Connected TV maker Roku today unveiled eight new low-cost lights, cameras, doorbells and sockets, all based on the ease of installation and operation from the company’s Roku TV operating system. This marks the emergence of a new player in the smart home space that doesn’t yet have particularly new gadgets, but is already a significant entry into many homes.
Products available exclusively through Roku and Walmart can be controlled using the new Roku Smart Home phone app, but Roku is positioning the devices as tightly integrated with their TVs, streaming boxes and sticks. The Roku Video Intercom can trigger picture-in-picture mode on a Roku-enabled TV and alert you to special events such as packages or pets. Using the voice feature on the Roku remote can trigger live camera feeds, activate switches, or turn on lights.
The products will be familiar to anyone who has browsed the Wyze line, and this is by design. Roku has partnered with Wyze to create their first non-streaming products, and some of them are replicas of existing Wyze hardware, especially cameras. Wyze is a well-known brand, but in the past it has had security issues and a long delay in responding to vulnerabilities. Roku says its products will offer two-factor authentication, user data encryption, and secure boot, and will be certified by the ioXt Alliance.
A Roku representative told us about new product compatibility with Matter, that Roku is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance and the Matter Working Group; “We are connected to Matter and are closely following developments,” they wrote. They also clarified that Roku devices, which the press release says are “open to third-party voice integrations,”are compatible with Google Assistant and Roku Voice at launch, with Alexa coming in early November.
We have received no clarification on how Roku products implement “secure boot”. Numerous forum posts have noted that Wyze V3 cameras, which some Roku products seem to be based on, use the T31 chipset, which allows secure booting, potentially blocking third-party firmware and modifications.
Much of the Roku lineup was revealed on Monday, when Dave Zatz, a Slingbox/TiVo veteran and longtime tech blogger, rounded up Reddit posts and government customs manifests and had a “little chat”to ruin most of the surprise. This post talked about the Roku Smart Home channel and most of the devices, and speculated about whether Roku could eventually take over the Wyze brand. He also noted that a fully TV-focused smart home was once one of TiVo’s goals.
Roku smart home products are available online today at Roku and Walmart, with selected products available at Walmart stores starting October 17th. Camera prices start at $27, and the camera subscription plan provides recorded cloud history, event alerts, and other features (probably similar to Wyze Cam Plus).