Announced earlier this year, Roku revealed today that its Pro Series TVs, the lineup of high-end televisions, are now available for purchase in the U.S.
Starting today, Roku Pro Series TVs are being sold at Best Buy stores and online at BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, and Walmart.com.
Compared to the Roku Select and Roku Plus Series TVs, which were the first-ever Roku-branded smart TVs that launched in 2023, the Roku Pro Series has a slimmer design that can be flush mounted to the wall.
Like the Roku Plus TVs, the Pro Series has HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for a cinematic viewing experience, as well as 4K QLED displays and local dimming.
In addition to the Pro Series launch, Roku announced new software updates coming to all Roku TVs that aim to enhance the viewing experience.
Notably, the experience is free for Sling TV and Sling Freestream customers, and they can play games while simultaneously watching live TV content — providing entertainment during commercial breaks.
Sling TV also allows users to expand the Arcade row on the home screen to have a more immersive playing experience.
Sling TV says that 10 games will be available at launch, with new titles to be added regularly.
Sling didn’t say if it would partner with other gaming companies to expand its gaming library, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
Dish, which recently merged with EchoStar, reported a loss of 65,000 Sling TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the total to 2.06 million.
In 2020, I wrote about Briq’s $10 million Series A and its mission to bring fintech to the construction industry.
Last week, I covered its $8 million Series B extension at a $150 million valuation, as well as its AI-related growth plans.
Last week, I covered its $40 million Series B financing and the fact that it grew revenue by 200% in 2023.
Other high-interest headlinesStripe, Flexport, TikTok, and other startups were investing in startups.
Stripe acquired Nigeria-based Paystack in 2020 — extending its reach in Africa — after participating in the payment startup’s Series A in 2018.” That level of investing has slowed dramatically, according to CB Insights data.
Alongside Samsung’s launch event today, Google announced a new way to search on Android phones dubbed “Circle to Search.” The feature will allow users to search from anywhere on their phone by using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping.
The search results users will see will differ based on their query and the Google Labs products they opt into.
For a simple text search, you may see traditional search results while a query that combines an image and text — or “multisearch” as Google calls it — uses generative AI.
The feature was one of several Google AI announcements across Gemini, Google Messages, and Android Auto announced at today’s event.
Over time, more Android smartphones will support the feature, Google says.
Age tech at CES was much more than gadgetsWelcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter.
There was a lot going on in tech this week, and not just CES.
But yes, CES was definitely worth watching closely, if only just for the rise of age tech.
— AnnaBetter agingFollowing CES from a distance this year, I couldn’t help but notice how age tech, or silver tech, companies seemed to be in the spotlight — perhaps more than we expected.
For instance, I read that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had visited the booth of AgeTech Collaborative, an initiative from U.S. senior advocacy group AARP to showcase “groundbreaking age tech innovations” during the event.
