Roku’s new rechargeable remote could save you a ton on batteries
Plus it comes with a built-in far-field microphone
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Turns out, all those rumors about a rechargeableRokuremote were right on the money: today, Roku announced the Roku Voice Remote Pro that will save a ton on batteries.
Besides the rechargeable battery, Roku says the remote can now listen to you while you’re standing a few feet away thanks to a new far-field array, though, you can always flip a switch on the side of the remote to disable the microphone.
The Roku Voice Remote Pro is fairly inexpensive at $30 (around £22, AU$39), and should work with most newer Roku TVs and Roku players made after 2017 including theRoku Express,Roku Streaming Stick+andRoku Ultrabut not the numbered Roku products like theRoku 2,Roku 3andRoku 4.
The remote is available starting today on Roku’s website and will be coming to store shelves in May in the US with global availability to be announced at a later date.
Switching up the Roku lineup
Alongside the Roku Voice Remote Pro, Roku has announced that it will be making two tweaks to the lineup – eliminating theRoku Premiereand changing the name ofRoku Smart Soundbarto the Roku Streambar Pro – and will add one new player to the lineup.
The newest player is called the Roku Express4K+ and it serves as an in-between model for the Roku Express and Roku Streaming Stick+.
The big difference between the Express and Express 4K+ is that the latter will stream in 4K/HDRand will support HDR10+ content. It has a slightly shorter wireless range than the Roku Streaming Stick+, but the Express 4K+ still uses dual-band Wi-Fi.
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The Express 4K+ comes in at the super reasonable price of $40 (around £29, AU$50) and will be available alongside the Roku Voice Remote Pro in May in the US with global availability to be determined.
Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar’s sister site, Tom’s Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He’s also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he’s not using if anyone wants it.
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