With self-isolation, work and play at home in enhanced mode. There is a greater emphasis on home connectivity and home entertainment. Our friends at Roku have seen the demands for entertainment increase. As a result Roku has announced Roku OS 9.3 will be rolling out into Canadian homes in the upcoming weeks.
Roku OS 9.3 increases options for users streaming their entertainment. Lloyd Klarke, Director Product Management at Roku , indicates
“The Roku OS continues to get better with a specific focus on delivering better performance, new content and more ways to find it,”
What’s New with 9.3?
Roku OS 9.3 will begin rolling out to select Roku players in April and is expected to roll out to all supported streaming players in the coming weeks. Roku TV models are expected to receive the update in phases over the coming months. You may ask what’s new for you in 9.3? Well specifically:
Increased Performance – A reduction in device boot times, faster launch times for a select number of channels (with more supported channels coming soon) and a more responsive Home Screen.
- Roku Voice – Roku Voice™ is enhanced to give users the ability to speak more natural phrases like “Show me …” or “I want to watch …” and also allows users to find movies using a selection of popular movie quotes. Roku Voice now also supports a greater variety of voice commands including media playback controls such as “Fast forward” or “Pause,” device control such as “Turn on closed captions,”.. Roku Voice is available on the remote of the Roku Streaming Stick™+ and through the Roku Mobile App for all Roku streaming devices.
- Works with Amazon Alexa and with Google Assistant – Control Roku players and Roku TV models by speaking commands to Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant devices. Through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices users can now control media playback and search for entertainment. Roku TV™ users additionally can tune into channels or inputs, control volume and switch their TV on/off.
- Redesigned Roku Mobile App – The free mobile app features a new navigation bar at the top of the mobile screen providing access to Roku Search, the ability to switch between Roku devices and a shortcut to the remote control screen. The redesign includes quick access icons so users can launch useful mobile app features without the need to exit the remote control screen including the ability to browse and/or launch their recently viewed channels directly from the remote screen and more.
Additional updates in Roku OS 9.3 include:
- Customization – Home Screen wallpapers, as well as screensavers, are now accessible from a single “Theme” menu item located within Settings. Theme packs, which consist of a wallpaper and screensaver, offering a new way to customize your experience for a consistent look and feel when using your Roku devices.
- Performance – A reduction in device boot times, faster launch times for a select number of channels (with more supported channels coming soon), a more responsive Home Screen and faster navigation when using features such as Featured Free.
As this new updates starts to roll out to Roku devices, please let us know if you see any new features or changes to your Roku experience!
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers
