Roku Streaming Stick 4K review: a speedy and easy-to-use media streamer

Roku makes some of the world’s best streaming devices thanks to a simply laid-out interface and a wide range of apps on all its gadgets, including the best streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is the most powerful in its collection. As the name suggests, it’s made to be used with the best 4K TVs, able to deliver Ultra-HD picture quality. There’s both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision to enhance picture quality, you get a no-frills remote included in the box, and it has voice control to navigate through the system. Plus you'll find some free content on The Roku Channel.

I’ve been testing the Streaming Stick 4K for many months. It’s super simple to setup and use, and you won’t even know it's there because it plugs directly into the back of the TV via HDMI. So is it the perfect TV upgrade?

How much does a Roku Streaming Stick 4K cost?

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K was launched way back in 2021, believe it or not. Right now it costs £49.99 in the UK and $49.99 in the US.

It’s still available to buy now – hence this review, years down the line – and is occasionally discounted, especially during big sales. Be sure to check out the live shopping widget, embedded above, for the best offers.

What TV port do I need for a Roku Streaming Stick?

Plugging directly into the back of a TV via one of its HDMI ports, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K isn’t at all visible from the front of most sets. All you will see is one wire, connecting the stick to power through the micro-USB port (yes, it's an older port, not USB-C).

In the box, it comes with a simple black plastic remote. The remote isn’t too busy with buttons, but it does have everything you need – as you can see from my image below.

There’s a power button, navigation pad, volume controls, pause/play, and skip buttons. A microphone button activates voice search, while a separate set of dedicated buttons gives you direct access to Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video. You can also set the remote up to control the TV, so you can use it to turn the set on or off and adjust the volume.

If you were to misplace the remote, it wouldn't be an issue because you can control the Roku through an app on your smartphone or tablet. Find TV shows and movies or click through the system using the digital navigation pad. You can even add shows to your watchlist remotely, so if you hear about something you want to watch you can save it for later.

Setting up this streamer couldn’t be simpler either. It literally took me a couple of minutes. All I had to do was turn it on, scan the QR code on the screen and log in to my Roku account on my phone. Most of the apps I use regularly were already ready to go, and you can add more from the Roku Streaming Store.

What apps does Roku offer?

Roku's Streaming Stick 4K is both fast and efficient, it starts up quickly and each new page loads almost instantly. The Wi-Fi in my living room can occasionally be a little hit-and-miss because it’s quite far from the router, but I had no issues loading any apps or content during testing.

Thanks to a combination of 4K HDR and Dolby Vision, TV shows and movies look great. They are bright, colourful and the impressive contrast means you can see every aspect of the scene, even within dark corners of the shot.

Roku’s interface is one of the simplest there is because the main screen is a grid of all the apps available to you. It’s not overcrowded with tonnes of adverts and recommendations, like equivalents from Amazon or Sky – although Amazon's 'Max' device is technically nippier.

Thankfully, there’s only one ad when you move to the right-hand side of the Roku's interface. Given how many more you'll find in Fire TV, for example, and taking up big areas of the on-screen action, that's a positive.

Finding apps to download is incredibly easy thanks to the Roku Streaming Store – which seems to have just about every service you can think of, including niche channels like Crunchyroll and Hayu.

In the US, you’ll be able to stream live TV as well, but this feature isn’t available in the UK yet – which is a shame. And given how far we are since launch date, there's a question mark over whether that'll ever come to fruition...

Voice control is one of the biggest wins for Roku's 4K streamer, despite not being as smart as the Alexa control on Fire TV Stick devices.

It consistently understood what I was looking for (as long as I spoke directly into the remote) and it was fast at searching across all my apps. I was also pleased to find that you can use voice commands to input email addresses and passwords instead of manually typing them in.

If you want to watch a show without disturbing anyone else, like when the kids are in bed or during the workday, you can connect Bluetooth headphones to your phone and stream the audio through there. That means you don’t need to fiddle around getting your true wireless earbuds hooked up to the TV. This feature works with wired headphones too.

Another feature worth mentioning is screen mirroring, meaning you can cast content like family photos or videos from your phone to the TV. It even supports Apple AirPlay.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K review: Verdict

After having tried out a lot of different streamers, from the Fire TV Stick to Sky Stream, I think the Roku Streaming Stick 4K holds its own.

The downsides of this streaming device are limited, but there are a few: firstly, some people may like the extensive recommendations presented elsewhere; secondly it’s a shame there’s no live TV for UK users; last up, it's a shame there's no built-in smart assistant like on Amazon's devices.

Small criticisms aside, though, I was pleased with how quick and painless it was to set up Roku's 4K Streaming Stick, how simple it is to find the app you’re looking for, and how few adverts there are on the main app menu.

Voice search works well, too, and I appreciate being able to control the streamer using the Roku smartphone app. It’s a much easier way to find content, and it’s handy to be able to connect to headphones through it too – which is a real bonus sell.

Also consider

One alternative to the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is the Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max. When it’s not on offer, it’s a little more expensive than Roku's device, but you can regularly find discounts bringing the cost down. On the Fire TV operating system, recommendations lean heavily towards Amazon Prime Video content but you will get access to all of the most popular streaming apps as well.

If you want a powerful streamer that will allow you to game as well as watch TV, the Nvidia Shield TV Pro will be the better choice. You can play video games using Android TV and the GeForce Now streaming service, and plug in extra peripherals using the USB plug on the box. It’s expensive but does everything you could need a streamer to do, including voice search.