Time to ditch Amazon Fire TV Stick? Roku enjoys HUGE price cut that rival can't match
NEED A TV upgrade? You might want to avoid Amazon's best-selling Fire TV range as Roku has dropped to a mind-blowing price in the UK.
Running out of things to watch? A streaming dongle can be a brilliant way to unlock dozens of new shows, movies and sports to watch on your telly. These affordable devices, which plug directly into the HDMI port on the side of your TV, boast access to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, as well as games. Amazon and Roku are two of the most options on the market – with comparable features and access to a similar number of streaming apps. But when it comes to the most affordable streaming dongle, there is currently no competition between these two. Roku Express has dropped from £29.99 to just £19.99. For the same features from Amazon, you'll need to pay £29.99 for its Fire TV Stick Lite.
Despite the ludicrously low price, Roku Express still arrives with access to exactly the same number of apps as every other device in the line-up – with everything from Sky TV's NOW, Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4, BritBox, Apple TV+, Google Play Movies, and more. It also arrives with its own Roku Channel, which boasts a number of boxsets to binge and movies to watch – all completely free of charge. Roku Express is limited to 1080p High Definition (HD) quality and there's no support for voice controls built into the remote.
But the Fire TV Stick Lite has exactly the same limitations with its hardware, with viewers restricted to just 1080p rather than 4K Ultra HD. It's worth noting that if you're going to be mainly watching boxsets and movies on Netflix, this isn't much of a problem. That's because, unless you pay the highest monthly subscription fee (£13.99 a month compared to the £5.99 required for its basic non-HD package) you won't even be able to access 4K Ultra HD content from Netflix anyway.
That's a stark difference with the likes of Disney+, Apple TV+, and Amazon's Prime Video, which include this ultra-crisp picture quality to anyone with a subscription (as long as the device they're using supports the feature).
If you do want access to Ultra HD content, look no further than the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which has dropped from £49.99 down to £39.99. The comparable Fire TV Stick 4K currently sells for £49.99. Unlike the more affordable Roku Express, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K can double-up as a universal remote to control core feature on your telly – so you don't need to worry about juggling between multiple remote controls. Using the compact remote included in the box, you'll be able to power on the television, change the volume, and mute.
There's also voice search included with the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, so you can hold down the microphone button on the remote and say the name of your favourite actor, director, streaming app, or show to search across the entire operating system. If you're unsure whether the boxset you're looking to binge is included with Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ ...this is a great time-saver. Roku Streaming Stick 4K also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
There's no word on how long these discounts will be available, so if you're in need of an upgrade – add to your basket as soon as possible. You really don't want to miss out.