Roku could possibly 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 providers do not assist 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 assist.

Meaning you may pair Bluetooth headphones together with your Hearth TV Stick, just like the SteelSeries Arctic Nova 7 headset I exploit, or Apple’s well-liked AirPods, and take heed to reveals and flicks by way of them as an alternative of your TV or monitor’s audio system. That is particularly useful when you’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 advised my good friend who has a Roku Streaming Stick about this, I used to be shocked to study that Roku’s streaming sticks do not have Bluetooth audio assist. 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 machine within the 12 months 2025 not natively assist Bluetooth audio?

Though Roku affords a Bluetooth Headphone Mode, its official support page notes that it isn’t suitable with the Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Categorical, and Roku Premiere as a result of they do not have Bluetooth functionality. It was by way of this discovery that I discovered how, in only one easy manner, the Amazon Hearth TV Stick outperforms Roku’s streaming sticks, and it was all because of Bluetooth. Nevertheless, in all equity, some Roku gadgets do assist 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 Non-public Listening Mode

Since Roku’s streaming sticks do not natively assist Bluetooth headphones, there aren’t any settings on the machine itself to allow their connection. Meaning if in case you have a Roku Streaming Stick and wish to take heed to audio from it utilizing Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, the one manner to take action is thru your smartphone through the Roku app. This differs from Amazon’s Hearth TV Sticks, which let you join your Bluetooth headphones on to the machine, with out using an app.

That being stated, 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, if in case you have earbuds or headphones linked to your cellphone, you may hear the Roku’s audio by way of them. Though your headphones aren’t straight linked to your Roku Streaming Stick through Bluetooth, turning on Non-public Listening mode within the Roku app will get across the stick’s lack of Bluetooth audio. You probably have a Roku machine and wish to strive Non-public Listening Mode, you will discover it on the Distant display screen within the app by tapping the Headphone icon.

Notably, some Roku gadgets provide Bluetooth audio assist, nevertheless it’s solely obtainable on their pricier streaming gadgets, together with sure Roku Extremely fashions, the Roku Choose Sequence TV, the Roku Streambar SE, the Roku Streambar, and the Roku Sensible Soundbar.

Whereas Non-public Listening Mode is undoubtedly useful and affords a manner for customers to take heed to their Roku keep on 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 assist 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 gadgets to attach. You probably have a Hearth TV Stick, you may join your Bluetooth headphones by heading to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth gadgets.

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

It undoubtedly makes the Hearth TV Stick extra accessible for me, particularly since I exploit it proper subsequent to my PC, the place I exploit Bluetooth suitable headphones. Roku’s setup requires utilizing three gadgets: 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 connect with your Hearth TV Stick.

Moreover, I recognize that Amazon’s implementation of Bluetooth audio assist is constant throughout its whole 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 assist.

On the Roku aspect, none of its streaming sticks assist it. You will 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 Non-public Listening Mode.

I consider it is time for Roku so as to add Bluetooth audio assist to its streaming sticks. All of Amazon’s latest 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 linked to my Hearth TV Stick (through Bluetooth) and listening to audio from my PC (linked through USB-C) concurrently for a couple of weeks, and the expertise has been unbelievable. The audio sounds nice, and I did not have to fiddle with an app to make it work. General, I believe all streaming gadgets ought to assist Bluetooth audio, and I do not consider it’s best to should depend on an app to make use of Bluetooth headphones in your streaming stick, and it is only one easy manner that I discover Amazon’s Hearth TV Sticks higher than Roku’s.

Because the Hearth TV Stick helps Bluetooth audio, I have been testing different gadgets to see if in addition they assist it, and I used to be stunned 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 Change 2 does assist Bluetooth audio, so a minimum of Nintendo will get a win there, and I’ve discovered it fairly helpful for utilizing my Change 2 at my desk whereas I am close to my PC.