In the age of smart TVs, the biggest screen in your home is essentially an enormous smartphone without a touchscreen. The popularity of streaming services has transformed the television into yet another device that runs apps, so of course there must also be an operating system upon which to run them. Two of the most popular smart TV operating systems are Roku OS and Google TV. These competing operating systems come preinstalled on many smart TVs, but they can also be added to your current TV with a plug-and-play set-top box or streaming stick. Roku offers a range of boxes and sticks, while Google offers the Chromecast with Google TV. So, which one offers the most value for your needs?
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Both are popular for a reason and picking between them can be hard. Roku and Google TV are packed with compelling features but work in different ways. I’ve been using both Roku OS and Google TV for over a year, learning each of their ins and outs so you don’t have to. I get Roku OS through my TCL 6-Series Roku TV, and I get Google TV through a Chromecast dongle. I stay on top of software updates too, making sure I have the best experience.
I’m going to focus on the Roku and Google TV software experiences for this comparison, meaning everything I discuss will be relevant if you use a dongle, set-top box, or built-in TV.
