Roku Ultra Review, the ultimate Roku experience

The Roku Ultra was launched in 2022 but is still the brand’s top-tier device. “Our fastest and most powerful player ever,” proudly says the Roku website; and we can’t argue with facts, but how powerful is it for us? Let’s find out.

First Impressions, Design and Setup

Right off the bat, it feels like Roku is trying to elevate the experience with small details. Including an HDMI cable, for instance, is not standard; I don’t remember any competitors doing this. It also includes in-ear headphones to plug on the remote (still not sure why, though).

The device design is simple yet elegant, with rounded corners and a matte black plastic; the purple Roku fabric tag (on both the device and remote) is kinda cute. I was surprised (disappointed) by how light it is, which doesn’t matter, but some more weight would have probably tricked my brain into believing it’s better quality or that it includes a heatsink for a powerful processor. A Raspberry Pi doesn’t weigh much either, after all… I’m just thinking out loud now.

The setup is incredibly easy, especially if you already have a Roku device or TV. Within 3 minutes and a few clicks, I was on the homepage, ready to stream. I appreciate Roku asking for consent to activate the remote’s voice command and explaining there’s an off switch. A detail again, maybe, but one that all of the competition chose not to bother with.

Performance

Clean sheet for Roku Ultra and the streaming experience. It supports a 4K resolution, various HDR formats including Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos for audio. Apps launch quickly, and content buffers rapidly, making for an efficient viewing experience. I didn’t challenge the Wi-Fi and quickly plugged in the ethernet, but there’s no reason to be concerned if you don’t have your router in a lead bunker. Otherwise, Ethernet is the way to go to ensure a flawless 4K experience.

It has 4GB of storage (source Reddit. Oddly, I can’t find the official information…) and 2GB of RAM.

See also: Roku – Harware specifications (Roku developer website)

User Interface and Software

Roku’s interface is user-friendly and intuitive. The home screen layout, featuring a grid of streaming services and apps, is easy to navigate. Almost all the apps you can imagine are available, but Twitch, for unclear reasons (is it Roku? is it Amazon? 🤷‍♂️)

The customization is somewhat limited; you won’t be able to get a slideshow of Mema’s 80th birthday from Google Photos, but the options provided by Roku are high quality. I really enjoy the dynamic ones, a must-have to prevent any burn for OLED TVs (is it still a thing?); they don’t impact the UI speed, and they look great.

I find the sounds while navigating the menu annoying; thankfully, you can change the volume to ‘low’ or turn it off entirely. Talking about navigation, the remote is awesome: 4 shortcuts pre-defined + 2 you can customize, easy-to-access volume buttons on the side, blessed by a USB charging port!, ideal size and weight, and if you don’t like it, you can always use the app (screenshot below, source Roku). Awesome does not mean perfect: out-of-the-box buttons are too stiff, USB-C would have been better, a backlight would always be a good idea for a TV remote, and the fabric tag is misplaced and tickles my hand palm sometimes.

I can’t talk seriously about the voice commands as I’m not fond of those. If you keep your expectations low and don’t expect a full home assistant a la Google Assistant or Alexa, it worked fine based on the few I tried.