Been thinking about getting a new Roku? You are likely not alone, but should you? Today I am going to try and help you decided if now is the right time to upgrade your old Roku.
The very first Roku was released in May 2008 to the newest Roku Ultra that came out in September 2018. There are now over 35 different Roku players released over the last 11 years, it can be confusing whether you should upgrade to a new Roku Ultra or keep your old Roku 3. (Maybe even that old Roku LT or Roku SE?) There have even been different versions of Rokus with the same name like the 2013 Roku 2 and the much more powerful 2015 Roku 2.
The good news is Roku has been working hard to support older Roku devices. Roku players as far back as 2013 are still getting Roku support and are still widely used. The bad news is some older Rokus are not getting the most up-to-date apps. For example, not all of the older Roku players have the same Netflix app with the same Netflix features.
Should you upgrade your older Roku for a new one?
That is a complicated question. If you have a Roku player from 2012 or before, I recommend upgrading it as you are likely no longer getting the newest features. With that said, if your Roku is a Roku 2 2012 or newer do you need to upgrade?
My answer to anyone who is thinking of upgrading their Roku is always the same. If your current Roku is doing everything you need there is no reason to upgrade it. Now if you find a service is not supporting your Roku and you want that service, then upgrade. But if your current Roku player is offering you all the content you want, don’t bother to upgrade.
The only exception here is if you buy a new 4K TV and you want to stream 4K content. At that point, you may want to replace your HD-only Roku 3 with something like a Roku Ultra so you can access 4K HDR videos on your new 4K HDR TV.
So, in short, if your current Roku does everything you need, don’t upgrade. If you find yourself wishing for some new feature—maybe 4K—or a streaming service is not supporting your device, upgrade.
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