Roku recently announced the next version of their smart streaming operating system, Roku OS 11. Although it would be coming a few more weeks before the update starts rolling out to devices – the company stated that it would start entering Roku players, Roku TV, and peripherals in the weeks to come. And currently, we have gotten a look at what we should be expecting.
Roku OS 11
One of the major features that Roku added to their new OS is what they call the Roku Photo Streams. Essentially, Photo Streams turns your TV right into something of a digital picture frame, that shows user-made galleries of images as screensavers when the TV is not being used. Roku stated that users would be able to upload photos that they want to use via their Desktop or smartphone and create galleries, as users can choose to share their streams with others who can choose to add photos of their own.
To add to the interesting photo Streams, Roku is including several improvements to Roku Audio in OS 11. We would be taking a look at sound modes added to Roku stream bars and speakers, with the normal suspects – standard, dialogue, movie, music, and night mode.
All present and accounted for. Those that happen to be in possession of a stream bar or a music player paired with the Roku app would not be able to make use of Roku’s A/V sync feature with those, while Roku audio products are also getting a new speech clarity mode that amplifies dialogue when switched on.
More New Features on Roku OS 11?
Also, More new content discovery features are shipping in the Roku OS 11. The Roku Home Menu would be getting a new category called “What to watch” that surfaces personalized recommendations along with movies and TV shows that have shown to be popular with users of Roku. The Home Menu would be getting a Live TV category that shows free live channels alongside content from subscription services that include Hulu, Sling, and YouTube, among others.
Also, we would be seeing some expanded support for Roku’s voice keyboard, which would offer support for Spanish, German, and Portuguese. But all those would possess somewhat limited usage since the voice-enabled keyboards are mostly used for first-time setup and logins from third-party apps.
Lastly, Roku stated that its mobile app would be getting something of an overhaul that shows more visual information when browsing movies and TV shows. It seems like a lot of improvements would be placed on showing viewers where a movie or show would be available for stream, and how much it would cost at a glance.
Roku Update
With all the stated, we have certainly gotten an exciting OS update right in our hands for Roku OS 11. Now it just has to roll out to Roku Devices in the coming weeks.
