Category: Streaming Devices

New documentation suggests we’ll see Fire TV devices run on Android 14 That’s despite claims Amazon was moving Fire TV to a new platform A big product launch is planned for February 26 Amazon appears to be working on some new Fire TV Sticks that run on Android 14, and we could get our first good look at them before the month is out. Eagle-eyed reporters for AFTVNews spotted the mention of new hardware on one of Amazon’s developer pages, titled ‘Developing for Amazon Fire TV Devices Running Android 14’. The page opens by saying that “Android 14-based Fire TV is based on API level 34. The following sections explain some of [the] important changes that you should consider when you build apps for Android 14-based Fire TV.” There are no specific models listed, but the term ‘Android 14’ reappears on another Fire OS page, and with a big Amazon product launch only a few weeks away, we’re curious about whether a new Fire TV lineup is about to appear. We don’t yet have any Fire TV devices running on Android 14 – the version of Google’s ubiquitous operating system that launched in 2023 – and it looked like Amazon was keen to start shifting its streaming hardware onto the new Linux-based VegaOS, which runs on the latest versions of the Echo Spot and Echo Show. However, the documentation suggests that Amazon’s Fire TV streaming sticks and smart TV collaborations could still run on a version of the Android platform, and with no current devices running it, it seems likely that new ones are coming. The last Fire TV Stick was the HD model launched in 2024, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see some updates to older Fire TV hardware for the coming year. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. (Image credit: Getty Images) You, me, and Alexa The big launch event is on February 26, and is expected to showcase a next-generation, AI-powered iteration of the Alexa smart assistant – which could well be integrated into any new-for-2025 Fire TV hardware. This new Alexa should be better at understanding natural speech, and handling multiple contextual prompts in sequence – allowing for a more streamlined, conversational interaction – and even act as an AI agent to perform tasks on your behalf. These kinds of AI enhancements are still in public beta for the most part, and you may find yourself paying $5-10 dollars per month for the privilege of testing these not-yet-perfect features out. But it shows that Amazon is stepping up to the AI plate and making sure it’s part of this new frontier in smart assistants. Given how ubiquitous Alexa is across the best smart home devices, it’s something we should all take notice of. Here’s hoping the new Fire TV brings back our ability to hide apps on the homepage, though… You might also like…

Nvidia Shield’s latest update, v9.2, adds a new 3D audio format The support comes two years after Nvidia first voiced plans to do so However, there’s no sign of a new Shield TV model A new update to the Nvidia Shield TV streaming box has arrived, with software version 9.2 now rolling out to Shield TV devices with a host of new fixes and changes, reminding us that the ageing streamer may still have some life in it yet. The flashiest change is the addition of Auro-3D, a three-dimensional audio format in the vein of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Nvidia voiced its intention to support Auro-3D back in 2023, but it’s taken around two years to finally get here. Developed by Denon, Auro-3D works in a similar way to other three-dimensional formats, configured for a sense of height and surround sound immersion alongside traditional horizontal speaker arrangements. You’ll need a minimum 9.1 channel speaker setup to get the full experience, mind. The format isn’t widely supported compared to Dolby Atmos, which you’ll find on the best streaming services such as Netflix, but it’s still a contender making its way to devices, Blu-rays and other platforms – and for those with a suitable home theater system, you’ll likely want to check it out for yourself. (Image credit: Nvidia) Other changes for version 9.2 include added parental controls in French, increased security measures for 4K DRM playback, and a long list of bug fixes for video and audio playback, app launching, and smart assistant integration issues. The patch notes mention that the update will remove your Shield TV from Google Home integration, too, so make sure you reconfigure your setup if that’s something that affects you. Will there be more Shield TV hardware to come? It’s an interesting time for Nvidia’s TV streaming box. The Shield TV range first launched in 2015, with the latest Shield TV and Shield TV Pro models releasing in 2019, meaning the current hardware is getting a little long in the tooth – especially given it still runs on Android 11 rather than the latest Android 12 OS. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. As we wrote in 2024, though, the Shield TV is still an excellent streaming box, even if its updates are now few and far between. It’s a capable 4K HDR streamer for any smart TV, with countless Android apps and services, including the jam-packed GeForce Now streaming service with access to over 1,800 games. But with plenty of other streaming devices to choose from, games consoles that double as streaming boxes, and reports that Valve may be looking at creating a Shield TV competitor, and it’s hard to see how long Nvidia’s box can hold on without releasing a new hardware iteration in the near future. I can at least assure you that Matt Hanson, our Managing Editor for Computing and TR’s foremost Shield fanatic, brings it up with Nvidia literally every time he speaks to the folks there, which has been pretty damn regularly recently – so when Nvidia finally breaks and promises a new one to shut him up, you’ll know who to thank. You might also like

The big features of Sonos’ upcoming streaming box have leaked, and they sound pretty damn great, actually. The key elements are that it will have multiple HDMI passthrough ports and will act as an HDMI switch, that it will have a comprehensive range of streaming services in a unified interface, and that it will be able to send wireless audio to Sonos speakers in home theater configurations that don’t involve a soundbar at all (or can still include one, but also wirelessly). The downsides are that the software is being developed by an ad-tech company (and Sonos has a rocky reputation around software over the last year), and that it’s predicted to cost $200-$400, which is a lot if you’re looking at a living-room setup, since you then need to add all those speakers, and probably stands for the speakers, and all that jazz. But there’s a very interesting potential use case where the price downside really goes away, and the new speaker system could come into its own even more: custom home theater installs. Not everyone realizes that Sonos is actually a significant name in the world of in-wall speakers and in-ceiling speakers. These aren’t wireless, alas, but they’re designed to work seamlessly with the Sonos Amp, which knows exactly how to drive them for peak output, and can drive six speakers (three pairs) per Amp box. In the past, their use for home theater has been limited to Sonos regular Amp options: they can act as stereo TV front speakers only, or rear TV speakers when paired with a soundbar. But if the new streaming box enables more flexible speaker configurations, and can work with Sonos’ in-wall speakers connected to multiple Sonos Amps, things could get interesting. The Sonos Amp could be a secret weapon for the streaming box. Imagine one of the best projectors (which probably won’t have its own streaming tech built in) connected to a Sonos streaming box, which wirelessly sends audio out to two Sonos Amps. One is powering four in-ceiling speakers and a pair of front left and right in-wall speakers; the other is powering a pair of side in-wall speakers and a pair of rear ones. Hopefully the streaming box could also wirelessly connect to a pair (at least!) of Sonos Subs at the same time. That would be quite the Dolby Atmos setup. Is this superior to connecting an AV receiver to a load of in-wall speakers? Perhaps not, but the installation might be easier if you only need to run cabling a shorter distance to a nearby box, rather than all the way to wherever your AV receiver is. And you have the ease of use of Sonos’ TruePlay tuning, which works excellently to get everything calibrated for your room. To be clear, this is all speculation on my part – the original leaks about the ability to use speakers for wireless home theater sound said that Sonos is still evaluating exactly which options to include, and we don’t know what configurations will be available. But if Sonos makes the Sonos Amp part of the system, the Sonos streaming box could be popular for installations, where price is way less sensitive a topic than most living-room setups. But what about DTS? However, there’s something else that might put home theater enthusiasts off this whole project, and that’s Sonos’ on-going rejection of the DTS sound format. The only real competitor to Dolby (sorry Eclipsa Audio, call me when you’re supported by some actual movies!) is a big deal to home theater enthusiasts, because it’s the format of choice for so many 4K Blu-rays, and it’s also now featured on the Disney Plus streaming service. If you’ve gone to the effort of outfitting a projector and all these in-wall speakers, are you going to risk hearing the Oppenheimer soundtrack in anything less than full-power, maximum-impact DTS-HD? No, of course not, you’re not a barbarian. My Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar review would have scored it higher if it supported DTS; when it’s so common among the competition, it’s so frustrating that it’s missing. And it lacking from that soundbar worries me that it’s not coming to the streamer either. I’m worried that the Sonos streaming box could end up falling into a valley between the two different sets of people who might love it: living-room users might be put off by the price; home theater users might be put off by the lack of DTS support. Fortunately, everything we know so far is based on leaks. Perhaps the price will be a bargain in the end, perhaps it’ll support DTS and every wireless configuration known to humankind, perhaps it’ll be a total dud. I’m hoping Sonos will realize its potential for custom installs, at the very least. You might also like…

Major new information about Sonos’ much-rumored set-top streaming box has leaked via The Verge, and as a long-time Sonos user, I was borderline salivating at the promised features here – it sounds like the device I’d be dreaming of when thinking what I’d want a Sonos streaming box to be. In fact, it started sounding too good to be true, and then you get to the pricing and a reminder about the software behind it, and it starts falling apart. Let’s start with the great stuff. The box is said to be a small black square when seen from above, slightly thicker than a deck of cards – so quite similar to the Apple TV 4K. It will apparently connect to your TV, and will act as a wireless streaming hub for the best Sonos speakers, meaning that your lovely Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar wouldn’t have to be connected to your TV via a cable. We’re moving towards the era of wireless soundbars, and I’ve said before that if Sonos can’t find a way to make its soundbars go wireless with big-brand TVs, it’s doomed. But, wireless soundbar connectivity is the least interesting part of it. Apparently, Sonos will enable users to do what they’ve dreamed of for ages and have multiple wireless Sonos speakers in a separate surround configuration, with no soundbar required. The report says that Sonos is finalizing which speakers will be compatible, but basically the idea is that you could have a Sonos Era 300 to the left and right of your TV providing left and right channels as well as Dolby Atmos upfiring channels and you could have the same behind you for a 4.0.4 configuration, as an example. Add a Sonos Sub, and you’ve got meaty bass; hopefully, you could add something like a Sonos Ray as a center channel, too, because I’m not especially into these ‘virtual’ center configurations, such as the Sony Bravia Home Theater Quad offers when used with a non-Sony TV. The ability to use Sonos speakers as left and right channels is something that the hardcore users on the r/sonos subreddit ask for basically daily and Sonos has always gently resisted in response. But it sounds like we’re moving in that direction, and I would love for this to be as flexible as possible. Get ready fellas, your time to really shine is coming. (Image credit: Future) The streaming box, apparently codenamed Pinewood, is also said to offer multiple HDMI ports, which will pass video through to the TV so it acts as an HDMI switch. I love this idea as someone whose TV has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and one of them is the HDMI eARC port, meaning that a soundbar is eating up my precious 4K 120Hz space. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. It’s such a clever way for this to stand out over the Apple TV 4K (2022) or Google TV Streamer and it is a genuinely useful and unique feature. You’ll get more HDMI ports by using this product, not losing one; it’s a great value proposition and solves real problems. The final dream offering is one that I’m far more skeptical about as a claim. Supposedly, the streaming interface will offer a truly unified search, recommendations, and control interface drawn from all the best streaming services, including Netflix. Netflix is a real prickly customer to work with in this regard. It doesn’t allow something like Apple’s TV app to pull in shows you’ve been watching and let you pick them back up because it doesn’t want you to use another app as your ‘home base.’ It doesn’t like its shows to appear in universal search tools. What it wants is for you to go to Netflix for everything, where it can recommend 100% Netflix shows and movies. Could Sonos be the company that finally persuades Netflix to play nice and not be the sole center of your streaming universe? It doesn’t feel likely, but it’s possible… for reasons that bring us to the first of the big flaws of this whole affair. Premium with Ads According to The Verge’s article, the streaming box has a “beautiful” interface design, but the whole thing has been developed with an ad-tech firm. So maybe Sonos has gotten Netflix on board for its fancy interface because it’s prepared to give the streamer better data about your habits, and Netflix will compromise in exchange for making more money by showing people better ads. That’s just speculation on my part, but something would have to change things for Netflix, and the whole ad element really weighs heavily over the whole project. If the Sonos interface is full of ads, or people feel like it’s hoovering up all their data, we’ve said before that the whole streaming box endeavor feels doomed – and while that was before we knew about the promised authentic wireless surround sound and the HDMI switching, it was also when we thought the price would be $150-$200. Now, let’s get to the real problem: the rumored price of $200-$400. This is a category where Apple – Apple! – keeps its offering under $150. And if the software is indeed designed around ads, a super-premium price just isn’t going to be accepted. The likes of Google TV and Amazon Fire TV are also designed around ads. Still, the devices they’re on are generally very inexpensive, so you actually feel like the ads are subsidizing you getting something for a great value. If the Sonos streaming box comes anywhere near the $400 mark, it will be for a niche audience only when it could be something far more popular. To be fair, adding a load of HDMI ports obviously adds expense and complexity, and apparently, Sonos will include cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 for the best performance. And I also have to note that the price of four $449 Sonos Era 300 speakers with a $400 streaming box would be $2,200, which is the exact same price as the Sony Bravia Theater Quad, which would be a direct equivalent. So it’s not out of line compared to a like-for-like product at all. But it means that only the wealthier hardcore are going to be interested when otherwise, this could be so good for so many people. Here’s hoping that Sonos will bring the dream side of things that I want and will find a way to keep the price realistic – because if it can make things work, the best soundbars might be on notice from a Sonos streamer and surround combo. You might also like…

The total number of free channels is now 171 Google TV Freeplay remains exclusive to the US There’s been a recent boom in free TV with ads We’ve already seen dozens of new free-to-view channels added to Google TV during 2024, and one more update has been rolled out in time for the holidays – bringing the number of channels available to US viewers to more than 170. This latest update was spotted by 9to5Google, and should be available now if you’re using a television set or streaming device with the latest Google TV software on it. You’ll find them under the Google TV Freeplay app. The new channels are Best of Dr Phil, Xumo Free Holiday Movie Channel, Xumo Free Holiday Classics, Xumo Christian Christmas, Continuum, Z Nation, The Design Network, Filmrise: Classic TV, UFC, Unbeaten, Big 12 Studios, Waypoint TV, and PursuitUP. There are also updates for Stingray Greatest Holiday Hits, Stingray Soul Storm Christmas, and Stingray Hot Country Christmas. These new channels follow on from Designated Survivor and Places & Spaces – The Great Christmas Light Fight added in November. Keep them coming A variety of new features have been added to Google TV this year (Image credit: Google) That brings the total number of channels available in Google TV Freeplay to 171 – though as 9to5Google notes, some of them are likely to be only available over the holidays (as a few of those title channels would suggest). One channel has been removed at the same time though: it seems Motortrend Fast TV is no longer available. No doubt this chopping and changing of content is going to continue as we go through 2025 as well. We’ve seen a steady rise in the number of free ad-supported television (FAST) channels available on streaming platforms in recent years: there are hundreds more available in apps such as Plex, Tubi, and PlutoTV. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. You may remember Google TV adding extra channels in August and September of this year, as well as at other points during 2024. The software has also been given plenty of new features over the last 12 months as well. You might also like

The next Apple TV could land in 2025 with a custom Wi-Fi chip It would replace the existing chip, which is made by Broadcomm It’s a risky move, but could bring big benefits to your devices The third-generation Apple TV 4K landed over two years ago, but a successor is finally in the works according to new rumors – and it’s likely to benefit from a new Apple-made Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. The new report from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman suggests that Apple is on the brink of launching its own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, replacing those made by Broadcom that can be found in many Apple devices today. This chip will first find its way into the Apple TV 4K set-top box and the HomePod mini, Gurman claims, which will apparently both launch at some point in 2025. This type of component is vital to the Apple TV. Wi-Fi allows you to connect the set-top box to the internet in order to download shows, play games, and more. The Bluetooth connection, meanwhile, lets you pair accessories such as remotes and controllers. If successful, the new chip will enable Apple’s smart home devices to “work more closely together and potentially synchronize data more quickly,” Gurman believes. What other new features