At its first global event, Roku unveiled new Roku-made TVs, significantly smaller streaming players, battery-powered smart home cameras, and expanded international availability.
Roku announced a slate of new products and software updates on Wednesday, April 23, at its first global event in New York City. Founder and CEO Anthony Wood, alongside other executives, outlined Roku’s next chapter, aimed at solidifying its leadership in North American TV streaming.
Roku now reaches over 90 million households globally, with its platform accounting for nearly half of all TV streaming in the U.S. The company unveiled new Roku-made TVs at Wednesday’s event, including significantly smaller streaming players, battery-powered smart home cameras, and expanded international availability. The updated device lineup features a new Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick Plus, which are marketed as being over 35% smaller than competing sticks without sacrificing performance.
Beyond being smaller, the new Roku Streaming Stick and Stick Plus add voice and TV controls. Crucially, they are now so power-efficient they can be powered directly from a TV’s USB port for the first time, eliminating the need for a separate power outlet.
Roku also detailed enhancements to its line of Roku-branded TVs and introduced the wireless Roku Battery Camera and Battery Camera Plus for indoor or outdoor use. Roku highlighted its Roku Smart Picture tech, especially Roku Smart Picture Max on the new Plus and Pro series TVs. This feature automatically optimizes picture settings scene by scene based on the content being watched, aiming to solve the issue that most users (over 91%) never change the default picture modes.
On the software side, Roku highlighted new platform features designed to improve content discovery, including personalized sports highlights and a “Coming Soon to Theaters” row. The company also revealed it is expanding its Roku TV partner program to include a reference design for smart projectors.
Complementing its hardware and software push, Roku continues to invest in original content for The Roku Channel. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine and Rich Eisen Productions for “Women’s Sports Now,” a new weekly series dedicated to covering the latest news and stories across women’s sports. Hosted by Renee Montgomery and Sarah Tiana, with Suzy Shuster executive producing and serving as a recurring co-host, the show aims to capitalize on the surging popularity of women’s athletics and provide fans with a go-to source on the free streaming channel.
“Our mission remains the same — to deliver better TV for everyone,” Mustafa Ozgen, president of devices, product, and technology at Roku, said in a press release. “With this new device lineup and beyond, we are changing the future of television, with streaming that is seamless, innovative, and enjoyable.”
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Underscoring its global ambitions, Roku announced the launch of its new Streaming Stick models in Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and numerous countries across Central and South America. Mexico will also receive the new players, along with the upcoming launch of the platform’s Sports Zone feature. Roku is also adding Daily Trivia to its platform, building on the success of Weekly Trivia, which attracted over 15 million players.
Ultimately, Roku’s comprehensive updates signal a clear commitment to driving the next phase of streaming through enhanced devices, smarter software, and expanded global reach. We’ll be watching to see what Roku does next as streaming services continue to grow.
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