What makes the Apple TV desirable? It’s $185. Why would I choose it over a Roku $30 or Ultra $80?
It doesn’t suck.
High end model is $150 (US). Very fast and yes Apple gets some of your info but it's not getting resold to advertisers and 3rd parties. Generally speaking doesn't require adware to keep the price low.
It's a lot faster.
The rest of these Roku/Amazon/Google devices are full of advertising and underpowered hardware that results in cluttered and laggy interfaces. The Apple TV interface is completely free of advertising, responsive, and easy to navigate.