At a glanceExpert’s Ranking
Execs
Roku’s least costly 4K HDR participant
Compact design matches behind a TV and is appropriate for journey
Higher efficiency and Wi-Fi reception than the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick
Cons
More and more cluttered dwelling display
Some previous TVs would possibly require a separate energy adapter
No Dolby Imaginative and prescient or Dolby Atmos help
Our Verdict
The center dongle in Roku’s newest streamer lineup is excellent.
Value When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Finest Pricing Immediately
Value When Reviewed$39.99
Finest Costs Immediately: Roku Streaming Stick Plus
$29
$29.99
$29.99
$34.99
$39.99
At an inventory value of $40—and sometimes on sale for much less—the Roku Streaming Stick Plus hits a candy spot.
It’s not the most cost effective streaming dongle Roku sells, however it’s the least costly possibility with 4K HDR video, and it sports activities barely higher efficiency than the $30 Roku Streaming Stick. Its moveable design can also be an enchancment over the Roku Specific 4K+, which Roku beforehand bought on the similar value.
I nonetheless have some misgivings about Roku’s software program, which is progressively getting extra difficult and bloated. However when you benefit from the Roku expertise as it’s, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is a stable possibility.
What’s included with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus
The Roku Streaming Stick Plus has the identical finger-sized design because the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick I reviewed in July, distinguished solely by its embossed black “Roku” emblem as an alternative of a painted-on purple one. Its built-in HDMI connector plugs straight into one in all your TV’s HDMI ports, and if it doesn’t match throughout the spacing of these ports, you’ll be able to request a free extender cable.
Not like earlier Roku fashions, the Streaming Stick Plus doesn’t embrace an influence adapter. As a substitute, you get a five-foot USB-A-to USB-C cable to plug into the USB energy port on most trendy TVs. The dongle had no bother drawing sufficient energy this manner from the TVs I examined it with, however you would possibly must go attempting to find an outlet adapter for previous TVs that don’t present USB energy.
For video, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus streams at as much as 4K decision with help for HDR and HDR10+, however not Dolby Imaginative and prescient. You have to step as much as the $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K for that. On the audio aspect, Dolby Atmos can also be lacking, as that function is barely accessible on the $100 Roku Extremely.
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku now ships the identical fundamental Voice Distant with all of its lower-end gamers. Like each different Roku present mannequin, it contains buttons to regulate your TV’s quantity and energy, offering a single-remote answer except you’ve gotten an exterior sound system that doesn’t help HDMI-CEC. If that’s the case, you’ll want a separate distant for quantity changes. (As a result of the Streaming Stick Plus doesn’t settle for IR enter, it gained’t work with fundamental common remotes.)
One factor lacking from this mannequin is Bluetooth help. You’ll be able to nonetheless join earbuds to your telephone and use Roku’s cellular app for personal listening, however the Roku Extremely stays the one participant that helps pairing headphones or earbuds on to the streaming system.
Roku Streaming Stick Plus efficiency and Wi-Fi reception
Roku does an admirable job optimizing its software program to run on light-weight {hardware}, so there isn’t an enormous efficiency distinction between every of its gamers. Nonetheless, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus does have some noticeable enhancements over the cheaper Streaming Stick.
In my side-by-side testing, the Streaming Stick Plus usually loaded apps a number of seconds sooner, and was faster at filling program information particulars as I scrolled via the Pluto TV app. Netflix particularly appeared to learn, because the Streaming Stick Plus would typically would return to the place I used to be in Netflix’s menu system after switching to a special app. (With the cheaper Streaming Stick, Netflix often wanted a full reload.)
The Roku Streaming Stick Plus additionally helps Wi-Fi 5, relatively than Wi-Fi 4 as on the Streaming Stick, and I noticed higher Wi-Fi efficiency at lengthy vary in consequence. Testing from the far finish of my again yard on a transportable monitor, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus maintained speeds round 20Mbps, whereas the Streaming Stick averaged lower than 10Mbps and displayed a weak sign warning. In the meantime, the $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K achieved speeds of round 100Mbps in the identical take a look at.
The improved Wi-Fi gained’t matter in areas with stable reception—each fashions maintained 100Mbps connections within the workplace the place my router is situated—however it might make a distinction on the fringes.
If you wish to use wired ethernet, Roku says the Streaming Stick Plus is suitable with USB-C-to-ethernet adapters that offer energy, however I used to be unable to get it related with a number of multiport USB-C hubs. The Roku Extremely is a greater wager if ethernet is a should.
Roku software program: Acquainted format, new distractions
Jared Newman / Foundry
Whereas Roku has historically prided itself on simplicity, in recent times that mission has been at odds with the economics of Roku’s enterprise, which requires ever-more advert income and—extra just lately—a push for extra subscriptions.
This manifests itself in a bunch of how:
The Dwelling part, which as soon as introduced an easy listing of your put in apps, now contains promotional content material tiles and hyperlinks to numerous content material submenus.
The left sidebar menu now has a banner advert on the backside, which implies the default menu choices don’t all match and you could scroll up and right down to see all of them.
The banner adverts in each the Dwelling part and sidebar menu now have animations and video.
Extra of Roku’s personal apps are actually pre-installed, together with the just lately acquired Frndly TV and the just lately launched Howdy.
The underside-left banner covers up some menu choices.Jared Newman / Foundry
Essentially, it’s nice for Roku to attempt shifting previous the app grid paradigm and recommending extra issues to look at from the house display. Individuals do need assistance sorting via all their streaming providers, and different streaming platforms have been making an attempt to deal with that drawback for years.
However lots of what Roku’s doing weighs too closely on the aspect of upselling extra providers as an alternative of serving to navigate what you’re already paying for. To wit: Roku has a helpful “Proceed Watching” function that tracks all of the exhibits you’re watching throughout totally different providers, however it’s buried in a “What to Watch” menu that’s all too straightforward to disregard. Why not put it within the newly-expanded Dwelling part as an alternative?
“Proceed Watching” is a superb function that’s too laborious to achieve.Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku nonetheless deserves credit score for nailing lots of the little issues. Many people admire the distant’s devoted fast-forward, rewind, and play/pause buttons—Google TV and Apple TV units omit these—in addition to the “Replay” button that jumps again in time with closed captions quickly enabled. Roku additionally does an ideal job surfacing free content material via its Featured Free menu and Roku Channel app, and help for Apple’s AirPlay is useful for sharing content material from iPhones and iPads. The expertise is total optimistic; there’s simply a lot room for enchancment.
“Featured Free” is a devoted menu at no cost films and exhibits (with adverts).Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku Streaming Stick Plus vs. the remaining
For many Roku followers, the Streaming Stick Plus is a greater possibility than the $30 Streaming Stick, with speedier app load occasions, higher Wi-Fi connectivity, and 4K HDR video help. It’s additionally price contemplating over the $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K when you don’t care about Dolby Imaginative and prescient and have a good Wi-Fi setup.
I’d additionally choose the Roku Streaming Stick Plus over Amazon’s low-cost Hearth TV Sticks, as a result of for as cluttered as Roku’s software program has change into, Amazon’s remains to be loads worse. In the event you favor a extra content-forward interface, contemplate Walmart’s Onn streaming units (the $20 Onn field, $30 Onn 4K Plus, or $50 Onn 4K Professional) as options.
In any other case, the center dongle in Roku’s lineup needs to be all you want.
This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the most effective streaming units.
