Roku has launched a new program called Roku Labs, which invites users of its streaming devices and smart television sets to test new features before they are rolled out more broadly.
The program, which will be accessible through a tile on the Roku Home Screen, will collect insights from users that gives Roku’s developers a stronger degree of feedback about new features and content experiences, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
“Our best breakthroughs have never happened in a vacuum; they start with Roku engineers building and the people watching,” Brian Pinkerton, the Senior Vice President of Advanced Development at Roku, said in a statement on Thursday.
Initial Roku Labs experiments include Roku Stocks, which lets viewers track their portfolios, Roku Weather, Backdrops Studio for creating custom television artwork and Roku Immerse, which offers customizable screensaver environments.
“Roku City Dash,” a game built around the company’s Roku City screensaver environment, has already graduated from Roku Labs and is available more broadly.
Roku is also introducing several platform updates over the coming months. Its redesigned Home Screen will expand to Brazil and Mexico, while search results will add personalized explanations describing why particular programs are being recommended based on preferences, viewing history and trending content.
The company is also rolling out Premium Subscription bundles in the U.S. and Mexico. Roku said more than 30 combinations will be available in the U.S. from services including AMC Plus, Fox One, Hallmark Plus and Starz, with savings of up to 30 percent compared with purchasing services separately.
Roku Voice will also expand beyond entertainment searches, allowing users to request real-time weather information from anywhere on the platform.
Separately, Roku said Roku LT OS, the lightweight operating system behind its remotes and Roku Smart Home products, is now open source. The company is making the software and development tools available free to programmers and makers for use in outside engineering projects.
The new Roku OS features will roll out across Roku TV models and streaming devices in the United States over the coming months.
Roku stopped releasing firm numbers on its global user base a while ago, but at last count, the company said it had over 100 million monthly active users of its platform. The company is in the process of being acquired by Fox Corporation.
More Stories
- Parks Associates: Fox-Roku deal highlights value of TV operating systems
- Filing: Justice Department seeks information about Fox-Roku deal
- Roku releases premium OLED smart TVs
- Roku raises prices of streaming devices, ongoing memory shortage blamed
- Roku sees sharp increase in Q2 revenue on healthy advertising, subscription sales
