diff --git a/src/components/home/HeroCarousel.tsx b/src/components/home/HeroCarousel.tsx
index 0876d35..1239ae5 100644
--- a/src/components/home/HeroCarousel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/home/HeroCarousel.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ interface HeroCarouselProps {
 const { width } = Dimensions.get('window');
 
 const CARD_WIDTH = Math.min(width * 0.8, 480);
-const CARD_HEIGHT = Math.round(CARD_WIDTH * 9 / 16) + 290; // slight increase for text/actions
+const CARD_HEIGHT = Math.round(CARD_WIDTH * 9 / 16) + 310; // increased for more vertical space
 
 const HeroCarousel: React.FC<HeroCarouselProps> = ({ items, loading = false }) => {
   const navigation = useNavigation<NavigationProp<RootStackParamList>>();
@@ -80,9 +80,39 @@ const HeroCarousel: React.FC<HeroCarouselProps> = ({ items, loading = false }) =
     if (clamped !== activeIndex) setActiveIndex(clamped);
   };
 
+  const handleScroll = (event: any) => {
+    const offsetX = event?.nativeEvent?.contentOffset?.x ?? 0;
+    const interval = CARD_WIDTH + 16;
+    const idx = Math.round(offsetX / interval);
+    const clamped = Math.max(0, Math.min(idx, data.length - 1));
+    if (clamped !== activeIndex) setActiveIndex(clamped);
+  };
+
   return (
     <Animated.View entering={FadeIn.duration(350).easing(Easing.out(Easing.cubic))}>
       <View style={styles.container as ViewStyle}>
+        {data.length > 0 && (
+          <View style={{ height: 0, width: 0, overflow: 'hidden' }}>
+            {data[activeIndex + 1] && (
+              <ExpoImage
+                source={{ uri: data[activeIndex + 1].banner || data[activeIndex + 1].poster }}
+                style={{ width: 1, height: 1 }}
+                contentFit="cover"
+                cachePolicy="memory-disk"
+                transition={0}
+              />
+            )}
+            {activeIndex > 0 && data[activeIndex - 1] && (
+              <ExpoImage
+                source={{ uri: data[activeIndex - 1].banner || data[activeIndex - 1].poster }}
+                style={{ width: 1, height: 1 }}
+                contentFit="cover"
+                cachePolicy="memory-disk"
+                transition={0}
+              />
+            )}
+          </View>
+        )}
         {data[activeIndex] && (
           <View
             style={[
@@ -103,9 +133,10 @@ const HeroCarousel: React.FC<HeroCarouselProps> = ({ items, loading = false }) =
                 contentFit="cover"
                 blurRadius={36}
                 cachePolicy="memory-disk"
+                transition={220}
               />
               <LinearGradient
-                colors={["rgba(0,0,0,0.65)", "rgba(0,0,0,0.85)"]}
+                colors={["rgba(0,0,0,0.45)", "rgba(0,0,0,0.75)"]}
                 locations={[0.4, 1]}
                 style={styles.backgroundOverlay as ViewStyle}
               />
@@ -127,6 +158,7 @@ const HeroCarousel: React.FC<HeroCarouselProps> = ({ items, loading = false }) =
           snapToInterval={CARD_WIDTH + 16}
           decelerationRate="fast"
           contentContainerStyle={{ paddingHorizontal: (width - CARD_WIDTH) / 2 }}
+          onScroll={handleScroll}
           onMomentumScrollEnd={handleMomentumEnd}
           renderItem={({ item }) => (
             <View style={{ width: CARD_WIDTH + 16 }}>
@@ -144,8 +176,8 @@ const HeroCarousel: React.FC<HeroCarouselProps> = ({ items, loading = false }) =
                       cachePolicy="memory-disk"
                     />
                     <LinearGradient
-                      colors={["transparent", "rgba(0,0,0,0.35)"]}
-                      locations={[0.6, 1]}
+                      colors={["transparent", "rgba(0,0,0,0.2)", "rgba(0,0,0,0.6)"]}
+                      locations={[0.4, 0.7, 1]}
                       style={styles.bannerGradient as ViewStyle}
                     />
                   </View>
diff --git a/src/screens/HomeScreen.tsx b/src/screens/HomeScreen.tsx
index 8354a32..842cc1f 100644
--- a/src/screens/HomeScreen.tsx
+++ b/src/screens/HomeScreen.tsx
@@ -369,13 +369,14 @@ const HomeScreen = () => {
         StatusBar.setTranslucent(true);
         StatusBar.setBackgroundColor('transparent');
         
