PCWorld explains how to navigate Roku's biggest home screen redesign in over a decade, featuring recommendation rows, quick action tiles, and genre subsections. The permanent update aims to improve content discovery but may frustrate long-time users with limited customization options and automatic changes. Key adjustments include hiding recommendation rows, pinning favorite apps to Quick Access, and manually updating subscription lists for better accuracy. Detailed instructions are provided below. Roku is shaking up its home screen with its most substantial changes in over a decade.

PCWorld addresses whether external streaming devices are necessary when modern TVs include built-in smart platforms like Roku or Fire TV. Streaming sticks like Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Apple TV 4K offer faster performance, cleaner ad-free interfaces, and broader app selection than many smart TV processors. External devices provide exclusive features like dialogue boost, ensure continued updates for older TVs, and simplify 4K HDR compatibility issues. Buying a new TV and a new streaming device used to be separate decisions, as televisions didn't always come with adequate smart TV software. These days, though, it's virtually impossible to buy a television that isn't a smart TV, with Roku, Fire TV, or other streaming platforms built in. So whenever I write about the latest streaming devices--like Amazon's new Fire TV Stick or Walmart's latest Onn players --inevitably some folks will ask me what's the point. Why bother using an external streaming box or stick when your TV already supports the same apps? Naturally I have answers to that question, but that doesn't mean everyone should abandon their smart TV software in favor of a separate streaming device. Let's walk through the merits of both.

These compact Edifier speakers may not be the fanciest, but they'll blow your monitor's built-in speakers out of the water. Even the best gaming screens tend to have lackluster audio, if they include it at all, so we recommend either a pair of headphones or a great set of desktop speakers . Our favorite pick at $200, the Edifier M60, is currently marked down to just $170 on Amazon, a $30 break from the usual price. Edifier has a pedigree and a long history of making great, compact speakers. The M60 is no different.

Mistral's New Ultra-Fast Translation Model Gives Big AI Labs a Run for Their Money "Too many GPUs makes you lazy," says the French startup's vice president of science operations, as the company carves out a different path than the major US AI companies. Mistral AI has released a new family of AI models that it claims will clear the path to seamless conversation between people speaking different languages . On Wednesday, the Paris-based AI lab released two new speech-to-text models: Voxtral Mini Transcribe V2 and Voxtral Realtime. The former is built to transcribe audio files in large batches and the latter for nearly real-time transcription, within 200 milliseconds; both can translate between 13 languages. Voxtral Realtime is freely available under an open source license.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. There's also a big Bluetooth upgrade for Roku's newest streaming dongles. Roku is jumping onto the AI bandwagon with its next batch of software updates. In the months ahead, the company will add AI-powered voice search for its smart TVs and streaming players. While Roku's existing voice search can find specific programs, actors, or genres, the upgrade will allow for more conversational queries, such as "What's the Barbie movie about?" or "How scary is The Shining."

A couple weeks ago, a reader asked me about the best streaming TV setup for a 90-year-old neighbor who is not tech-savvy. My mind immediately jumped to Roku, whose smart TVs and streaming players have always emphasized simplicity. But I also know that Roku's streaming platform has become more complicated in recent years, and its once-basic menu system is not what it used to be. While I'd still recommend Roku to someone who's on the lower end of the tech learning curve, our neighbor in this scenario would benefit from some out-of-the-box settings tweaks. Whether you're setting up a Roku for yourself of someone else, here's how to make the streamer as easy to use as possible: Roku is now requiring new users to put a payment method on file during setup.

An external streaming device is the best way to access online video services without replacing your entire TV. By plugging one of these devices into your TV's HDMI port, you'll be able to use apps like Netflix and Hulu, possibly with a faster and smoother experience than your TV's built-in software. But between Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, and Apple TV, picking a streaming device can be overwhelming. We've reviewed them all and have come up with a list of recommendations for every need and budget. As TechHive's resident cord-cutting expert, I've reviewed practically every streaming device that's come out over the past decade, and I've been a cord-cutter myself since 2008.

Nearly every TV on the market today is a smart TV, but not every operating system is a winner. A media streaming device lets you pair whichever user interface you prefer with just about any screen that has an HDMI port. In some cases, such as with older or less expensive smart TVs, a streaming stick or dongle could even be speedier and less glitchy than your TV's built-in system. At home, these handy gadgets make it easier for cord cutters to watch the millions of hours of content streaming services provide without cable. And while traveling, a streaming player lets you watch your preferred content on hotel sets (without painstakingly typing in a bunch of passwords or activation codes). We tested out streaming players from Roku, Google, Apple, Amazon and more, gauging the usability and the performance of each to come up with our list of the best streaming devices you can buy. Google's TV Streamer, the Apple TV 4K, Amazon's Fire TV Sticks and Roku devices are the most popular players in the space.

When you're not watching Barkitecture or the Weird Al movie on your Roku, the device turns on its familiar scrolling, purple city-scape. Now you don't just have to settle for a Flintstones-esque background of neoclassical buildings and the occasional billboard for PlutoTV when your Roku goes into rest mode. The TV viewing platform is introducing a new screensaver feature called Backdrops. The new viewing feature turns your TV or viewing device into an Amazon Echo Show 8 Photos Edition, except Roku hasn't taken away the only feature that gave it its name. Backdrops will show pictures of classic works of art by masters like Claude Monet and beautiful photos of landscapes that you can choose to display on your Roku device.

Your first apartment after graduation is probably not your forever home, but you can make it something you're proud of with gadgets that do your bidding. You can automate your lights, keep an eye on your pets and clean up your floors more efficiently with relatively affordable devices that won't eat up too much of your paycheck. We've tried out a lot of smart home tech over the years and here's what we recommend for newbies and those with tight budgets. Think of the smart display as your smart home command center. This one works with Alexa, fits just about anywhere and is comparatively inexpensive.