Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) today announced Roku® OS 9.2 will start rolling out to Roku devices in the coming weeks. The software update focuses on getting customers to content quickly and adds new ways to control the home entertainment experience. The 4K Spotlight channel has been redesigned making access to stunning 4K entertainment even easier. The new “Roku Tips & Tricks” channel features videos to help Roku users get the most out of their Roku devices. Roku Voice enhancements provide new voice control options while new channel performance improvements enable smoother streaming experience. Additionally, Roku announced a new streaming player line up in another announcement today.

“The Roku OS allows consumers to easily get to the content they want to watch so they can sit back and relax,” said Ilya Asnis, senior vice president of Roku OS at Roku. “With Roku OS 9.2, we are giving our customers new content-rich experiences around 4K, voice and home screen controls.”

Features coming to Roku devices in Roku OS 9.2 include:

SEARCH & DISCOVERY

• Roku Zones – Search for a genre or topical subject for a curated selection of relevant content from channels across the Roku platform. Roku Zones are organized into browsable, categorized rows that may include new releases, titles that are free to watch, rentals and more. Examples include the “Drama Movies & TV Zone” or the “Superhero Movies Zone” which will be frequently updated providing users with a refreshed selection of entertainment. Additional genre and topical Zones may be added over time.
• 4K Spotlight Channel – A content-first, hand-curated selection of brilliant 4K entertainment from channels across the Roku platform now leverages the new Roku Zones architecture. Browse a wide variety of 4K titles across a number of categories such as Most Popular, Action, Drama, TV shows, 4K channels and more.

NEW ROKU VOICE FEATURES

• Set Sleep Timers on Roku TVs – Roku TV customers can use their voice remote or Roku mobile app to quickly set a sleep timer on their TV by saying things like “Go to sleep at 11 p.m.”
• Search by Movie Quotes – Enjoy finding movie results by searching for the top quotes from thousands of popular movies across the Roku platform
• 4K in Roku Search – Use Roku Voice to say “4K movies” to see results for a variety of popular 4K movies. Entering a text search for “4K” will now return results including the 4K Movies & TV Zone.
• Support for Roku Media Player – Customers who use the Roku Media Player to play their personal music, movies and photos can now use Roku Voice to find, play and control stored files by using commands such as “Play,” “Skip,” and more
• Control Multiple Roku Devices with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant –Customers who use Alexa-enabled devices and/or Google Assistant to control their Roku device can now control multiple Roku devices in their home

ROKU TIPS & TRICKS

The new Roku Tips & Tricks channel is packed with helpful videos created by Roku to assist customers in getting the most out of their streaming experience. The channel is installed on all Roku streaming devices; and videos cover a variety of topics, including notable features, new products, popular support topics and more.

Additional updates in Roku OS 9.2 include:

• Roku TV™ support for the new Roku Wireless Subwoofer when Roku TV Wireless Speakers are paired to a Roku TV
• New shortcut section on the Home Screen designed to reduce the number of steps needed to complete popular actions. At launch, Roku players will have a shortcut tile to add channels and power the TV on and off. Roku TVs will have shortcut tiles to add channels and set a sleep timer. More shortcuts are expected to be added over time, including a shortcut on Roku players to turn your TV's power off.
• Channel performance improvements have been made to video start times within channels on the platform, as well as smarter caching of channels to reduce the number of load screens customers see when launching channels they watch the most, and making initial setup of new Roku devices faster.

Availability

Roku OS 9.2 will begin rolling out to select Roku players this month and is expected to roll out to all supported streaming players, including the Roku Smart Soundbar, in the coming weeks. Roku TV models are expected to receive the update in phases over the coming months.