Roku has announced the Roku 4, the successor to the more than two year-old Roku 3.
The set-top box features a new, sleeker design, as well as new internals that support 4K streaming. Inside you’ll find a more powerful quad-core processor, optical audio out, 1.5 GB of RAM and a 802.11ac MIMO WiFi module.
Alongside the new hardware, Roku also announced major new additions to Roku OS. Now in its seventh iteration, the biggest addition to the operating system is something called Roku Feed.
When the user bookmarks a television show or movie (as well as their favourite actors and directors), the set-top box will issue notifications related to that content in the form of a feed. With Roku Feed, it is possible to see, at a glance, when and how that content becomes available, as well as how much it costs. The idea here is to reduce the amount of time users spend searching for something to watch; instead, the content comes to them.
If this feature sound familiar, it’s because Roku launched a limited version of it back in March that focused on movies that were soon-to-be available.
Roku has also made their devices more travel and dorm friendly. In public places that require a person visit a website to access the WiFi, Roku owners can use the set-top on that network by logging in with their mobile device or laptop.
Lastly, the company’s iOS and Android has been updated with a new design, and makes it easier to access Roku’s main features, including the aforementioned Roku Feed.
If you don’t own a 4K television, you don’t need to buy the Roku 4 to take advantage of these software features. Current Roku owners will be able to download the new Roku OS starting sometime in mid-October.
Rook 4 pre-orders are currently live in the United States at $129.99 per unit. We’ve contacted Roku to find out Canadian pricing and availability.
Update: A Roku spokesperson has told us the company plans to bring Roku 4 to Canada sometime in 2016.
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