Roku And Wyze: What's The Camera Connection?

Roku has ventured into the smart home business by rebranding Wyze cameras, lights, and plugs as its own smart home products. The company, known for its TV services platform, has partnered with Wyze, the maker of connected cameras, video doorbells, and smart light bulbs, to release a line of rebranded smart home products. The products in the lineup include indoor and outdoor cameras, a 360-degree indoor camera, a floodlight camera, and a video doorbell with a wireless chime. These products are integrated with a new Roku Smart Home app and offer features such as package delivery notifications and live video feeds on your Roku TV. The partnership between Roku and Wyze allows Roku to expand its reach in the smart home market, while Wyze benefits from Roku's experience in producing and distributing low-cost devices. However, the collaboration has raised concerns about security, as Wyze has faced criticism for its handling of vulnerabilities in the past.

Roku's smart home products are a rebranded version of Wyze's products

Roku has ventured into the smart home business by rebranding Wyze's smart home products as its own. Roku's smart home lineup includes smart lighting, bulbs, light strips, and plugs, as well as indoor and outdoor cameras, a 360-degree indoor camera, a floodlight camera, and a video doorbell with a wireless chime. These products are very similar to Wyze's offerings, and that's because they are rebranded versions of Wyze's products.

Roku has confirmed its partnership with Wyze Labs, stating that the cameras were "developed in partnership with Wyze Labs". The Roku-branded smart home products share much of Wyze's design and pricing, with the added benefit of integration with the Roku smart TV platform. This integration allows users to view live video feeds and display notifications on their Roku TV when someone rings the doorbell.

The collaboration between Roku and Wyze makes sense for both companies. Roku, known for its streaming media players and smart TVs, is expanding into the smart home market to compete with Amazon's Ring and Google's Nest. By partnering with Wyze, Roku can quickly enter the market without investing heavily in research and development. On the other hand, Wyze has gained consumer attention with its low-cost, connected devices, but has faced criticism for its lax security practices. By partnering with Roku, Wyze can leverage Roku's reputation and distribution channels, including Walmart as a distributor, to reach a wider audience.

While the partnership offers benefits to both companies, there are also risks involved. Roku investors should pay close attention to Wyze's security practices, as any future security scandals could impact Roku's brand reputation.

The products include smart lighting, plugs, and cameras

Roku has expanded its product line to include smart home gear, including cameras, smart plugs, and lighting. These products are a rebranded version of Wyze's smart home products and will be integrated with a new "Roku Smart Home" app.

The smart lighting products include both bulbs and light strips. The Wyze Bulb Color is Wyze's brightest smart bulb, offering 16 million colours and tunable white light. It has a dimmable option and can be automated with sleep routines. The bulb can be controlled via the Wyze app or by voice command when paired with Alexa or Google Assistant.

The Wyze Plug is a 2.4GHz WiFi smart plug that also works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It can be controlled remotely through the Wyze app, allowing users to turn devices and appliances on and off from anywhere. The app also enables custom scheduling and timers, and a "Vacation Mode" feature turns devices on and off at random to make it appear that someone is home.

The camera products in the lineup include indoor and outdoor cameras, a 360-degree indoor camera, a floodlight camera, and a video doorbell with a wireless chime. These cameras integrate with the Roku TV, allowing users to view live video feeds and receive on-screen notifications when someone rings the doorbell.

The companies have confirmed their partnership

Roku has confirmed its partnership with Wyze Labs to launch a lineup of smart home products, including cameras, smart plugs, and lighting. The products will be available at Walmart stores and will integrate with Roku's smart TV platform.

The Roku-branded smart home products share design similarities with Wyze's existing offerings and are similarly priced. However, the key pitch from Roku is that these products will seamlessly integrate with their smart TV platform, providing a unique value proposition for consumers. The lineup includes smart lighting, both bulbs and light strips, and smart plugs that can be paired with existing Roku products such as TVs and lamps to create a comprehensive smart home system.

The remaining products in the lineup include indoor and outdoor cameras, a 360-degree indoor camera, a floodlight camera, and a video doorbell with a wireless chime. These products start at under $30 and offer features such as motion and sound detection, two-way audio, and weatherproofing for outdoor use. All of these products integrate with a new "Roku Smart Home" app, and there's also a subscription plan that offers cloud recording and special features like package delivery notifications.

The partnership between Roku and Wyze makes sense for both companies. Roku, known for its smart TVs and media players, is expanding into the smart home space, while Wyze has established itself as a maker of connected devices, including cameras, video doorbells, and smart light bulbs. By partnering with Wyze, Roku can quickly enter the smart home market without investing heavily in research and development. However, the collaboration has raised some concerns due to Wyze's previous security issues, and Roku will need to closely monitor Wyze's security practices to mitigate potential risks.

The products are available at Walmart

Roku has expanded its product line to include smart home devices, including cameras, in partnership with Wyze. The products, which are rebranded versions of Wyze's smart home devices, are available at Walmart and on Walmart.com and Roku.com. The partnership between Roku and Wyze combines Roku's brand recognition, particularly in the media-streaming business, with Wyze's experience in producing and distributing low-cost smart home devices.

The range of smart home products includes smart lighting, smart plugs, video doorbells, and cameras. The smart lighting products include smart bulbs, which come in 1-packs for $6.88 each and 4-packs for $23.99, and light strips, with 16.4-foot strips costing $22.99 and 32.8-foot strips costing $44.99. The smart plugs include indoor and outdoor options, with the indoor smart plug available in a 1-pack for $8.88 or a 2-pack for $13.99, and the outdoor smart plug priced at $14.99.

The video doorbells come in wired and wireless options, both of which include a chime. The wired video doorbell and chime are priced at $79.99, while the wireless version is $99.99. The camera options include indoor and outdoor cameras, a 360-degree indoor camera, and a floodlight camera. The indoor camera is available for $26.99, while the 2-pack costs $49.99. The 360-degree indoor camera, which offers pan and tilt functionality, is priced at $39.99. The outdoor wired camera costs $49.99, and the outdoor camera is $73.99. The floodlight camera, which is one of the more expensive items in the lineup, is priced at $99.99.

The products offer integration with the Roku TV platform, allowing users to view live video feeds and receive notifications on their connected TVs. This integration provides a unique selling point and could be a significant draw for consumers.

Roku's expansion into the smart home market is a strategic move

Roku's expansion into the smart home space is an attempt to leverage its experience in the connected TV business and its advertising-driven business model. The company has partnered with Wyze, a manufacturer of connected cameras, video doorbells, and smart light bulbs, to brand a line of products that will be exclusively sold at Walmart. This partnership allows Roku to quickly enter the market, bypassing much of the research and development phase. The Roku-branded smart home products are competitively priced and integrate with the Roku smart TV platform, offering consumers a seamless experience.

However, there are risks associated with this partnership. Roku relies heavily on ad revenue, which has been waning due to a challenging "macroeconomic environment". Additionally, Wyze has faced criticism for its lax security practices, including a vulnerability that was disclosed to customers three years after it was first discovered. Should Wyze encounter another security incident, Roku's brand and reputation could be seriously exposed.

Overall, Roku's expansion into the smart home market is a strategic move to diversify its revenue streams, leverage its advertising model, and remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market. However, the success of this venture will depend on effectively managing the risks associated with Wyze's security practices and Roku's reliance on ad revenue.

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