Roku is adding a new, more inexpensive subwoofer to its lineup of wireless speakers. The Roku Wireless Bass, at $130, is $50 less expensive than the Roku Wireless Bass Pro. It has a single 5.25-inch subwoofer rather than the Pro’s 10-inch subwoofer and is front-firing rather than downward-firing. The Wireless Bass also has less punch, having a peak output of 120W vs the Wireless Bass Pro’s 250W.
Roku claims that the speaker will provide “deep, powerful bass” and “rich depth” for movie, TV, and music playback. It has a slim design and may be placed anywhere within 30 feet of your television. It must be used in conjunction with a Roku Streambar, Streambar Pro, Smart Soundbar, or Roku TV with Wireless Speakers. It may be pre-ordered alone or as part of a $250 package with the Roku Streambar. It will be available for purchase on November 7th.
Roku also unveiled a new version of its Roku Express entry-level streaming video device. The newer model includes dual-band WiFi, which should increase streaming performance. If you want to watch TV and movies in 4K resolution, you’ll need to look into other devices that cost more than $30. The Roku Express also has the company’s basic remote, which lacks a headphone connector. The new Roku Express is now available for pre-order and will be available on October 13th.
Roku previewed the next version of its operating system, which includes new content discovery tools and will be available in the coming months on compatible devices. The home screen of Roku OS 11.5 will get a new feature called The Buzz. There are posts with trailers, interviews, and snippets from various streaming channels there. You can subscribe to channels to stay up to current on news, save material promoted in posts to watch later, or immediately begin streaming the episode or movie.
A Continue Watching option (available on the What to Watch screen) should make it easy to pick up where you left off on Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, The Roku Channel, and other supported applications. A Save List is also available on the What to Watch menu and the Roku mobile app. You’ll be able to save movies and series from numerous applications to watch later and access them all from the Save List.
Roku will also add a private listening mode to the latest Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar, and Roku Streambar Pro models. Bluetooth headphones can be immediately connected to these streaming players. Previously, private listening was only available via the Roku mobile app and by connecting headphones to the company’s higher-end remotes, so this should make things a little easier. Roku OS 11.5 will, among other things, rebrand the channel store as The Roku Store and add categories to the live TV guide.
