Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart home devices have been a standout Christmas gift since the first Echo came to market in 2014. This year, reduced pricing and starter smart home bundles will again draw millions of dollars in consumer spending. But these devices also help determine the kind of smart homes that will be built around them. Global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research finds that holiday spending will help convert over 128 million additional homes into smart homes by the end of 2020 and the impact of those devices will go even further.
According to the research firm, the connectivity embedded in voice control front end devices will for millions of homes, determine the connectivity they will look for in devices such as door locks, lights, sensors, key fobs, wireless security cameras, and more as they build out integrated smart home systems.
ABI says that for smart home devices and service providers investing in embedding wireless connectivity, the disparate landscape for smart home protocols remains a constricting block on smart home investment and ROI.
“With no clear standard and no interoperability between major smart home protocols means that each new smart home is a battleground for each connectivity protocol to gain a foothold, And, each additional device added cements a foundation that will underpin the adoption of more and more devices leveraging the same connectivity protocols,” says Jonathan Collins, Smart Home Research Director at ABI Research.
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