Roku Voice Remote Pro review: a good upgrade

Roku’s new Voice Remote Pro is the company’s first remote control, which comes with an always-on mix. These can make you easily launch a streaming app or find the remote yourself, should it get lost in the cushion of the couch, just by using your voice. The new $ 29.99 remote, a standalone purchase that works with Roku streamers and Roku TVs, also has a headphone jack for private listening and includes buttons to control the power and volume of your TV. And to accomplish this, Roku throws in two customizable shortcut buttons that you can program to remember any voice command and repeat it with one press. Perhaps best of all, you won’t need to hunt for AA batteries anymore: Voice Remote Pro replaces them with a rechargeable battery that can last up to two months on one charge.

It certainly looks like part of a Roku remote. Weight-wise, Voice Remote Pro felt the same in my hand as it did with my TCL Roku TV. But instead of a removable back cover, there is a micro USB port under it. Yes, I very much wish there was a USB-C jack instead, but Roku chose the old plug. Either way, it is largely hidden from view when you are using the remote because it is behind the purple Roku tag.

To the left is a 3.5mm jack that will pass audio from your Rook TV or Roku streaming device into whatever headphones you plug in. Private listening remains a major feature, although other platforms such as Chromecast such as Google TV, Fire TV, and. Apple TV support Bluetooth earbuds to achieve the same end result; If you need to keep a room quiet, but still want to enjoy a show or movie, you can keep a bubble of your personal voice without disturbing others.

On the left side of the remote is another new addition: Roku has included a sliding switch to enable or turn off Voice Remote Pro’s always-listening mode. Some people are not comfortable having microphones in their home and listening to vacations. If you switch hands-free mode, you can still press the microphone button on the front of the remote to speak the command. On the right side are the volume rocker and the mute button.

All of Voice Remote Pro’s face buttons are the same size on my TCL Roku remote, although this remote is slightly longer because it adds two programmable buttons above the four branded shortcut buttons. Roku’s marketing images show an Apple TV Plus button with Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu. But the remote I had to review was actually Sling TV rather than Apple’s service. Roku tells me that I am turning it into a future shipment, which I consider to be an indication of how recently it was signed with Apple. The buttons are not removable, so if you want Apple, it’s probably best to wait.

Some people don’t mind these branded buttons because they are easy to use and direct: others complain that Foursome always has an app or service that they either don’t have or never use. Sometimes the buttons manage to underline their advertised services: Roku has Blockbuster, PlayStation Vue and Rdio on its remote – all services before that no longer exist. I can understand both arguments, but given how much money Roku spends in those quick-access shortcuts, the sponsored buttons are here to stay. Thankfully, Roku has at least made a good decision that includes two customizable buttons to go with them.

Buttons labeled “1” and “2” can save any voice command that Roku supports; Just long-press either button after the voice command, and it will be set as the function of that button. This can be simple to use as two shortcuts for applications that do not have their own button, such as “Open HBO Max” or “Open More.” But you can use shortcut buttons for searches (“show me free movies”), input selection (“switch on antenna TV”), or TV controls (“increase volume,” “turn off captioning”). I like the flexibility.

Voice Remote Pro’s built-in microphone did a fine job raising my voice when the coffee table was several feet away from me; I didn’t have to shout or over-annotate anything to successfully register my voice commands. Roku says that “mid-field microphones” can work up to 12 feet away, but at that point, you’ll probably have to raise your voice a bit more.

However, Roku’s voice platform is not expected to replace Google Assistant or Alexa. Apart from opening channels or searching for content, it is still underdeveloped stuff. You can ask what the time is, but it cannot give you the weather. “Turn up the volume” works perfectly on my TCL Roku TV, but did not “turn up the brightness”. Some apps like Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max Start playing content directly after voice request, but look Crown On Netflix “You need to click through from the voice search result. (You can say” Hey Roku, okay “to select whatever is currently highlighted, so you are technically still only on your Can start watching with voice.)

“Hey Roku, find the remote” easily proved to be my favorite voice command. Assuming that the remote is in a location where you can say it, it will emit a sound for 60 seconds or until you press a button to indicate that it has not been found . The Roku Ultra has a button on the self-streaming box for this purpose, but it’s even easier – assuming you’re always fine with On-Max. You can also trigger remote beeping with Roku’s smartphone app.

Amazon recently announced that it is adding sponsored shortcut buttons to the Fire TV remote, and this means that Stop and Amazon are very similar for clicker functionality. Both can control the power and volume of your TV, both have dedicated sponsored buttons. Roku’s Voice Remote Pro leads with customizable buttons that Amazon’s remote lacks, however. And Amazon still requires you to press and hold the mic button for Alexa commands; There is no hands-free option. It’s a little surprising that Roku beat Amazon with a remote, which you can talk to throughout the room, though the Fire TV Cube makes hands-free commands in streaming devices.

Rocco’s Voice Remote Pro is being released only after Logitech has confirmed that it is making a remake of Harmony. And in part, why these are streaming remakes; Thanks to HDMI-CEC, they can cover enough ground for a lot of people that universal remotes are not the necessary living room gadgets they were 10 years ago. And TVs are fast becoming “smart” with built-in support for Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit, so you can include them in the smart home routine.

Purely from an ergonomic point of view, my favorite streaming player remote is the backlit remote for Nvidia’s Shield TV. Yes, it is a Netflix button – but it is for the sponsored button. And Nvidia lets you fully customize what the Settings button does. You can decide what a tap, press and hold or double press will do. You can set to open different apps or choose from many other functions if you wish. There is no headphone jack, and Nvidia is still regularly using old AA batteries, so Roku still comes forward in some ways.

Streaming the Apple TV Remote App button clears up, but it is too small, easily lost in the far reaches of the couch, and simply not great to use. Google’s remote is quite simple for the latest Chromecast, but it goes the farthest with a “customizable” button, allowing you to choose which YouTube app – YouTube, YouTube TV, YouTube Kids, YouTube Music, and more – YouTube button will open.

Voice Remote Pro is by far the best execution of a Roku remote, even though it may not reach the realm of being capable of a Harmony. Programmable buttons, private listening and hands-free voice commands are enough to justify the $ 29.99 price and upgrade to a standard focus remote. Not everyone will be comfortable with a remote that is always listening to them, but with the money you will save on the battery, it basically pays for itself.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Reporter Door