Are you tired of seeing ads every time you turn your Roku on? Sadly, those ads likely aren’t going anywhere. That’s why I’m extremely happy in my choice to stick to using an Apple TV, because Apple at least respects my devices and doesn’t plaster ads everywhere.
It’s no secret that Roku has a problem with ads. There are ads everywhere in the Roku interface.
Just a few months ago,Roku actually tested autoplaying an ad on device start upbefore you reach your home screen. Gross. In May,Roku introduced Pause Ads, turning your pause screen into an advertising billboard.
These are just a few of Roku’s outrageous advertising strategies, which, sadly, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
You see, Roku’s hardware is actually a loss-leader for the company. In itsQ1 2025 shareholder letter, Roku stated that the company took a $19.3 million dollar loss on hardware and devices, while making a $464.3 million dollar profit on advertising.
That comes out to a 13.8% loss on the hardware, and a 52.7% profit on the advertising side of things. Roku doesn’t care how cheap its hardware is, because the company makes all of its revenue from advertising.
This is why Roku is getting so aggressive with placing ads everywhere they can—they need the profit. Without it, the company couldn’t stay afloat. The thing is, advertising these days is more than just showing a random ad on your screen. It’s almost always based on your watch history, preferences, or some other tracked metric.
Because of this, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Roku back down on its advertising anytime soon (if ever). If anything, I expect them to double down and continue to push advertising in every area they possibly can.
Apple’s Privacy-Focused Stance
One of Apple’s pillars of value isits stance on privacy. Whether you trust them or not, Apple touts its privacy stance as a core belief in the company. This is a driving principle that directs how Apple operates in a number of ways—with one of those ways being how the Apple TV functions.
While Roku blatantly plasters ads all over its platform, Apple goes the opposite way and doesn’t have a single ad. Why? Well, one of the reasons is that there’s an ongoing debate on whetherads are an invasion of privacyor not.
If an ad is based off my watching habits, then that means the company has to be tracking my watching habits and sharing those habits with third-parties. The third-party companies then use that data to curate which ad they think I’d most likely respond to.
Ads can be seen as a huge privacy risk when it comes to the content you consume, and Apple takes a stance that they’d rather not focus on collecting and sharing your data with other companies, as is evident aspointed out by Ars Technicain its article about how Apple TV is a go-to streaming device for privacy advocates.
Apple Values One-Time Purchase Over Intrusive Ads
While Roku sells low-cost streaming media players and uses ads to make up the revenue, Apple has a different approach.
It’s no secret that Apple TV streaming boxes are among the most premium streaming media players out there. With only two models available, you’ll have to pay either $129 or $149 for an Apple TV.
Consideringyou’ll only pay $30 for a base model Roku, and up to $100 (though frequent sales drop them to $80) for the top-tier models, and Roku is a bargain by comparison.
Apple is going for the one-time purchase option to recoup its costs instead of taking a hit on the revenue. It’s possible that Apple TV isn’t a huge moneymaker for Apple, but it makes enough that they don’t have to worry about relying on ads to simply turn a profit.
The thing is, privacy isn’t the only thing you give up for ads on your streaming media player. My Apple TV has an extremely clean interface with no ads anywhere (unless the service that I’m using has ads in it, which is outside of Apple’s control).
This means I won’t have an ad interrupt me when I turn my media player on. I won’t have to deal with ads plastered all over the home screen, taking up a button where an app used to be. And I surely won’t have to look at ads on the pause screen of the movie I’m watching.
Apple TV 4K
Immerse yourself in stunning 4K HDR with Apple TV 4K. Stream your favorite content with exceptional clarity and color, powered by the A15 Bionic chip. Enjoy seamless access to apps, games, and Apple Originals, all with the convenience of Siri voice control and personalized recommendations.
At the end of the day, I’m extremely happy in my choice to go with an Apple TV over anything from Roku. Roku is fine if you need a budget streamer, but even if you pay a low price for the streamer itself, you’ll be paying long-term in the overall experience of the device.
Roku’s latest intrusive ads could be just the beginning, and I really don’t want to see where their advertising-driven profit goals take them next.
