I just got my hands on the Roku Streaming Stick (available for preorder now), and I’m excited to say it fixes one of my biggest Roku frustrations. This stick arrives with heavy expectations, replacing the Roku Express, one of the best streaming devices. Roku revealed this new stick alongside the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, its 4K-capable counterpart.
Roku also revealed updates to its smart TVs and smart home family, which combined for a flurry of news for those who prefer Roku over the operating system built into their smart TVs. Since this all gets pretty confusing fast, let’s break it down to help you figure out what to buy and what to skip.
The 4K-capable Roku Streaming Stick Plus replaces the Express 4K+ and adds a dongle design, and it only needs one of your TV's USB ports for power.
The simply named Roku Streaming Stick replaces the Roku Express and offers 1080p streaming resolution.
The new Roku sticks erase its worst design
The Roku Express and Express 4K+ were compact and affordable ways to add a new streaming OS to a dumb TV or a smart TV whose software you didn’t like, but I never really loved their wedge designs. You were meant to attach these inelegant doorstop-looking streamers to the side of your TV using the included adhesive, which always felt like it was bordering on defacing a TV. You could also let them dangle below your TV, because their light weight and small dimensions made it hard to get them to lie flat on your entertainment console. These new sticks just plug into the HDMI ports on the back of your TV, staying out of sight and out of mind. Roku’s press release touted that these sticks are “over 35% smaller than other brands,” but they didn’t look that much more portable to my eye.
While tucking these sticks behind your TV is a welcome bit of simplicity, their names are vague enough to add some unwelcome confusion. The $30 Roku Streaming Stick is the Full HD version that maxes out at 1080p and doesn’t offer any high dynamic range (HDR) support for increased contrast, while the $40 Roku Streaming Stick Plus goes to 4K Ultra High Def resolution and packs support for HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG standards. The Roku Streaming Stick is the dongle with a purple logo on the side, while the Streaming Stick Plus has a glossy black logo. This differentiation reminds me of how Apple only lets the MacBook Pro have the boring colors, while the MacBook Air has a slightly wider variety.
Aside from the new design, these sticks are low on new features, but the entry-level Roku Streaming Stick ships with a remote that can control the TV’s volume and power — one of my biggest gripes with remote that came with the Roku Express. Both of the new Roku sticks also come with two AAA batteries for their remotes, as only the Roku Ultra comes with a rechargeable remote.
For those playing along at home, the $50 Roku Streaming Stick 4K (our pick for the best streaming stick overall) is still in the lineup, and its key differentiator is the Dolby Vision HDR standard. The $100 Roku Ultra is the fastest of the bunch and adds an Ethernet port and the backlit Roku Voice Remote Pro on top.
Speaking of ports, Roku also touted that the new Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus can be fully powered by the USB port on the back of your TV, unlike the Express devices that plugged into a small power adapter (which isn’t included with these sticks). This means one less cord snaking to the power strip near your TV. There is one small caveat to this method of powering on your TV, though. Some televisions don’t output a charge from their USB ports when they’re turned off and will only turn that port on when you turn on the TV. This means you’ll have a short wait as the Roku stick boots up, which isn’t the end of the world.
Roku’s 2025 TVs get picture-quality upgrades
After Roku announced its new sticks, it revealed the changes coming with the 2025 editions of its Roku Pro, Roku Plus and Roku Select TVs. The higher-end Roku Pro Series TVs, for example, will ship with a “custom factory calibration” for improved picture quality so they’re ready for streaming when you take them out of the box and plug them in. This, in a nutshell, is the story Roku’s trying to tell with its new TVs as it attempts to simplify the home entertainment experience and remove the work you may or may not do.
Similarly, the Roku Plus Series (its second-best sets) will gain Smart Picture Max mode, which automatically changes your settings to adjust to the specific scene of whatever you’re watching. This is for everyone who doesn’t adjust the default settings of their television, so they can see films, shows and games as they were meant to be viewed. Roku Plus TVs also gain Mini-LED backlighting to upgrade their QLED panels for improved contrast and color, as well as a built-in remote finder button and cable management.
There’s less news for Roku’s entry-level Select series, which gains an 85-inch model, having previously maxed out at 75 inches. All these TVs are going to be available in the coming months.
Even if you don’t buy a new Roku TV, though, you’ll still get new software features, such as live scores updates for sports games coming to the Roku mobile app and redesigned pages for movies and shows that let you more easily save to your watch list, upvote, downvote and see where you can watch titles for free.
The takeaway
In my brief time clicking around the menus of a TV plugged into a Roku Remote Plus, I noted fairly speedy performance (at least for the price). These additions to the Roku family make its 2025 lineup look pretty strong, and they’re joined by new battery-powered Roku security cameras for those who want to integrate their smart home cameras into their TV-watching experience.
While I’m fairly optimistic about the new Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus, I’ll have to put them through their full paces before I can recommend you purchase either. To decode which is right for you, though, the regular stick seems perfect for older 1080p TVs, while the Streaming Stick Plus is best for those with 4K TV who don’t really care about Dolby Vision. Stay tuned for our full reviews.
How to preorder the Roku Streaming Stick
If you’re dying to smarten up your TV or replace your Roku Express, you can preorder the Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus right now, ahead of the May 6 release date. Preorders are live on Amazon and Roku.
FAQs
Just like most streaming devices, you plug it into your TV, download the streaming service apps you need and sign into those services with the remote. After that, use Roku’s included Voice Remote to control the TV with both clicks and spoken commands.
If you only have the included items in the box, plug the Streaming Stick into an HDMI port and connect its included power cable to both the stick and the USB port on your TV. Turn your TV on, switch to the HDMI port you connected the Streaming Stick to and follow the on-screen instructions to sign into a Wi-Fi network.
The $40 Roku Streaming Stick Plus upgrades the $30 Streaming Stick’s 1080p Full HD streaming resolution to 4K Ultra HD resolution and adds support for high dynamic range (HDR) standards. Roku also notes that only the Plus offers “Fast app launch,” so expect better performance.
Why trust CNN Underscored
CNN Underscored has a team of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when applicable to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item.
Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has tested every streaming device released in the last five years and has been reviewing tech for nearly a decade. Throughout the years, he’s given verdicts on everything from the cheapest Fire TV stick to the priciest Apple TV 4K.
