Roku Hikes Hardware Prices by Up to 60%

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:

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.

TV and home video editor Ty Pendlebury joined CNET Australia in 2006, and moved to New York City to be a part of CNET in 2011. He tests, reviews and writes about the latest TVs and audio equipment. When he’s not playing Call of Duty he’s eating whatever cuisine he can get his hands on. He has a cat named after one of the best TVs ever made.

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