Roku will no longer manufacture or sell smart home products such as cameras, smart plugs and smart lights, as the streaming device maker sharpens its focus on its core streaming business. The decision was first reported by freelance journalist Janko Roettgers in his newsletter Lowpass, and a Roku spokesperson confirmed to him that the company plans to wind down sales of smart home hardware while continuing to provide support and services for existing Roku Smart Home products.
Roku, best known for its streaming sticks and TV devices that compete with Amazon's Fire lineup, expanded into smart home products in 2022 with affordable security cameras, smart plugs and lights. Many of those early devices were white-labeled hardware from Wyze, and the company later released its own products, including the Roku Battery Camera and Battery Camera Plus, the latter offering up to two years of battery life on a single charge. In 2024 Roku added TV features linked to its smart home devices, such as viewing live camera feeds on screen and a picture-in-picture option.S1S2
The retreat had been visible for months. Roku's smart home products are now largely out of stock on its website, with only the Indoor Camera 360° and Video Doorbell & Chime still listed, and several models have disappeared or been marked for clearance at retailers including Amazon, Home Depot and Walmart. Roku's hardware losses more than doubled year over year in the third quarter, rising from $22.9 million to $48.6 million, a figure covering its overall hardware business that the company attributed largely to rising memory component costs.S1S2
The timing follows the close of Fox's roughly $22 billion acquisition of Roku on Nov. 6. Roku's 10-Q filing stated that smart home gear does not contribute to its streaming hours or revenue, underlining why streaming remains the company's main priority. It is unclear how the change will affect support for existing cameras and features, and Roku had not yet commented to ZDNET on that question. Shoppers seeking cheap security cameras will now have fewer options from Roku, with rivals such as Wyze, Blink and TP-Link's Tapo already offering competitive products.S1S2
