Drop that remote! You can talk to the Roku 3

By Kris Wouk April 6, 2015

roku 3 voice search new — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’ve been waiting on picking up a Roku and aren’t interested in one of the new Roku TVs from TCL that went on sale last month, now might be a good time to look into a new purchase. Two models of the Roku have received hardware updates, making each of them an even better buy than they already were.

Amazon’s Fire TV is mainly great if you’re heavily invested in Amazon Instant Video, but its voice search was cool enough to sway those who were on the fence about which streaming box to buy. Roku’s flagship device, the Roku 3, has now added that feature as well. Voice search is activated via a new dedicated button on the remote and allows users to search by title, actor, or director.

The Roku 2 — essentially the middle child of the Roku family — has received a major upgrade. While the box and remote still look the same, the internals are now identical to the internals of the Roku 3. The only feature it’s missing is the new voice-capable remote, but voice search can also be initiated using the Roku app for smartphones, so even this shouldn’t be a problem.

In addition to the hardware upgrades, a software update today introduces a new feature: “My Feed.” As of now, this feed will show users when movies currently in theaters will be coming to services like Netflix or Amazon Instant video, and more features will be added in the future, according to The Verge. Add a movie to your feed, and your Roku will notify you when it’s available to stream.

At the time of this writing, the Roku Feed wasn’t available on an older model Roku 3, nor was a software update found. Presumably the feature will eventually come to older hardware.

Both of the updated Roku models are available as of today.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Audio / Video

Earfun Free Pro 3 wireless earbuds will make you question Apple’s prices

Earfun Free Pro 3 wireless noise-canceling earbuds in three colors.

What should it cost to buy a set of wireless noise-canceling earbuds with in-demand features like wireless charging, hi-res audio, and Bluetooth Multipoint? According to Earfun, the answer is $80 -- the price of its Earfun Free Pro 3. You can buy them starting October 30 on Amazon.

As the latest generation of Earfun's Free Pro model, the Free Pro 3 goes all-in on new features while retaining the ultra-compact shape and style that sets the Free Pro apart from larger earbuds. The headlining feature for some Android users is Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound compatibility, which brings hi-res audio support via the aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec and higher-quality voice transmission thanks to aptX Voice.

Computing

YouTuber claims that this ugly 3D-printed mouse is actually the best for gaming

OptimumTech's Zeromouse alongside a regular mouse.

According to the YouTuber who made it, this 3D-printed mouse is one of the best gaming mice in the world -- but boy, does it look odd. OptimumTech designed the Zeromouse from the ground up by modding a Razer mouse with a 3D-printed shell that made it a lot more lightweight, and reportedly, more ergonomic.

The end result weighs just 25 grams, all thanks to the custom-made lightweight shell. The internals of the mouse belong to the Razer Viper V2 Pro, and OptimumTech doesn't seem to have made any changes to that, but the outside looks drastically different. In all honesty, it kind of looks like what would happen to a regular gaming mouse if you dropped it from three stories up and it fell apart.

Computing

Security or performance? With this AMD vulnerability, you can’t have both

Render of an AMD Ryzen chip.

Recently, a cybersecurity researcher discovered a dangerous vulnerability within AMD's Zen 2 processors. Dubbed "Zenbleed," the vulnerability allows attackers to gain access to your computer and steal all of the most sensitive information, including passwords and encryption keys. While this doesn't affect AMD's best processors, it's still a dangerous vulnerability with a wide reach, as it's present in all Zen 2 CPUs, including consumer chips and data center EPYC processors. AMD has a fix on the way, but it might come at a price.

The bug was first spotted by Tavis Ormandy, a researcher working with Google Information Security, who made it public at the end of July. Since then, the researcher has also released a proof of concept code that shows how it works. This, while useful, might help attackers exploit this vulnerability until AMD comes up with a fix.