Roku hasn’t updated its top-of-the-line Roku Ultra media streamer itself since 2022. That’s a significant upgrade, as the remote adds hands-free voice control and a handy headphone jack to the mix. The Ultra’s voice capabilities still can’t compete with those of the Alexa-enabled Amazon Fire TV Cube, however, and you can get virtually everything the Roku Ultra offers with the Roku Streaming Stick 4K+, minus the Ethernet and USB ports for wired network connections and playing media from USB drives. Depending on your needs, these two options are probably slightly better choices if you’re looking for a 4K-capable media streaming device.
The Roku Ultra 2022 is identical in features and specs to the device we reviewed in 2020. It’s a matte black plastic chassis with rounded corners that measures 1.0 x 5.0 x 4.9 inches (HWD). There is a small window for the display LED on the front, Roku’s signature purple fabric label on the left side, and a button for the remote control function on the right side. On the back are HDMI, USB, and Ethernet ports, as well as a port for the power adapter. The device is small, simple, and fits easily under a TV or in a media console cabinet, but it’s not quite as tiny as the dongle-like Roku Streaming Stick, which can easily be hooked up to an HDMI port.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]The Voice Remote Pro also hasn’t changed since its release in 2021. It’s a simple matte black plastic stick with an eye-catching purple control pad on top and a purple fabric tag with the Roku logo on the bottom, just like any other Roku remote. Above the control pad are the back, home, and power buttons, as well as a microphone with a hole. Below the navigation pad are the playback controls, two programmable function buttons, and dedicated service buttons for Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, and Paramount+. On the right edge of the remote is a volume rocker and mute button, while on the left edge is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and microphone mute switch.
On the back is a small speaker and a pairing button. The usual high-end features of the Roku remote are all present. The headphone jack lets you listen privately to everything you watch on the Roku Ultra. And if you can’t find the remote, a beep sounds from the speaker when you press the remote button on the Ultra. The remote has a built-in battery that you can charge via the micro USB port under the purple label.