Roku Ultra 2024 Review: Is the Flagship Streaming Box Worth $100?

The Roku Ultra has always sat at the top of Roku's lineup, and the 2024 model (sold under ASIN B0DF44RTTP) is the most capable streaming box the company has ever shipped. While Roku's cheap sticks get most of the attention, the Ultra exists for a specific buyer: someone who wants the fastest possible Roku experience, wired Ethernet, and every premium HDR and audio format in one box. At around $100 it is no impulse buy, so the real question is whether it earns the premium over a $40 stick.

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This is a research-based review drawing on Roku's published specifications and the consensus of professional reviews and verified owner feedback. We will cover what the Roku Ultra does well, where it falls short, and exactly who should buy it instead of a cheaper player.

Roku Ultra 2024 at a glance

The 2024 Ultra is built around speed and connectivity. Roku rates it as more than 30% faster than its other players, and that headroom shows up as quicker app launches and snappier menu navigation — the kind of everyday responsiveness you stop noticing only because nothing makes you wait.

On the picture side it covers everything: 4K at 60fps, Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. That full HDR sweep matters because it means the Ultra adapts to whatever your TV and the content support, rather than forcing you to pick a player based on which single HDR format it handles. For audio it decodes Dolby Atmos and passes through DTS Digital Surround over HDMI.

Two hardware features set the Ultra apart from every Roku stick. The first is a wired Ethernet port for rock-solid streaming that does not depend on Wi-Fi congestion. The second is Wi-Fi 6 for when you do go wireless, plus Bluetooth for streaming audio directly to the box. There is also a USB port for local media playback.

The remote is the quiet upgrade

The 2024 Ultra ships with the Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition), and it is genuinely one of the best remotes in streaming. It is rechargeable, so you are not feeding it AAA batteries. It has backlit buttons that light up when you pick it up in a dark room. It supports hands-free voice control, so you can ask for a show without pressing anything. And it includes a lost-remote finder — press a button on the box and the remote chimes from wherever it slid under the couch. Two programmable shortcut buttons and a headphone jack for private listening round it out.

If you have ever used a basic streaming remote, these quality-of-life touches are the difference between tolerating a device and enjoying it.

Where the Roku Ultra makes sense

The Ultra's value is not about unlocking content you cannot get elsewhere — Roku's interface and app library are identical across its devices. It is about the experience around that content: the responsiveness, the wired connection, the better remote, and the complete format support in a single reliable box. For a primary living-room TV that gets daily use, those refinements add up.

It is also the right Roku for anyone with an unreliable Wi-Fi setup. The Ethernet port alone solves the buffering complaints that plague streaming sticks in homes with thick walls or a distant router.

Where it falls short

The price-versus-stick question

The honest counterargument is price. Roku's own 4K streaming sticks under $60 deliver the same apps, the same 4K and Dolby Vision support, and the same interface for a fraction of the cost. If you stream over strong Wi-Fi and do not care about backlit buttons or a lost-remote finder, a stick gives you 90% of the Ultra for less than half the money.

No HDMI input or ad-free home screen

The Ultra also does not have HDMI input, so it cannot pass through an external source the way Amazon's Fire TV Cube can — if you want one box to handle both streaming and a cable box or console, this is a real limitation. And like all Roku devices, its home screen carries sponsored content and ad rows, which feel slightly out of place on the company's most expensive player. Neither is a dealbreaker for most viewers, but both are fair to weigh against the price.

Setup and everyday use

Getting the Ultra running follows the familiar Roku routine: plug in HDMI and power, connect to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, sign into a Roku account, and the box walks you through adding your streaming apps. The whole process takes only a few minutes, and because the interface is identical to other Roku devices, anyone moving up from a stick will feel at home immediately with no relearning.

Day to day, the Ultra's strengths are the ones you feel rather than read on a spec sheet. App launches are quick, scrolling through large libraries stays smooth, and switching between services does not bog down the way it can on cheaper hardware over time. The universal search works across most major services and surfaces where a title is available and at what price, which cuts down on app-hopping. Roku's free, ad-supported Roku Channel is built in as well, giving you a large catalog of free movies and live TV without another subscription — a nice complement to a paid-service stack. For households that lean on free and live TV, that built-in catalog quietly stretches the value of the box.

Roku Ultra vs other Roku players

Who should buy the Roku Ultra 2024?

Buy the Roku Ultra if you want the fastest, most fully featured Roku for a main TV, value a wired Ethernet connection, and will appreciate the rechargeable backlit remote with hands-free voice and a lost-remote finder. It is the "buy it once and forget about it" Roku.

Skip it if you stream over solid Wi-Fi and mainly want the Roku interface at the lowest price — a 4K stick is the smarter spend there. And if you specifically need HDMI passthrough or the absolute fastest hardware, cross-shop the Fire TV Cube, which we compare directly in our Roku Ultra vs Fire TV Cube breakdown.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Roku Ultra 2024 support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos? Yes. It supports 4K at 60fps with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG for video, and it decodes Dolby Atmos with DTS Digital Surround passthrough over HDMI — the most complete format support in Roku's lineup.

Is the Ethernet port worth it over Wi-Fi? If your Wi-Fi is strong, you may never need it. But in homes with congestion, thick walls, or a far-away router, a wired connection eliminates buffering and is one of the main reasons to choose the Ultra over a stick.

Is the Roku Ultra worth it over a cheaper Roku stick? For a primary TV with heavy daily use, the speed, Ethernet, full HDR support, and upgraded rechargeable remote justify the premium. For a secondary TV on good Wi-Fi, a 4K stick delivers nearly the same experience for far less.