If you’ve found your TV too slow to stream its built-in apps, here’s a great deal that can help fix things at a lower price: The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is on sale again for $29. This offer was available most of the holiday season, and it’s not the lowest — the dongle previously dropped to $25 in late 2023 — but it’s the biggest discount we’ve tracked this year. For reference, Roku usually sells the device for $50, though in recent months it’s been selling for $34 at third-party retailers like Amazon. Either way, you save more than usual.
The discount is available at several retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Roku.com. If you’re hoping to grab the device as a Christmas gift, that’s going to be a big problem: Most listings we can find say it won’t ship until after the holidays, so you’ll have to order in. -pick up a store at Walmart, Best Buy or another retailer with physical locations.
Roku
This ranks as the best price we’ve seen all year for a Roku 4K streaming dongle.
$29 at Amazon
We recommend the Streaming Stick 4K in our guide to the best streaming devices. It’s not as fast or fluid as a premium set-top box like the Apple TV 4K, but it’s still quick to load apps and menus, and its slim design plugs right into your TV’s HDMI port. It supports almost all major HDR formats and streaming services (Twitch aside), and works with Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol, so you can stream content to it from the iPhone. While it can’t record Dolby Atmos audio on its own, it can stream that audio to a compatible audio system from apps that support the technology.
Like other Roku devices, the Streaming Stick 4K isn’t easy to use, with a home screen made up of a basic grid of apps. Google’s TV Streamer (a top pick in our guide) is a bit too busy about recommending content you might like and returning you to shows you’ve watched recently, but you might find it easier to use on the Roku if you don’t mind surfing. so that you can see things for yourself.
The UI makes tons of free content easily accessible too, and we found the search to work well, even if it’s not as robust as Google’s OS. We also like Roku’s mobile app, which lets you control the device and listen privately through headphones. Like all other streaming players, there are ads scattered throughout the UI, though Roku is at least less aggressive about them than Amazon is with its Fire TV devices.
A few other Roku devices are still available at their Black Friday prices, including the Roku Express 4K+ (without Dolby Vision HDR) for $24 and the Roku Ultra (with a larger box design, full Atmos support and a more advanced remote . ) for $79. For most people looking to visit Roku City, though, the Streaming Stick 4K should be the best value.
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