Entertainment tech company Roku has updated its portfolio of streaming sticks with its new additions for 2025, which equal two new dongles that upgrade your TV set into a smart TV.
Meet the Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick Plus — yes, very literal names — which are the company's new rivals to the best Amazon Fire TV Sticks that come at affordable prices yet with some useful features.
The Roku Streaming Stick and its sibling bring some upgrades to their predecessors and a range of features at an affordable price, making them a tempting option when they come out later in the year.
Curious? Here's everything you need to know about the Roku Streaming Stick & Streaming Stick Plus.
Roku Streaming Stick specs at a glance
Metric | Streaming Stick | Streaming Stick Plus |
|---|---|---|
Price | $29.99 / £29.99 | $39.99 / £39.99 |
Video output | 1080p | 4K |
Voice assistants | Siri, Google, Alexa | Siri, Google, Alexa |
Weight | 26g | 26g |
Remote | Voice remote with TV controls | Voice remote with TV controls |
Roku Streaming Stick price
- Streaming Stick: $29.99 / £29.99
- Streaming Stick Plus: $39.99 / £39.99
The Roku Streaming Stick will set you back $29.99 / £29.99, which really isn't that much compared to rivals. And you only have to pay $10 or £10 more for the Streaming Stick Plus, which goes for $39.99 / £39.99.
For context the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD sells for $34.99 / £39.99 while the Fire TV Stick 4K goes for $49.99 / £59.99 so Roku undercuts the competition in a big way.
Roku Streaming Stick release date
- Out Tuesday, May 6 in US
- Pre-orders open now
- Out June in UK
If you live in the US, you can pre-order the Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus right now. They're due to be shipped on Tuesday, May 6, which is also the date that they'll go on sale widely.
In the UK, the streaming sticks are due to be released some time in June, and we'll update you when we get an exact date.
Roku Streaming Stick video features
- Streaming Stick: 1080p video
- Streaming Stick Plus: 4K video
The key difference between the Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus is in the video output that both supprots.
The Roku Streaming Stick can output video at 1080p or Full HD, which is the definition that most streaming services offer on their basic tiers. HD TVs used to be the most commonly-used sets until recently.
The Roku Streaming Stick Plus outputs its video at 4K, or Ultra HD. This is a resolution which many streaming services offer in their higher-tier packages, though some do in their standard ones. Nowadays, most TVs you'll see on sale are 4K ones.
You can also watch content in HDR on supported devices with the Plus streaming stick.
Roku Streaming Stick audio features
- Commercial-quieting feature
- No Dolby support
The headline audio feature of the Roku Streaming Sticks is that they automatically reduce the volume on loud commercials. Given how loud some adverts can be, and how frequently you see advertising on TVs (especially streaming services), this is a really useful feature.
However audio fans might miss the lack of support for Dolby features, like Dolby Atmos or Dolby Audio. These are features Roku only offers in its top-tier devices (and not even on its soundbar) unlike Amazon which offers them widely.
Roku Streaming Stick software
- All major streaming apps supported
- Plenty of live channels
- Includes free The Roku Channel
Like Roku's other streaming devices, the Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus both use the company's home-brewed software: Roku OS.
This offers all the streaming services you'd want like Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and plenty more. It also lets you get access to its own free streaming service called The Roku Channel which is a big reason you might pick a Roku device over a rival one.
Roku OS also lets you watch live channels (the exact line-up will depend on your region) and sports (again, depending on where you live).
If you have a smart home consisting of other Roku products, you can also use Roku OS to see what's happening on your smart doorbell, and another useful feature is the ability to use your phone as a remote.
Roku Streaming Stick remote
- Unchanged remote from past Rokus
- Several useful buttons
Roku is offering the Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus with the same remote that its last few streaming sticks have used, so don't expect anything new.
This remote has a few useful features. These include voice controls, quick buttons to open four different apps (the exact apps depend on region) and an instant replay button.
You power the remote with two AAA batteries.
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