Roku today unveiled the Voice Remote Pro, its newest remote that comes with a dedicated Apple TV+ button for quick access to Apple’s TV app on Roku devices.
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Roku Voice Remote Pro with Apple TV+
The Apple TV+ button is found alongside the Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ buttons. Roku has also added the Apple TV+ button to its new Express 4K+ and Streambar Pro. This gives Apple’s nascent video-streaming service a prime spot on Roku’s remotes, raising its profile.
Scoring such prime real estate on Roku’s remote controls doesn’t come cheap—as reported byBloombergin 2019, Roku charges a fee of approximately $1 per button, per device sold.
This marks the first time an Apple TV+ button has appeared on any remote control.
AsThe Vergereports, the new Voice Remote Pro from Roku also features a built-in lithium-ion battery that recharges through the included micro-USB port. Voice control is supported, springing into action with a push of a dedicated button. However, the Voice Remote Pro also introduces “Hey Roku” hotword detection for hands-free voice control from across the room.
Other newsworthy features of the new Voice Remote Pro include a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening along with a remote finder feature for finding your lost or misplaced accessory (select other Roku remotes support this as well).
Roku Express 4K+ and software updates
Roku has also unveiled an inexpensive 4K media streamer, dubbed the Express 4K+, that features support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 feature for wirelessly streaming audio and video from an iPhone, iPad or Mac. It also supports HomeKit, Apple’s software for the connected home, allowing you to control the device with Siri or through the Home app on your Apple devices.
For more information on that, readRoku’s blog post.
On top of that, the company is bringing both AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility to certain models of its HD Roku streaming players and TVs using Roku. These features used to belimited to Roku’s 4K devices, but not anymore. According to the company’spress release, the new Roku OS 10 software update is now rolling out to customers.
The newRoku Voice Remote Prois priced at $29.99 in the United States. As for the newRoku Express 4K+streaming player, it’s available in the United States for $39.99.
