Roku announced its own line of smart TVs at CES 2023, following in the footsteps of Amazon, which launched its Fire TV smart TV product line in 2021. Roku is best known for its media streaming devices, but it also has licensing agreements with multiple TV brands like Hisense, TCL, Onn, Sharp, Philips, and Sanyo. These manufacturers sell smart TVs that ship with Roku OS built-in and don't require the purchase of an additional streaming device.
The announcement of Roku-branded smart TVs isn't particularly surprising. Roku's streaming devices are pretty popular, and Roku OS-powered TVs dominate the affordable smart TV market. Roku is primed to add to its portfolio of smart home products with its own line of smart TVs to take on the likes of Amazon's Fire TV range and Android TV. Last October, it announced a range of IoT products manufactured in partnership with Wyze. The new Roku IoT products include smart LED bulbs, LED strips, indoor and outdoor security cameras, and a video doorbell which users can now control using the new range of smart TVs.
OLED Roku TVs Are Coming
Roku's line of smart TVs includes 11 models that are grouped into two series – Roku Select and Roku Plus. The smallest and cheapest is a 24-inch HD model with a $199 price tag, and it goes up to a 75-inch 4K model that costs $999. The Roku Select models will be the more affordable of the two series. The Select models will come with the Roku Voice Remote, while the premium Plus series TVs will have the Voice Remote Pro.
The Roku-branded TVs will offer familiar features available on some Roku Streaming devices, like Find My Remote, Private Listening, and Live TV. They will also provide “an expanded audio ecosystem” when paired with the new Roku TV Wireless Soundbar. The more technical details about the TVs are still under wraps but should be available when they are available for purchase this spring. Roku says the smart TVs will be available in the US but didn't say if there will be a global release.
In addition to the new smart TVs, Roku also announced a premium Roku TV OLED reference design that will be available to all of its Roku TV partners. Roku says the reference design should allow its brand partners to provide a premium TV experience with “dark black levels, superb contrast, and superior viewing angles.” This makes sense as there are currently no Roku-powered smart TVs with an OLED display.
Source: Roku