could a next-gen Apple TV get? Previous rumors have pointed to an upgraded processor like the A17 Pro (which it’d need for Apple Intelligence features). Respected analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo have also previously suggested that a new Apple TV could also hit a lower price point than the current 64GB model’s $129 / £149 / AU$219 tag. More outlandish rumors in April suggested that Apple could be planning to give a future Apple TV a built-in camera for gesture controls. That would certainly make losing its remote less annoying, but those rumors (also from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman) didn’t specify whether or not the tech might be for the next Apple TV or a future version. Full steam ahead (Image credit: Future) The Apple TV and the HomePod mini are not the only devices set for this new chip. Gurman says it will also come to the iPhone in 2025 and the iPad and the Mac in 2026. Apple is making a major push into the smart home arena and will launch new products next year, Gurman says, including a home hub with a built-in display and a home security camera, so it makes sense for it to debut a new chip for these products in the coming months. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Apple has long sought more control over the components that go into its devices. This mindset contributed to its drive to develop the chips that became known as Apple silicon, and it’s behind the company’s long-rumored switch away from Qualcomm modems in its iPhones. But the chip will bring another benefit, Gurman believes: it will be able to power “thinner iPhones and wearable technology” made by Apple. That suggests that the slimline iPhone 17 Air rumored for 2025 could be a direct beneficiary of Apple’s own chip. It’s not without its risks, though. As with the move away from Qualcomm modems, Apple will have to rely on its own largely untested technology for a critical component in its devices. The iPhone 4’s Antennagate provides ample warnings of what can happen when the wireless technology in people’s devices is disrupted. But that’s unlikely to slow Apple down. With new devices powered by Apple’s wireless chips just around the corner, we won’t have long to wait to see if they can pass muster. You might also like

Valve could be making a streaming box Hints found in the Steam Deck code No indications of a launch date yet It might be five years since the Nvidia Shield last had a refresh – see our Nvidia Shield (2019) review for details – but the device remains one of the best streaming boxes in the business. We’re now hearing it may get a new competitor, courtesy of Valve. As per a Reddit thread analyzing changes to the Steam Deck code (via XDA Developers), it looks as though the software used on the portable console could soon be adapted to run on a streaming box connected to a television. You’d then have a lightweight, versatile device that could both play games and stream video and audio to the big screen – much like the Nvidia Shield does. This is mostly speculation at this point, but we could definitely see it happening. There are references in the code to an AMD 8540U processor, though this may only be referring to a prototype device, so the configuration could change. That would certainly offer more power than the current Steam Deck specs. HDMI and Android The Valve Steam Deck (Image credit: Valve) According to the tipster who spotted the code change, extra support for HDMI control is being added – and the changes match some of the code seen on ChromeOS devices, suggesting support for both Android and web apps. Apart from that, there are no real details about what could be coming. We don’t know anything in terms of dimensions or pricing, and there’s no indication here about how long it’s going to be before the product is announced (if it ever is). Go all the way back to our Nvidia Shield (2015) review, and you’ll see that it’s always been an impressively versatile device. It’s earned itself a relatively small but loyal group of users, though we haven’t seen any signs that we’ll ever get a new model. Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content. What we did get a couple of months ago was the first software update for the Nvidia Shield in a year – though it was intended to squash some outstanding bugs on the streaming box, rather than add any new features. You might also like

