Roku Streaming Stick Plus UK Review: Small But Mighty

Streaming sticks are getting pricier, and smart TVs are getting smarter – so why would anyone shell out for yet another HDMI-hogging device? That’s the question Roku’s new Streaming Stick Plus needs to answer, and at £39.99, it makes a compelling case.

This ultra-portable 4K streaming stick replaces the chunky Express 4K box with something you can slip into your pocket, finally adds the voice remote as standard equipment, and manages to deliver snappy performance without breaking the bank.

It’s a welcome evolution in Roku’s lineup, offering genuinely good value in a market where competitors keep pushing prices upward.

It’s also about time. Roku’s UK lineup has been growing stale, with their last streaming stick release back in 2022. While Fire TV and Google have been regularly refreshing their offerings, Roku has been relatively quiet on British shores.

These new models (including this Stick Plus and its HD sibling) represent the company’s first serious hardware update for UK customers in years.

After using the Streaming Stick Plus for a month, I’ve found a lot to like – from the clean, straightforward interface to the excellent picture quality. But it’s not without its quirks.

The “What to Watch” recommendation system sometimes suggests content that makes me wonder if my cat has been secretly binge-watching children’s shows, and you still can’t install anything not approved by Roku.

So, is this new stick the budget 4K streamer to beat? Let’s find out.

Who Is The Roku Streaming Stick Plus For?

If you’re not familiar with Roku, you might be surprised to learn they’re actually a streaming powerhouse. In the US, they regularly battle it out with Amazon for the top spot in streaming device market share.

Here in the UK, however, they’ve been steadily building their presence over the years – but they’re not as popular as the Fire TV, and don’t offer the full set of features, devices and content that they do in the US.

The new Roku Streaming Stick Plus is one of two fresh devices Roku has introduced to replace their ageing Express lineup.

This £39.99 4K streamer sits alongside its more affordable sibling, the standard Roku Streaming Stick (£29.99), which offers similar features but tops out at HD resolution.

The most obvious change? These are proper sticks now, not little boxes pretending to be sticks. It’s a welcome design shift that solves several real-world annoyances.

No more finding a flat surface near your TV, no more adhesive strips to stick the box somewhere visible, and no more dangling HDMI cables.

But who exactly should be considering this new Plus model? I see three main groups:

First, there are existing Roku users looking to upgrade from older Express models. You’ll get the familiar interface you love, but with slightly better performance, 4K support (if your TV handles it), and a much cleaner setup behind your telly – but if you’re OK with the old Express form factor, then an upgrade is far from necessary in this case.

Then there are those of you who’ve never owned a standalone streaming device before and are relying on your Smart TV’s built-in apps.

We’ve all been there – watching those spinning loading circles, navigating clunky menus, and dealing with apps that suddenly stop working because your TV manufacturer couldn’t be bothered to update them anymore.

The Streaming Stick Plus solves those frustrations with a consistently snappy interface that loads apps in seconds rather than what feels like geological epochs. And unlike your TV’s operating system, Roku actually gets regular updates.

Finally, there are the travellers and multi-room users. The new stick format makes this thing genuinely portable – slip it in your bag, head to a hotel or holiday rental, and plug it into any TV with an HDMI port.

With your accounts already logged in, you’re instantly at home with all your streaming services. No more awkwardly typing passwords using on-screen keyboards in unfamiliar hotels.

It’s also worth noting the current top-of-the-line model from Roku – the Streaming Stick 4K, which has been around since 2022. It’s a bit more expensive, and its main upsell is the inclusion of Dolby Vision support, and improved WiFi connectivity.

So, what makes Roku different from its competitors? In a word: simplicity. These devices pass what I call the “grandmother test” – you could set one up for your gran and not expect weekly support calls.

The interface is clear, straightforward, and doesn’t try to overwhelm you with “recommendations” or adverts (well, mostly).

That simplicity is both Roku’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness. If you’re after a device that just lets you get to Netflix, iPlayer or Disney+ without fuss, Roku is brilliant.

If you want something that tries to unify all your content across services and make clever suggestions, the Fire TV or Google TV might be more your cup of tea (that said, Roku’s been trying to add some of this functionality with the newish ‘What to Watch’ section – but it still feels a bit half-baked. More on that later).

But here’s the thing – sometimes simpler really is better. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to explain to friends how to find their actual apps on a Fire TV Stick buried beneath Amazon’s promotional content.

With Roku, your apps are right there on the home screen, exactly where you’d expect them to be.

