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Roku OS’s home screen now features a large, permanent ad
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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Roku is another prime example of enshitification.
Now I have all my "smart" TVs disconnected, and I hooked up some inexpensive Android TV boxes (with a couple minor modifications). No more ads!
Enshitification is just business doing business. It suck as much value as it can out of anything it touches until it's barely worth it then just let's the quality hover there. They call it "the price the market will bare", also known as, giving as little value as possible.
Everytime something turns to shit it's because the business side of the endeavor has started making the decisions.
can you go into detail on the boxes and your mods? interested in getting some of my family off of Roku for this reason
I got some cheap ONN boxes, Which seem like the best value for true Android TV devices. If you have the funds NVIDIA Shield TV is probably the way to go.
It's possible to skip the Walmart account login at setup, but probably not possible to skip the Google account sign-in (let me know if you find a way!).
Setting up side-loading is trivial, although largely unnecessary. I loaded Stremio, Jellyfin, and a VPN for better streaming experience and control. I replaced the default home screen with Projectivy Launcher. You don't need to go into ADB shell or anything like that. There are also other home screen launchers that fix the major problems with the default GoogleTV screen; Emotin UI (closed source), FLauncher (dormant), Leanback Launcher, ATV Launcher (closed-source).
There are lots of options for web browsing, File Explorer, on-device media, stores, etc. that are easily available.
So how long before ONN gets enshitified?
Always a concern. They will eventually require a Walmart account I guess. I'll have to remember to disable updates.
very neat! thanks!
I would love to exit the Roku ecosystem. I don't use any Apple products and I'm not interested in starting.
It's amazing how there are really no open-source products in this category of devices.
Well... People have been doing this with Raspberry Pis and Kodi forever. Add a bluetooth remote and you basically have an open source streaming box. You could even install LineageOS and run all of the android apps you want.
Agreed, but are there any realistic alternatives in the android space to firestick and roku?
I'm also curious what you ended up with