Elevate your TV: Roku’s latest discovery and engagement updates

Roku’s simple, intuitive platform connects you to the content you love–and it keeps getting better. Our latest features are all about enhancing your streaming experience, from making family-friendly content easier to find to simplifying how you browse and discover content on both TV and mobile and expanding voice controls.

With Roku as your entertainment guide, exploring popular apps—plus free movies, shows, and Live TV—is as easy as it is fun. Today at the Roku Developer’s Summit, we announced new features that are all about bringing convenience and delight to your streaming experience on Roku. Let’s dive in.

New Roku features are on the way

Family-friendly programming, a click away

Knowing that many of our users are parents, in 2019 we launched a Kids & Family destination within The Roku Channel, making it easier for children and parents to find a great selection family-friendly shows for free.

Today, we’re bringing the Kids & Family zone to our home screen, with quick access to a newly expanded content library of more than 50,000 titles, from popular streaming apps across the platform, right at your fingertips.

The immersive kid-centric experience delivers a curated selection of content that not only highlights a diverse selection of kids programming—from family movie nights to popular series—but also organizes it by age range, genre, and series. You can even discover fun row titles your kids will love, like Animated Movies, Characters, Sibling Special, Teen Movies & TV, and more.

No more staying up late searching for the perfect movie for family night. Now, you can seamlessly find and watch all your kids and family favorites in our revamped Kids & Family destination.

Tailor your experience with likes or dislikes

Did you recently watch a movie or show that you absolutely loved? Or thought was boring? We want to know!

With our new thumbs up and thumbs down icons, you can let us know if you liked or disliked the show or movie you just watched. The more you engage with this feature, the better we can tailor our recommendations to match your interests and make your experience effortless. On our content pages you can also watch trailers, check IMDb ratings, browse through episodes and more.

Take control of your settings with voice commands

As a result of a recent Harris Poll survey*, we learned that 60% of smart TV viewers say having to manually update their smart TV’s settings, like updating their display, apps, or internet connection, is frustrating.

But that’s all about to change. Soon, you can access most device settings with your voice. If you want to customize your home screen, just say, “Customize my home screen,” and Roku will open the home screen settings page, where you can adjust as you please. With the Voice Remote Pro, you can even do this hands-free.

Viewers can use Roku Voice to quickly access settings for screensavers, wallpapers, system updates, guest mode, screen mirroring, system language, and more. Roku Voice is both powerful and built for streaming, making it easy for you to control your TV.

Browse, discover and launch on mobile

The ultimate streaming companion, the Roku Mobile App helps you find new, relevant, and popular content right on your phone. Even better, it doubles as a digital remote—if your remote is missing or too far across the room, just whip out your phone and you’re all set.

Today we’re updating the Roku Mobile App to supercharge both your browsing and discovery. With remote overlay, you can dive into trending entertainment faster than ever: just swipe up, it’s that simple. Conveniently positioned at the bottom of your remote screen, the overlay showcases personalized recommendations, content categories like sports and Live TV, quick-launch apps, and all at your fingertips.

We’re also adding IMDb ratings to the app, letting you check TV show and movie ratings instantly, without having to launch a new window. Plus, you can now favorite your go-to sports teams and stay updated on live and upcoming events, even when you’re on the move.