American broadband households now own on average more than 10 connected devices, which range from consumer electronics to smart home devices and health devices.
A report recently published by Parks Associates points out that American broadband households now own on average more than 10 connected devices, which range from consumer electronics to smart home devices and health devices.
As people buy more, they base purchase decisions on a product’s ability to work with existing devices at home.
"Interoperability continues to be a leading challenge for the smart home industry,” said Chris O'Dell, Research Associate at Parks Associates. “Nearly 75% of consumers who intend to purchase a smart home device in the next year report that the ability for that device to work well with other devices is an important factor in their purchase decision. This challenge intensifies when consumers purchase stand-alone devices at different times, from different brands, rather than purchasing smart home systems.”
As the Internet of Things (IoT) matures, more smart appliances will become interoperable, resulting in greater automation, says Future Today Institute’s 2019 Emerging Tech Trends report. Innit, which was launched in 2013, is a platform that helps kitchen appliances talk to one another, even if they are made by different brands.
In 2019, Innit is partnering with Google Home Hub and
other smart displays to further connect the kitchen. There are other options, including the
Bosch Home Connect smart kitchen line that connects to Nest Protect. If a user forgets the pizza in the oven and it starts to catch fire, the Nest smoke detector will tell the oven to turn off. “In the coming year, we’ll see more integrations across brands and appliances,” says Future Today Institute.
It is worth noting that kitchens will get increasingly wireless. As appliances and devices start to take over the counter, they wind up tangled in wires. But manufacturers are researching solutions such as in-counter wireless charging panels. Urbaneer, a Michigan-based home furnishing designer, for example, is working on a suite of connected furniture that can charge nearby devices.
The end of remote control
According to 2019 Emerging Tech Trends,
voice control will become increasingly common. Subscribers to
Comcast’s Xfinity already have access to voice-controlled remotes, which allow users to search for actors, ask questions about shows and bypass the menu system to quickly find what they want to watch.
However, as voice assistants become integrated into more consumer electronics, remotes will give way to speakers and microphones embedded in electronics.
TCL Roku TVs, for example, will soon be equipped with far-field microphone arrays; Samsung will keep its remotes for now, but its Bixby smart assistant will start to be heavily relied on, Future Today Institute says.
Samsung announced that all of its appliances will be embedded with Bixby by 2020. Other smart assistants are following suit. “Apple has opened up its HomeKit requirements, making it easier for manufacturers and developers to incorporate Siri. Both Amazon and Google are partnering with appliance manufacturers en masse,” Future Today Institute says.
We will soon be able to do many chores with voice commands, such as turning on dishwashers and checking how much time before the dryer finishes its cycle, according to Future Today Institute.
Screens become security cameras
Another trend pointed out in the 2019 Emerging Tech Trends is that all of the screens on connected devices will soon double as security cameras. Researchers are building new software that connects smart screen-equipped devices—such as television, Echo Show and refrigerator—with security systems. This means that users will be able to monitor an area where the device is placed in the absence of a camera.
Taiwan-based D-Link is a case in point. It builds home networking equipment and is launching home cameras that integrate with other screens in the home.