Roku is increasing the cost of its popular streaming players by up to $50, with one report suggesting that the AI-influenced “RAMageddon” is to blame.
In an unusual move, Roku lists the existing prices on its website as “limited time,” but hasn’t specified when the new prices listed will kick in.
The biggest increases are for Roku’s flagship devices — the Roku Ultra and Streambar SE — which will increase in price from $100 to $150. Meanwhile, the popular Roku Streaming Stick 4K now costs 60% more, at $80.
The price changes are as follows:
Product | Old price | New price | | Roku Streaming Stick | $30 | $40 | | Roku Streaming Stick Plus | $40 | $60 | | Roku Streaming Stick 4K | $50 | $80 | | Roku Ultra | $100 | $150 | | Roku Streambar SE | $100 | $150 |
In my review of the Roku Ultra, I call it “undoubtedly the best Roku yet,” though I identify the identically priced Google Streamer as even better. But with a 50% cost increase, the Roku device now becomes less recommendable, and if you’re looking for a sub-$100 player, you should get the Google option while it stays at its current price.
The new prices follow an even more dramatic increase for the Apple TV 4K, which went from $129 to $199, while the 128GB version will now cost $249. Apple also blamed rising memory costs for its price hikes.
RAMageddon refers to the global memory-chip supply shortage caused by the rapid development of memory-intensive artificial intelligence tools, which has pushed up the price of laptops, phones, graphics cards and other devices.
Roku is the most popular streaming platform, with up to 100 million streaming households, and the company was recently acquired by Fox for $22 billion.
Representatives for Roku did not immediately respond to a request for comment.