Setting Up The Roku Streaming Stick Plus

Getting the new Roku Streaming Stick Plus up and running is a straightforward affair, though there are a few things you should know before diving in.

What’s In The Box

Pop open the box and you’ll find the stick itself, a USB-C power cable, and the voice remote with batteries included.

This remote is a notable upgrade for anyone coming from the old Express devices, which shipped with Roku’s basic non-voice remote. The voice remote not only lets you search with your voice but also includes power and volume controls for your TV.

I particularly like the side-mounted volume and mute buttons – a design choice that makes them easy to find by touch alone when you’re watching in the dark.

It’s a small thing, but it shows that someone at Roku actually thought about how people use these devices in real life. Other manufacturers could learn a thing or two here.

That said, getting these volume buttons to actually work requires a bit more effort. You’ll need to go through Roku’s settings to find your TV model, which isn’t always straightforward.

I managed to sync my Sky Glass volume with the Roku remote without issues, but oddly enough, I couldn’t get it to work with my Metz Roku TV.

Another limitation is that the remote doesn’t support soundbars, so if your audio setup is more complex than your TV’s built-in speakers, those volume buttons might end up being useless.

The remote also comes with four pre-programmed shortcut buttons for popular streaming services. In my UK model, these were Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Prime Video. You can’t customise these buttons, unfortunately, so they’re only useful if you happen to subscribe to these specific services.

Power Play

One of the most welcome changes with this new model is how it handles power. For years, Roku actively discouraged users from powering their devices via their TV’s USB ports, insisting they were too power-hungry and needed a wall socket.

That’s changed with the Streaming Stick Plus. Roku now says the stick is efficient enough to run directly from your TV’s USB port, which means one less cable trailing down your wall-mounted setup.

There is a trade-off, though. Most TVs cut power to their USB ports when switched off, which means your Roku will completely power down each time you turn off your telly.

When you switch back on, you’ll need to wait about 10 seconds for the stick to boot up again. If that sounds annoying, you’ll want to use a wall socket instead.

Speaking of wall sockets – there’s no power adapter in the box. If your TV doesn’t have a USB port or you prefer the always-on approach, you’ll need to supply your own USB power adapter. It’s a bit cheeky given the £40 price tag, but not a deal-breaker.

Placement and Connectivity

The stick design means you simply plug it directly into your TV’s HDMI port – much cleaner than the old Express boxes with their separate HDMI cables.

The stick itself is impressively compact (“35% smaller than other brands”, according to Roku), so most people won’t have any issues fitting it behind their telly. And indeed – it’s tiny, and much smaller than the Fire TV 4K Max, for example, which has gotten rather chunky over the years.

That said, if you do have tight space constraints (perhaps your TV is mounted flush against a wall), an HDMI extender would have been useful. Unlike Amazon, which includes a small HDMI extender with their Fire TV sticks, Roku hasn’t bothered to include one here.

One notable omission from the new Streaming Stick Plus is Ethernet support. The previous Express devices could connect to wired internet via a USB adapter, but that option has been completely removed here.

You’re entirely dependent on WiFi, which supports 802.11ac dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz). In my testing, the connection was stable and fast enough for 4K streaming, but those with spotty WiFi might miss the wired option.

Account Setup

When you first power up the device, you’ll need to create or sign into a Roku account. There’s no way around this – the device simply won’t work without one.

If you already have a Roku account from a previous device, there’s good news and bad news. The good: Roku will automatically download all your previously installed apps and even carry over some of your settings.

The bad: it won’t remember your logins for individual streaming services. So yes, you’ll still need to dig out your Netflix, Disney+, and iPlayer passwords and type them in again (or, in some cases, use a QR code). A bit tedious, but you only have to do it once.

Setting up a new account requires payment details even if you don’t plan to make any purchases. It’s a common practice among streaming platforms these days, but still slightly annoying if you just want to try the device out first.

Using The Roku Streaming Stick Plus

The moment of truth with any streaming device is how it performs in daily use. Does it feel snappy? Is the interface intuitive? Can you find what you want to watch without developing a stress headache?

Performance

First, a word on specs. Roku is notoriously tight-lipped about the exact hardware powering their devices, but from what we can tell, the Streaming Stick Plus uses an ARM Cortex A55 processor paired with 1GB of RAM.

On paper, these specs are identical to the Express 4K it replaces, though it’s possible Roku has tweaked things under the hood.

In my day-to-day testing over the past couple of weeks, the Streaming Stick Plus felt consistently responsive. Apps launch quickly, menus scroll smoothly, and there’s very little of that frustrating lag you get with cheaper smart TVs.

