Early Prime Day 2021 deals on Roku and Fire TV streaming devices

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This story is part of Amazon Prime Day 2021, CNET’s guide on everything you need to know and how to make sure you get the best deal.

Amazon Prime Day 2021 is coming early next week, and Walmart, Best Buy and Target have their own sales starting from Sunday. The result? There’s a number of excellent deals on streaming devices starting now.

All of the below devices are simple ways to upgrade older TVs with the latest streaming services, with some at or near all-time low prices. However, we would exercise caution on buying Amazon devices till Monday — for example, the Fire TV Stick 4K will match its lowest-ever price of $25, and there’s likely more where that came from.

In the meantime, there’s still a lot of great options including 40% off the TiVo 4K Stream and a $10 discount on the Roku Express 4K Plus.

Note that prices and availability were accurate at the time of publication, but they may fluctuate.

Fire TV, Roku and streaming deals available now

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The latest Roku is our new go-to streaming pick. This is the best way to deliver a full range of streaming channels (including plenty of free content) to any TV, up to and including 4K HDR picture quality on compatible televisions. And now it’s 25% off — the best price we’ve seen since it first went on sale a few months ago.

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Roku and Fire TV are far from the only streamers out there — Android TV has made some meaningful gains in recent years. TiVo Stream 4K is an Android TV streamer that has some tricks up its sleeve, for example: Unlike Roku it offers a YouTube TV app, plus its interface is more conducive to grazing for new shows. At $29, this device is a drop-dead bargain.

Read our TiVo Stream 4K review.

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This is the only Fire stick that can play back 4K HDR video, and at the same price as the standard, non-4K stick, it’s worth the investment, even if you don’t have a 4K TV already. But with Prime Day next week, the price will tumble to $25 and so it’s best to wait.

Read our Fire TV Stick 4K review.

The Streambar blends a capable 4K streamer with a dialogue-enhancing soundbar. It even tosses in Bluetooth for good measure. As a cheap way to get both sound and streaming to your TV, this Roku is unbeaten.

Read our Roku Streambar review.

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The 2020 Roku Ultra offers a significant upgrade over other Roku devices with both a remote finder and a wired Ethernet port. Picture quality is as good as ever with Dolby Vision support, and it’s quicker than other Ultras too, thanks to its superfast processor. It’s back down to $69, which is a great price if you want those extras.

Read our Roku Ultra 2020 review.

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There’s a lot to like about Google’s new Chromecast with Google TV, including a revamped interface, 4K HDR with Dolby Vision support, a real remote and excellent integration with Google Assistant. In a Google Store-exclusive deal, the search giant is bundling its normally $50 streamer with six months of Netflix’s Standard plan for $90. The deal is available to both new and existing Netflix subscribers.

Read our Chromecast with Google TV review.

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Although the Roku Express 4K Plus is our new favorite, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus 4K is still great. The two are basically identical aside from design, although the Express 4K Plus does support an optional Ethernet adapter. Both offer hundreds of apps, the excellent Roku interface and a robust, voice-control remote, as well as 4K HDR and Apple AirPlay.

Read our Roku Streaming Stick Plus review.

Roku

This is a bare-bones Roku that can handle all your streaming needs. It isn’t as fast as the Streaming Stick Plus and doesn’t include Roku’s more useful enhanced remote (which has a microphone for voice control and doesn’t require you to point it directly at the TV). It also lacks 4K support and new features like AirPlay. It is, however, just $17 and should be fine for basic streaming. The SE is pretty much identical to the $25 Roku Express, aside from the white color.

This has been going back and forth between available and in-store only, and so may depend on the availability at your local Walmart. If you really want this price it’s worth checking the link below.

Expired deals: May return for Prime Day

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Cheap and dead simple, the Roku Express delivers all the joy of Roku’s platform, but in a crazy-small package. It comes with a remote, Micro-USB and HDMI ports, an HDMI cable, plus a tiny sticker to keep it in place. That said, with the 4K version on sale for just $5 more; that’s far and away the better deal.

Read our Roku Express (2019) review.

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The Roku Premiere isn’t as good as the Roku Express 4K Plus — it lacks the voice-control remote and TV control — but if those features don’t matter to you, or if the Plus is out of stock by the time you read this, the Premiere is still a solid 4K HDR streamer value.

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The Fire TV Cube combines an Alexa voice-controlled speaker, a Fire TV 4K video streamer and a universal remote control in one device. If you like using your voice to control the TV — not to mention other devices in your Alexa-friendly household — it may well be worth taking the plunge on this interesting all-in-one product, marked down from $120 to $100. Note that this is the newest (2019) version, which has added some nice improvements since we first evaluated it in 2018.