Roku’s Rechargeable Voice Remote Pro Comes With Headphone Jack

Streaming giant Roku released the Voice Remote Pro, a hands-free and rechargeable controller, Tuesday.

Roku priced the enhanced controller at $30. The Voice Remote Pro comes with a headphone jack and a hands-free function among other features, and is compatible with all Roku TV models, soundbars and players released since 2017.

Roku’s latest innovation bears almost all the standard physical features on its previous remotes such as size, shape and layout. However, certain added details do differ. Among them is a speaker grille similar to the one found with the Roku Ultra. The grille plays a beeping sound when the remote hears the “Hey Roku, find my remote” command, CNET reported.

Midfield microphone is a Voice Remote Pro feature that detects a user’s voice command from as far as 12 feet away. Users will have the option to enable and disable the midfield microphone through a small sliding switch located beside the headphone jack.

A person may still use the voice command feature of the remote even when the midfield microphone is switched off. Pressing and holding the mic button while speaking allows the remote to receive the user’s audio.

The remote also has buttons numbered one and two located beside the playback control. These buttons are programmable and can be used to repeat voice command actions, PC Mag reported.

Since it is fully rechargeable, there is no battery door on the remote’s body. Instead, a micro USB port can be found under the fabric tag.

The battery can be fully charged in about two to three hours, CNET reported, and added the fully charged battery can run up to two months long.

Another interesting function of the Roku Voice Remote Pro is the private listening capability. The said feature is also available through a Roku app or a smartphone, PC Mag reported.

This is especially helpful to avoid disturbing other people inside a room without the need to directly plug a headphone on the TV set. Plugging a headphone into the Roku Voice Remote Pro automatically directs all sounds from the TV to the headphone speakers.

As with other innovations, the Roku Voice Remote Pro has certain limitations. It does not recognize quickly spoken wake words and its voice control does not support the direct menu navigation, PC Mag reported.