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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Roku OS 15.1 adds a Subscriptions hub for your paid services.
- Newly Added makes it easy to find the latest movies or shows.
- Subscriptions also has Continue Watching, popular, and trending titles.
Roku is good about small updates, rolling out frequent tweaks to Roku City, the home screen, and more. Sometimes they're so subtle I barely notice them, and other times they're genuinely useful, like its latest software release.
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Roku OS 15.1 is now quietly rolling out, following 15.0 from a couple of months ago. The biggest change is a menu item called Subscriptions. I'll admit I ignore half of Roku's menu options, but this is one I know I'll keep using. It's a new hub for all the streaming services I pay for, the shows I'm currently watching, and what's newly available across all my subscriptions.
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As someone who subscribes to everything, including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, and Peacock, keeping track of what's new or worth watching can be exhausting. I've spent way too many nights scrolling, jumping between apps, trying to find something, anything, to watch. Subscriptions seems like it could make that process a lot less frustrating.
How to find Roku's Subscriptions menu
You should find Subscriptions on the left side of the home screen, sitting above Settings. That's where I spotted it on my Roku. Once you open it, you'll see it pulls together several useful categories across all the services you're subscribed to, including:
- Trending and popular picks from your subscriptions
- Continue Watching, so you can jump back into what you left unfinished
- Newly Added, which seems excellent for finding fresh movies and shows
- Your Roku Save List, where your bookmarked titles are stored
- What's included in your subscriptions, broken down by service
Newly added is the best category, hands down
As soon as I tried Subscriptions, I knew I was going to love Newly Added.
It shows what has recently landed in the services I already pay for, so I don't have to open one app, dig to find its new section, look through the titles, close it out, and then repeat in another app. It's saving a ton of clicks, scrolling, and time.
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It also scratches that itch where I feel like something new is out there, but I have no idea where to look, or I check everything to make sure I'm not missing something. Now, Roku serves it up, reducing my streaming fatigue instead of adding to it.
I also like the popular and trending categories shown for each app. Sometimes I want to see what everyone else is watching. Now, instead of Googling that or texting friends for suggestions, I can go to Subscriptions.
Roku really shows all your streaming subscriptions
I really love that Roku's Subscriptions menu seems to recognize all my paid streaming services, even if I don't subscribe to them through Roku. I pay for Disney+ outside of Roku, and yet it still shows up, surfacing what's new to watch, popular, and trending.
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Roku can also look across all my subscriptions to populate a Continue Watching category in the Subscriptions menu. It pulls the last few things I've watched across my apps into one place. Selecting a title launches the right app and resumes playback where I left off.
How to get the new Subscriptions menu
Roku OS updates roll out gradually, so you may not have it today. If Roku OS 15.1 is available for your device, it should install automatically. But you can always check manually on your Roku by going to:
- Go to Settings.
- Select System.
- Select Software update.
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