Is it as lightning-fast as Amazon’s premium Fire TV Max or the Fire TV Cube? Not quite – but it’s more than good enough for everyday use, and I never found myself impatiently tapping the remote waiting for something to happen.

4K content loads promptly (assuming your broadband can handle it), and switching between apps is quick and painless. For a £40 device, the performance is impressive.

The Roku Interface

Roku’s interface is something of a throwback in today’s world of algorithm-driven content recommendations.

While the likes of Amazon and Google have revamped their interfaces multiple times over the years, Roku’s has remained remarkably consistent.

The main home screen is still that familiar grid of app tiles, letting you jump straight into the streaming service of your choice.

It’s clean, intuitive, and distinctly lacking in promotional content, compared to some – with the exception of that large banner ad on the right, and the occasional background-takeover.

So, when I just wanted to continue watching Black Mirror on Netflix, I appreciated how I could simply press the home button, select the Netflix tile, and be watching within seconds.

No wading through sponsored content, no algorithmic suggestions trying to divert my attention – just straight to what I wanted.

This simplicity is either Roku’s greatest strength or its greatest weakness, depending on your perspective.

If you know exactly what you want to watch and which app to find it in, Roku’s approach is refreshingly straightforward. If you’re more of a browser who likes discovering new content, you might find it a bit too bare-bones.

The “What to Watch” Hub

That said, Roku has made some concessions to the content discovery trend with its “What to Watch” hub, which sits just below the Home section in the main navigation bar.

This feature, which rolled out to UK users in 2023, attempts to provide personalised recommendations based on your viewing habits.

In practice, it’s a bit hit and miss. After using the stick for about a month, some of the recommendations were spot-on, while others were puzzlingly off-target.

Why was the children’s show “Bluey” dominating my recommendations? Unless our cat has figured out how to use the remote when we’re asleep, something’s off with the algorithm.

The “Continue Watching” row within this hub is a particularly useful idea that suffers from inconsistent execution.

The premise is simple – show content you’ve started but not finished, regardless of which streaming service it’s on. When it works, it’s brilliant. I could jump right back into shows from Netflix, Disney+ and Channel 4, among others, without having to navigate through their respective apps.

But the support is patchy. BBC iPlayer content never appeared in my Continue Watching list, and even with supported apps, it sometimes missed shows I was in the middle of watching.

There were also occasions where I’d finished a series, but it would still appear in Continue Watching as if I hadn’t watched the final episode – so it’s possible sync times vary between services and apps.

Save List

The “Save List” is Roku’s take on a universal watchlist – a place to bookmark content you want to watch later. It’s a useful feature in theory, but its implementation isn’t always very useful.

The main issue is that you can only add content to your Save List when you find it through Roku’s search or see it in the recommendations.

You can’t mark anything for later viewing from within most apps themselves. So if you’re browsing through Netflix and spot something interesting, you’ll need to exit, search for it via Roku, then add it to your Save List.

It’s not Roku’s fault, as this would take support from each individual app maker – but nevertheless, it’s cumbersome enough that I rarely bother.

The one exception is The Roku Channel (Roku’s own free, ad-supported streaming service), which does integrate with the Save List.

And last but not least – you can’t select different profiles / users, so the ‘What to Watch’, ‘Continue Watching’, and ‘Save List’ are all squashed together for the entire family.

Global Search

Speaking of search, Roku’s global search function remains one of its strongest features. Press the search button, type or speak what you’re looking for (with the now-bundled Voice Remote), such as a name of a movie, or a specific actor – and Roku will show you where it’s available across multiple streaming services.

The results are helpfully sorted by price, with free options (on services you subscribe to) appearing first, followed by rental and purchase options.

It’s a genuine time-saver when you’re trying to track down a specific film or show without opening half a dozen different apps.

I put it to the test with some obscure British comedies, and it managed to find most of them, though it occasionally missed content I knew was available on certain smaller platforms.

Apps and Channels

App support is comprehensive – Roku boasts thousands of “channels” (their term for apps), including all the heavy hitters like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV+. All the UK broadcasters are present too, with BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, and 5 all available.

One notable omission in Roku’s arsenal is a unified Live TV guide. While Amazon’s Fire TV offers a dedicated Live tab that aggregates live content from supported UK apps like iPlayer, ITVX and others, Roku offers no such feature.

If you want to see what’s broadcasting live, you’ll need to open each individual app and navigate to their live sections. It’s a shame, as having a single interface to browse what’s on right now across multiple channels would be genuinely useful for those who still enjoy live programming.

