9 Best Streaming Devices of 2026

Apple's fourth-generation box is the most capable player we compared. Apple lists the A19 chip, 128GB of storage, Wi-Fi 7, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.1 and Thread, and it plays Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. The new part is Siri AI, which listens through three far-field microphones, so you can ask for a show or dim the lights without picking up the remote. The Siri Remote charges over USB-C and can be found with Find My. For the use case behind this list, Apple says the box streams live TV from YouTube TV, Hulu and Sling TV, plus Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max and ESPN apps. AirPods pair for private listening, and two sets can connect with separate volume. The catch is price: $299.00 is three times the Roku Ultra offer, there is no HDMI cable in the box, and this model was on pre-order when we checked. If you live in Apple's ecosystem, it is the box to buy.

Roku Ultra is the box we would hand to most households. Roku lists 4K at 60fps with Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG, Dolby Atmos decode over HDMI, Wi-Fi 6 and a wired Ethernet port, and says it is 30% faster than any other Roku player. The remote is the best one in the price range: the Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition) has backlit buttons, a rechargeable battery, hands-free voice control and a lost remote finder. Bluetooth Headphone Mode lets you pair headphones straight to the box, which helps anyone who needs more volume than the rest of the room wants. The Roku Channel adds thousands of free movies and 500+ live TV channels on top of paid apps. The limits are small: the Ethernet port is 10/100, the USB port is for local media rather than storage expansion, and the $99.99 price is a limited-time offer against a $149.99 list price. At either price it covers Netflix, YouTube and live TV with little fuss.

Google TV Streamer is the strongest Android-based box we compared. Google lists 4GB of memory, 32GB of storage, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, and Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos support, and says the processor is 22% faster than the device it replaced. The Google TV interface collects shows from all your services with personalized suggestions, and Gemini for TV now handles natural requests such as finding something to watch. A button on the streamer makes a lost remote ring, and the remote has a button to open the home panel or switch inputs. It doubles as a Matter hub with Thread built in. There are trade-offs. Wi-Fi is 802.11ac, the HDMI 2.1 cable it requires is sold separately, and at $149.99 it costs well over twice as much as Walmart's Onn 4K Pro, which also runs Google TV with Gemini. Choose it for the extra memory, gigabit wired networking and Google's own support.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K is the stick to buy if your TV supports Dolby Vision. Roku lists 4K at up to 60fps with Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG, plus a long-range Wi-Fi receiver built into the USB power cable, which helps when the router is in another room. The slim body plugs into the HDMI port and stays out of sight without blocking the port next to it. The included voice remote controls TV power, volume and mute, so most people can put the TV remote away. You get the same Roku home screen and The Roku Channel's free live TV as on the Ultra. What you give up against the Ultra is the backlit rechargeable remote, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet and Dolby Atmos decoding; this stick passes Dolby audio through to a soundbar or receiver instead. At $79.99 it sits $30 above the Streaming Stick Plus, and the main reason to pay that is Dolby Vision and the stronger Wi-Fi.

Walmart's second-generation onn 4K Pro is the value pick for Google TV. Walmart's listing gives it 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6, a wired Ethernet port and a USB 2.0 port for media and storage. Gemini provides hands-free voice control, a Find My Remote feature locates the remote by voice, and Matter support lets you control compatible smart home devices from the TV. Unlike Google's streamer, it ships with an HDMI cable. At $59.98 that is a lot of hardware, and it runs the same Google TV home screen that gathers Netflix, YouTube and live TV apps in one place. The catches: Walmart showed both colors out of stock online when we checked, Walmart says it works only in the United States and Puerto Rico, and it publishes fewer details than the big brands, such as HDR10+ support or chip speed. If you can find it in stock, it is hard to beat for the money.

Fire TV Cube is the box for people who still pay for cable or satellite. Amazon calls it the only Fire TV streaming player with a built-in HDMI input: plug a supported cable or satellite box into it and you can change live TV channels by voice through Alexa or the included Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced. Built-in microphones and a speaker make it hands-free from across the room. Amazon lists an octa-core processor, 2GB of memory, 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6E tri-band, a 10/100 Ethernet port and a USB-A 2.0 port, with 4K, Dolby Vision, HDR and Dolby Atmos support. For Netflix and YouTube it does what the Fire TV Stick 4K Max does with a faster processor and a wired connection. Its limits are that the cable box control works only with select providers, the Ethernet port is not gigabit, and Amazon's US page did not show a price from our location, so its price is pending. For cord cutters, the stick or a Roku is the simpler buy.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the most powerful stick we compared. Amazon lists a quad-core 2.0GHz processor, 16GB of storage, which it says is double that of the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus and its other sticks, and Wi-Fi 6E tri-band support. Picture and sound cover Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. The voice side has been upgraded with Alexa+ and AI-powered Fire TV Search, which Amazon says helps you find what to watch across apps or manage the smart home. The Ambient Experience turns an idle TV into a display for art or photos. Cloud gaming covers Amazon Luna, Xbox Game Pass and GeForce NOW. The interface leans on Amazon's own content, which some viewers find busy, and you need a Wi-Fi 6E router on the 6 GHz band to use the fastest Wi-Fi. Amazon's US page did not show a price from our location, so its price is pending. It is the stick to pick if Alexa runs your home.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus is the cheapest way to add a good 4K streaming platform to a TV. Roku calls it its new 2025 4K device and says it replaces the Roku Express 4K+, which is no longer sold. It plays 4K with HDR10+ and HLG, and it can draw power from the TV itself through a USB-C cable, so there is no wall outlet or power brick behind the set. The voice remote controls TV power, volume and mute, and Bluetooth Headphone Mode lets you listen privately. You get the same Roku home screen, apps for Netflix, YouTube and live TV services, and 500+ free channels from The Roku Channel as on Roku's pricier players. The compromises are Dolby Vision, which it lacks, and Wi-Fi, which is basic dual-band without the long-range receiver of the Streaming Stick 4K. At $49.99 on Roku's current offer, it is the easy pick for a bedroom or kitchen TV.

Shield TV Pro is a specialist pick. Nvidia lists the Tegra X1+ processor with 3 GB of RAM, AI-enhanced upscaling to 4K at 60 FPS, Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos, plus pass-through for DTS-X and Dolby TrueHD. Two USB 3.0 ports and Plex Media Server let it store and serve a home video library, and it has Gigabit Ethernet. The remote is a strong one, with backlit buttons, an IR blaster for TV and soundbar volume, and a remote locator. GeForce NOW adds 4K HDR cloud gaming. For the people this list is aimed at, though, the hardware shows its age: it runs Android 11 with Android TV, uses 802.11ac Wi-Fi and HDMI 2.0b, and Nvidia does not list HDR10+. At $299 it costs the same as the new Apple TV 4K and three times the Roku Ultra offer. Buy it for upscaling, Plex and local files, not for a simple Netflix and YouTube box.