![]() ![]() Roku has long had a really cool feature on its higher-end players: A headphone jack built into the remote control itself. You can use the Roku app on your phone for private headphone listening with any Roku player Sarah Tew/CNET Best for private listening via headphones: Roku Still, if you own a Google speaker already and want to use it for TV control, Fire TV isn't an option. Roku players work in the same way with Alexa and Google Home/ Google Nest speakers but not as well - you have to remember to say "Roku" at the end of every command ("OK, Google, launch Hulu on Roku"). Say "Alexa, watch Roma" and Fire TV launches Netflix and starts playing the movie, for example. , you can do pretty much everything hands-free on Fire TV (no remote required) with standard Alexa commands. Alexa's voice also talks back through the TV's speakers. ![]() Most Roku players also offer voice remotes using Roku's own voice system, but the cheapest models lack that feature.īoth voice systems let you easily search, launch apps and control playback (fast-forward, pause, etc.) via voice, but Fire TV also lets you do everything Alexa does, including control smart-home devices, get a weather report and answer questions, complete with on-screen results. If you care about using voice control to find TV shows and movies, Fire TV wins.Įvery Fire TV device from the Lite on up has Alexa voice capability built into the remote. Sarah Tew/CNET Best for voice: Fire TV with Alexa Want to watch TV hands-free, commanding the TV with just your voice? Fire TV + Alexa speaker, like this Echo Dot, works better than Roku + Google Assistant/Alexa. It gets to the apps and shows want quickly, without filling the screen with other junk. There are really just two major reasons.īetter menus. Roku's no-nonsense menu system places the apps front-and-center and lets you arrange them however you please, just like on your phone. Our go-to recommendation is Roku over Fire TV. So which one's better? Best overall: Roku Both have multiple models, starting with basic streamers up to 4K-compatible versions with voice control built into the remotes. ![]() , so you can ditch the remote that came with your TV if you aren't bouncing around to other inputs. Both (except for the cheapest Rokus) offer remotes with TV volume and power buttons to control most.The latest models of Roku and Fire TV are pretty much equally quick, responsive and reliable as long as you have a solid internet connection.Most apps look and behave basically the same on both. Both have access to thousands of TV apps, including all of the major ones.Both are super-affordable, starting at $30 for their cheapest players, and they often go on sale for less.Kids can't install anything without their guardian's permission, though they simply request using the digital store, and it's up to the parent to approve or deny it. There's also a digital store with a list of available apps for the user to browse. In combination with parental controls, you can even give your youngsters permission to stream PG-13 movies. The Kids HD 8 Pro has a lot of these same features but offers significant enhancements for your older children through an expanded content library. It's also worth noting that Amazon continually manages this handpicked website selection, adding new sites that meet specific kid-friendly criteria and removing ones that are unsuitable for young users. Parents can even turn off browser access entirely and limit use to locally installed apps. ![]() In other words, if you want to disable common search websites like Google, it's no problem to do so. Parents can easily add more websites or block any that are already approved using a simple browser option. Instead of unrestricted access to the internet, the tablets allow youngsters to access only a curated selection of websites via a specially designed, proprietary browser. The Fire HD 8 Kids tablets' limitations are also their selling points. ![]()
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