ZDNET's key takeaways The Roku Ultra is a streaming device available for $100.
The Roku Ultra is the perfect streaming device for anyone who doesn't want to commit to team iOS with an Apple TV 4K or team Android with a Google TV Streamer.
There are a few drawbacks to getting a Roku Ultra, like the lack of a headphone jack on the remote. $79 at Amazon $79.99 at B&H Photo-Video $99.99 at Roku more buying choices
The Roku Ultra streaming device is on sale for $79, the lowest price we've ever seen.
Although I'm an iPhone user with an Apple TV 4K, I love using different streaming devices -- I never feel committed to a single brand. Different brands offer different features, and adding a new device to an older TV can make it feel like a brand-new television. This happened with my Fire TV when I added a Roku Ultra.
Also: The Google TV Streamer surprised me in the best way - and I'm an extreme cord cutter
I have a habit of getting deeply discounted Fire TVs during major shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day. I got a 50-inch 4-Series Fire TV during Prime Day 2022 and a 43-inch Omni Series Fire TV during Prime Day 2023. The 4-Series television looks great, but its FireOS platform has begun to slow down significantly even though the model came out only three years ago â I guess it's the price you pay for an inexpensive TV.
This could be a storage issue, but I've tried deleting apps I don't need and the cache on apps I do, and nothing makes a significant difference. The TV only has 2GB of RAM, so it could also be unable to keep up with all the apps I run on it.
This set is the main character in my family's TV room and gets many streaming hours courtesy of my kids. This room is adjacent to their playroom, so it's like a one-stop shop where they play, draw, read, and watch TV. It's also where we have family movie nights.
When I began testing the new Roku Ultra, I ditched the built-in FireOS and added the new streaming device to the TV. The Roku Ultra made the 4-Series Fire TV perform better than when it was first purchased, and it also looks better than ever, likely thanks to the extra memory on the device.
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