For as long as streaming movies and TV shows have been a thing, I’ve done my streaming through products made by Roku. Even as brands like Apple, Google, and Amazon released peripherals to compete with Roku, many of which have been praised by us at Android Police, I found it difficult to part ways with the UI and content hub I had grown accustomed to with Roku.
On paper, there isn’t one or two standout features that kept me tethered to Roku all these years. I’ve been talking for months about buying an Nvidia Shield TV Pro (which runs an Android OS) for Plex server-hosting, a feature that’s unavailable on most streaming hardware. But when I’m tired and want to binge Corridor Digital videos on YouTube, I choose Roku TV OS. If I were tasked with buying a new entry-level to midrange LED or QLED, I’d choose something Roku-branded. Here are five reasons why.
5
Tried and true UI with intuitive customization
The now-iconic look and feel of Roku TV OS is a software staple that’s been fine-tuned to the umpteenth degree. This isn’t to say that platforms like Apple’s tvOS or LG’s webOS system are bad user interfaces. Still, when it comes to ease of use, performance reliability, and customization, it’s hard to beat the template and tools that Roku TV OS provides.
For nearly two decades, Roku TV OS has stayed true to its uniform-looking home page, which puts the most essential parts of your streaming experience front and center. A simplistic tile layout keeps your favorite apps (Roku calls apps Streaming Channels), TV inputs, and other services sectioned off to one side of the dashboard. Settings and other essentials hang out on the other side of the screen.
Save for the occasional new menu item that pops up, this streamlined aesthetic carries through to most screens, including the ones you’ll find on Roku’s mobile app. Roku TV OS is mostly ad-free. It has less self-promotion and content flagging than Fire TV or Samsung’s Tizen OS.
Roku makes it easy to add, remove, and reposition the tiles and layout of your home dashboard. Automatic software updates ensure your Roku TV has the latest features.
4
Streaming channels and exclusives
My favorite things about Roku TVs and streaming devices are the range of apps and live linear TV stations. As of 2025, Roku TV OS is home to over 26,000 apps. Many of these services are popular entertainment meccas like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Max. I also love that Roku is open-armed about third-party crews making apps Roku-compatible. This is why we have access to services like Flimzie Horror, NewsON, Journy, and streaming services you likely never heard of.
The Roku Channel (which can also be downloaded on non-Roku-branded TVs) is home to around 80,000 movies and shows. Many are Roku exclusives, such as Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and What Drives You with John Cena. You can watch up to 400 live linear TV stations through the Roku Channel.
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3
Overall cost
There’s a quality cutoff when it comes to Roku-branded TVs. The company’s best set, the Roku Pro Series QLED, is sold in 55, 65, and 75-inch sizes. The biggest version has a $1,200 MSRP (and is often on sale). This TV features Mini LED lighting, quantum dots, and gaming optimizations that make it an excellent pick for movie fans, diehard gamers, and casual TV watchers.
Still, it’s not a perfect TV. It needs manual SDR calibration out of the box, and the picture doesn’t look great when viewed off-center. If you can get past those small nuisances, the Pro Series is good.
Compare that to a midrange Samsung QLED like the QN90D Series, where the 75-inch model has a $1,800 MSRP. The QN90D delivers similar picture processing, upscaling, and contrast levels as the Roku Pro Series QLED, but it costs $600 more, and the QN90D isn’t Samsung’s flagship QLED (that would be the QN95D).
Even though the Roku Pro Series (along with Roku’s in-house sets) has one or two hurdles, there’s not a TV in the world that doesn’t have a feature worth improving on.
2
Learning from other TV manufacturers
Source: Roku
Roku produces its own TVs, and the company has partnered with other TV brands. You may have seen one or two Hisense or TCL TVs that claim to have Roku built-in. This means the LED, QLED, or OLED was developed and engineered by the TV manufacturer but the smart TV software and certain UI elements are provided by Roku. This is a genius way for Roku to gain free marketing. Here’s a better reason for Roku to share its OS with other TV brands: reconnaissance.
Let’s use Hisense as an example. Roku licensed Roku TV OS to Hisense to use on a number of its entry-level models and has been doing so for a while. Even the 2024 Hisense U6HR Series is equipped with Roku TV OS, and this is a 4K QLED with full HDR and Dolby Atmos support, plus numerous gaming optimizations.
While Roku’s techs may not be hanging out in Hisense’s development lab to see how the U6HR Series was made, I can see Roku taking notes about what its developers liked and disliked about the picture processing, upscaling, color gamut, and motion clarity found on these Roku TV-equipped Hisense sets. The same goes for manufacturers like TCL, Onn, and Westinghouse.
Inspiration comes from many sources. Look at the world of TVs. It wasn’t that long ago that LG was the sole producer of OLED sets. Now, Samsung is buying its OLED panels from LG. Partnerships go a long way in all corners of the consumer tech marketplace, and Roku has had an opportunistic vantage point for a minute. So, was the picture engine and Mini LED lighting used on the Roku Pro Series QLED inspired by something Hisense or TCL did? I’d say the chances are 50/50.
1
A fun and easy way to kickstart your smart home
Roku has joined the ranks of AV companies that have dipped their toes into smart home waters. Over the last few years, Roku’s smart device lineup has expanded to include everything from lights and plugs to cameras, video doorbells, and complete home monitoring systems. While you can purchase these Roku gadgets, regardless of whether you own a Roku-branded TV or streaming device, keeping your TV and smart gear within the same ecosystem is a great idea.
First, Roku tends to carry its core UI from one product class to the next. Even if Roku TV OS doesn’t look and perform the same as the Roku Smart Home app, there’s enough familiarity from one platform to the next to comfortably onboard a new Roku smart device user. (Plus, who’s to say Roku wasn’t taking notes from Alexa and Google Home on the do’s and don’ts of a smart home app?)
Secondly, you can interface several Roku smart home devices to your Roku TV. Take the Roku Wire-free Video Doorbell & Chime or any of Roku’s indoor and outdoor security cameras. When connected to Wi-Fi, you can wirelessly share the live feed from these cams to your Roku TV (this also works with Roku streaming devices). If you add Roku smart lights or plugs, you can use Roku Voice (activated by the mic button on all of Roku’s Voice Remotes) to toggle smart devices on and off, change colors, adjust brightness, and more.
If you later decide to go with Alexa or Google Assistant for smart home controls, all of Roku’s smart devices are compatible with these voice assistants.
