- Roku has new home page layout to make key sections faster to find
- Very much a work in progress and likely to change again
- You can opt out if you’re offered the update
If your Roku TV home screen appears to have been redesigned overnight, don’t worry: it just means you’re one of the chosen few who get to see what might be the next evolution of the Roku TV interface.
As The Verge reports, Roku is testing a rejigged version of the home page with a small number of Roku users in order to assess whether or not they like it. The firm is “trying some different approaches” to the functionality of the home page, Roku’s Preston Smalley explained. “We’re definitely trying to see how much control people want, but that’s something we want to hear from customers on.”
What’s changing in the Roku TV home screen
Although this is only a test, it does indicate the most likely changes coming to your home page in the not too distant future. The first thing you’ll notice is that the home button on your remote takes you straight into the main grid rather than to the sidebar, which is where it takes you in the current version.
Live TV and Featured Free have been moved from the sidebar into the main grid to make them more obvious; Roku says that these “compelling and delightful destinations” weren’t being used by many people, and they expect more prominent placement to mean more people being compelled and delighted.
The Quick Access section is designed to make it easier to see your favorite apps, but for now it’s automated: The Verge says that you can’t manually remove apps or add different ones.
Underneath Quick Access there’s “The Best Across Your Streaming Services” which is the new home for the Live TV and Featured Free options as well as Subscriptions and For You, which as you’d expect is where you’ll find personalized recommendations.
This is very much a work in progress so if you’ve got it on your Roku TV it may change again during the testing phase – and if you’re one of the chosen few it’s not compulsory, so you can opt out of the test if you’d rather wait for the final, finished version.
