Roku’s exciting announcement includes Pro TVs and new remote

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Roku dropped several new product announcements this week, including one that involves bringing new features to its existing line-up of smart television sets.

Over the next few weeks, Roku will push out a software update that will bring a number of new enhancements to its streaming pucks, sticks, sound bars and smart TVs, including a unique AI-powered feature that was previously announced with its newer pro-model TV sets.

Roku Smart Picture

The feature, called Roku Smart Picture, uses artificial intelligence to analyze the content displayed on a Roku TV — whether it’s a movie, live sports event or feature-length film — and then adjusts certain picture settings like the backlight, color and contrast based on whatever is playing.

Roku Smart Picture was announced earlier this year when the company debuted its new line-up of Roku Pro Series TVs — more on those later — but on Wednesday, Roku affirmed the feature will be coming to all currently-supported Roku TVs in the near future.

Newer-model Roku TVs sold this year will come with Roku Smart Picture enabled right out of the box, so streamers won’t have to do anything to get enhanced picture settings. Existing Roku TV users will have to turn on the setting when the software update installs on their device, Roku said.

Roku Backdrops

Roku Smart Picture isn’t the only new feature coming to current and future Roku devices.

For years, Roku allowed streamers to customize their home screens and other menus by installing “themes” based on things like holidays, the seasons or partner content.

Soon, Roku will enhance that experience by offering something called Backdrops, which will allow users to further customize their devices by choosing from a curated sample of “famous classics, museum collections, abstract designs” and other types of high-quality artwork.

The idea behind Backdrops is to convert the TV into a work of art that someone will be proud to display in their living room when the TV isn’t being used to watch movies, sports or play games. But it also unlocks a feature that Roku users have long craved: The ability to upload one’s own photos and have them displayed on the TV.

It isn’t clear why Roku took so long to support user-created photos and media: Rival devices like the Amazon Fire TV, Google TV and Apple TV have allowed streamers to upload their best photos and display them as a screen saver or theme, depending on the platform.

Support on Roku devices was largely limited to a media player that could be accessed via a USB drive — and only a few Roku players, like the Roku 4 and Roku Ultra, actually had USB ports that could make use of that feature.

With Backdrops, Roku seems to finally understand that people want to personalize their streaming platform so it reflects their personality and taste. But that’s not all Roku is doing: The company is also updating its Roku City screen saver to include cars and various other Easter eggs with the goal of driving up engagement (and — let’s be real — exposure to advertising that is displayed within Roku City).

Other Roku features coming soon

Other features and enhancements that are coming to Roku devices through the software update include:

• Content ratings from Amazon’s IMDb, the largest entertainment-focused database on the Internet, which will help offer curated ratings of film and TV content when a streamer is trying to find something to watch.
• Movie and TV show trailers within certain Roku-controlled apps and services, including the platform’s content search function and entertainment pages.
• A new navigation bar that includes five menu tabs: Home, Search, Remote, Devices and Account.
• Top searched TVs and movies, which will recommend shows and films to watch based on what other Roku users are streaming at a given moment.
• Updates to Roku’s search function, which promises a more-visually immersive experience when streamers are looking for TV shows and movies to watch across supported apps and services.
• Enhanced Save List features that includes notifications when a new episode or season of a show debuts on a supported app or service.

The software update will debut as Roku OS 13, which will deploy across currently supported Roku streaming pucks, sticks and sound bars. Roku TV models sold on or after 2014 are also expected to get Roku OS 13.

Roku develops new premium TV sets

Last year, Roku shook things up when it announced plans to build and sell its own line-up of smart TVs.

For more than a year, Roku has offered streamers two of its own TV models: Roku Select (budget TVs for the frugal shopper) and Roku Plus (bigger screens with more features at a slightly higher price point).

The TVs were seen as a way for Roku to understand the marriage between hardware and software, in a way that the company said would benefit manufacturers like TCL and Hisense that have long offered Roku’s operating system in their own sets.

But those who were willing to pay more for better display technology and enhanced features had few options from Roku until earlier this year, when the company affirmed it was breaking into the premium TV market.

Enter the Roku Pro Series: A smart TV line-up that offers best-in-class features like side-firing speakers; the best rechargeable Roku remote control and slim design with narrow bezels and a low profile — all powered by Roku’s easy-to-use streaming platform.

Roku Pro Series

The Roku Pro Series comes in five models ranging from 55 inches to 75 inches, geared toward streamers who want the best features for the primary TV in their home.

All three Roku Pro Series sets include the same mini-LED display and quantum dot technology that offers ultra-high definition (UHD/4K) picture, with support for Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ for enhanced color, contrast and clarity across supported apps.

No need for a soundbar: Roku Pro Series TV’s side-firing speakers are promised to delivery rich spatial effects and deep bass, powered by technology that Roku calls Soundstage Audio.

And an enhanced version of Roku Smart Picture tailor-made for Roku Pro Series TVs uses content metadata to evaluate the best picture settings for a movie or TV show, then automatically adjusts those settings using AI technology the moment a scene is rendered on the display.

Other features of the Roku Pro Series TV class include:

• Game On, an enhanced picture mode that offers 120 Hz refresh rates coupled with AMD Freesync Premium Pro, auto low latency mode (ALLM) and variable refresh rates (VRR).
• Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, allowing streamers to take advantage of their fast in-home broadband connections without hooking up the TV to a router via Ethernet (though that option is there, too!).
• A second-generation Roku Pro Remote that includes motion-activated backlit keys, an internal battery that is rechargeable via USB-C and new dedicated shortcut buttons (more on this later).
• A dedicated Remote Finder button on the side of the TV, which triggers a noise from the remote control itself.

What’s this going to cost?

So, how much does this all cost? When Roku announced the Pro Series TV line-up earlier this year, pricing information was conspicuously absent — but now we know that the TVs will start at $900, priced competitively with similar TVs offered by other companies in the mini-LED and QLED class.

Specifically, the three models of Roku Pro Series TV will cost:

• $900 for the 55-inch version
• $1,200 for the 65-inch version, and
• $1,700 for the 75-inch version

Roku Pro Series TVs are available to buy right now via the Roku website, and are coming to select retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart over the next few weeks.

A new Roku Voice Pro Remote has also landed

Roku Pro Series TVs will be the first Roku devices to bundle the second-generation Voice Remote Pro.

The Voice Remote Pro was first released in April 2021, and offered upgraded features like a built-in battery that was rechargeable via a micro-USB connector, included a headphone jack for private listening and sported two preset buttons that users could customize to launch specific apps or perform certain functions.

The second-generation Voice Remote Pro builds on these features by swapping the micro-USB connector for USB-C — meaning those who already have USB-C cables for their computers, phones and tablets can use the same cable to charge their Voice Remote Pro.

The battery has been upgraded in a way that offers 50 percent more life on a single charge, according to Roku, and the remote sports motion-activated backlit keys that illuminate when it detects someone has picked it up.

This means streamers who like listening to shows and movies without disturbing others will have to use the Roku mobile app or their TV’s Bluetooth function to use their earbuds (although some Roku devices support Bluetooth headphone and earbud pairing on their own, but this is generally limited to higher-end models like the Roku Ultra, the Roku Streambar and Roku Plus and Pro Series TVs).

Roku still sells the first-generation Roku Voice Remote, so if private listening over headphones is important to you, that might be the model to consider.

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