Among all the streaming TV devices, Roku makes my favorite remote controls. They’re ergonomic and comfortable to use while you’re staring at the Netflix home page for 90 minutes, trying to decide what to watch.
They’re also intuitive to use, with buttons that I find easy to locate in a dark room. Compared to the Apple TV remote, the Roku’s plastic doesn’t feel as fancy, but the button layout and the number and choice of buttons makes more sense to me.
Upgrading to Roku’s better remotes gains you features that aren’t in the basic remotes included with cheaper Roku TVs and cheaper Roku streaming devices. And having used all of Roku’s remotes, I’d say it’s worth the $30 to upgrade.
expanded features
Roku currently sells five models of Roku remote, but not all of them will work with all Roku devices. The Roku Players Remote —what Roku calls the “Roku Simple Remote”—works with most Roku devices, but not with Roku TVs. That is, Roku-branded TVs with the Roku interface built into them.
For Roku TV’s, the most basic model is the nearly identical Roku TV Remote, which works only with Roku TVs. That’s no real bother, though, since these two are the barebones, cheapest Roku remotes.
Why would you want to buy one, unless you lost yours and want the cheapest replacement possible? It’s not much of an upgrade, and it’d be a downgrade from the remote that comes with better Rokus.
The real upgrades are the Roku Voice Remote and Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition). They’re the ones that gain you the nicer features, such as hands-free voice control, backlit buttons (for dark rooms), a customizable quick launch button to your preferred app, and a rechargeable, internal battery which you can periodically top off with a phone charger and a USB-C cable.
These remotes work with Roku TVs and audio devices, and most Roku streaming boxes and streaming sticks. According to Roku, “some older models may not be supported.” Ignore the Roku Voice Remote Pro. It’s just the older version of the Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition), and no cheaper.
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