Until now, Roku has been in the Smart TV business indirectly through its streaming players and Smart TV vendor partners. TLC and Hisense have been Roku’s biggest hardware partners, but now the company appears to want to have a go at it fully. During this year’s CES, Roku has announced that they will be introducing their first-ever Smart TVs to the U.S market beginning spring 2023.
Roku will start with two models; the Roku Select and Plus Series TVs with screen sizes ranging 24″ to 75″ with corresponding prices starting as low as $119 to $999 for HD and 4K models. The company is still very silent about the details especially the hardware specs other than the screen sizes. But we can expect the Smart TVs to be very similar to what we have had from its hardware partners. They will be powered by Roku’s Smart TV operating system which features The Roku Channel, Free live TV, News channels, Sports channels, all popular streaming services such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount among others.
All Select Series TVs include the Roku Voice Remote while the Select Plus model will come with Roku Voice Remote Pro. The difference between the two remotes is that the Pro version comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening and is rechargeable.
I have used Roku TCL Smart TV for at least 5 years now and counting. It’s never slowed down or had any major issues. Thanks to frequent software updates over the air, I have always felt like I have the latest Smart TV. I am not sure what Roku is going to do differently from its long-timer partners, but I expect the same reliable, solid hardware we have got from the likes of TCL. So I am looking forward to updating this post later in the year. In the meantime, you can try out the Roku Smart TV experience through its cheap streaming players that cost as low as $30 which can plug into your existing TV.
