Roku announces its smallest streaming sticks yet

is a senior reviewer who has worked at The Verge since its founding in 2011. His coverage areas include audio (Sonos, Apple, Bose, Sony, etc.), home theater, smartphones, photography, and more. Roku today introduced refreshed versions of its Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus, with the company describing the devices as “the most compact sticks on the market” and “over 35 percent smaller than other brands.” That’s a curious point to focus on for a product that’s often tucked away behind a TV and forgotten about once plugged in. But if you’ve got multiple HDMI devices hooked up to your TV, I suppose the smaller design could make things easier to manage back there. The Streaming Stick Plus, which supports 4K playback, costs $39.99, while the regular Streaming Stick is $29.99. Roku says both devices are now efficient enough to be powered by the USB port on most TVs rather than requiring an outlet. Preorders start today, and they’ll be available on May 6th. These new products replac ... Read full article.