Roku Ultra (2024) Review: Can More Power and a Solid Remote Fend Off Google?

At CES in January, Roku told CNET there would be no new hardware in 2024, so the announcement of a new Roku Ultra is a surprise. Given that the last Ultra was released more than two years ago, I was curious if Roku addressed our concerns with that version — and it has, for the most part.

The most obvious upgrades to the Roku Ultra (2024) are the updated backlit remote with USB-C charging and the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth. The company also claims the unit is 30% faster than before — though my attempts to wrangle specs from Roku were unsuccessful. There’s no disguising that some of the advertised improvements are due to the remote, and you can add one to any Roku device for $30.

The 2024 model is faster than before, it offers wide format support and it’s super easy to use. It’s undoubtedly the best Roku yet. At $99, though, the Roku Ultra is in the upper echelon of video streaming devices, and power users and gamers may look to the $139 Apple TV 4K or $99 Google TV Streamer (review shortly) instead.

Read more: Best Streaming Device for 2024

The main event

At a glance, the Roku Ultra looks identical to the unit it replaced, and that’s because it is — at least physically. The 2024 model is the same rounded square with a Roku logo and the (handy) remote finder button on the side. While I’ll get to the remote in a moment, some of the changes to this version are under the main unit’s hood. The company claims a 30% improvement in loading times, and the device “anticipates which app you are going to open next,” which is a roundabout way of saying “it caches the most-used apps.” Roku has given the 2024 Ultra a model number bump from 4800x to the 4850x as well.

In our review of the Ultra’s predecessor we dinged the unit for its lack of Bluetooth headphone support, Wi-Fi 6 and USB-C charging for the remote. The 2024 version adds all of these features and also brings with it support for Dolby Vision. It’s better specified than the 2022 and costs the same. There’s also HDR10 Plus and Dolby Atmos playback as before.

The ports at the back start with USB 3.0 which enables you to connect a USB stick or, more usefully, charge the Voice Remote with the included USB-A-to-USB-C cable. You also get an HDMI connection and an Ethernet port.

While the remote control received the most obvious updates, the Roku app is worth downloading as it performs many of the same functions. It’s helpful to have when the remote has run out of juice or you can’t find it (even with the finder).

An updated Roku Voice Remote

As this product leans so heavily on the new remote, the Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd Ed) deserves its own section. The remote looks the same as before, when viewed from afar, but in hand you start to notice the changes. The most obvious is the backlighting, which activates when you touch the remote or use the “Hey Roku” wake word. The remote has a bunch of new shortcuts, including a new “rocket” button and a link to the live TV guide. Pressing the rocket brings up an onscreen shortcut which lets you program two different, oft-used apps.

What’s also notable about the new Remote Pro is the lack of ports — there’s no headphone jack and it doesn’t have an IR port at all. Everything now runs on Bluetooth. In some ways you could view the new remote as a downgrade from the model before it, and the lack of a headphone jack is only the beginning.

Yes, this is still a voice remote and you can ask it to turn on and find programs without touching it at all. Using the “Hey Roku” wake word also lets you find the remote, but this is where I found it lacking. In my testing I found that right now it isn’t as responsive to voice commands as the original Voice Pro. I found that while the old remote lets you say, “Hey Roku,” and then the command straight after, you have to wait a second or two for the new remote to “wake up” before issuing a voice command. In practice, this could mean the remote stays behind the couch cushion if you don’t wait the requisite time between the wake word and “find my remote.” Meanwhile, Roku told CNET it’s “continuously making improvements based on our customer feedback, and investing in our voice capabilities.”

The interface

If you’ve ever used a Roku device, you’ll be completely at home with the Roku Ultra (2024), and the perks that have attracted millions of people in the past are still here. You can download dozens of popular apps, but the selection of free content is bigger than ever before. This is thanks to the Roku Channel and the included live TV guide with dozens of live, linear channels. Both have their own shortcut buttons on the new remote.

The interface has received tweaks since we last reviewed a Roku Ultra, but the features are ones you’ll see on any other Roku device. As I write this, Agatha All Along has debuted on Disney Plus, and the unit I tested featured a “fan experience” item for the show. Apart from special one-offs like this, though, there are other permanent features like the new Sports selection (though most of the links are to paid services). You can also customize a lot of the home screen from the arrangement of apps to the menu items to the famous Roku themes.

Performance

I’ve been using the Roku Ultra 2024 for several days and have tested it against both the 2022 model and the Apple TV 4K (2021). I found the image quality to be very similar between all three units, especially when using Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame on Disney Plus as a basic guide. Sound was a plus, too, and I was able to watch programs in Dolby Atmos, where it was available.

Speed ​​is what people are here for, and I wanted to see if it was 30% faster than before. Using Endgame as my reference I used search from the main screen and pressed go. As you would expect, the 2022 model was the slowest, as it also has no caching capabilities, and it took an average of 17 seconds to load. The 2024 Ultra was quicker, and after an initial 19-second load, it opened every subsequent time in 14 seconds. Is the processor quicker, or is the cache doing its job? Only Roku can say, and the company did not reply to CNET’s request for clarification. It’s worth noting that the one-generation-behind Apple TV 4K (2021) was still noticeably faster at 8 seconds to load this movie.

Given that the device now enables you to stream to it over Bluetooth, I was keen to try it out. I needn’t have been so cheerful. Connecting up to a Pixel Plus 9 Xl over Bluetooth was easy, but the sound it made was singularly terrible. Everything came out of the center channel, and midrange sounds like voices and guitars sounded wibbly-wobbly, like they were filtered through a guitar effects pedal. Sadly, this is not yet the answer if you’re looking for a way to stream Bluetooth to a TV or AV receiver.

On the other hand, I’m happy to report that adding a set of Bluetooth headphones to the Roku Ultra worked a lot better than streaming music. Using Dune: Part 2 and a pair of Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2 headphonesI was able to hear whispered dialogue and the whump of the worm-attracting thumpers without distortion. The movie even paused when I hit the main multifunction button on the headphones themselves.

Should you buy it?

There increasingly comes a point in our flagship streamer reviews when we ask, “Who is this for?” and that question is just as relevant here. The company offers some great stick-based streamers (such as the Roku Express 4K Plus), which cost half as much as the Ultra and provide 90% of the gains. If you’re a true power user, then you may have already passed over the Roku line for the Apple streamers instead.

In the end, Roku’s flagship streamer needed something truly “ultra” to keep it competitive, and a speed bump, faster Wi-Fi and Bluetooth aren’t it. If you’re interested in the remote itself, then you can pick one up separately, and your existing Roku will instantly feel like a new unit.