Roku has announced today the release of the latest update on its operating system, the Roku OS 9.3. Brand new features and never-before seen Roku capabilities await customers in this newest Roku OS update.
This new release focuses on improving content discovery and platform performance. It includes Roku Voice enhancements that brings more customization options to users as well as overall improved performance on older devices. All these bring quick access to the content you want and allow users to be more focused on the entertainment experience.
Here is the exhaustive list of the new features coming to Roku devices with Roku OS 9.3:
What’s New in Roku OS 9.3
Search and Discovery
- Spanish Language Roku Voice Support – Speak Spanish commands to launch channels, search for titles, actors, or genres, and control media playback on your Roku device.
- Visual Search Results – Roku Voice search results are now presented in a more visual and searchable format, with categorized lines that include movies, shows, entertainment shorts, and more for quick entertainment discovery. Search results are unbiased and the selected content provides a list of channels with that title, sorted by price.
- Support for News Related Commands – “Show me the news” now takes you to a Roku Zone filled with available news channels. Play the news” launches a live stream of ABC news on the Roku channel. “Play the news on …”, will start the named news channel and remember this preference for future orders.
- Playback from Search – Over 50 streaming channels now support direct playback from search when using Roku Voice, allowing the program or movie to be played directly, if possible, instead of displaying the search results.
- Roku Mobile App – The free app features a new navigation bar at the top of the mobile screen when you’re connected to a Roku device that provides access to Roku search, a new icon that lets you easily switch between Roku devices that you want to control with the mobile app, and a shortcut to the remote screen. The new design includes quick access icons that allow you to launch useful features of the mobile application without leaving the remote screen, including the ability to browse and/or launch channels you’ve recently watched directly from the remote screen, and much more.
Additional Features on this Update
- Customization – Home screen wallpapers and screensavers are now accessible through a single “Theme” menu item in the preferences. Theme packs, which consist of a wallpaper and a screensaver, offer a new way to customize your experience for a consistent look and feel when using your Roku devices.
- Performance – Reduced device startup time, faster startup time for a selected number of channels (more channels will be supported soon), a more responsive startup screen, and faster navigation when using features such as Featured Free.
Roku Audio
Enhanced connectivity for Roku Smart Soundbar & Roku TV:
- Access more soundbar settings directly from the TV interface, eliminating the need to switch between menus or use multiple remotes; enable Roku TV Ready functions
- In the Roku TV settings menu, pair an external device, such as a mobile phone, with the Roku Smart Soundbar for audio playback via Bluetooth, or pair other Roku audio products with the Soundbar, such as the Roku Wireless Subwoofer and Roku TV Wireless Speakers for full surround sound.
Update Roll Out
The Update is being rolled out to users in the next few weeks. It is a free software update and it downloads and installs automatically. So, all users have to do is wait for the update to be available on their Roku devices.