Roku Ultra (2024): Two-minute review Roku Ultra (2024) home screen interface (Image credit: Future) The Roku Ultra (2024) is as capable a streaming player as I’ve yet come across, though whether it’s one of the best streaming devices will depend entirely on how you feel about Roku’s onscreen interface. I am a fan. While I’ll dig into that a little more below, I find Roku’s software (and hardware) approach one that prioritizes convenience. It’s one of the reasons there’s still a need for external streaming players even though most contemporary TVs have their own built-in smart capabilities, which are usually not all that user-friendly. The Roku Ultra (2024) is twice the price of Roku’s next most expensive streamer, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, and in the upper range of price when it comes to these types of devices. It’s still worth it, not to mention it’s ultimately not that expensive either. Plus, if you go cheaper, you could lose out on support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HLG, and HDR10+, all of which are available here. The performance is speedy and the remote is about as good a remote as I’ve personally used. All it’s missing is a passthrough HDMI that might be a benefit in certain setups. As far as the physical design, the Roku Ultra (2024) is about what one would expect from a Roku streaming player. It comes in the same matte black as all of the company’s products, with just a shiny “Roku” logo emblazoned on the top. There’s also a shiny patch on the front where its sensor resides and a little purple Roku tag on its right flank. It’s fairly slim, only an inch in height (its full dimensions are 4.9 x 5 x 1 inches), and has just one physical button on the side that offers dual functionality, with one side used for power and the other triggering the “find my remote” feature. Pressing the find my remote portion will cause the remote to ping until you press a button to indicate you’ve found it. The port selection is pretty streamlined, as is to be expected. There’s a single HDMI, an Ethernet port – Wi-Fi 6 is also available – and a USB-A port. The USB port is a nice addition as it will give you an on-unit port to charge the remote as it comes with a rechargeable battery. Regarding the HDMI, I would have liked a pass-through HDMI port. Though this feature generally isn’t found on streaming devices, it would have made it easier to use the Roku Ultra as the main hub of a setup (for instance, if you have a gaming console). On that note, if you have a relatively contemporary TV with HDMI eARC (I can’t speak to older ones), the Roku Ultra (2024) can be set up to automatically turn the TV on and off and also adjust volume levels. You don’t necessarily have to do any menu diving for this either, as it’s part of the streaming player’s setup to enable that feature. The Roku Ultra (2024) comes with a backlit remote control (Image credit: Future) Now, let’s discuss the remote. This is not my first rodeo with the Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition) that comes stock with the Roku Ultra (2024). I was a fan of the remote when I reviewed the Roku Pro Series TV and I’m a fan now. It’s only different than Roku’s other remotes on close inspection as it keeps the general shape and layout. It has a USB-C port on its butt for charging, which is an upgrade from previous rechargeable remotes that used micro-USB, a form factor I’ve had general reliability issues with. It has a toggle on one side for hands-free voice support (more on that later). The Roku Voice Remote Pro also has a couple of extra buttons on it. There’s a reprogrammable launch button that can be used if you want a shortcut to launch an app that doesn’t already have a dedicated button on the remote, or to quickly turn on/off closed captions, just for a few examples. There’s also a guide button that launches Roku’s live TV guide channel and four app-specific launch buttons for Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Prime Video. My only gripe is that these should all be reprogrammable (in a perfect world) since not everyone is going to be subscribed to those four apps. But my remote complaints start and end there, as the fact that its keypad is backlit – it will automatically light up when you pick it up – is fantastic. And the Roku hands-free functionality is nice. No longer do I have to press the “listening” button, though it’s still there, to use my voice to navigate the interface. I can just say “Hey Roku, launch Netflix” to launch Netflix. It’s not perfect that you don’t have to be very clear and concise about your requests, but it generally works very well. As far as voice assistant support goes, the Roku Ultra (2024) is compatible with Roku Smart Home, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple AirPlay and HomeKit. It also has Bluetooth support so you can pair headphones with it for late-night viewing. As far as the Roku Ultra (2024)’s performance, Roku advertises its streaming device as “30% faster than any other Roku player.” While the company doesn’t advertise what the CPU is inside or even its speed, it definitely feels very speedy. The fact that it supports Wi-Fi 6, something other Roku streaming players don’t, will in and of itself contribute to the player’s faster response. I was able to compare the Roku Ultra (2024) to the Roku Streambar for a baseline. Loading the Roku Channel on the Streambar took seven seconds and loading a movie took four. The Roku Ultra (2024) took four seconds to load the same app and one second to load the same movie. Even navigating through Roku’s interface is almost immediate. There aren’t any holes in what the