Roku 4 has officially come out this week as scheduled and aside from being a 4K-ready streaming media player, the device also comes with HBO NOW as the biggest and highly-anticipated addition to its channel lineup.
While the Roku platform has a robust lineup of programming options with its 3,000 apps and channels, the addition of HBO NOW has certainly raised the current offering of the streaming device to a whole new level, notes Tech Crunch.
HBO NOW requires a subscription of $14.99 per month and it allows viewers to watch all of HBO’s content, including original series, past and present, such as the very popular “Game of Thrones” as well as movies, sports, events, documentaries, specials, among others.
However, Roku 4 users, as well as other streaming device from Roku, will be able to try out the new channel for free for 30 days and decide from there whether they want to purchase the subscription which they can do so via their Roku device.
A hit with consumers
Jeff Dallesandro, senior vice president of Worldwide Digital Distribution and Business Development of HBO, said in a statement that HBO NOW is a hit among consumers and they are thrilled to make the channel available to millions of Roku customers.
He added that by partnering with streaming leader such as Roku, HBO is greatly extending the reach of its service as they usher in the next phase of innovation for their network.
HBO NOW is also a strategy of HBO to compete head-on more broadly with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, while reaching the increasing number of American households who have joined the bandwagon of cord-cutters. These are consumers who have done away with TV subscriptions entirely.
HBO is also doing a similar strategy in Latin America by making available the content from the HBO/Max premium channels available to broadband-only subscribers for the first time through a new HBO Go digital service which will be officially rolled out in Columbia very soon.
Making it tough for consumers to choose
With the release of the Roku 4, which came out at the heels of the release of Apple TV last month, the competition has made it tougher for consumers to choose what new streaming box that they will be buying in the market these days.
In terms of the amount of space to be taken up by the streaming device on one’s entertainment center, Roku 4 is significantly bigger than Apple TV because it is three times larger than the latter.
Roku 4 takes the advantage over the Apple TV when it comes to the visuals because it can stream 4K content at a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 as well as upscale standard HD to 4K. Apple TV has a resolution of ‘only’ 1080 pixel, notes Cult of Mac.
The toss-up between Roku 4 and Apple TV will be in their remotes although it seems that one has the advantage over the other in some aspects. The controller of Roku 4 includes a headphone port for private viewing but those who opt to have a wireless headphone connection by pinging it from a button on top of the box. 
The remote controls of both streaming box have voice interface, but Apple TV runs a version of iOS’s personal assistant, Siri. It also has cool features that allow users to make specific requests to Siri including rewinding a show and turning on caption with a single voice command.
In terms of price, Roku 4 enjoys a clear advantage as it came out with a retail price of $129.99, contrary to previous reports that it will cost around $150 when it hits the market.
Apple TV has two versions and they are priced according to storage. The 32GB model retails for $149 while the 64GB variant comes with a price of $199.
When the American tech giant unveiled the new Apple TV last month, it was touted to become the new benchmark among streaming devices thereafter.