Roku Is Making The Biggest Change To Your Home Screen In Over A Decade Right Now

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Starting today, you will notice a brand new home screen when you boot up your Roku TV or Roku streaming device. Roku is calling this their "biggest update in more than a decade," and for good reason. Before this, Roku's latest update fixed a speed issue and improved the streaming experience slightly; many of the company's updates have been similarly small over the years. The new Roku Home Screen, though, is a major overhaul.

The revamped home screen puts your most-used apps front and center with the Quick Access feature. The system determines which apps to put up top by using AI to learn your routines. There is also a new Top Picks for You section that Roku claims will provide relevant recommendations for what content you should check out next.

Another new feature is "Destinations," which are hubs that recommend content from various streaming services based on mood categories. Within Destinations, you will also find Your Daily Scoop, which is designed to provide the latest pop culture stories. If all of this just sounds like clutter, you can tuck it away into the new Collapsed Home Screen Menu and still keep your favorite features within reach via Shortcuts.

The new Roku Home Screen is definitely "smarter," but will it actually make the experience better? There are reasons why people hate Roku, and this new batch of changes probably won't convert those haters. The company has a history of privacy concerns and alleged misuse of customer data. There have even been accusations that Roku TV streaming sticks are blatantly spying on users. Given that the new home screen uses AI to learn user behavior, this major change will not come across as an improvement to individuals who value privacy.

People who enjoy using Roku devices might enjoy the changes, though. In a press release, Roku shared a statistic indicating that 82% of streaming audiences "would love if they turned on their TV and the show they wanted to watch was right there on their Home Screen." This update aims to do exactly that. The idea is that the Quick Access area will learn how to display exactly the app you want to use, right when you want to use it. The new personalized "For You" bars will attempt to recommend the shows you want to watch before you even know you want to watch them. Whether it actually works well is something 100 million Roku users will determine for themselves starting today.