I have a Roku to stream Amazon Prime and a couple other channels. The UI is horrid. I always default to my Nexus Player unless I need to go to the Roku.

I got an Apple TV through DirecTV now and absolutely abhor the interface. Swiping for direction instead of arrow buttons was an awful decision and the lag and missed inputs were infuriating. About the only thing I like about it is the ability to program it to control my TV volume. But... Why are the volume buttons on the right? Every remote I've ever used, they're on the left. I always wind up activating siri by mistake when I'm trying to change the volume.

My shield is a much less frustrating, more straightforward experience. Plus, performance is better. As soon as DirecTV now is released for ATV, this Apple TV is gone.

Hope this helps....

I've been a Roku owner since the original metal box Roku, and have owned every iteration through the current Roku 4. The Roku is a no frills bare bones experience that just streams, and not much else. There has always been quality issues with their hardware, as I've had 2 of then simply stop working. I jumped ship to Android TV recently for 2 reasons: my Roku 3 died, and the replacement Roku 4 refuses to work with my 4k LG tv.

Roku says it's an LG problem, and LG says it's a Roku problem. Frustrating to say the least. I got Xiaomi Mi Box and haven't looked back. I used the Roku because it's all there was (we're an Android house, no Apple) and now that I have an Android TV box, I'm never going back. I love watching stuff in 4k, and the UI is so much better.

I'll never own an Apple TV just because of the ecosystem, but I totally get why people in that works do own them. I've usually steered people towards the Roku, but I'm changing that advice now. Spotty hardware, and a bad UI just don't cut it anymore.

I had Android built in to my Sony TV for about three months before I bought a new ATV. I found that I still needed the tv service subscription with just the Android but after a month with the ATV I was able to cut the cord and feel comfortable about it.

The ATV4 offers a lot more live streaming options with the network apps and the other thing that isn't TV related is the apps that are unconventional, like GrubHub and Gilt and AirBnB.

The innovation is in those apps, where they've included untraditional activities for the TV as apps. It works and it's strange how useful it is.

Yup, my Apple TV gets way more use than my Nexus Player. There's a few reasons one is the built in Ethernet port, so the connection is way more consistent. The app selection is a bit better and some apps seem more reliable. For over the air tv there is a great app on the Apple TV called Channels, it's expensive but really one of the better apps I've used.

but I feel that for strictly streaming in 1080p, the Apple TV and Roku win

You don't have Amazon, Vudu or Play Movies on Apple TV, Youtube app is pure trash and most importantly the dynamic range of 5.1 sound is heavily compressed regardless if the option is enabled or not in audio settings

You lose some "second tier" apps on the Shield that you can't cast or don't have a Kodi add-on, but who really gives a sh about them

After you get past the horrendous home screen, the interface is nice but I still prefer the AndroidTV ui

I'm good where I am

I'm the opposite; I've always been an Apple user (since the 90's), and the 4K Bravia I bought is my first Android device.

I've found that AndroidTV, at least in 5.x/6.x, still has a long way to go. There are a lot of usability issues, not major but a lot of strange frustrations (like having multiple storefronts for the same App Store, and playing preroll ads for toothbrushes in front of video previews for games in the store).

The app collection also seems pretty lacklustre, with all the "top ten apps" lists I've seen consisting of the same streaming apps, many US-only. No one seems to have any really interesting apps, and the few there are I already have for my AppleTV.

Compounding the frustration, browsing the Android store on the TV feels cumbersome and limiting, but browsing on the website there's no way to filter to just apps that work with AndroidTV, making the web store useless as well (and it doesn't work on iOS either, so even when I find an app I have to send the link to my laptop to download it, or manually search the store.

Topping it off, the YouTube app can only use your primary Google account but my Google account and YouTube accounts are separate, so I can't see any of my YT subscriptions, favorites, watch later, etc. (but this is an issue I've had with Google for years, the assumption that you have one, and only one, Google account, and that you use it for everything).

There are some great features in AndroidTV, but the ones that actually interest me (like profiles) aren't in the version that my Bravia has, so at this point AndroidTV for me is Netflix (for 4K content) and casting from the YouTube app on my phone or iPad, and nothing else. I'm looking forward to more updates and content, but at this point AndroidTV is just cumbersome enough for me to use my AppleTV instead whenever possible.

I think the UI on the Apple TV is much better- simpler, no noise, clean etc. The way the remote works is crap but I can use my regular remote from the Sony 850D to control it so it's not a huge issue. It's also fun to hand the game controllers off to kids and let them play apps on it.

I had an Apple TV for a while.. Hated it with passion. Not that it was bad or anything, I just didn't like it and I don't have any other Apple devices anyway and I don't use iTunes so... Never had any problem with my Nexus Player so can't complain. I'm no fanboy but I highly prefer Android TV to whatever Apple call their aTV os now. To each their own I guess

I tried the Apple TV. YouTube's app is garbage, and so is the on-screen keyboard. Overall it looks nice, but the UX is lacking.

I've owned everything but Apple TV (which I will never use). I currently have a roku express + for my daughter's TV, and I've owned a few models throughout the years. I also used to own 2 Fire TV sticks. Overall I prefer Android TV (I've owned 2 nexus players and now a Mi box). Roku has the best lineup for streaming video, but Android tv is definitly the best for gaming and as I already own lots of android apps it was an easy choice. Fire TV is okay. I am an amazon prime subscriber but I'd rather use non amazon services for the most part.

Roku is the best to own for streaming content. I wish Android TV had more (read: better) app offerings. That's all they need. Apple TV is very solid. More options than Android TV. But Roku is the best unfortunately. But I do love my MI Box

I used a Roku before I switched to Android, and still have some Roku devices in my house. I switched to the Shield mostly for the Plex server and Gamestream. Android definitely has a better user experience, but Roku's ecosystem of streaming apps can't be beat.

Due to the DirecTV Now promotions and some other circumstances I have a Fire TV Stick 2, Apple TV and the ADT-1 (Android TV dev kit).

The Apple TV is nice in some ways, annoying in others. The UI for some apps such as Youtube are really bad whereas the ability of apps (plus performance) compared to Android TV is quite nice. Plus it's great to have it as a Homekit hub to control my lights and such remotely.

The Fire TV Stick 2 for me has been my biggest surprise so far. It performs quite well and smooth (especially for such a small device) and the ability to sideload apps is quite nice as well, especially with the amount of apps the Fire TV has.

If it wasn't for the high price of the Shield and the likely chance of a refresh (as well as myself owning a Steam Link) is what's keeping me from upgrading the dev kit.