Roku Faces Backlash After July 7 Home Screen Rollout Adds More Ads
Updated
Updated · CBR · Jul 8
Roku Faces Backlash After July 7 Home Screen Rollout Adds More Ads
2 articles · Updated · CBR · Jul 8
Summary
July 7 marked the broad rollout of Roku’s redesigned home screen, and users quickly flooded social media with complaints that the interface had become harder to use.
The update shifts the main page toward watch-history recommendations, reorders frequently used functions, and reduces the prominence of the old customizable app grid that many users preferred.
User criticism centered on lost customization, harder access to TV inputs and apps, and an apparent increase in advertising, with some calling the redesign a reason to switch devices.
Support complaints also flagged possible technical issues after the auto-update, including reports of audio cutting out during playback across multiple apps.
The backlash lands weeks after Roku disclosed its new interface in May and after FOX agreed to buy the company for $22 billion, raising broader questions about Roku’s direction.