Roku Rumored to Be Producing Smart TVs

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Roku may produce smart TVs in addition to streaming sticks.

Tech company Roku is known primarily for creating USB sticks and boxes that plug into normal HDMI-compatible TVs and give them streaming functionality. This business model has worked more or less fine for them (barring the occasional instance of technical shortcoming), but as streaming functionality in TVs becomes more of a commonplace feature, they may eventually find themselves rendered obsolete. There’s no point in plugging a streaming stick into your TV, after all, if your TV already has streaming channels built-in.

In an effort to prevent this obsolescence from occurring, Roku is rumored to be developing its very own line of smart TVs. According to sources allegedly familiar with the matter that spoke with Insider, Roku has been conducting focus testing on hypothetical smart TV models to discern what customers want in their devices, from size to functionality to features. Roku has also apparently had smart TV development on its professional roadmap for at least a year now, so the time is definitely ripe.

When users subscribe and utilize a streaming service like Netflix through a Roku device, Roku gets a cut of the streaming profits. If they could break into the smart TV sector, that take could increase. However, smart TVs are a much bigger beast compared to dongles, so if they don’t nail the functions and price point, they may find themselves with a pile of unusable smart TV models.

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