Own a Roku set-top box? Good news for you then as the Roku mobile app is set to get updated with new features: voice search and Roku Feed.
Roku announced the availability of the new features via a blog post on May 7.
"The wait is over, streamers! The new search and discovery features we announced last month in the U.S. and Canada, including the Roku Feed and voice search, are now available through the Roku mobile app for Android and iOS (version 3.2.0 or later) on current-generation Roku players and Roku TV models," revealed Roku.
While Android and iOS users will benefit from the update, Windows Phone users will get the update with the new features "at a later date."
What do these two new features bring to the table for Roku users? Simplifying things for one.
The Roku Feed feature is a great asset for users especially with so many new films and TV shows releasing frequently. This feature will help users keep track of all the shows and movies with ease, as well as when the next episode of a TV show will air or a movie will come to video on demand.
The feed will basically enable a user to follow the media they would like to see. The user will get updates on the movies or TV shows, or both, that they want to see and have added to their feed. The Movies Coming Soon section will show films in the feed that are yet to become available on VUDU and Amazon Instant Video (Roku streaming channels) as they are new.
The Roku Feed will also update the user if the movie being followed by then becomes available or its price decreases. The user will receive not only a notification in their My Feed section of the Roku home screen, but also an alert on the Roku mobile app.
The voice search feature, on the other hand, will enable the Roku user to seek out TV shows or films with a simple tap of the voice search icon. The user can then say the name out loud, for example, "Forrest Gump." There is no need to say: "Search Forrest Gump." The feature is not completely hands-free as one has to navigate to the menu, click search then voice, before they can begin searching for the desired video.
The Roku mobile app update is anticipated to roll out in the next couple of days for iOS and Android.
