Roku just refreshed its streaming box lineup, with a $30 Chromecast killer leading the way
Roku
The big news for Roku is that it's rebranded the bulk of its lineup, as previously hinted.
Gone are the entry-level Roku 1, the mid-tier Rokus 2 and 3, and the high-end Roku 4 - now, you've got the Roku Express (and Express Plus), Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere Plus, and Roku Ultra, respectively. (The Roku Streaming Stick, meanwhile, will stick around at $50.)
Of those, the Roku Express is likely to make the biggest splash. At $30, it's the most affordable streamer the company's released to date, and should give Google's Chromecast some serious competition on the budget side of the market.
Roku, for its part, pitches the name change as a way of simplifying the purchasing process. That's debatable, but either way, the boxes themselves don't bring many surprises.
What they do bring, however, is a way for Roku to directly compete with each of its major rivals: Beyond the Chromecast, the Premier and Premier Plus are made to take on Amazon's Fire TV in the midrange, while the new Ultra looks like a powerful Apple TV alternative on the premium end.
Here's a closer look at what you can expect.
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