Roku Is Changing Its App Process To Give You A Better Experience (Here's How)

Roku is widely acknowledged as one of the best smart TV operating systems on the market. Its simple and intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate, while its relatively light processing requirements help it to feel fast and responsive, even on TVs with limited processing power. One of the ways that the company has managed to stay at the forefront of the streaming industry is by constantly innovating and updating its software to make it easier and more intuitive to work with for both users and developers alike. Now, it appears that Roku is making changes to its app process to help developers bring new apps and functionalities to the operating system, providing users with an even better experience than before.

Roku recently hosted its 2025 Developer Summit, where it announced several changes coming to the platform. Many of these changes were driven by the business side of the platform, but there were also a few exciting engineering updates, including two major updates to the development process backend. Roku is now introducing new tools, a new phased rollout system, and a cloud-based device emulation system. These are meant to help developers streamline the launches of new apps, reduce the number of bugs, and expand their capabilities to provide users with functionalities that weren't possible before.

Ruku's VP of Advanced Development, David Mendenhall, addressed developers directly in the Roku 2025 Developer Summit Keynote. He discussed many of the smaller changes that Roku would be making immediately, but also took the time to break down a few of the major changes that would be coming as part of the company's long-term strategy for making Roku better for developers and users alike, so you can get the most out of your Roku device.

The first of these more intensive alterations was a list of plans to help streamline app development. Mendenhall stated that Roku would be enhancing its SDKs (software development kits), enhancing its APIs (application programming interfaces), expanding its automated testing and debugging tools, and improving documentation and training resources. It will also provide developers with analytics tools that provide them with insights into the behavior of their users and give them detailed feedback on their app's performance. This should make it easier for individual developers to tailor their apps to their users' individual needs. Roku also claims that it's optimizing the OS to make launch times even faster and improve the interface's navigation performance.

Additionally, Roku is "introducing phased app rollouts to the developer portal," Mendenhall stated. "This feature will allow developers to deploy updates in phases, to help monitor app performance early, identify potential regressions, and address them quickly." So, while many of these changes might not be immediately apparent to users in terms of the way the Roku OS looks, they should make a significant difference to the overall performance of both the OS and the apps you use on it.

The other major change that Mendenhall announced was that Roku's advanced development team is currently working on a cloud-based Roku device emulator. This is currently set to launch in 2026, at which point it will be available to Roku developers. "The emulator will enable developers to develop Roku apps and test them using just a laptop and internet connection," Mendenhall said, making this one of the latest in a long line of hidden Roku features that users might never know exist.

Currently, developers must use a physical Roku device to test the functionality of their software, as do any users who may serve as product testers. In theory, providing them with a cloud-based emulator should accelerate app development by allowing developers to test their apps on users virtually, without needing to invest the time, effort, and expense required by using physical Roku hardware. Developers won't need to constantly flash software onto a device for each minor update or change. Lowering hardware barriers also means more developers can build for Roku. This may also improve the quality and stability of these apps, as cloud testing can simulate different Roku devices and OS software versions more easily, allowing developers to bug-hunt on a wider array of Roku's platforms.