This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.
Roughly 10 years ago, someone told me that Roku was making "cheap hardware to sell to Walmart customers in flyover states." The remark was meant to be an insult, belittling a company that seemed to care more about hardware profit margins than design and innovation.
Still, I've been thinking about it a lot over the years. And as Roku became a major force in streaming hardware, surpassing 100 million households last month, I've come to the conclusion that Roku's secret superpowe …
