The new Roku Ultra is faster, has better Wi-Fi, and comes with a backlit remote

One day after the Google TV Streamer hit stores, Roku is announcing its latest streaming player. And unlike Google’s big design overhaul, the new Roku Ultra is playing things very safe. I’d argue maybe too safe. It’s still $99.99, still delivers Dolby Vision and Atmos, and it looks exactly the same as before, though the company says there are notable improvements inside.

The 2024 Ultra is 30 percent faster than any of Roku’s other players, and it now features Wi-Fi 6. That upgrade puts it ahead of the Google TV Streamer, which stuck with Wi-Fi 5. Roku is now on par with the Apple TV but behind Amazon’s flagship Fire TV streamers, which include Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. And yes, there’s still a built-in ethernet jack for those of you who prefer wired setups.

“Plus, as a HDMI 2.1 streaming player, Roku Ultra offers Quick Media Switching (QMS) delivering seamless, judder-free transitions between different refresh rates or content sources on premium TVs,” Roku’s Paul Nangeroni wrote in a blog post. (Note that your TV must also support QMS for this to work, and we’re still in the very, very early stages of that.)

The Ultra ships with Roku’s best remote, the Voice Remote Pro, which itself has been upgraded with backlit buttons, USB-C charging, and new quick launch and live TV buttons. The former lets you “see your personalized shortcuts — your go-to apps, your favorite voice command, switching the captions on and off — right on your TV screen.” The 2024 Roku Ultra also “uses advanced machine learning to anticipate which app you are going to open next and tees it up for our snappiest app loading to date.”

Roku also continues to build upon its forever-simplistic homescreen without reinventing the wheel. It’s adding the existing “Kids & Family” zone directly to the homescreen. Separately, content pages will now have thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons to help personalize the company’s algorithms to your own taste. And the mobile remote app will now have an entertainment overlay that lets you swipe up to browse content when you’re not using the essential controls.

Is Roku’s dependable, no-frills box still your go-to in 2024? Are you holding out for the next Apple TV 4K upgrade? Or are you going to give Google’s overhauled streamer a try? I’m still over here wishing Nvidia would break its silence about a potential new Shield, but I’m always here for hearing about home entertainment setups in the comments.