Because the two platforms handle apps differently at a basic level. Android-based boxes and sticks let you sideload an app file directly, which is how some player apps end up on devices that never officially supported them. Apple TV doesn't work that way: what you can run comes from Apple's own store, full stop, so a recommendation that assumes you can just sideload a Reddit-favorite player app onto Apple TV is giving advice for a different platform. Confirm the app is actually available for your device before you build a plan around it.

The service does. A player app like the ones commonly recommended for IPTV is a login screen and an interface, nothing more; it connects to a subscription line and displays whatever that line delivers. That's an important distinction because it means switching apps on the same device, or moving from Apple TV to a phone, doesn't change what you're watching, only how it looks. It also means the quality of your experience traces back to the provider behind the subscription, not to which app happens to be popular in a given thread.

Three things, in order: that a compatible player app is actually available for your Apple TV, how many devices and simultaneous streams your plan allows, and how long activation takes so you're not stuck waiting during setup. A plan supporting 1 to 5 simultaneous connections and unlimited installs across devices means the same subscription can run on your Apple TV and a phone without paying twice. Activation running around 5 minutes matters if you're setting this up right before something you want to watch, since you don't want to be troubleshooting a login screen during the opening minutes of a live event.

It doesn't change the price. A plan running $10 a month on a 12-month term, working out to $120 total, costs the same whether you're watching on Apple TV, a Firestick, or an Android TV box, because you're paying for the subscription line, not the hardware. What does change by device is which player app you need and whether that app is officially available or requires a workaround, which is the piece most device-specific Reddit threads skip. If a thread recommends switching hardware to fix a streaming problem, ask first whether the issue is really the device, or the plan running on it.