Roku's added a new quad-core processor in the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, for what it claims provide 30% faster app boot times vs. Overall, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is snappy, and fast enough - with zero glaring issues. Roku Streaming Stick 4K review: Performance I had one awkward moment with private listening via the app, though: I heard small beeps during the first few minutes of testing. Roku's added optimizations for wireless headphones this year, for reducing latency (of which I saw none) between sound and video. ![]() ![]() The Roku mobile app allows you to have private listening via whatever headphones you use. The Fire TV's Live TV grid, though, integrates with cord-cutter services such as Sling TV - a huge boon for cord-cutters like myself. This section only allows The Roku Channel's free linear TV content (which is made up of ad-supported content from names you may be familiar with, such as This Old House, ABC News Live, NBC News Now, Vice), and your mileage may vary. Roku's also allowing you to edit the grid in The Roku Channel's Live TV section, though this is where I found myself disappointed. Apple's offered this in tvOS, while the Chromecast with Google TV and Fire TV Stick 4K lack it. This is important for anyone who uses the kind of long and complicated passwords that security folks say we should use. You can now spell out email addresses, passwords and PIN numbers when logging into an app. So, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K responded quickly when I asked it to "Play Squid Games on Netflix" and to "Play Fiona Apple in Spotify." While the latter jumped straight to an appropriate playlist, the Streaming Stick 4K had me pick what episode of Squid Games to watch, which made sense.Īnd while I personally rarely ever use voice controls, the Roku OS 10.5 update gives me one feature I will use. The Streaming Stick 4K came out alongside RokuOS 10.5, which offered a bunch of updates that revolve around voice - something that those who buy the Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus with its always-listening Voice Remote Pro may appreciate more than those with the regular Roku remote in the Streaming Stick 4K. You just see a grid of the apps you have, and the search (more on that later) can help you find stuff you don't have. Both of those competitors go for a content-first approach, which feels a bit ad-heavy on Fire TV and recommendation-heavy on the Chromecast. Instead, the Roku home screen is best compared to the $50 streaming devices in its class: the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Chromecast with Google TV. We like the look and lack of ads in tvOS on the Apple TV 4K more, but that $179 device is hardly comparable to the $49 Roku Streaming Stick 4K. Roku devices have one of the best (if not the best outright) interfaces there is. Roku's also personalizing the sports section and trying to improve its Continue Watching row, to now support Discovery Plus, Prime Video and Freevee, which sit alongside HBO Max, Netflix and Paramount Plus. This update makes live local news and premium subscriptions more prominent. Roku Streaming Stick 4K review: RokuOS 12 interface and mobile appĬurrently, Roku is up to Roku OS 12, which debuted in March 2023. But, as I said before, these all just exist in the limbo behind your TV. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is a slightly larger rectangular dongle (4.3 x 1.3 x 0.5 inches) while the Chromecast with Google TV is even larger (6.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches). ![]() And I don't enjoy waiting for the Roku boot-up animation to finish, when it could just be on standby. You could opt to forego that power adapter, and plug the USB power cable into your TV, but I found that this means the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is turned off when my relatively-recent LG TV. Editor's Note: this review won't explain how much that improves things, the furthest testing can be done from our router is 8 feet away.Īlso in the box, you get the Roku Voice Remote with TV power and volume buttons (with two AAA batteries it needs), and a power adapter. But it's got a little extra in its USB power cable: a 3.3 x 0.6 x 0.3-inch long-range Wi-Fi receiver. Identical to its predecessor (the Roku Streaming Stick Plus), the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is primarily a 3.7 x 0.8 x 0.5-inch dongle with an HDMI plug that goes into the back of your TV. ![]() The Roku Streaming Stick 4K (like all streaming sticks) is designed to never be seen again.
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