If you find that your TV is too slow to stream built-in apps, here’s a decent deal that can help fix things on the cheap: The Roku Streaming Stick 4K on sale again for $29. This offer is available for most of the holiday season, and it’s not a seasonal low — the dongle previously dropped to $25 through the end of 2023 — but it’s the biggest discount we’ve tracked this year. For reference, Roku usually sells the device for $50, although in recent months it usually sold for $34 at third-party sellers like Amazon. Either way, you’re saving a little more than usual.

The discount is available at many stores, including Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Roku.com. If you’re hoping to get the device as a Christmas present, that’s even more trouble: Most of the listings we could find said it wouldn’t ship until after the holidays, so you’ll likely have to order to -pick up at a Walmart, Best Buy or other retailer with physical locations.

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This ties the best price we’ve seen all year for Roku’s 4K streaming dongle.

$29 on Amazon

We recommend Streaming Stick 4K in our guide to best streaming device. It’s not as fast or fluid as a premium set-top box like Apple TV 4Kbut it’s still easy to load apps and menus, and its small design plugs directly into your TV’s HDMI port. It supports almost all major HDR formats and streaming services (Twitching Besides), and it works with Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol, so you can play this content from an iPhone. While it can’t decode Dolby Atmos audio on its own, it can stream that audio to a compatible sound system from apps that support the technology.

Like other Roku devices, the Streaming Stick 4K is dead-simple to navigate, with a home screen made up of a basic grid of apps. Google’s TV Streamer (the top pick in our guide) is more proactive about recommending content you like and bringing you back to shows you’ve watched recently, but you may find Roku’s interface easier. ​get if you don’t want to surf things watch out for yourself.

The UI makes a lot of free content easy to access too, and we found the search to be great, although it’s not as robust as Google’s OS. We also like Roku’s mobile app, which lets you control the device and listen privately with a pair of headphones. Like any other streaming player, there are ads scattered throughout the UI, although Roku is at least less aggressive about them than Amazon with Fire TV accessories.

A few other Roku devices are still available for their Black Friday prices as well, including Roku Express 4K+ (which lacks Dolby Vision HDR) for $24 and the Year Ultra (with a larger box design, full Atmos support and a more advanced remote) for $79. For most people looking visit Roku Cityhowever, the Streaming Stick 4K has to be the best value.

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