Roku might be so significantly better if it copied this Hearth Stick characteristic

I have been utilizing Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max for the previous few weeks and not too long ago determined to change from utilizing it on my TV to my monitor. I had a couple of causes for doing this, however the primary one was with the ability to watch reveals in 4K at my desk, since most streaming companies do not help 4K high quality on a PC’s net browser. Throughout this course of, I found a characteristic on the Hearth TV Stick that I hadn’t even realized it had, which I’ve now come to understand very a lot: Bluetooth audio help.

Meaning you may pair Bluetooth headphones along with your Hearth TV Stick, just like the SteelSeries Arctic Nova 7 headset I take advantage of, or Apple’s in style AirPods, and hearken to reveals and films by way of them as an alternative of your TV or monitor’s audio system. That is particularly helpful if you happen to’re utilizing your Hearth TV Stick in a setup like mine, on a monitor with no audio system, or if you wish to watch TV late at night time with out disturbing others in your family.

However after I instructed my buddy who has a Roku Streaming Stick about this, I used to be shocked to study that Roku’s streaming sticks haven’t got Bluetooth audio help. This was puzzling to me, particularly since Roku had simply launched two brand-new streaming sticks not too long ago: the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. How does a streaming gadget within the yr 2025 not natively help Bluetooth audio?

Though Roku presents a Bluetooth Headphone Mode, its official support page notes that it isn’t appropriate with the Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Specific, and Roku Premiere as a result of they do not have Bluetooth functionality. It was by way of this discovery that I realized how, in only one easy method, the Amazon Hearth TV Stick outperforms Roku’s streaming sticks, and it was all because of Bluetooth. Nevertheless, in all equity, some Roku units do help Bluetooth audio, and a workaround is obtainable for those who do not.

Roku Streaming Sticks can use Bluetooth headphones with the Roku app

The Roku app has a characteristic known as Personal Listening Mode

Since Roku’s streaming sticks do not natively help Bluetooth headphones, there are not any settings on the gadget itself to allow their connection. Meaning in case you have a Roku Streaming Stick and need to hearken to audio from it utilizing Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, the one method to take action is thru your smartphone by way of the Roku app. This differs from Amazon’s Hearth TV Sticks, which let you join your Bluetooth headphones on to the gadget, with out the usage of an app.

That being mentioned, the Roku app has a setting known as Private Listening Mode. This allows you to route the audio out of your Roku stick with your smartphone. So, in case you have earbuds or headphones related to your cellphone, you may hear the Roku’s audio by way of them. Though your headphones aren’t immediately related to your Roku Streaming Stick by way of Bluetooth, turning on Personal Listening mode within the Roku app will get across the stick’s lack of Bluetooth audio. In case you have a Roku gadget and need to attempt Personal Listening Mode, you will discover it on the Distant display within the app by tapping the Headphone icon.

Notably, some Roku units provide Bluetooth audio help, however it’s solely accessible on their pricier streaming units, together with sure Roku Extremely fashions, the Roku Choose Sequence TV, the Roku Streambar SE, the Roku Streambar, and the Roku Sensible Soundbar.

Whereas Personal Listening Mode is undoubtedly helpful and presents a method for customers to hearken to their Roku persist with Bluetooth headphones, I do not consider it is pretty much as good because the Hearth TV Stick’s Bluetooth implementation.

Amazon’s Hearth TV Stick has Roku beat right here

Native Bluetooth audio help is healthier than none

What I like in regards to the Hearth TV Stick’s Bluetooth implementation is its simplicity. Upon studying in regards to the characteristic’s existence, I had it arrange in lower than a minute. All I needed to do was allow Bluetooth pairing on my headset, and so they appeared nearly immediately on my Hearth TV Stick after I scanned for Bluetooth units to attach. In case you have a Hearth TV Stick, you may join your Bluetooth headphones by heading to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth units.

What I appreciated about that is that I did not must obtain an app; it simply labored proper out of the field. Whereas Roku’s app workaround is manageable with Personal Listening Mode, I really feel prefer it does not examine to the Bluetooth performance of the Hearth TV Stick. In spite of everything, it is 2025, and Bluetooth has been round for therefore lengthy. Why should not a streaming stick have it natively?

It undoubtedly makes the Hearth TV Stick extra accessible for me, particularly since I take advantage of it proper subsequent to my PC, the place I take advantage of Bluetooth appropriate headphones. Roku’s setup requires utilizing three units: your streaming stick, your cellphone, and your headphones. In distinction, the Hearth TV Stick skips the intermediary and solely wants you to allow pairing in your Bluetooth headphones to hook up with your Hearth TV Stick.

Moreover, I admire that Amazon’s implementation of Bluetooth audio help is constant throughout its complete Hearth TV Stick lineup. Whether or not you go for the most cost effective Hearth TV Stick HD or the most costly Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, all of them include Bluetooth audio help.

On the Roku facet, none of its streaming sticks help it. You may want to choose up a Roku Extremely (or the LT variant) to make use of Bluetooth audio natively, with out counting on the Roku app and Personal Listening Mode.

I consider it is time for Roku so as to add Bluetooth audio help to its streaming sticks. All of Amazon’s current Hearth TV Sticks have it, so it is about time Roku did, too — with out counting on its app. I have been utilizing my headphones related to my Hearth TV Stick (by way of Bluetooth) and listening to audio from my PC (related by way of USB-C) concurrently for a couple of weeks, and the expertise has been unbelievable. The audio sounds nice, and I did not must fiddle with an app to make it work. Total, I believe all streaming units ought to help Bluetooth audio, and I do not consider you need to should depend on an app to make use of Bluetooth headphones in your streaming stick, and it is only one easy method that I discover Amazon’s Hearth TV Sticks higher than Roku’s.

For the reason that Hearth TV Stick helps Bluetooth audio, I have been testing different units to see if in addition they help it, and I used to be shocked to search out that even the PS5 does not have it. That is proper, Amazon’s Hearth TV Stick has a characteristic that even a $500 console lacks. The Swap 2 does help Bluetooth audio, so no less than Nintendo will get a win there, and I’ve discovered it fairly helpful for utilizing my Swap 2 at my desk whereas I am close to my PC.