The original Roku Streaming Stick launched in 2012, so it’s about time we got a successor.
Roku has unveiled a brand new Roku Streaming Stick media player that’s eight times as powerful as the old one.
The new device is priced at $49.99 in the US, and boasts a more powerful quad-core processor that Roku reckons is faster than the Amazon Fire TV stick and Google Chromecast.
But the feature that will excite most is ‘private listening’, a new option available through the Roku Mobile App.
If you have the new Roku Streaming Stick, you can listen to the audio of whatever you’re streaming through headphones plugged into your phone.
That means if you’re watching House of Cards, you can shut out the world and fully immerse yourself in Frank Underwood’s sultry southern tones.
Immerse yourself in the Underwood
It’s a feature that’s already available through the Roku remote control, but the Roku Streaming Stick is the first device to offer private listening through the Roku Mobile App.
The Roku Streaming Stick also ships with Roku’s new Roku OS 7.1, the latest version of the company’s custom-built software.
“The Roku Streaming Stick is one of our most popular models,” says Sharad Sundaresan, SVP of Product Management at Roku. “Consumers appreciate having access to the complete Roku streaming experience in a portable, low-cost device.”
Sundaresan continues: “The new Roku Streaming Stick takes our popular experience to the next level with a significant upgrade in power and performance, as well as features that are specifically designed to get people the entertainment they want to watch quickly and easily whether they’re at home or on the go.”
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US customers have access to over 3,000 streaming channels via Roku, including around 300,000 movies and TV episodes. The service also offers universal search across 30 streaming channel.
Roku’s new Streaming Stick (2016) is available for pre-order in the US starting today, and will be available in retailers later this month.
We asked Roku whether the new Streaming Stick will be available in the UK, and received the following response:
“The new Roku Streaming Stick is only available in North America. There are no plans to introduce it in other regions at this time.”
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What’s your favourite media player? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.