Roku Unveils New Ultra Streaming Device: Faster and More Versatile Than Ever

Roku's new Ultra streamer is its fastest one yet, and the first to support all HDR formats

Roku wants to make its Ultra streaming set-top box even more Ultra; at least, that's the aim of its next-generation device. The new Roku Ultra keeps a very familiar, with basically identical build and , more importantly, keeps the $99 (about £75 / AU$145) price. The Ultra is still a simple, rounded square streaming box that comes in one color, black, though it does sport a flash of color with a purple tag displaying the Roku logo. It's all familiar on the outside, and speaks to the fact that unlike, say, the new Google TV Streamer, the Roku Ultra isn't necessarily designed to be seen. It can sit alongside the TV on a home entertainment cabinet, or just be shoved behind it. All the changes lie under the hood - and they're all centered around speed. The new Ultra is powered by a quad-core processor that Roku says was built from the ground up for "cinematic streaming," and which promises to be 30% faster than other players in the Roku lineup. It should make the Roku OS platform run smoothly and enable faster, more instantaneous application openings, but it also lets this player support more formats. With HDR10+ and Dolby Vision on board, this Ultra is the first to support all the major HDR formats - in addition to its 4K and Dolby Atmos support. This means that if you pair this with the right TV, streamed content will look especially nice. Like the Roku Ultra (2020), the Ultra still features an HDMI 2.1 port. It also supports Quick Media Switching, which should reduce slowdowns if the refresh rate changes. Inside is Wi-Fi 6 for faster streaming, assuming you have the right Wi-Fi access points. Roku uses machine learning and AI to predict what you might want to watch next, and queue up the respective app or show for a faster start to streaming. It keeps an Ethernet port for a wired connection as well. If you want to listen privately, you can now connect a pair of the best Bluetooth headphones to the Roku Ultra. This levels the playing field with the Apple TV 4K and the Google TV Streamer, and it's a long-awaited and welcome addition. In the box, you get Roku's second-edition Voice Remote Pro, which keeps an ergonomic design and buttons for easy TV control, including power and volume. All of the buttons are now backlit, and there are two new ones. The Quick Launch button is shaped like a rocket ship and gives you easy access to shortcuts, such as engaging closed captions or opening your favorite streaming service. The other addition is a Live TV button, which gives you access to all over 400 channels that are available for free. Perhaps the biggest change is the Voice Remote Pro second-edition gaining a USB-C port for easy re-charging. It still has a speaker built in for easy locating it should get lost in between the couch cushions. The new Roku Ultra features a dedicated button to ping the remote, as on the Google TV streamer. Lastly, the remote again has a microphone, so that you can easily control your Roku Ultra with your voice. Roku is taking orders now for the new Roku Ultra at $99 in the United States and Canada. It will be available from additional retailers in the coming weeks, and we've contacted Roku for comment on whether it will launch in additional territories. We'll be back soon with our full review of the Roku Ultra, as soon as we're done testing the streaming box to see how well it stands up against our current best streaming devices. Roku also teased some software enhancements and feature drops arriving in the coming weeks as part of Roku OS 14. Building off the voice control functionality enabled by the Voice Remote Pro, Roku will eventually let you access a laundry list of settings with your voice. Teased was the ability to adjust home screen tiles, check for software updates, and even switch to a guest mode. Additionally, Roku is focusing more on content for families and children, with a new spot on the home screen that should make finding family-friendly content easier, including adding familiar characters including the Cat in the Hat and Peppa Pig to the home screen tiles. The Roku app for Android and iOS is also getting a bit more powerful. It lets you keep your TV controls while browsing for content on the same screen. You can also search for content here, then make the call and have it start playing on your Roku streaming player or Roku-connected TV. Roku isn't giving a specific timeframe for the rollout of these features, but says the software improvements will arrive in the coming months.

A newer, faster Roku Ultra rolls out for 2024 | Digital Trends

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us? There aren't many devices that have a through line going back nearly a decade. But the Roku Ultra is one of them. And eight years after its debut (its lineage really goes back much farther than that, though), we have a new Roku Ultra for 2024, some three years after its last update. On paper, this appears to be a fairly typical Roku rollout, with the workhorse streaming device seeing iterative updates across the board. Faster processor. Faster app launches. Better wireless networking. Improved remote control. And improved compatibility with Roku's own budding smart home accessories lineup. Recommended Videos And, of course, there are all the superlatives you've come to expect from any company's launch. Best. Fastest. Unmatched. Says Roku itself in its blog post announcing the new streamer: "We've developed a device that has it all. Our new 2024 Roku Ultra is our most powerful player to date, a culmination of years of listening to our customer feedback and leveraging our streaming expertise." There's no denying that -- it's basically what Roku has done with every device every couple years. Slow and steady improvements to capitalize on a consumer base that just wants something that works, and doesn't want to pay a whole lot for it. And on that front, the new Roku Ultra has a retail price of $99, which puts it right in line with the new Google TV Streamer, and a good bit below the Apple TV 4K, which we still consider to be the best streaming device you can buy. Roku says the new device has a quad-core processor that is "purpose-built for cinematic streaming," though, presumably, you can also stream things that are not cinematic. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (no word yet on other standards like HLG), as well as Dolby Atmos for audio. And Roku says it's "30% faster than other Roku players," but that's probably a bad comparison given that it's supposed to be better than every other Roku player. But it does say that "content loads quicker, navigation is more fluid, and streaming feels snappier." And, of course, we couldn't get through this without a nod to AI or machine learning -- Roku says this new device will learn what app it thinks you're going to open next and get it ready to go in the background. Arguably as important is the updated networking stack. The new Roku Ultra supports Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax. How much of a difference that makes will depend on your home network and ISP, of course, but it's good to see the hardware keeping relatively close to the bleeding edge. And this new Roku Ultra comes with the second-edition Roku Voice Remote Pro -- the one with USB-C recharging and one-button lost remote finder capability, along with backlit buttons. The new Roku Ultra is available now from Roku and will hit other retailers in the coming weeks.