Roku Upgrades Ultra, Announces New Streambar
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 28, 2020
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Roku today announced a new Roku Ultra set-top box and a new, less expensive soundbar called the Roku Streambar.
“We are focused on delivering a variety of innovative, top-performing products at an incredible value to our customers so they can get to the content they care about quickly,” Roku vice president Mark Ely wrote in a prepared statement. “Our new streaming player lineup now includes reimagined streaming devices in the Roku Ultra and Roku Streambar. We continue to offer a great device no matter the use case our customers are looking for whether they are new to streaming or looking to add great sound and streaming to their home entertainment center.”
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The new version of the Roku Ultra, which is Roku’s most expensive set-top box at $99.99, offers improved performance, 50 percent better wireless range, support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, a lost remote finder, and Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support. And customers can use the included headphones (with the remote) to enjoy private listening.
As for the soundbar, the $129.99 Roku Streambar is a lower-cost offering than the Roku Smart Soundbar, which costs $179.99. The Streambar works like a set-top, offering 4K/HDR picture quality alongside its Dolby Audio capabilities and Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility. The Soundbar is compatible with Roku’s other audio devices, the Roku Wireless Subwoofer and Roku Wireless Speakers, for those wanting an inexpensive surround-sound setup. And later this year, it will gain Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility for better integration with Apple’s ecosystem.
Both new devices are available for pre-order at Roku.com starting today and will ship in October.