Roku is raising the cost of its popular streaming players by up to $50, with a report suggesting AI-influenced “RAMageddon” is to blame.
In an unusual move, Roku lists existing prices on its website as “limited time” but has not said when the new prices listed will take effect.
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 4K streaming stick | $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,” although I single out the identically priced Google Streamer as being even better. But with a 50% cost increase, the Roku device now becomes less recommendable, and if you’re looking for a player under $100, you should get the Google option as long as 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 the price hike on rising memory costs.
RAMageddon refers to the global shortage of memory chips caused by the rapid development of memory-intensive artificial intelligence tools, which have driven 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.
Television and home video editor Ty Pendlebury joined CNET Australia in 2006 and moved to New York to be part of CNET in 2011. He tests, reviews and writes about the latest televisions and audio equipment. When he’s not playing Call of Duty, he eats whatever cuisine he can get his hands on. He has a cat named after one of the best TVs ever made. See full bio