+        // Ensure portrait when coming back to Home on all platforms
+        try {
+          ScreenOrientation.lockAsync(ScreenOrientation.OrientationLock.PORTRAIT_UP);
+        } catch {}
+
         // For iOS specifically
         if (Platform.OS === 'ios') {
           StatusBar.setHidden(false);
-          // Ensure portrait when coming back to Home on iOS
-          try {
-            ScreenOrientation.lockAsync(ScreenOrientation.OrientationLock.PORTRAIT_UP);
-          } catch {}
         }
       };
       
@@ -607,8 +608,11 @@ const HomeScreen = () => {
   }, []);
 
   // Memoize individual section components to prevent re-renders
-  const memoizedFeaturedContent = useMemo(() => (
-    settings.heroStyle === 'carousel' ? (
+  const memoizedFeaturedContent = useMemo(() => {
+    const deviceWidth = Dimensions.get('window').width;
+    const isTablet = deviceWidth >= 768;
+    const heroStyleToUse = isTablet ? 'legacy' : settings.heroStyle;
+    return heroStyleToUse === 'carousel' ? (
       <HeroCarousel
         key={`carousel-${featuredContentSource}`}
         items={allFeaturedContent || (featuredContent ? [featuredContent] : [])}
@@ -622,8 +626,8 @@ const HomeScreen = () => {
         handleSaveToLibrary={handleSaveToLibrary}
         loading={featuredLoading}
       />
-    )
-  ), [settings.heroStyle, showHeroSection, featuredContentSource, featuredContent, allFeaturedContent, isSaved, handleSaveToLibrary]);
+    );
+  }, [settings.heroStyle, showHeroSection, featuredContentSource, featuredContent, allFeaturedContent, isSaved, handleSaveToLibrary]);
 
   const memoizedThisWeekSection = useMemo(() => <ThisWeekSection />, []);
   const memoizedContinueWatchingSection = useMemo(() => <ContinueWatchingSection ref={continueWatchingRef} />, []);
diff --git a/src/screens/HomeScreenSettings.tsx b/src/screens/HomeScreenSettings.tsx
index 96f52da..5853c8c 100644
--- a/src/screens/HomeScreenSettings.tsx
+++ b/src/screens/HomeScreenSettings.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ import {
   StatusBar,
   Platform,
   useColorScheme,
-  Animated
+  Animated,
+  Dimensions
 } from 'react-native';
 import { useSettings } from '../hooks/useSettings';
 import { useNavigation } from '@react-navigation/native';
@@ -60,6 +61,8 @@ const SettingItem: React.FC<SettingItemProps> = ({
   isDarkMode,
   colors
 }) => {
+  const isTabletDevice = Platform.OS !== 'web' && (Dimensions.get('window').width >= 768);
+
   return (
     <TouchableOpacity 
       activeOpacity={onPress ? 0.7 : 1}
@@ -310,7 +313,7 @@ const HomeScreenSettings: React.FC = () => {
           )}
         </SettingsCard>
 
-        {settings.showHeroSection && (
+        {settings.showHeroSection && !(Dimensions.get('window').width >= 768) && (
           <>
             <View style={styles.segmentCard}>
               <Text style={[styles.segmentTitle, { color: isDarkMode ? colors.mediumEmphasis : colors.textMutedDark }]}>Hero Layout</Text>