From The Verge: Roku has officially announced a lineup of smart home gadgets that includes lighting, plugs, and cameras. The devices, which were “developed in partnership” with the budget-friendly smart home company Wyze, will be sold exclusively through Walmart in the US starting on October 17th. According to Roku, the initial lineup includes smart bulbs (with white and color versions), light strips, indoor and outdoor smart plugs, a video doorbell, a floodlight camera, indoor and outdoor cameras, and an indoor camera that can pan and tilt “to view an entire room.”
Unlike Roku’s existing hardware lineup of streaming boxes, wireless speakers, and soundbars, these new smart home gadgets go beyond directly improving video and audio. At launch, users will be able to view a video feed from the Roku video doorbell via the Roku TV operating system. Roku also says the lineup will be compatible with Google Assistant and Roku Voice, with support for Alexa coming in early November. A Roku Smart Home mobile app will be available on iOS and Android for managing the smart devices.
There’s no support for the cross-platform Matter smart home standard at this time, however, despite Roku being a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance and Matter Working Group, the organizations behind the standard.
Roku’s press release also mentions a camera subscription plan that offers access to cloud video recording history, smart alerts, and package delivery notifications, although pricing for this wasn’t provided in time for publication. (Wyze already offers a very similar subscription plan that costs $1.67 per camera per month or $9.99 for unlimited cameras.)
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