Roku on Monday announced a couple of new streaming devices, the Streaming Stick 4K and Streaming Stick 4K+. Launched just before the holiday shopping season, the new devices offer a plethora of new features and enhanced functionality. Roku’s existing products have always been easy recommendations as some of the best streamers in their respective price-brackets, and the company will be hoping that the new devices will carry forward that legacy in the coming weeks and months.
The launch of the new streaming devices from Roku comes barely weeks after Amazon introduced an updated Fire TV lineup including its own TVs for the first time. Amazon’s latest lineup additions are the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and the 4-Series and Omni Series smart TVs with support for both HDR10 and HLG content standards. While Amazon’s streaming devices run a forked version of Android called Fire OS, Roku devices run a custom Linux distribution called Roku OS.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Streaming Stick 4K+ come with a plethora of improvements over their predecessors, including a new quad-core processor that the company claims offer a 30-percent faster boot time. The streaming devices will also ship with a redesigned long-range Wi-Fi receiver, as well as support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. As for the Streaming Stick 4K+, it will include the Roku Voice Remote Pro with a rechargeable battery and a lost-and-found alarm that will enable users to easily locate the remote should it get misplaced.
Roku OS 10.5 Will Start Rolling Out Soon
Alongside the streaming sticks, Roku also announced that it will start rolling out Roku OS 10.5 to all compatible devices in the coming weeks. The new operating system, which will be an upgrade over Roku OS 10, will offer enhanced voice search with support for passwords, PINs, and other login credentials. With Roku OS 10.5, voice search will also support music, podcasts, and video podcasts as part of the company’s efforts to offer a more integrated experience across the Roku platform. Spotify is the launch partner for the new feature, with millions of podcasts and over 70 million available tracks.
Roku is also improving the audio experience by adding support for 3.1 and 5.1 channel stereo configurations for Roku speakers. This will enable the Streambar or Streambar Pro to be used as the center channel alongside additional wireless Roku speakers for the 3.1 or 5.1 experience. Finally, Roku also announced a new version of the Walmart-exclusive Roku Ultra LT set-top box. The new version comes with expanded storage, longer Wi-Fi range and strength, as well as support for Dolby Vision, which was previously only available on the Roku Ultra.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is available for pre-order on Amazon for $49.99, while the Streaming Stick 4K+ is priced at $69.99. The Streaming Stick 4K will start shipping on October 14, while the Streaming Stick 4K+ will hit retail shelves across the US on October 17. As for the new Roku Ultra LT, it will be available in the coming weeks at Walmart priced at $79.99.
