Roku Ultra vs Amazon Cube – Which one has better features?
The Roku Ultra and Amazon Cube are very different devices with different use cases even though they do a lot of the same things. They’re relatively inexpensive and are relatively low-powered since they can handle 4K resolution with HDR.
Although neither of these devices is a powerhouse, their processors can stream video in 4K HDR format. The Ruko ultra has a svelte design with great specs and tons of streaming content not forgetting a headphone for private listening. The Amazon cube can be used like an Echo smart speaker when your TV is off.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Roku Ultra and Amazon Cube?
Product |
Ruko ultra |
Amazon cube |
Design |
Rounded small square |
Cuboid design |
Remote |
Typical remote with physical buttons and 2 customizable buttons |
An Alexa voice control remote with a navigation pad |
Smart assistant |
No |
Alexa |
Headphones |
Yes |
No |
Roku Ultra vs Amazon Cube. How do they differ?
Design
The Ruko ultra is a rounded square with a purple tag on the side. At the top are a remote-finder button and a USB port at the side. At the back is a microSD port, an Ethernet port, and a power port. You can use the USB port for your thumb drive or external hard drive. On the other hand, the Amazon cube has a cuboid design with physical buttons at the top for changing volume, enabling Alexa when disabled and disabling integrated microphones and eight pinholes around the buttons for the microphones. At the top front edge is a blue light strip that lights up when Alexa is listening. At the back are four ports for microUSB, power, an HDMI, and an infrared socket for the IR repeater.
The Ruko ultra is a smaller device that is simple but sleek and can fit in small spaces.
Remote control
The Ruko ultra has a full-featured remote with buttons for the volume, power, mute, and two customizable shortcut buttons for your favorite streaming services instead of the four pre-programmed buttons with other Ruko devices, but you still get the 4 pre-programmed buttons for Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, and Sling TV. You can stream audio directly to the remote and listen using headphones. The Amazon cube, on the other hand, has an Alexa voice remote that is simple, narrow and long with a circular navigation pad with a mic and power buttons, and 6 menu and playback control buttons. You’ll also get a mute button and volume rocker which allows you to control your TV volume with the remote’s IR emitter. The pinhole microphone above the mic button allows you to use Alexa with the remote instead of the cube’s mic. You can connect your remote to the cube using Bluetooth.
The Amazon cube has a better remote that uses Alexa’s voice control and can connect to your cube through Bluetooth.
Smart Assistant
You can only use the microphone on your remote to search for content, open apps, and control playback. It has no smart home control features or any third-party skills. However, the Amazon cube has very powerful and functional voice controls that use Alexa voice Assistant with all its features supporting visual which is the same as you were using a screen-equipped Echo spot or a combine both fire TV and an Echo speaker. You can also use Alexa to control all your smart home devices like your lights, thermostat, security camera, and other compatible home devices.
The Amazon cube uses Alexa voice control to not only control your TV but also your smart home devices.
Roku Ultra vs Amazon Cube – A comparison review
Ruko ultra
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Ruko ultra is a high-end streaming box with a more powerful processor and better remote control than its predecessor. You’ll still get to use your favorite headphones for private listening, the remote-finder, USB, MicroSD, and Ethernet slots. You’ll also access thousands of streaming channels, 4K HDR support, a great search function, and the 5 GHz wireless network. The Ruko home screen is customizable where you can drag and drop the apps you want and you can disable some options in the menu settings to keep it minimal.
You have access to the broadest search with Ruko searching through hundreds of different channels to find what you want. Ultra comes with a set of JBL earbuds that provide a little bass and don’t have any static hissing. The ultra is the only Ruko that has a remote finder feature where you just tap a button at the top of your player and your remote will emit a sound that will help you find it. There are thousands of channels with great content selection. You can open the apps very fast, scroll through the system menu, and is fairly fast when loading 4 K HDR content to give you pictures that are sharp and full of vibrant colors.
Pros
- No lag when streaming
- The picture quality is awesome
- Easy to setup
- Advanced remote with headphone jack and a remote finder feature
Cons
- Doesn’t support Dolby vision
- Doesn’t include an HDMI cable
Amazon cube
- The fastest, most powerful Fire TV streaming device.
- From across the room, just ask Alexa to turn on the TV, dim the lights, and play your show.
The Amazon cube is a great video streamer that you can also use as a voice-controlled universal remote for your entire system and is a great streamer of 4K HDR content. Once the cube is set up you can select additional apps and services and group them into categories like sports channels, TV shows, and premium channels. You’ll also be able to use the remote to turn your TV on and off, adjust its volume, and use voice commands. Your cube can also act as a fire TV with hands-free voice control and you can also treat it like an Echo device where you can talk to it without touching the remote. It has a powerful microphone that can pick sounds from across a large room.
The cube supports all the apps and services of the fire TV including Amazon’s own Prime Video, Amazon plus, Prime music and third-party video services like Sling TV, Netflix, Crunchyroll, PlayStation Vue, Hulu, and Twitch, but you can’t access YouTube, Google play movies and shows or Google play music. You can also access music services like Pandora, Tidal, and Spotify. The cube has media playback capabilities like the fire TV for 4K content and supporting HDR in HDR10 format but no Dolby vision. The voice controls are powerful and functional and extend to its navigation and fire TV features. While the voice commands are functional, you still need to use the remote.
Pros
- Access to lots of apps and services
- Can use voice control for your smart home devices and home theater
- Hands-free control with Alexa
- Supports HDR formats
Cons
- Doesn’t support Google play content
- No Dolby vision
Conclusion
Both the Ruko ultra and Amazon cube provide access to lots of apps and services and 4K HDR content with great picture quality.
So which one is better Ruko ultra or Amazon cube?
The Ruko ultra is better because it may not have high-end specs like the cube but you still get 4K UHD HDR content has features like the remote finder, you can also use headphones for private listening, easy to navigate its straight forward interface and a ton of great content which most of it is free.
FAQ
Can the fire cube change TV channels?
When combined with Alexa, the fire cube allows you to control your compatible TV, cable or satellite box, soundbar, and A/V receiver. You can also turn your TV on and off, change the cable channels, and change the volume using just your voice.
Is the fire cube better than the fire stick?
The fire cube has more storage space, a faster processor, and memory than the fire stick, plus you can use an Echo device with hands-free voice control.
