Roku sells dongles at the same price point, without many other services with which to subsidize the hardware. I am sure Roku monetizes the users in the same ways as Google can, so I do not understand how Google cannot make a profit from them.
The same way Roku does not make a profit from them.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ROKU/roku/profit-m...
*enough profit
Remember that Google has sunset many products because those profits pale in comparison to search and advertising.
People just want to watch Netflix or Disney with minimum friction. A box that is twice the price of the competition, with questionably useful AI features does not seem a winning play.
This is a problem for the next exec after the one behind this has happily parachuted to his next position before the chickens come home to roost on things like "long-term costs" and "fit with the overarching corporate strategy".