Back in 2025 Roku quietly launched Howdy, an ad-free retro-focused streaming service that didn’t have a lot of content, but didn’t have any ads either, and only cost $3 per month. And while I wasn’t initially all that impressed with Howdy, Roku has been making some big investments in the service, adding content from Disney, HBO and more in recent weeks, with more recent movies like A Star is Born, Paddington, and A Haunting in Venice now available on the service.
However, if you don’t own a Roku TV, the service has been a little hard to access, as it had only been available via a browser. Fortunately, today the folks at Roku released a mobile app for Howdy on both iOS and Android that will bring the streamer to your favorite mobile device.
This is definitely good news for the service and will go a long way towards making it more accessible for those who are thinking about subscribing, but would like to watch it in places outside the Roku TV home screen or a computer’s browser.
Howdy still has a few limitations, but it’s getting better
4K streaming would be nice, at least for a few titles
Howdy didn’t feel like a finished product at launch, but as Roku continues investing in the up-and-coming streamer, it is at last starting to feel like something that could be worth $3 a month to stream. However, my biggest gripe with the service continues to be its lack of 4K content. While I don’t expect mountains from a budget streaming option, it would be nice if even a few titles were offered in 4K.
Howdy also needs to continue to grow its library. Even with the addition of some Disney, WD, and HBO titles, the service as a whole still feels a bit stale and it will need something to keep users subscribed beyond just a month or two.
While the service probably won’t ever truly compete with Netflix, HBO Max or Disney+, giving Howdy its own app goes a long way towards making it feel more complete. My hope is that Roku continues to invest in making Howdy a strong platform for budget-minded consumers, as I do think there is space for something in between Pluto TV and Netflix.