Roku Ultra (2024) supports as long as you don’t care about a 120Hz refresh rate – none of the external streaming players support that at the moment, however. What you do get is Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HLG and HDR10/10+. None of the other Roku streaming players support all those formats. The next most expensive one in Roku’s lineup is missing Dolby Atmos, for instance. Lastly, we need to discuss the interface. To start, setup is easy like it always is with Roku. As long as you know your Wi-Fi password and Roku account password, all you have to do is follow the steps on the screen. Creating a new account or resetting a password (like I had to do) is easy as well. Just make sure to have access to your email for doing so. If you’ve used previous Roku devices registered to your email and had apps installed also registered to your email, those apps will automatically be installed and logged in once you’re done with the setup. As far as the interface itself, the main page with all the apps listed is easy to read and as intuitive as an interface could be. Deeper features, settings and such are all listed on the left side, including a few new ones like the dedicated “Sports” page. Getting through those is also intuitive. Everything makes sense in where they’re listed. For instance, when going to the section for remotes and devices, all external devices that you might connect would be listed here, or connected through settings here. There’s also plenty of Roku-related and free content available for those of us hurting from the ever-increasing app prices. The only slightly annoying thing is the Roku content ads on the right side of the screen or during a screensaver. I’ve always thought of Roku as a convenience-first company where making products that are easy to interact with is the priority. That’s the case with the Roku Ultra (2024), too, but in this case, performance is also a factor. Ports on the Roku Ultra (2024) include HDMI, USB-A, and Ethernet (Image credit: Future) Roku Ultra (2024): Price and release date Price: $99.99 (about £80 / AU$150) Release date: September 2024 For whatever reason, Roku’s presence outside of the US is somewhat spotty. That means, at the time of writing, those in the UK or Australia will have to just look on in envy (or invest in a capable competitor). The actual price is $99.99 (about £80 / AU$150) – at the upper price range for most streaming players outside of the Apple TV 4K – though it is already seeing discounts. That’s twice the price of the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, the next most expensive streaming-only player Roku makes (so excluding soundbars and TVs). You’ll have to decide if you care about Wi-Fi 6 support, Dolby Atmos, or the new backlit remote, which are all part of the Ultra package, but not the Streaming Stick 4K. The new Google TV Streamer (4K) goes for the same price and has the same 4K, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ support, but not Wi-Fi 6 – a probable factor in how speedy these devices function. It does have a redesigned remote from the previous Chromecast players, so it’s to be seen how it compares to the new remote from Roku.Of course, you can go a little cheaper and still keep most of the same support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Atmos with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023), though Atmos is only available on select services. While it is cheaper at $59.99 / £69.99 / AU$119 (not including its many discounts), its OS is a bit heavy on Amazon Prime material, including a bunch of related ads, so keep that in mind with the price difference. The rechargeable remote features a toggle button that lets you select the streamer’s hands-free voice command option (Image credit: Future) Should you buy the Roku Ultra (2024)? Swipe to scroll horizontally Roku Ultra (2024) Attributes Notes Rating Features Supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos and is compatible with Amazon, Google, and Apple smart home protocols 4 / 5 Performance Speedy, supports all the necessary formats like Dolby Atmos, and is easy to navigate 4.5 / 5 Design Limited ports, but an almost perfect remote and fairly slim, discreet physical design 4.5 / 5 Value Twice the price of the next highest-priced Roku streaming player, but it’s still worth it and is comparable to the competition’s highest-priced offerings 4.5 / 5 Buy it if… Don’t buy it if… Roku Ultra (2024): Also consider Luna gaming on the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023) (Image credit: Future) How I tested the Roku Ultra (2024) Used regularly for several weeks Tested with all sorts of apps Tested the remote I used the Roku Ultra (2024) regularly for several weeks. I used it with Roku content, popular third-party content like Max, as well as free offerings from the company. I also spent time using the remote and its various functions.I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test. Read more about how we test First reviewed November 2024