Roku Streaming Stick 4k Plus Review
If you’ve used a Roku device before, you’ll easily be able to navigate the remote. It’s built from a black plastic, and it’s a little thinner than the Voice Remote Pro, which comes with the Streaming Stick 4K+. The device does away with the headphone jack and the microphone mute switch that you’ll get with the more expensive device, along with the two programmable buttons. Hailing originally from Montana, Ryan parlayed his time working as a musician and audio engineer into a career in digital media in 2013. Since then he's had extensive experience as a writer and editor, including everything from op-eds and features to reviews on TVs, audio gear, smart home devices, and more. If you want the absolute best streaming remote, though, you'll want the next step up.
Roku says there should be no difference in audio quality here, so it didn’t pay for the fees. Dolby Atmos movies sounded just as good from the Streaming Stick 4K on my system as they did from my Atmos-certified Apple TV 4K. Use the voice remote to ask for comedy or science fiction, for instance, and you'll land on a page full of movies and shows to check out.
The Streaming Stick 4K doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6 since Roku believes better Wi-Fi 5 performance would benefit more people who don’t want to replace their router . One thing I did appreciate is the memory management of the Streaming Stick 4K. I was able to jump between multiple apps without having to reload them from scratch. You probably don’t watch TV by jumping between apps all the time, but it does equate to faster browsing when you’re looking for something to watch between apps.
Jared Newman / IDGRoku's home screen puts all your apps within easy reach. If you want to buy a streaming player without overthinking it, just get the new Roku Streaming Stick 4K. However, if you have any model from, say, the last three years, you probably won’t see much of a performance boost here.
On top of all that, the remote lacks the TV controls for power and volume that have become standard features over the past year. There’s now a vast selection of content using the HDR format across popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Vudu (which is now Roku’s default rental store), and others. And the Streaming Stick 4K played it all back without any problems — not that I’d expect otherwise. During my time with the unit so far, I didn’t run into any overheating issues that the Streaming Stick Plus could occasionally be susceptible to.
Running the test records a series of color flashes on your TV and sound to measure the delay. What’s better is that multiple people can participate in Bluetooth Private Listening. This is a great feature for partners who want to watch their favorite show at night without disturbing their children. I was able to stream content from Disney+, Apple TV+, and Netflix all in Atmos. I confirmed this from the Sonos app for my Arc soundbar, which always indicated the audio output format. The Roku Streaming Stick 4K isn’t going to change the way you use Roku if you’re a current Roku user.
HDR10 Plus is more of a factor if you have a Samsung TV and it’s still more limited in content selection. During my time with the device so far, I did not encounter any overheating issues that the Streaming Stick Plus could occasionally be prone to. Also keep in mind that Roku’s players now support Apple’s AirPlay 2, making it easy to play content on the device from an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
I can’t say that I pay attention to it on most streaming devices, but the software loaded up rapidly. I don’t have much new to say about the Roku interface, which has basically remained the same for several years now. The Home screen is populated by apps represented in square roku streaming stick 4k 4k+ 2021 boxes, much like the Apple TV 4K — though the Streaming Stick 4K Plus is much cheaper than that $179 device. Pick an HDCP2.2-certified HDMI 2.0 input and the Roku stick will support video all the way up to 4K at 60fps. Register your Streaming Stick+ on Roku’s website and from here, and you can select apps (or ‘channels’) to download to your device. In addition to the plentiful apps, one thing I like about Roku players is that the company regularly updates its software with new features and capabilities.