- Roku Voice can answer questions about movies, shows and actors
- Better discovery tools including search in the Live TV Zone and soon, the Live TV Channel Guide
- Bluetooth Headphone Mode rolling out globally to Streaming Stick / Stick Plus
Roku has announced a host of updates to its smart TV platform that’ll arrive in the coming months, including an AI upgrade that sounds very similar to the Gemini feature on Google TV.
Roku Voice is getting a big upgrade, and in addition to the usual command-based navigation you’ll be able to ask questions such as “what kind of fish is Nemo?” or “how scary is The Shining?” and get spoken responses.
Roku Voice will also be able to parse follow-up questions, and it’ll offer quick launch options for shows and movies from its catalog where appropriate and relevant.
Roku’s autumn update: what else is new?
Roku has also improved its discovery features. Trailer playbacks get a new Ways To Watch button, which enables you to see which channels or apps can stream the program, and to jump directly from the preview into the show or movie.
The search feature is getting more useful too. It’s already been added to the What to Watch section, and Roku is going to roll it out to more parts of the platform. The Live TV Zone is the next destination to get the search tool, and after that it’ll roll out to the Live TV Channel Guide.
When you browse, your Roku TV or streaming device will show you where you can stream each title by highlighting up to two streaming apps based on your active subscriptions.
Another welcome feature is the Bluetooth Headphone Mode, which is rolling out to more devices. It’ll be coming to both the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus.
Roku’s mobile app is getting multiple most-wanted upgrades
In addition to the above improvements, Roku is also rolling out new Live Scores and Reminders for Roku Sports. The former will display live results on game tiles, allowing you to keep an eye on multiple events at once. Additionally, there’s a no-spoilers setting if you’re planning to watch events on catch-up. And Reminders will send you a mobile notification when it’s time to tune in for a game.
Roku is also going to roll out improvements to its mobile app, starting in the next few weeks, including some most-wanted features such as closed captioning, Find My Remote, sleep timers and quick-access shortcuts. There’s a new Rate button that enables you to mark shows and movies as liked, disliked and/or watched, mirroring the TV app, and your feedback will sync across all your devices. The For You page will also get a new navigation bar organizing everything into sensible categories such as TV Shows, Movies, and Sports.
The software updates will begin rolling out to Roku devices and to the mobile app stores in the next few weeks.
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