It makes zero sense for me to switch to another wireless provider. Because, I also have verizon fios bundle for internet. I get a pretty good discount of internet and wireless. Unless, AT&T, t-mobile, or Google runs fiber in my area, I will be staying put with verizon.
I personally would love to see ROKU make their players or at least the ULTRA player with WiFi 6 or WiFi 6E option. The WiFi 6E option would be preferable since many advanced networks these days are 6E networks that are by their design, able to carry significantly more data over their wireless connections and thus would allow for less interference from the plethora of other devices that connect to wireless networks and this would also help many who are in an apartment type situation where there are a ton of 5G network devices nearby and so 6E would offer a great advantage! It's sad to see that ROKU's Main competitor has already come out with WiFi 6 connectivity! You'd think that ROKU would be on top of things and stay competitive but that doesn't appear to be the case? unfortunately....
SK
Don't forget about WPA3. Roku forces you to have a less secure environment. Wireless 6 came out in 2019 and brought WPA3.
I hope some Roku senior managers are reading this thread. It's PATHETIC that Roku hasn't upgraded any of its streaming devices to WiFi 6 or higher. My wife and I like the Roku usability more than Apple TV and Amazon Firestick. We have 2 TVs in our home to switch to Roku streamer stick or Ultra. But it doesn't make any sense to buy very old technology, no matter how inexpensive, even on Amazon Prime Day!
Get with the program Roku and invest more in your streaming hardware, not just your Roku TV's and advertising projects...
I just installed a 6E WiFi and all of our phones (all more than a year old) picked up on the 6Ghz band immediately.. So 6E is not some recent thing.
Also Roku sells thousands of boxes/sticks in a year, therefore they have purchasing power in the supply chain, more than most, so I am not buying the pricing issue.
I get the mass marketing angle to support ad revenue, it's your bread and butter, but I do think there is room above the Ultra to market a high end streamer. A device with the requisite ability to play not just 4K but HD audio (like Tidal) and the associated connectivity to higher end components that consumers at the high end embrace.
While many don't mind plugging a $89 Ultra into their system, imagine a $250 "Pro" with higher end connectivity, or a $350 "Pro+" with 1 year of included concierge service.
When Dodge came out with the mass market Charger, it did OK, but they really made money when they kept upgrading the engine. The margins were enormous.
Something to think about. Chase to the bottom on price, or chase higher per unit margin?
The price of a wifi 7 card is very similar to wif 5 and wifi 6 for OEM's.
So we're asking for 2 deliverables from Roku...
1) Simply upgrade your Ultra and sticks to support WiFi 6E or WiFi7 (preferably WiFi7 as even Apple iPhone 16's now support WiFi7)
2) Introduce a higher end Roku streaming console to leverage the benefits of customer investments in higher end TV and Audio components.
Roku, hello? hello?