Update: The launch is now official, with a range of products now on sale – see end of piece.
Photos of what appear to be Roku smart home products have been posted, supported by shipping manifests. It follows the company branching out into audio with speakers intended for use in home theater setups.
A photo on Reddit shows a smart light strip similar to the Hue Lightstrip, and another site has posted images of a range of other Roku-branded products …
The Reddit photo was apparently taken in a Walmart store, by a user who says that “there are some LED bulbs and security cameras” too.
Zatz Not Funny posted additional pack shots, as well as links to two shipping manifests. In all, the various leaks show:
- A19 color bulbs
- A light strip
- A smart plug
- Three security cameras, including a doorbell cam
The site notes that the products appear to be identical to Wyze ones, with the camera designs particularly easy to identify.
Couple all this to a confirmed Roku Smart Home channel, and there doesn’t seem much doubt that we can expect to see the products officially announced any time now.
One obvious on-brand move for Roku would be a light strip designed to go behind TVs, which can sync colors with whatever’s on the screen. Philips offers an expensive way to do this, and the hope is that Roku might make this more accessible.
Setting the video streaming scene with thematic mood lighting makes total sense and, beyond traditional app or voice control and automation, it’d be quite compelling if Roku streamers directly with the connected lighting to harmonize television content. Something like the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box… but without breaking the bank. I can also imagine Roku’s stub of a television app itemizing one’s home accessories along with the requisite video cam feeds.
Dave Zatz notes that Roku effectively overtook the original smart TV market leader Tivo by being more efficient in its approach, suggesting that rebranding existing products is another example.
Interestingly, given their original vision, TiVo had a great opportunity to move into this space once upon a time with $1b cash in the bank. Yet, as has been the case the last decade or so, Roku beats them to every punch. And one of the many ways Roku has outmaneuvered TiVo is through efficiency. For example, rather than reinventing the wheel, Roku is heavily leaning upon Wyze for their smarts vs building their own from scratch or even simply sharing the same manufacturers.
Back in March, Roku made itself an even more convincing alternative to Apple TV by adding Photo Streams, a voice-enabled keyboard, and more. Apple Music was also added to the platform in May.
Since launching in 2008 in partnership with Netflix, Roku has established itself as the default smart TV choice, offering compact and low-cost plug-in devices for existing TVs, as well as an OS for a range of smart TVs.
Update: The Roku Smart Home microsite is now live. Products available for sale are:
- Indoor camera
- Outdoor cameras (wired and wireless)
- Video doorbells
- Lights
- Plugs
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments