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Faced with a series of practical cable cutting solutions offered by its competitors, Comcast decided to change its strategy. The company has just announced Xfinity Flex, a small box that allows you to stream 4K HDR content (including free content) from your favorite channels via a selection of apps. You can even use voice commands like "Play Game of thrones. "The service costs $ 5 a month. And if that sounds a lot like a more disgusting version of Roku, it's a more disgusting version of Roku.
Well, there is a huge difference. To use the new Xfinity Flex service, you will not only have to pay $ 5 a month to rent the equipment and pay for the service. You will also need to use an Xfinity Gateway xFi gateway. The Comcast Modem will also rent you a monthly subscription, which will probably cost about $ 10 a month. Comcast adds that the voice remote that comes with Xfinity Flex will also allow you to control other devices connected to your home – cameras, security systems, Xfinity mobile phones – as long as Comcast has sold or rented them.
That's at least $ 15 a month for this new cable-cutting solution that keeps you connected to the country's biggest cable operator. But wait, there is more. "Flex will also offer customers the ability to instantly and instantly switch to an X1 video service directly from the guide," Comcast said in an email. In other words, you may soon be able to enjoy more content for even more money.
It is now time to point out that virtually all the features offered by the Xfinity Flex system already exist on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. These devices are not accompanied by a monthly service fee. You can actually buy a Roku Premiere, which also streams 4K HDR content (some of which are free), for a one-time payment of $ 40. And then you own it! Heck, even a $ 180 Apple TV seems cheap compared to a $ 15 monthly subscription until infinity.
That's not to say that Xfinity Flex is a trick, of course. People who are already invested in the Xfinity ecosystem will have no problem paying a bit more for an Xfinity decoder specifically designed to work with the rest of their Xfinity products. As Matt Strauss, executive vice president of Comcast, said in a statement, "some customers".
Could they do things like watching Game of thrones or control a camera at home without paying monthly fees? Absolutely, and that's what's so interesting in the current state of connected technology. You can buy equipment, like a Roku, and customize it as you please. Some apps, like HBO, require a subscription, but you can still do a lot with the device for nothing but the price of the box. It should probably be noted here that Comcast will always charge you an additional fee for HBO content, even if you already pay a fee for the device that will broadcast it.
We have not tested the Xfinity Flex system, so we will reserve our judgment until then. In the meantime, we contacted Comcast to find out how the new Xfinity Flex is different from a Roku, an Amazon Fire TV or an Apple TV. We also asked which applications were selected and whether customers could simply buy the Xfinity Flex and use it as a standard box. The company did not really answer our questions, but a spokesperson said it would "continue to add free and subscription-based streaming programming choices to the service."
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