support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and improved Wi Fi over previous models. The "Plus" side of the equation comes with the inclusion of the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which gives you hands free voice control.

Just say "Hey, Roku," and the remote will hear you and execute your commands. It does so at a $20 premium ($50 and $70, respectively), which is worth it if that hands free stuff and private listening via a headphone jack are important to you. Rokus's operating system gets , too, which usually brings some new features, interface updates, and access to new content.

Here's out , just in case. Roku has really started to stand out in the past couple of years with its inclusion of free shows and movies on its own distribution source, the aptly named The Roku Channel. The series and movies are all supported by advertising. There's a lot of old content that you'll recognize, as well as new original content.

It also has dipped its toes into the realm of more standard original content with its own series, and presumably more is on the way. Advertising based content means more tracking, however, and that's just something you have to keep in mind when it comes to Roku. But it's hard to argue against the value proposition of the Streaming Stick 4K.

Given that the current model was released in September 2021, it wouldn't surprise us in the slightest to see a new model in 2024. The only question is when. If Roku just isn't your thing or you prefer the native Amazon and Alexa experience, a Fire TV stick might be the one for you. The original Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K has been a great buy for a couple of years now.

Making it more "Max" just made it that much better, and it's been updated as of September 2023. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max now has newer internals with a faster processor, Wi Fi 6E, and continued support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It ships with the latest Alexa Voice Remote, which doesn't include hands free voice access, but does have proper television controls.

What it doesn't change is the same great experience you'll get with Amazon Fire TV OS. While the home screen may still be a bit busy for some, that's just a testament to how much great content is available in the Amazon ecosystem. Start with , of course, which has all the movies and series you could possibly want, as well as more than its share of great original content.

And that's all before you get to all the third party streaming apps, games, and other options available on Amazon Fire TV. The Amazon Fire TV Stick remains an excellent choice and one that's tough to beat. The 2023 model of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max Max also is the first stick to have Amazon's Ambient Experience (previously limited to its Omni series of televisions).

You get a number of really good screensavers, or you can use your own photos as backgrounds for when you're not actually watching TV. Plus, it has widgets of varying degrees of usefulness. Any real complaints we have here tend to be in performance. This is still a low cost device, and laggy graphics and load times occasionally remind us of that fact.

This version was released in the fall of 2023 and is unlikely to be updated anytime soon. But Amazon may well update the Fire TV Cube, which has different features and is more expensive. When it comes to Android based hardware, you typically get what you pay for. Cheap Android sticks are a dime a dozen and should mostly be ignored, as support can be iffy.

Sticking with Google's own hardware means that you're going to get all the features and support that you want, plus the security that you should demand. Chromecast with is the first Google hardware with the next generation operating system. Technically, it's built on Android, but this isn't your father's Android TV device (or your grandfather's original Google TV device, but that's a trip down memory lane for another time).

It's got the new operating system and home screens. It does a better, more sophisticated job of surfacing things you want to watch and apps you want to use. Sometimes to a fault. And, yes, it's still a Chromecast, making it super easy to get any sort of content from a phone or Chrome browser onto your television.

The biggest complaint we have is that like other hardware in this price range, it can be a tad underpowered, and that's a concern when you're drawing as many images on the screen as Google TV does. And when you're talking about a device that you're likely going to be using every single day, even a little bit of lag gets amplified.

Still, though, it's a great way to round out the trifecta of affordable streaming devices. We can only hope so, given that the 4K model (which is the only one you should buy) was birthed in September 2020..