After the Roku Express 4K, is a big Dolby Vision upgrade coming?;

Date:
Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:06:36 +0000

Description:
A now-deleted product listing on Rokus website suggests its Premiere streamer may be in line for a Dolby Vision update.

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The Roku Premiere raised the bar for mid-level 4K HDR streamers when it launched back in 2018 but with the arrival of the Roku Express 4K in 2021,
it now finds itself sandwiched between both cheaper and more premium Roku options available to customers looking for a high quality alternative to the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K or Google Chromecast .

What, then, is Roku to do to keep its once-impressive mid-tier streamer relevant to todays market? The answer, we think, is to add Dolby Vision support to the Premiere and some suspicious recent activity from the company suggests it may be considering such an update.

As part of a now-deleted product listing spotted by PocketLint on Rokus own website, the Roku Premiere appears alongside a feature list which details "New! Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Bluetooth." So what would this mean for the current Roku lineup? Which is the best Roku streaming device for you? The best TVs of 2021 Which streaming service is the best?

While Dolby Atmos was supported on the previous iteration of the streamer via passthrough, the potential addition of Dolby Vision support would mark a
major new feature currently only available on the companys most expensive offering, the 4K HDR Roku Ultra . (Image credit: Roku / PocketLint)

Weve already seen Roku add 4K resolution to what was previously an HD-only model in the Roku Express, so it makes sense that it would look to upgrade
its existing mid-tier streamer without reaching the price heights of the Roku Ultra.

Roku has, however, since refuted suggestions that the Roku Premiere is set
for a major update, claiming the feature list was mistakenly copied over from the Roku Ultra product listing.

Were not convinced, though. For starters, Dolby Vision and Bluetooth support dont represent New! additions to the Roku Ultra it arrived with both
features at launch and so the copy spotted alongside the Roku Premiere cant really have been lifted over in its original form.

Whats more, the Roku Premiere originally shipped in the companys once-customary orange packaging, and the supposedly accidental product
listing shows the same device packaged in Rokus newer, purple box. A
necessary update

Still, even if Rokus associating Dolby Vision support with the Roku Premiere was indeed an innocent mistake, we think its a necessary step the company needs to take to create a bigger feature gap between its mid-tier streamer
and the Express 4K model which is almost an identical device.

In fact, the Express 4K, which is billed as the companys affordable offering, actually boasts a more powerful processor and dual-band Wi-Fi over the Premiere, despite retailing for the same price.

In the US and UK, the Roku Premiere is priced at $39.99 / 39.99 (though regular sales means you can likely pick one up for around $24.99 / 29.99) which is the same figure demanded by the Roku Express 4K.

When the Express added 4K functionality on top of its original HD offering, its price jumped by $10 / 10. If Roku does indeed add Dolby Vision support
for the Premiere, then as we think it needs to it follows that the company would bump up its original price slightly.

But given that the newest Roku Ultra retails for $99.99 (its not yet
available outside of the US), a price of around $49.99 / 49.99 / $AU65 would see it adopt a more logical position between its more affordable and
expensive siblings.

At present, though, the Roku Premiere is less mid-tier and more, well, old news. These are the cheapest Roku sale prices and deals for July 2021



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/after-the-roku-express-4k-is-a-big-dolby-vision -upgrade-coming/


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