That said, I’ve noticed that Roku sometimes lags behind Fire TV when it comes to getting new apps (in the UK).

DAZN, for example, only recently appeared on Roku despite being available on Fire TV for ages. It’s not a dealbreaker, but worth keeping in mind if you’re the type who always wants the latest services right away.

Unlike the Fire TV, Roku no longer allows installation of “uncertified” apps – a practice they put a stop to a few years back.

There’s also no support for VPN apps (so you can’t virtually relocate yourself to access geo-restricted content), and no web browser. If these features matter to you, you might want to look elsewhere.

4K Picture Quality and HDR

When it comes to picture quality, the Streaming Stick Plus delivers the goods – for the most part. The stick supports 4K resolution at 60fps, along with HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG formats.

Notably absent is Dolby Vision support, which you’ll find on the more premium Roku Streaming Stick 4K model.

In my testing, 4K content from services like Netflix and Disney+ appeared crisp and vibrant, with HDR enhancing highlights and improving detail in darker scenes (although this largely depends on your TV’s capabilities these days).

The stick handled streaming 4K content without any buffering issues, despite being connected via WiFi.

There is, however, a strange bug that’s worth mentioning. For several months now, some Roku users have reported washed-out colours when watching HDR content on certain TV models.

I experienced this issue with the Roku stick connected to a Sky Glass TV during this review, and the only current fix is to disable HDR in the Roku’s settings – which rather defeats the purpose of having an HDR-capable device.

Looking at Roku’s community forums, it appears this was addressed for some users with a software update last month, but that update doesn’t seem to have reached UK devices yet.

Roku tells me that they’re aware of this issue, and are working on a fix.

While this won’t affect everyone and will likely be fixed eventually, it’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning to purchase the stick in the near future.

The Roku Smartphone App

Roku’s companion app for iOS and Android hasn’t changed much in recent years, but it remains a useful addition to the streaming experience.

Once paired with your Streaming Stick Plus, the app functions as a virtual remote control.

This comes in particularly handy when you’ve misplaced the physical remote (a frighteningly common occurrence in my household) or when typing in search terms and passwords (using your phone’s keyboard is infinitely less painful than navigating an on-screen one).

The app also enables voice search, allowing you to find content by simply speaking into your phone, but now that the voice remote is included in the box, there isn’t much reason to search via the app.

Perhaps the most useful feature is Private Listening. By connecting Bluetooth earphones to your phone, you can route the Roku’s audio through your mobile device.

This is perfect for late-night viewing when you don’t want to disturb others. I’ve used this countless times for those “just one more episode” sessions that stretch well past midnight.

In my tests, there was occasionally a slight audio delay causing lip-sync issues, though this varied depending on which earphones I used, and there were also a few audio skips here and there.

Bottom Line: Is The Roku Streaming Stick Plus Worth It?

In a market where streaming device prices keep climbing (the Fire TV Stick 4K now costs a hefty £60, while Google’s TV Streamer commands an eye-watering £100), the Roku Streaming Stick Plus stands out as a genuine bargain at £39.99.

What you’re getting for that price is impressive: a compact 4K HDR streaming stick with a voice remote included, support for virtually every streaming service worth having, and an interface that won’t make your head spin.

The new stick form factor is a welcome improvement over the older Express box, making it both easier to set up behind your TV and more portable for travels.

Performance-wise, it hits the sweet spot of being fast enough for everyday use without commanding a premium price. Yes, there are faster devices out there, but you’ll pay significantly more for marginal improvements in speed.

With the premium Roku Streaming Stick 4K unchanged since 2022 and costing more, there’s little reason to spend the extra cash unless Dolby Vision support is absolutely essential to your viewing experience. For most people, the HDR10 and HDR10+ support of the Streaming Stick Plus will be more than adequate.

The real question comes down to what kind of interface you prefer. If you want something that tries to be smart with AI-powered recommendations, content aggregation across services, and all the bells and whistles (and adverts!) that come with Fire TV or Google TV, then Roku’s more straightforward approach might feel too basic.

But if you just want a streaming device that gets out of your way and lets you access your apps without fuss, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is hard to beat. It’s refreshingly simple in a world where tech increasingly tries to think for us.

In short: If you need a 4K streaming device that’s affordable, reliable, and won’t require a technical degree to operate, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus earns an easy recommendation.

Note: The Roku Streaming Stick Plus was supplied by the manufacturer for this review. As always, this did not influence my unbiased opinion of the product.