Roku’s new devices include tiny Express and faster Ultra with customizable remote


Roku is unveiling its fall 2019 lineup of streaming devices today, with the most two significant spots filled by a more powerful Ultra set-top box and a revamped Express streaming dongle that can be powered entirely by the USB port on around 98 percent of TVs. The new streamers follow Roku’s announcement of its first soundbar, with streaming software built right in, earlier this month. Roku remains ahead of Amazon’s Fire TV platform, Chromecast, and Apple TV as the choice for streaming in the living room. The company has 30.5 million active accounts (customers who’ve streamed within the last 30 days) as of Q2.
At $29.99, the Express is the most affordable Roku and intended for people buying their first streaming device. It only streams in HD — no 4K — but this version is 10 percent smaller than last year’s already-tiny Express. You’ve probably held a Roku remote before, so for size context, look how much smaller the Express is compared to the remote itself.
The 2019 Roku Ultra looks identical to last year’s top-of-the-line player, but it’s been upgraded with a faster quad-core processor and more memory. Mark Ely, Roku’s VP of product management, told me that this allows the player to launch channels 17 percent faster, with some apps loading up to 30 percent quicker.
The Ultra’s remote is also receiving a big addition: for the first time ever, Roku is including two fully-customizable shortcut buttons on the remote. (There are still the usual four branded buttons, as well.) Any feature that can be done through voice commands can be saved as a shortcut. You can adjust TV settings, turn the TV off, control the currently-playing content, or simply assign the buttons to launch apps like HBO, YouTube TV, or (soon) Disney+.
The Ultra continues to feature ethernet, microSD and USB expansion, and a lost remote button on the box itself for finding your buried-in-the-cushions remote. It’s positioned as Roku’s flagship box for cord cutters.

ROKU 2019 PLAYER LINEUP

  • Roku Ultra: $99.99
  • Roku Streaming Stick+: $59.99
  • Roku Premiere: $39.99 (entry 4K player)
  • Roku Express $29.99

RETAILER-EXCLUSIVE VERSIONS

Walmart:
  • Ultra LT $79.99
    No personal shortcut buttons, no faster channel launch, no remote finder.
  • Express: $39.99
    Adds voice remote, but gets rid of last year’s analog output.
Best Buy:
  • Streaming Stick+ Headphone Edition: $59.99
    Includes enhanced voice remote with private listening.
Roku’s platform is massively successful in the US, but the company is determined to extend that popularity overseas as well and have a greater global presence. The new Roku Express, Premiere, and Streaming Stick are coming to the UK and select Latin America countries.
  • Roku Streaming Stick+: £49.99
  • Roku Premiere: £39.99
  • Roku Express: £29.99
Additionally, Roku TVs will ship in Europe for the first time later this year when Hisense-branded sets go on sale in the UK.

ROKU OS 9.2

Alongside the hardware refresh, Roku is detailing its next software update, Roku OS 9.2, which will begin rolling out later this month to standalone Roku devices and Roku TVs.
Roku Zones aggregate content from particular genres. As always, since Roku’s software is aware of your subscriptions, it’ll tell you the best place to watch something — with free options first, followed by rentals and purchases. Zones will be regularly refreshed and switched up, with topical categories also planned in addition to traditional genres.
The 4K Spotlight channel, which brings together 4K movies from various apps, has been redesigned to be more visually appealing and is getting the same genre and topic sorting as Zones.
Roku OS 9.2 also adds a handful of new voice capabilities:
Set sleep timers on Roku TVs: Roku TV customers can use their voice remote or Roku mobile app to quickly set a sleep timer on their TV by saying things like “Go to sleep at 11 p.m.”
Search by movie quotes: Enjoy finding movie results by searching for the top quotes from thousands of popular movies across the Roku platform
4K in Roku search: Use Roku Voice to say “4K movies” to see results for a variety of popular 4K movies. Entering a text search for “4K” will now return results including the 4K Movies & TV Zone.
Support for Roku Media Player: Customers who use the Roku Media Player to play their personal music, movies and photos can now use Roku Voice to find, play and control stored files by using commands such as “Play,” “Skip,” and more
Control multiple Roku devices with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant: Customers who use Alexa-enabled devices and/or Google Assistant to control their Roku device can now control multiple Roku devices in their homeDirect-to-playback. “Play Brooklyn Nine Nine.” Hulu opens and starts playing immediately.
Also new is with OS 9.2 is a Roku Tips and Tricks channel with video tutorials that cover the most popular topics from the company’s FAQs. And a Shortcuts row on the home screen provides quick access to common tasks like adding channels, powering off a the TV — not all Roku remotes have a power button — and setting sleep timers for Roku TV sets.
Elsewhere in software, Roku is trying to speed up the setup/on-boarding process for new customers, put a greater focus on free content, and become a leader in serving up family-friendly content from its many app partners.

THE ROKU WIRELESS SPEAKERS MYSTERY BUTTON STILL DOES NOTHING

During my meeting with Roku, I inquired about the button on the puck remote for the Roku Wireless Speakers that, when pressed, produces a “this feature is not yet available” voice response. It’s the button above with the two linked diamonds. This has been the case since the speakers first shipped last year and has continued through numerous Roku OS updates. The button still does nothing, but Ely insisted to me that it’ll have some function — eventually. “It is for a forthcoming feature. That feature is still forthcoming,” he said. “Fundamentally, these things are upgradeable. Like that button. It will become something.”

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