I've been trying out Roku's smart home gear (Wyze hardware running a Roku-provided software overlay) for two weeks now, and I can say it's fine. If you're the type of person who wants to add service plans and integrate with your existing Roku TV to experience a smart home circa 2013, this is the gear for you.
Roku introduced smart home products last October, starting with cameras, plugs, and lights. This year, the company announced a monitored security plan and a set of hardware designed to support its services. For the purpose of this review, Roku sent me a smart home security sensor, alarm, and keypad. 3 different cameras. Outdoor rated outlet. And a light bulb. I already own a latest generation Roku set-top box with a voice remote.
Look, this is my backyard…on my TV, courtesy of Roku. Image taken by S. Higginbotham.
Who needs this?
Reviews typically explain what the product is trying to do, and then quickly explain how the hardware, software, and services are used to do those things. But Roku essentially offers a suite of smart home gear that anyone reading this newsletter will be familiar with for years. This smart home gear is probably especially true if he already has Wyze products.
And the gear is mostly functional and does exactly what I expected. There are no new features except for deeper integration with Roku TVs and streaming boxes, and voice control via the Roku remote. It's also sold exclusively at Walmart, making it available to anyone who wants to try home security and home automation at a relatively low cost.
A question arises here. Who exactly is this for? My feeling is it's for people who have been hearing about video doorbells and smart home security products for years and want to try them out. Or maybe you're a parent buying your child's first apartment.
It's definitely not for people who want the latest and greatest in smart home technology or don't have a Roku TV or streaming box. For the same price, you can build a similar system using Wyze gear, or for a little more money, you can build a system that offers a few more extras in terms of features. However, Roku had nearly 72 million active users at the end of the day, so there will be quite a few people who will appreciate Roku Smart's home products.
Is it effective?
The setup is basic. As basic as you would expect from a company that seemingly entered the smart home on a whim and resold hardware from known low-cost, low-margin hardware providers. But it works. If you're looking to spend $99.99 on hardware and $9.99 a month on monitoring and have an alarm keypad, motion sensor, two intrusion sensors, surveillance hub, siren, and a camera or two, then no. . Bad option. Camera prices range from $25 to $74 per camera depending on the camera you choose, and there are also subscription plans starting at $3.99 per month per camera to $9.99 per month for three or more cameras.
If you have a Roku TV or Box, you can see your camera feed on your TV and receive notifications of security events from your home's surveillance sensors on your TV, if you wish. If you have the latest Roku box and remote control, you can also use the remote's voice control to ask Roku to control your smart home. Things like “Hey Roku, please turn on the study (lights)” worked with a few seconds delay, but asking Roku to show me the backyard (camera) took even longer.
My child, who was sitting next to me, joked that he could have been killed waiting for Roku to show him the camera footage. That murder must have happened fairly quickly, but they note that it took about 20 to 30 seconds to load. He also noticed a 4-5 second delay between notifications and automations triggered by the Roku open/close sensor.
The lag in my phone's camera notifications and when opening apps on my phone was also very long, and I often missed a lot of things after movement triggered the camera alert. Subscription plans include basic object detection, so Roku can tell you if you see a person, pet, vehicle, or package. As with more advanced cameras, you can also adjust the camera's motion detection zone.
Device and app setup
People with Roku smart home gear should download the Roku smart home app instead of the streaming app. Also, if you want to see your notifications or camera feed on your TV, you'll need to use the same username and password on both devices.
The app works on both iOS and Android and loaded quickly on my Android device. Setting up the outdoor camera took a bit of time as I had to first install the base station and then update both the base station and camera. The outdoor camera base station also needed an Ethernet port and access to power. I also had to charge the camera before connecting it.
But once those stars aligned, it was easily available online. Adding a monitoring system was also easy. First, add another base station (but this one has Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and wait for the update. Then add your array of sensors through an easy and quick pairing process.
Then I installed the light bulb and outdoor outlet before the steam ran out. These installed the fastest and the process was very easy. Once the device was online, I was able to create schedules and automations using the same interface as the Wyze app. To control a device from an app, users must open the app (first tap), tap the device (second tap), and view the camera feed or control settings (third tap).
Again, with some lag, everything works pretty much as expected and nothing really surprises the user. Currently, no gear works with Matter, and although Roku is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, it is unclear if and when future Roku products will work with the Matter standard.
TL;DR
For me, this gear is relatively inexpensive, but you don't get much benefit from it unless you buy a monthly subscription. It's more expensive than you want to pay.
Most of the professional monitoring offered by smart home security hardware companies comes from Noonlight, and they also offer professional monitoring for Roku. It's also one of the cheapest DIY security systems (Ring's 5-piece alarm kit costs $200, while Abode and SimpliSafe have different configurations and cost more than $200). However, I've seen Wyze systems offered for as low as $50 for literally the exact same hardware.
So unless you want to see a notification on your TV when the door opens, or click to access your TV's camera feed channel, there's no compelling reason to buy this product over Wyze equipment. In a conversation with Mark Robins, vice president of Roku Smart Home, he said that Roku wants consumers to subscribe to the service, but that the current service he says is offered by Wyze. Said it was the same as the one.
This feels like a low-cost “me too” product that works but ultimately doesn't provide much value to the consumer. We feel that in a best-case scenario, it could work for about three years and end up in a landfill. I think most consumers want more than that. But I don't think smart home companies are ready to offer that.
Update: This story was updated on July 19, 2023 to reflect the correction. Roku outdoor cameras offer the ability to adjust motion detection zones.