On Wednesday, Roku revealed two new streaming devices at an event in New York City. The company says its Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus are the most compact on the market, measuring 35 percent smaller than other brands’ models, so they shouldn’t prevent you from hooking other devices into nearby HDMI ports. However, Roku says there’s no compromise on performance despite the small size.
The entry-level Streaming Stick costs $30 and knocks the wedge-shaped Roku Express out of the company’s lineup. Like the older model, it’s a 1080p player aimed at folks who just want a cheap way to add streaming apps to a slower TV. It has many of the features you’d expect from a Roku device, such as personalized recommendations, access to thousands of streaming channels, Apple AirPlay support, a voice-enabled remote (something the Express lacked) and Backdrops — a way to display art and photos on your TV when you’re not streaming anything. It makes a few significant sacrifices to hit its low price, though: There’s no HDR whatsoever, and Wi-Fi connectivity is limited to a barebones 802.11 b/g/n, not even the old Wi-Fi 5 standard.
The $40 Streaming Stick Plus, meanwhile, replaces the Roku Express 4K+. Naturally, this has all of the features of the Streaming Stick, plus support for 4K streaming, HDR and Wi-Fi 5. That said, it still lacks Dolby Vision HDR and a longer-range Wi-Fi radio — for those, you need the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which will remain at the top of Roku’s streaming stick lineup at $50. Roku notes the small size of the new sticks makes it easy to bring either with you when you travel, so you can plug one into a TV at your hotel or vacation rental and keep watching your shows. The company says the new devices can be powered directly by the USB port on most TVs as well.
The Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus are coming to the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. US pre-orders are open today and the sticks will become available from Roku directly and major retailers on May 6.
Beyond that, the company previewed new TVs with “under-the-hood enhancements.” Roku is promising richer and more vivid visuals, along with improved audio quality and faster app launches in its 2025 lineup. The company pledged to deliver custom factory calibration for its top-end Roku Pro Series models, along with more local dimming zones and better bass response from the built-in speakers.
The middle-tier Roku Plus Series TVs are getting a feature called Roku Smart Picture Max, which automatically adjusts picture settings on a scene-by-scene basis to help you avoid fiddling in menus more than you need to. (Previously, this was limited to the Pro models.) The Plus Series will also come with mini-LED backlighting with the aim of improving contrast without increasing prices. The built-in remote finder button and integrated cable management that were first introduced with the Pro Series will be there as well. The budget-level Roku Select Series TVs, meanwhile, will support Bluetooth headphones for remote listening and include a new 85-inch model.
Roku also announced software updates, which it claims will make streaming on Roku OS “smoother and more personalized.” Meanwhile, revamped content discovery features include personalized sports highlights and a “Coming soon to theaters” row for movies. (Hey, cinemas need all the help they can get.) There’s a new daily trivia game, too, and the oddly popular “Roku City” screensaver will now be available through its own tile if you don’t want to wait for your screen to timeout. The aforementioned Backdrops feature is also coming to all Roku TVs and streaming devices in Canada starting today.
The updates come as Roku has received pushback from some users over its approach to ads built into Roku OS. Last month, for instance, Ars Technica reported that the company had started testing auto-playing video ads that run before a user reaches their home screen. At the event in NYC, Roku ad marketing head Jordan Rost declined to confirm whether the company plans to implement that particular feature on a permanent basis, saying generally that decisions like those are based on the data and feedback it receives from its users and advertising partners.
Elsewhere, a patent filing unearthed by Lowpass last year suggested that Roku had explored ways of displaying ads on third-party devices connected to Roku TVs. When asked about that, Rost reiterated that the company is focused on ad experiences in Roku OS specifically right now.
