The Roku platform is strong, but not quite as robust as you get with Amazon or Google. ![]() The Streaming Stick 4K offers access to loads of different apps and services. ![]() The Voice Remote Pro is a nice upgrade, and worth considering spending the extra $20 for. The Streaming Stick 4K+ (via the Voice Remote Pro) is the only media streamer under $100 that supports hands-free voice search and control the $119.99 Amazon Fire TV Cube is the only other media hub with these capabilities. That remote has all of the features of the standard Roku Voice Remote, but also integrates a mid-field microphone for controlling the stick without picking up the remote, a headphone jack for private listening without the Roku app and a phone, and a remote finder feature. The Streaming Stick 4K+ comes with a Roku Voice Remote Pro. The remote is the only difference between the Streaming Stick 4K and the $69.99 Streaming Stick 4K+. The right edge of the remote features a volume rocker and mute button the remote can control your TV’s volume through HDMI-CEC and IR command. Menu and playback controls are below the pad, along with dedicated buttons for Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix. Home, Back, and Power buttons sit above the pad, along with a pinhole microphone for voice search. You get a standard Roku Voice Remote in the box it's a squat, black, plastic wand with rounded edges and Roku’s signature large purple, plus-shaped direction pad. Like most stick-based media hubs, the Streaming Stick 4K doesn't have an option for Ethernet. ![]() The Streaming Stick 4K doesn't support Wi-Fi 6 like the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, but as we noted in that review, faster network speeds provide diminishing value for 4K media playback after a certain point. The older Streaming Stick+ also had inline antennas in its cable, but according to Roku, the new module supports Wi-Fi speeds twice as fast as before. The main benefit of the USB cable is that it has an inline antenna that enhances the stick’s Wi-Fi range. You should use the cable and wall adapter that come with the Streaming Stick 4K, and not just to ensure that it gets enough power (as with most 4K media streamers, your TV’s USB ports might not cut it). It doesn’t include a short HDMI extender like the Fire TV sticks do, but the entire design is about the width of the end of an HDMI cable anyway, so it should fit easily into one of your TV’s ports even if they’re crowded. An HDMI plug sticks out of one end, while a micro USB port and reset button sit on the sides, near the other end. It has rounded sides that make it look much less blocky, too. It measures just 3.4 by 0.6 by 0.4 inches (HWD), a fraction of the size of Amazon's Fire TV sticks. That said, the Streaming Stick 4K is one of the sleekest media hubs of its kind. The physical design of a media streaming stick or dongle isn't overly important because it will likely stay behind your TV most of the time. Ultimately, the similarly priced Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Chromecast With Google TV both offer a bit more in the way of non-media features with their robust voice assistants, but the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is a compelling alternative. ![]() We ran into some hiccups connecting to 5GHz Wi-Fi in testing, but it didn't affect our experience too much. It also has a new long-range Wi-Fi module. The biggest changes are that the device now supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, capabilities previously only available on the Roku Ultra and certain Roku TVs. And, of course, it still streams 4K HDR content in HDR10. It still gives you access to loads of different apps and services, plus it lets you stream from iOS devices via Apple AirPlay. Roku’s new $49.99 Streaming Stick 4K media streamer replaces the Roku Streaming Stick+ and offers some modest but welcome upgrades.
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