Roku is making a soundbar, and honestly it makes a ton of sense
Roku has been perhaps the biggest name in dedicated streaming hardware for several years now, but the San Jose-based company has some more tricks up its sleeve. Roku announced Wednesday that it's going to diversify its product lineup with its first ever soundbar, and I got to check it out in a short demo last week.
The aptly named Roku Smart Soundbar is available for preorder now and will ship in October. It's the second piece of audio hardware the streaming company has produced, after last year's wireless TV speakers. For $179.99, Roku's new soundbar seems to pack a decent audio punch while providing a somewhat unique Roku twist.
Namely, it has Roku's signature streaming tech inside of it. With support for 4K resolution, HDR display and 60fps performance, the Smart Soundbar has the potential to be a pretty good streaming box that also makes TV shows and movies sound much better.
The unassuming form factor should comfortably fit underneath most TVs and it'll do what most modern TV speakers can't. Namely, you should be able to hear dialogue without needing to constantly adjust volume, or "ride the remote" as VP of product management Mark Ely put it in our briefing.
For ease of use, it has compatibility with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. You can connect via HDMI or an optical port, but there's one drawback to the former: It only supports ARC HDMI ports right now. Plenty of TVs have one, but you should make sure yours does before taking the plunge.
By the way, you can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker and connect media servers to it via USB.
The Smart Soundbar is Roku's second audio hardware product, but they showed off their third at the same demo session. Roku is also releasing a $179.99 wireless subwoofer that's best paired with the soundbar or the wireless speakers. It should be noted that it will only be compatible with the wireless speakers after a software update "in the coming months."
Subwoofers exist to make bass sound better, and that's what this one did when Roku showed it off to me. It connects wirelessly and is supposedly omnidirectional enough to be placed just about anywhere relative to the soundbar or speakers, so you should theoretically have plenty of freedom in deciding where to put it.
Both devices are available for preorder now on Roku's website and they'll ship in October, which is when Best Buy will also start carrying them. While Roku probably wouldn't mind if you bought a Roku streaming device and the Smart Soundbar, Ely told me reducing device clutter was part of why they decided to include streaming tech inside the soundbar.
In addition to that, people who buy the soundbar will get the same experience whether or not they have a Roku-enabled TV.
“We wanted to be able to bring some of what we’re doing with audio technology to non-Roku TVs," Ely told Mashable. "Any TV can be a home for a great audio experience and a great streaming experience.”
It's not the first soundbar with smart features, but given Roku’s reputation, you can expect high-quality streaming software. If all of this works well, it could be hugely convenient for anyone who is tired of crummy TV speakers and wants a better streaming solution.
Who doesn't love to kill two birds with one stone?
Correction: Clarified which voice assistants are supported.
Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.
