- Roku streaming device prices are going up
- Products are still available at ‘sale’ prices.
- One source attributes the change to the memory crisis.
Streaming devices like the Roku Streaming Stick Plus give you a lot of entertainment for relatively little money, but the value proposition is about to change: Roku is the latest tech company to raise its prices in response to the global memory shortage.
As Ars Technica and others discovered, prices for streaming devices on Roku’s US website have been raised, although the products are still available at their previous prices, now labeled as “sale” deals. It’s unclear how long this sale could last before the new price takes effect, but you might want to grab a Roku quickly.
The Streaming Stick is up to $39.99 from $29.99, the Streaming Stick Plus is up from $39.99 to $59.99, the Streaming Stick 4K is now $79.99 instead of $49.99 (the biggest jump of 60%), and the Roku Ultra box is up to $149.99 from $99.99.
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Looking at Roku’s international websites, including the UK one, there’s no sign of price increases yet, but it seems inevitable that if the company is raising the cost of buying a Roku in the US, this will also come to other countries in the near future.
Is it time to change?
Roku hasn’t officially said anything about the new pricing changes, but according to The Desk team, a Roku executive they spoke to confirmed it was due to “a shortage of computer memory and other components.”
We know that the rapid increase in demand for AI computing power has led to severe memory shortages and skyrocketing costs, and everyone in the industry has been affected. Last month, Apple raised prices on a variety of different products in response, including iPads and MacBook Neo.
The online reaction has been mostly negative, as expected. One Redditor says that “it’s hard to find another affordable option” for streaming devices like these, although other commenters recommend alternatives from Google and Apple.
There’s also some consternation over the increasing number of ads showing on Roku screens and Fox’s recent acquisition of the company. However, whatever you think about Roku, it’s another sign that consumers are being hit hard by memory shortages.
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