Roku Launches OS 11.5 and New Software Features, Making Streaming More Seamless Than Ever

Rhea-AI Summary

Roku, Inc. announced enhancements to its operating system, Roku OS, including new features to improve content discovery and user experience. Key updates include The Buzz for enhanced entertainment discovery, a Continue Watching feature for seamless streaming, and an expanded Save List for users to bookmark content. Other improvements involve updates to Bluetooth Private Listening and navigation enhancements through Roku Voice.

Roku is also introducing new products like the Roku Wireless Bass and 2022 Roku Express at competitive prices.

Positive

• Introduction of new features like The Buzz enhances content discovery.
• Continue Watching feature improves user convenience.
• Expanded Save List allows for easier content bookmarking.
• Updates to Roku Voice and Bluetooth Private Listening add user-friendly functionality.
• New products, Roku Wireless Bass and Roku Express, offer affordable streaming options.

Negative

• None.

Updates to the Roku OS span Audio, Voice, and Content Discovery, with features like Continue Watching, a platform-wide Save List, The Buzz, and more

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) announced the latest enhancements coming to Roku’s operating system, giving users a more convenient and efficient experience for discovering, accessing, and streaming entertainment. In the coming months, the company will introduce an all-new content discovery experience, The Buzz, to the Roku Home Screen Menu as well as two significant updates to its What to Watch feature, Continue Watching and an expanded platform-wide Save List. Roku is also making updates to Roku Voice, expanding Bluetooth Private Listening, easing navigation within the Live TV Channel Guide with the addition of categories, and offering more content discovery tools, among many other features.

Roku Launches OS 11.5 and New Software Features, Making Streaming More Seamless Than Ever (Photo: Business Wire)

Additionally, Roku announced two new products that offer a seamless streaming and audio experience at an even more accessible price: an all-new Roku Wireless Bass and the 2022 Roku Express.

“We are in the golden age of streaming with more great shows and movies releasing than ever before, which at times we know can be overwhelming,” said Preston Smalley, Vice President of Consumer Product. “By personalizing the way our customers connect with the content they love and offering more ways to discover and access new content to stream or save for later, our users have more tools than ever to watch what they want to with ease.”

New features coming to Roku devices in the following months include:

Roku Home Screen Menu

• The Buzz: The newest addition to the Roku Home Screen Menu, The Buzz brings a new discovery experience to the biggest screen in the house. Users can quickly browse a frequently updated collection of posts featuring entertainment-centric, short-form content from popular streaming services and entertainment brands, such as AMC+, Apple TV+, BET+, Crackle, Hallmark Movies Now, IGN, Plex, Popcornflix, SHOWTIME®, Starz, The CW, Tubi, Vevo, and Wondrium, with more to come. Posts within The Buzz may include video clips, images, trailers, interviews, and other content to help users discover movies and shows that match their interests. Users can engage with content featured in The Buzz by liking posts, saving content to watch later, following profiles to view future posts, or immediately streaming the movie or show featured in the post.
• Continue Watching: Designed to make streaming on Roku even more convenient, Continue Watching makes it easier than ever for users to resume watching TV shows and movies they were previously streaming. Located within What to Watch on the Roku Home Screen Menu, Continue Watching gives users a single location to jump back into the content they are watching, from a selection of streaming channels including HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount+, and The Roku Channel, with more channels to come.
• Save List: Users can now easily save movies and shows from across the Roku platform to create a Save List of content they want to stream later. Located within What to Watch on their Home Screen Menu, as well as the Roku Mobile App, the new Save List provides a single destination for users to quickly access and stream content they’ve previously saved. Users will see a “Save” option on movie and TV show details pages, allowing them to save that title to their list with a press of a button. Today's update is an expansion of the previously launched Save List within The Roku Channel and the Roku Mobile App.
• Roku Store: Our newest addition to the Roku Home Screen Menu, Roku Store will be a more visual, immersive destination for users to browse, search, and add free and paid channels to their devices. Within the Roku Store, users will also be able to navigate through different categories to easily find and shop for new streaming content. The Roku Store will appear on devices in the coming months and will be expanded over time to offer users a more streamlined and integrated shopping experience on the Roku platform.

Roku Audio

• Bluetooth Private Listening: Roku is expanding Bluetooth Private Listening to be compatible with our newest Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar, and Roku Streambar Pro. Users can simply pair their headphones from the Sound Setting menu and start listening to content privately. This is an update to Roku’s Private Listening feature, which currently allows users to listen to their TV through headphones connected to Roku’s premium remotes or paired through the Mobile App.

Roku Voice

• Roku is adding new visual tools onscreen to help customers get to their desired channel destination while using Roku Voice. When using this feature, users will now see a display on their screen showing channel options relevant to their voice search. From there, customers can simply say or select the option they want and start streaming.

Content Discovery

• Categories in Roku's Live TV Channel Guide: Categories within the Live TV Channel Guide will enable customers to discover and jump into their favorite Live TV content with new, easy-to-navigate content categories. For a more personalized experience, customers can browse through three new Categories: Recents, Favorites, and Subscribed, where they can save their favorite channels, circle back to their recently watched content, or quickly get to their Premium stations from The Roku Channel. Customers can also browse through a selection of Live TV genres including News, Sports, Movies, Entertainment, Kids, Crime, Music, and En Espanol, all of which will be automatically populated based on the Live TV content in The Roku Channel available in those categories.
• Live TV Channel “Guide” button: Roku is introducing a dedicated Live TV Channel “Guide” button on the mobile app remote, so that customers can see what is playing live on their TV with a tap of a button. With our new “Guide” button, customers can instantly launch the Live TV Channel Guide, where they can find Live TV channels, browse for content to watch, and search our new Categories. The Guide button within the Roku Mobile app will only be available when connected to a Roku TV with OS 11.5 in supported regions.

Availability

Roku OS 11.5 and today’s announced software features will roll out to Roku devices in the coming months.

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. Roku streaming players and TV-related audio devices are available in the U.S. and in select countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with service operators. Roku TV™ models are available in the U.S. and in select countries through licensing arrangements with TV brands. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to those related to the availability, features, functionality, and attributes of the Roku Ultra and Roku Voice Remote Pro; the roll-out timing, benefits, features, functionality, impact, and content made available by Roku OS 11, as well as the features, benefits and reach of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.

Roku, Roku TV, and Streambar are trademarks or registered trademarks of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220912005247/en/

Press contact:

Roku, Inc.

Brigite Gilbert

Bgilbert@roku.com

Source: Roku, Inc.

FAQ

What new features were announced for Roku OS?

Roku announced features like The Buzz for content discovery, Continue Watching for seamless streaming, and an expanded Save List.

When will the Roku OS 11.5 updates be available?

The updates for Roku OS 11.5 will roll out to Roku devices in the coming months.

What products did Roku introduce in the latest announcement?

Roku introduced the Roku Wireless Bass and the 2022 Roku Express, focusing on affordable streaming.

How does Roku's The Buzz feature enhance user experience?

The Buzz provides users with a curated collection of entertainment-centric posts to discover shows and movies.

What improvements were made to Roku Voice capabilities?

Roku Voice now includes new visual tools to help users navigate channel options during voice searches.