I’m an unabashed Roku fanboy, and have been for many years. Roku’s interface and design have just continued to improve with each iteration. They know that when you sit down to watch TV, you want to be able to zero in on your options in the increasingly expansive streaming channels. The latest refresh of Roku’s platform incorporates AI, sports, and more to make it an even better experience!
Roku Voice has been around for a while; however, it’s about to get significantly smarter! They’ve given it an AI boost so it can do more than just blindly search. You can ask questions, such as “How scary is Scream?” or “Who stars in Oppenheimer”? It will respond right on screen, so you don’t need to dig out your phone, and it’s even capable of answering follow-up questions. This makes it a much smoother experience and keeps you on one screen instead of juggling multiple ones to figure out movie night! They’re also making it easier to jump right into a movie or show if you see the trailer on the main screen with one click.
Search is getting boosted too, with more abilities to search Live TV (with searching the Live TV Channel Guide coming soon) [For anyone over 30: wow, we really have reinvented cable TV!]. Search will make it easier to find your go-to channels and shows, and they’re even adding a feature that shows you which streaming service will launch when you select a show. All these are little things that make the experience that much smoother and more pleasant!
And finally, if you’re the type to watch TV while the rest of the house is asleep, you’ll appreciate the rollout of Bluetooth headphone mode to the Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus. Watch all the late-night infomercials you want without waking anyone. Note that these will only help with the sounds the TV makes — if you’re up at 3 am watching soccer games live in Europe and yell, Roku can’t help you.
Sports have always been the pain point in streaming, and Roku is working hard to make it easier. They’re adding live scores to the tiles, so you can browse your options and keep an eye on your favorite team at the same time. They’re also setting up mobile reminders, allowing you to set your TV to send you a message when the game is on.
Speaking of your phone, Roku Mobile is also getting some new features. They’re adding the ability to adjust closed captions, find your remote (this is key, as I’m 95% sure Roku’s remotes come with cloaking technology and a perverse love of hide and seek), a sleep timer, daily trivia, and more. They’re also adjusting the For You page with more navigation options and categories, so it feels more curated and less cluttered. The Roku app is already a must-download if you use a Roku device or TV, and it’s great to see it continue to improve!
And on the hardware side, if you’ve ever looked at your Roku screen and thought, “if only I could project this on a big screen outside”, great news! There’s also a new Vankyo Roku TV Smart Projector coming to Walmart this week, starting at $198.
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