Roku could be planning large expansion into smart home lighting, plugs and cameras

It appears Roku is expanding from streaming hardware to smart home lighting.

Photos and two shipping manifests regarding Roku-branded smart home devices have appeared online. The smart home lineup from Roku could incorporate light strips, smart plus and even indoor/outdoor security cameras.

Roku has long secured its place in the streaming hardware space, whether it’s the Roku Express, Roku Streaming Stick, or the new Roku Ultra, many are aware of the brand.

A photo depicting a large stack of Roku smart light strips is circulating the internet courtesy of Reddit user ‘Negative_Source.’ Additionally, two shipping manifests show that Roku is working with Wyze on roughly half a dozen products for the home.

So far, the available information reveals the company’s plans to sell a Roku colour bulb and a white bulb. Additionally, there are mentions of the aforementioned light strips and a Roku smart plug. Finally, Roku appears to be releasing a Roku indoor camera, Roku outdoor camera and Roku pan cam.

Of course, this leak doesn’t officially confirm that there are new Roku devices on the way. However, this is substantial enough evidence to suggest Roku is planning to become an integral part of the smart home.

It’s worth considering how these products could communicate with one another. References to a ‘Roku Smart Home’ channel have been spotted as well. This suggests that Roku may be developing a way to control all devices via a set-top box or streaming stick. It’s likely integration into the Roku mobile app is on the way as well.

Roku’s investment in smart home lighting is interesting. Obviously, Philips Hue is a big player in the space and offers the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box for the living room. Though, it does involve quite the investment of cash. Perhaps Roku’s smart home initiative can provide similar results for a more modest price.

As far as rollout and pricing, it’s still unclear how Roku plans to announce these products. However, given that the packaging looks like it’s finalized, we can’t be too far away from official details.

Image credit: u/Negative_Source

Source: Reddit ‘Negative_Source’ Via: The Verge