Whether you’re talking about a streaming box like a Roku or A/V receivers, remote apps are becoming an essential component. Roku has offered iOS and Android apps — and even a Windows 8 app — for quite a while, and now Windows 10 users are finally getting an app of their own, at least for computers and tablets.
Roku announced the new app in a blog post Friday. It includes a new homepage allowing for both point-and-click and gesture-based navigation. This acts as a showcase for new content available via your Roku device, as well as the home for your “My Channels” list. This is complemented by an on-screen remote, allowing for easy navigation of the interface on your TV.
While remote control functionality is nice, in a lot of cases it isn’t needed due to the app’s search feature, which allows users to easily find content either by typing or with their voice. The app is a Windows 10 Universal app, which means Cortana support is built in, which should help to make finding whatever you want to watch even easier. Users can search by actor, director, movie or TV show title, and more.
The Play on Roku feature is also here, allowing users to share music and photos from their PC or tablet to their Roku device. Users can select either individual files or entire folders to play, skipping past unwanted photos or music using the app or remote.
The new Roku app is available in the Windows app store for U.S. customers now, and will be rolling out internationally soon. Roku said in the blog post that additional features will continue to be added in the coming weeks. So far, there is no support for Windows 10 on phones, nor has Roku given an indication that a version of the app for that platform is on the way anytime soon.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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