In what may not be a surprise to many, Roku has announced they will stop updating “Classic” Roku Players made between May 2008 and May 2011. This is done in an effort to focus on improvements to the Roku OS and channels that would not be compatible with older Roku players.
Owners of “Classic” Roku Players need not worry: your device will continue to work. You will just not receive any new updates or channels. The good news is Roku is offering a 20% discount off the retail price of a new Roku set-top streaming box.
If you own a Roku Classic you should receive an email at the address you used to sign up your Roku account. There is no listed expiration date on the 20% discount off new Roku set-top boxes yet you should expect the offer to end at some point.
While ending support for older boxes is always painful for the owners at some point it becomes necessary. As newer more powerful boxes and channels come on the market older devices become more and more limited by their capabilities. Eventually you have to cut off support to allow your developers to take full advantage of the advancements in technology that have come since 2008.
Hopefully this is a hint at what may be an all new Roku operating system coming out some time this year. Maybe even to be accompanied by a new Roku set-top box.