Roku has officially announced its entry into the smart home business by launching multiple IoT products as part of its partnership with Wyze Labs. The news comes a couple of days after a leaked photo revealed that the company was planning to expand its footprint to the smart home segment. The image, reportedly taken at a Walmart store, showed a stack of retail boxes for Roku smart lighting strips. In addition, the Redditor who posted the photo claimed they also spotted some Roku LED bulbs and security cameras, suggesting a full-fledged IoT foray.
Best known for its digital media players that compete with Amazon's Fire TV and Google's Android TV, Roku has been one of the catalysts behind the cord-cutting movement in the U.S. The company sells many smart set-top boxes and USB dongles, including the all-new 2022 Roku Express that supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Digital Stereo over HDMI and DTS Digital Surround Sound over HDMI. Earlier this year, the company also announced that its premium player, the Roku Ultra, will now be bundled with the top-of-the-line Roku Voice Remote Pro.
In a press release on Wednesday, Roku said that it would release a slew of smart home products as part of its initial blitz. The lineup will include a Floodlight Camera, Indoor and Outdoor Cameras, an Indoor Camera 360-degree, a video doorbell and chime, smart bulbs (white and color), smart light strips and indoor and outdoor smart plugs. The company also announced a Roku Smart Home mobile app on Android and iOS, as well as a camera subscription plan that includes cloud video recording history, smart alerts, package delivery notifications and more.
Roku Smart Home Products
All the Roku smart home products will be available exclusively at Walmart from Oct. 17. The company did not offer the exact pricing information for most of the products but said that the cameras would start below $27. However, the company's official website listings reveal that the Wire-free Video Doorbell & Chime SE is priced at $99.99, while the regular Video Doorbell & Chime SE costs $79.99. The Smart Bulb SE White four-pack is priced at $23.99, while the two-pack color version costs $17.99. The Outdoor Smart Plus SE costs $14.99, while the Indoor Smart Plug SE (two-pack) costs $13.99. The company is also integrating products like the Roku video doorbell with its TV operating system, enabling users to check who's at the door while watching TV.
All the devices in Roku's smart home lineup were developed in partnership with Wyze Labs and offer two-factor authentication (2FA), user data encryption and secure boot. They are also certified by ioXt Alliance, the global standard for IoT security. Announcing the new products, Mark Robins, the vice president of Roku Smart Home, said that the new devices are aimed at the "tens of millions of households who already use Roku devices – or anyone looking for a new option to level-up their spaces with smart lighting, cameras and more." He also claimed that the new line will offer users the convenience of a smart home with the value proposition that has always been a strength of the Roku brand.