Lowpass
Lowpass is a weekly newsletter about the future of entertainment and technology, including streaming, AR, VR, XR and more. It's written by Janko Roettgers, who previously worked as a senior reporter for Protocol, Variety and Gigaom.
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RAMageddon is coming for streaming
Also: Sonos is launching .... something 👀
Janko Roettgers
July 30, 2026
Hi there! My name is Janko Roettgers, and this is Lowpass. This week: The memory shortage and its impact on streaming hardware and services, and Sonos is embracing AI.
Please note: Lowpass will be off next week, and back in your inbox on 8/13.
Pricier dongles, more ads: How component shortages are impacting streaming
Last week, Roku did something unprecedented: The company instituted significant price increases for its streaming hardware, with the retail price of its flagship Roku Ultra box and the Roku Streambar both going up by a whopping $50. Other Roku products saw price increases of 30% to 60%.
The company is softening the blow with a sale that preserves the old pricing for a “limited time.” But once that grace period is over, Roku won’t sell a 4K streaming adapter for less than $60 anymore. Previously, you could pick up a 4K-capable Roku stick for just $40.
In a conversation with The Desk, a Roku exec directly linked the price increase to the memory shortage brought about by the AI boom. It’s a challenge the entire consumer electronics industry is facing, and it has led to price increases across the board: Laptops, phones and game consoles are all getting more expensive, which in turn is leading to sales declines.
Now, RAMageddon is coming for streaming, and it’s not just impacting Roku’s business. Already, we’ve seen multiple other companies raise prices for their streaming hardware. TV prices, which have been on a downward slide for decades, are starting to show some volatility as well.
All this will inevitably also affect streaming media companies, which have long used new devices to promote their services to would-be subscribers. And for big services like Netflix, this couldn’t come at a worse time: (…)
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