It’s game over for Roku’s original 4K streaming player, the Roku 4, with Roku informing owners this week that the device won’t be getting any new features or OS updates.
As reported by Cord Cutters News, Roku has been notifying Roku 4 users over the past several days that their devices will still stream video and get “critical” updates, including (presumably) security patches. That said, feature and channel updates are now off the table.
The Desk was the first to report that the Roku OS 11.5 update would be the last one for the Roku 4.
Roku also warned Roku 4 users that some individual channels may eventually stop working as “channel partners make updates.”
Ready to move on from the Roku 4? Be sure to read our recommendations for the best media streamers.
Roku officially discontinued the Roku 4 (model number 4400X) years ago, but the streaming player had still been getting feature and OS updates. The most recent Roku OS update that the Roku 4 received was OS 11.5, which was issued last September.
On Roku’s “hardware specifications” page, the Roku 4 now sits in the “legacy models” category, which designates older devices that have been discontinued and “cannot run newer Roku OS versions.”
Some Roku 4 owners on Reddit claimed that Roku was offering up to 40 percent discounts on more recent Roku players, including the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, although others said they didn’t receive any discount offers.
We’ve reached out to Roku for more details.
Originally released back in 2015, the Roku 4 wound up receiving roughly eight years of software updates–not bad as far as streaming players go.
As our review from early 2016 notes, the Roku 4 was “nearly four times larger” than the manufacturer’s “other three hockey puck-shaped players,” and it was the only one with an internal cooling fan.
Most importantly, however, the Roku 4 was the first Roku player capable of streaming 4K video, although 4K video streaming was in its infancy back then.
Amazon Prime Video and Netflix were the only two major streaming services that offered 4K titles (remember, there was no Apple TV+, Disney+, or HBO Max yet, although Hulu was around), and 4K streaming quality was still somewhat touch-and-go.
The Roku Ultra eventually replaced the Roku 4 as the manufacturer’s flagship streaming player.
Updated on March 17, 2023 to clarify that The Desk was the first to report that the Roku 4 would no longer receive OS updates; Cord Cutters News’s story came later.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.