| Netflix’s new look: If you’ve opened Netflix on your television in the last day or two, you might have noticed a difference. The app now includes a sidebar, from which you can quickly access search, your profiles, and more. (On the devices I’ve tried, the sidebar includes a link to video categories, but the images in Netflix’s blog post have distinct buttons for TV shows, movies, and the watchlist instead.)
This is a welcome improvement over Netflix’s old interface, and as I noted over at Fast Company, you might see it as an admission that algorithms aren’t always the best way to sift through the service’s vast catalog. Sometimes you just want to watch something specific, and the new interface makes it easier to say so. Unfortunately, Netflix still isn’t nixing auto-playing trailers with audio, which continue to annoy pretty much everyone.
Roku is making speakers now: When Roku reached out a couple weeks ago about some upcoming product news, I thought we might hear more about the smart speaker and voice assistant plans the company teased back in January. Instead, Roku announced a pair of wireless speakers that work exclusively with Roku-powered smart TVs. Because Roku controls the software in both the TV and the speakers, it’s promising easy setup and sync, along with the ability to dampen audio during commercials and boost dialog volume. The speakers also come with a funky puck-shaped remote with volume and playback controls, a voice command button, and programmable app launch buttons.
Roku isn’t shipping the speakers just yet, though. They’ll arrive in late October for $200, and it sounds like we’ll also hear more about Roku’s voice assistant ambitions then. For now, you can pre-order a pair of the speakers for $150. (The price will rise to $180 after July 23.) |
