What just happened? Roku is bolstering its product catalog heading into the holidays with two new devices that offer 4K HDR streaming in stocking stuffer-sized form factor. The only question is, should you buy now or wait and see what Black Friday holds?
Roku on Monday added two new members to its streaming media player family with the addition of the Roku Premiere and the Roku Premiere+.
The new streaming devices are virtually identical in appearance to the Roku Express – small, dongle-like boxes that connect to your television via an included HDMI cable. Both are powered by a quad-core processor, afford 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, Dolby and DTS Digital Surround pass-through over HDMI and offer streaming in up to 4K HDR quality.
The Roku Premiere, the cheaper of the two at $39.99, includes a standard-issue remote with channel shortcut buttons while the more expensive Premiere+ comes with a voice remote with TV power and volume buttons.
Roku is also taking the opportunity to boost the value offered by its most powerful and feature-packed player, the Roku Ultra. The device retains its same hardware specifications and price point ($99.99) but now comes bundled with a set of premium JBL headphones for private listening, a $39.95 value.
Roku’s new Premiere streaming player is available to pre-order from today and will be available to purchase at retail in early October along with the new Roku Ultra JBL bundle. The Roku Premiere+, meanwhile, is a Walmart exclusive that’ll land in stores and online at Walmart.com early next month.