Roku Ultra (2024) review: There’s not much new here [Video]

Price When Reviewed

$99.99 (discounted to $79.99 at the time of this review)

Best Prices Today: Roku Ultra (2024)

The 2024 Roku Ultra is in some ways a victim of Roku’s own success.

Roku has designed its platform to run well even on cheap streaming dongles and smart TVs. It also has a strong track record of keeping those devices up to date, so even streamers from seven or eight years ago are still getting new features.

That’s great for Roku device owners, but it doesn’t leave the new Roku Ultra with much to distinguish itself from older models. It has a new remote and upgraded internal tech specs, but real-world performance is nearly identical to the old Roku Ultra, whose hardware dates back to 2020.

And while Roku has made some welcome software improvements in recent years, other elements of the Roku experience are getting worse, including a growing amount of home screen clutter and more distracting banner …