Roku today announced that its home screen is receiving its biggest redesign in more than a decade. The new home screen will begin rolling out to Roku TVs and streaming devices across the U.S. starting today, with more countries to follow later. The changes will appear automatically, with no software update required. At the top of the home screen, a new "Top Picks for You" section provides recommendations based on your watch history and what is trending on Roku. A new AI-powered "Quick Access" section surfaces the apps you use most, such as the Apple TV app. There is still a separate page containing a complete list of apps that you have installed on your Roku device if you need it. New curated hubs called "Destinations" offer content organized by genres and moods, such as comedy, reality, movies, sports, documentaries, and more. The menu on the Roku home screen now has a collapsed design with icons, rather than expanded text labels. Roku says this change provides a cleaner canvas for discovering content, but it also results in a large ad being shown persistently on the right side of the screen. Previously, the ad would only appear in certain views. A new "Shortcuts" section provides quick access to features like Continue Watching, Sleep Timer, Save List, and more, all in one place. If you are a fan of the Roku City screen saver, there is now an on-screen tile that you can select to view it at any time. You can explore the screen saver's iconic cityscape, plus access Daily Trivia and other mini-games. Tags: Home Screen , Roku This article, " Roku Unveils Redesigned Home Screen " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple is developing a new feature that will lock your iPhone if it's snatched from your hand by a thief, according to Apple code seen by 9to5Mac . The option will use the gyroscope, accelerometer, and other sensors to determine when an iPhone has been grabbed. It'll also rely on a paired Apple Watch to detect when the iPhone has suddenly moved away from the owner's wrist. Once the iPhone is yanked from your hand, it will lock and activate Stolen Device Protection to prevent thieves from accessing information on it. Stolen Device Protection adds extra security to your iPhone when you're away from familiar locations like home or work. It requires biometric authentication for actions like accessing stored passwords or credit cards, and there are built-in hour-long delays for actions like changing an Apple Account password. The feature was originally designed to protect iPhone users from stealthy thieves who observe someone's passcode and then snatch an iPhone. With a passcode, thieves could get into apps and access bank account data and other sensitive information, but Stolen Device Protection prevents that from happening. Android already has a Theft Detection Lock feature that locks a smartphone in a snatch-and-grab theft situation. There is no word on when the new feature might be added to the iPhone. This article, " Apple Developing iPhone Anti-Snatching Feature That Locks Stolen Phones Instantly " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Meta is rolling out paid Instagram Plus, Facebook Plus, and WhatsApp Plus plans worldwide as of today. Instagram Plus is priced at $3.99 per month, Facebook Plus is priced at $3.99 per month, and WhatsApp Plus is priced at $2.99 per month. According to TechCrunch , the paid plans provide features like profile customization, super reactions, and story insights. Instagram Plus lets users see how many people have rewatched a Story, and it adds unlimited audience lists for Stories for creating groups other than Close Friends. Users can spotlight a story once a week for extra views, use Super Heart animated reactions, choose custom app icons, add customized fonts to a profile bio, extend a story beyond 24 hours, and search a story viewer list to see who is watching. Subscribers will also be able to post straight to their profiles without having the post show up in their followers' feeds, and they will be able to stealthily "preview" Instagram stories without showing up as a viewer. Facebook Plus includes most of the same features as Instagram Plus, while WhatsApp Plus includes app themes, custom ringtones, more pinned chats, list customization, and premium stickers. Meta head of product Naomi Gleit said the company is also exploring new subscription plans for creators and businesses, along with plans for AI users. The new plans are being offered under "Meta One" branding that combines subscription offerings from multiple Meta platforms. The $7.99 Meta One Plus plan and the $19.99 Meta One Premium plan are aimed at Meta AI users. Both plans unlock higher compute queries, reasoning, and image/video generation, but Premium offers more capacity, including deeper reasoning for complex tasks. A Meta One Essential plan priced at $14.99 per month is designed for creators and businesses. It includes a verified badge, impersonation protection, better analytics, and a linksheet that lets users link to their online profiles on the web and on other social media networks. The $49.99 Meta One Advanced plan includes the Essential options plus features in the Facebook feed, optimized scheduling tools, notifications when others reuse a creator's content, higher rankings in Instagram and Facebook search, a bolder Follow button on Reels, and automatic follow invitations for people who engage with a creator or brand's content. Meta is going to start testing the AI Meta One plans in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia next month. The business plans will be tested in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Thailand, and Bangladesh starting later this week. Gleit described Meta One as a place that brings Meta subscriptions "together" across all Meta apps. She said Meta's new plans were "just the beginning with a lot more value to come." Tags: Facebook , Instagram , Meta , WhatsApp This article, " Meta Wants You to Pay for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp Now " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
