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Tech

The Roku Ultra 4K is the Best Streaming Box for Watching TV in 4K Resolution

When you stream 4K, you need a device that can handle a raging river of data.

Roku Ultra 4K – Credit: Matt Jancer

You’ve got the 4K TV and you pay the increasingly ludicrous prices for 4K-capable streaming plans, such as those from Netflix and HBO Max. You remembered to get a 4K-capable streaming device, right? Right??

Streaming devices—Rokus, Apple TVs, Fire TVs, and Chromecasts—are the middlemen for everything you’re watching. They accept and pass on all the data flowing through your internet connection to the display. If the streaming device can’t handle 4K content, you won’t see it on your TV screen, plain and simple.

the best roku remote yet

Gone are the old Roku remotes that required constantly replacing their two AA batteries. There’s an internal, rechargeable battery that connects to a USB-C cable that I much prefer. I used rechargeable Panasonic Eneloop AAs in the older Roku remotes, but it was a pain compared to hooking up a USB-C cable every couple of weeks.

Just lifting the remote activates a backlight that illuminates all the buttons. It’s a nice touch, and it doesn’t seem to affect the battery life of the remote all that much. It’s bright and easy to read in a pitch-black room.

Roku Ultra 4K’s remote control – Credit: Matt Jancer

There’s no headphone jack. That went the way of the dodo a while ago. But there’s a customizable Quick Launch button with a rocket ship icon that you can program with your preferred function so that you don’t have to navigate through the Roku UI for frequently used channels.

Compared to the Apple TV remote, the Roku is more comfortable to hold for those long stretches spent browsing the Netflix screen and not actually choosing anything, and the Roku’s shortcut buttons (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and the customizable Quick Launch) are also nice to have. The Apple remote takes simplicity to an extreme.

hands-free voice control

There’s also the voice control button, which has been a staple of Roku remotes since at least 2017. Hold it down while you speak a command, and viola. But the automatic, hands-free voice control built into the remote is a neat feature.

When I’m settling down to watch a TV show, it’s usually with a plate of food or a beer in my hands, so I like to use voice commands to turn on the streaming box and TV. My neighbors hear me say “Hey Roku, go to Netflix” a lot.

It picks up my voice very well, and while it won’t hear me at quite the distance my Google Nest Hub can hear me (when I place them side by side to test), it can still hear me across the room with enough clarity to answer my queries and take my commands.

roku home screen – credit: Roku

“Hey Roku, how much battery level does the remote have?”

“Hey Roku, turn off captions.”

“Hey Roku, install Hulu.”

It all just works. No garbled misunderstandings. Automatic voice control can be turned off via the slider on the side of the remote. You’ll still be able to use the push-button voice control.

Roku Ultra 4K remote’s hands-free voice control – Credit: Matt Jancer

The TV I’ve been using during streaming device testing is a TCL QM7, a 55-inch 4K TV with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. It’s paired with a Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar (via the TCL’s HDMI eARC port) and Sonos Sub 4 subwoofer. All of these were released in 2024, like the version of the Roku Ultra 4K I tested, and all are current generation devices.

I haven’t had to touch my TV’s remote control or the Sonos’ controls in weeks. Everything works seamlessly through the Roku remote once paired. God, I hated the old days of the 2000s when we’d need a bunch of remotes—TV, DVD player, cable box, and audio system.

I’m not landing the NASA module. Just give me one remote that does everything. The volume controls and mute button on the remote’s side work the Sonos, and I can navigate any of the TCL’s functions through the Roku remote alone.

not the fastest, but fast enough

Over both Wi-Fi and a wired internet connection (via the Ethernet port), and using Verizon Fios fiber optic home internet, the Roku Ultra 4K never stuttered or struggled to play 4K movies and television shows. At no time during testing did it have to step down to 1080p resolution.

Everything ran buttery smooth. From Netflix to HBO Max to Hulu to Prime Video, it took every film and show I could throw at it. Peaky Blinders, The White Lotus, A Real Pain. Its processor is powerful enough to quarterback anything, even over Wi-Fi.

Roku Ultra 4K’s power, ethernet, hdmi, and usb ports – Credit: Matt Jancer

The Apple TV 4K’s user interface on the home screen is snappier than the Roku’s. Of all the streaming boxes I’ve tested so far, it’s the fastest, but the Roku Ultra 4K is already so responsive, it makes no functional difference that it can’t match the Apple’s speed.

Roku’s home screen, which is shared across Roku devices, is the easiest and most intuitive to navigate of all streaming devices. The Roku home screen is the most playful, too. You can select user-submitted screensavers and backgrounds, although I like the official Roku scrolling cityscape.

You’ll see aliens changing the clock on Big Ben, King Kong swiping angrily at biplanes, and the classic Ferrari from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Even though I generally rage against advertisements, I don’t find the ones on Roku’s home screen that intrusive, and they’re worked into the scrolling cityscape as billboards, which somehow annoys me less.

Among streaming devices, the Roku Ultra 4K sits at the top end of the market. Its primary competition is the Apple TV 4K, which bests it on speed but not on its remote or its user interface. If that weren’t all, the Roku sells for about half the price.

Given that so many TVs are 4K these days, even discount TVs, it’s hard not to make the Roku Ultra 4K my ultimate recommendation as the best streaming device for everyone. Apple-philes may prefer the Apple device, and travelers would do well with an easier-to-pack streaming stick, but the Ultra 4K is the one that spends the most time plugged into my TV.

alternatives

  • Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation) for $159: The Roku Ultra 4K’s chief competition, the Apple TV 4K is lightning fast, with a clean, although less playful and intuitive, user interface. But it comes at a significantly higher price, so except for diehard Apple fans, the Roku Ultra 4K beats it out. The 64GB version is enough for most people, unless you want a wired connection. The Ethernet port only comes on the 128GB version for $189, which is a bummer.
  • Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $39: Although it’s capable of streaming 4K (including Dolby Vision), too, the Streaming Stick 4K’s processor isn’t as fast as the Roku Ultra 4K, and the remote lacks the hands-free voice control and backlight. The stick also doesn’t support Dolby Atmos audio. The benefit, though, is that it plugs directly into your TV, so you don’t need to hide an ugly HDMI cable and power cord tangling from underneath your TV.
  • Roku Express 4K+ for $24: There isn’t much reason to recommend the Express 4K+ over the Streaming Stick 4K. They both lack Dolby Atmos support and include the same remote (with the same omissions compared to the Roku Ultra 4K), but the Express 4K+ also lacks Dolby Vision compatibility. Even though the Express 4K+ comes with an adhesive strip so you can stick it on the back of your TV, thus hiding the HDMI cable, you’re still left with a power cord dangling on its way to the wall’s power outlet. It’s only $15 less than the Streaming Stick 4K. Eat peanut butter for lunch one day to save up the difference, if you must.