When Roku started rolling out its new home screen design back in May, it ticked off a lot of people, and understandably so. Before the update, Roku’s user interface was straightforward, making it easy to jump into your favorite streaming apps or browse free live TV. The only real downside was the usual sprinkling of ads throughout the experience.
Now, with what Roku calls its “biggest update in more than a decade,” the company has made the home screen feel a lot more cluttered and ad-ridden. It’s added a new “Top Picks For You” section, cramming in even more recommendations; a new AI-powered “Quick Access” section that surfaces your most-used apps; and a “The Best Across Your Streaming Services” row — all of which now appear before you even get to your apps.
Personally, I saw all of these changes as clutter that just got in the way of quickly opening my apps, so I promptly turned off as much of them as I could on my Roku Ultra.
That said, while Roku’s home screen redesign hasn’t exactly gone over well, the company has begun rolling out another new home screen update, this time exclusively for smart TVs powered by Roku OS. And this one might land better with users because it finally adds a feature that’s been missing from Roku smart TVs for far too long.
Roku has finally added a section for TV Inputs
It’s now much easier to switch to your HDMI devices
According to Cord Cutter News, as part of a new home screen update rolling out to Roku smart TVs, Roku has added a new menu option called “TV Inputs,” which, as the name suggests, lets you quickly access your TV’s HDMI inputs and switch between them.
Previously, input options on Roku smart TVs were tucked away under the Home tab in the menu, meaning you had to scroll down the home screen just to find and switch inputs. With this latest update, though, it’s much simpler: open the menu on the home screen, select TV Inputs, and you’re there.
As controversial as Roku’s new home screen has been, this is one change I think a lot of Roku TV users will appreciate, especially those who don’t care much about Roku OS and just want to switch between HDMI devices, such as a PS5, Switch 2, PC, or Apple TV 4K, as fast as possible.
If you have a Roku smart TV, you can check whether this update is available by going to Settings > System > Software Update.
That said, it does require the new home screen design. So, if you don’t already have it, you won’t be able to access the new TV Inputs tab just yet, and you’ll still have to go to the Home tab to find them.
If you do want to switch over to the new home screen, you can do that by going to Settings > Home Screen > Home Screen Update. But understandably, if you’d rather stick with the old layout for now and avoid all the home screen changes, it’s best to just wait until your TV updates on its own.
For more on all things Roku, you can check out some of Pocket-lint’s other stories, including which settings to change to make the home screen look better and how to use arguably Roku’s best feature.
- Dimensions
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4.9 x 5.0 x 1.0 inches
- Connective Technology
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Bluetooth® streaming, 802.11ax dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz), 10/100 Base-T Ethernet
- Brand
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Roku
